e are other things going
on above the Arctic Circle. The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at places north of the Arctic Circle where the sun remains visible at their local midnight. If you should miss it, spend the night in the “Ice Hotel in Kiruna..”
One of the famous Scandinavian Ice Sculpture buildings that tourists enjoy in Northern Scandinavia. Check out the cozy fur covering on the bed in your room!!
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On your way down south, stop off at Stockholm. If there is any Swedish blood in your family, you will be happy to see how easy it may be to check your family tree at the SVENSKA EMIGRANTINSTITUET. That’s the Swedish Emigration Institute, established in 1965.
It’s original purpose is to preserve records, interviews and memorabilia relating to the Swedish emigration between 1846 and 1930. During thi
s period of time, 1.3 million Swedes left the country. That’s about 20 percent of the Swedish population at that time! Included in their vast collections are Swedish church records from the 17th century, the Swedish census of 1880, 1890,1900, the Swedish death Index of 1901-2009, passenger lists, and data bases of more than 1.2 million immigrants
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The basis of the exhibits is called “The Dream of America” consisting of sound recordings , pictures, models, and artifacts of the background, causes and results of Swedish emigration to America.
(When you return home and wish more information, you are asked to enclose sixty US dollars for each individual to be searched. This is due to the very high exchange rate in Swedish banking)..They do not accept checks! Please note that the dollar bills must not be marked with any dye!) Sooo, do your research work at The Institute.
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During the Swedish immigration to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Swedes left Sweden for the United States for various reasons, the main reason was due to famine caused by several poor harvest seasons, plus lack of land and news that earlier immigrants wrote, telling of the availability of low cost, high quality farm land in the upper American midwest (the area from Illinois to Montana), along with high paying jobs in mechanical industries and factories in Chicago, Minneapolis, Worcester and many smaller cities. The American environment also provided low taxes and no established state church or monarchy! Add to this, the increasing population growth in Sweden made the “New World” look inviting.
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However, the voyage often left much to be desired for early travelers. Families were forced into very crowded conditions with poor food, no privacy and rampant diseases that caused many deaths enroute to the new world.
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Once the immigrants landed, they sought their earlier relatives or friends for guidance. By 1910, one fifth of all Swedes had their homes in America.
Most immigrants became classic pioneers, clearing and cultivating the prairies of the Great Plains, while others remained in the cities, particularly Chicago. Single young women usually went straight from agricultural work in the Swedish countryside to jobs as housemaids
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One major Swedish settlement developed at St. Paul, Minnesota. Lumber mills were hiring, a major brewery was in the area among other industries and these early industries attracted Swedish immigrants who settled into a valley area that became named as Svenska Dalen or Swede Hollow.
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The first settler to the valley was Edward Phalen in 1841. He sold his claim in 1844 to William Dugus who built Saint Paul's first sawmill on the creek. Other businesses followed and in 1865 the first train rolled through the 
valley heading to Duluth.
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Conditions were poor. There was no sewer or water service. When conditions for the family members improved, they moved out or “ Up the Street”. The vacant house would then be found by the next immigrant who would be happy to find a place to sleep and be able to converse with people they could understand.
As the Swedish settlers moved "up the street", other immigrant people moved into the empty houses: the Polish, Italian, and then the Spanish Americans.
valley heading to Duluth.
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Conditions were poor. There was no sewer or water service. When conditions for the family members improved, they moved out or “ Up the Street”. The vacant house would then be found by the next immigrant who would be happy to find a place to sleep and be able to converse with people they could understand.
As the Swedish settlers moved "up the street", other immigrant people moved into the empty houses: the Polish, Italian, and then the Spanish Americans.
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In December, 1956, the City Health Department found that Swede Hollow still did not have city water or a sewer system and declared the area a health hazard. The last fourteen families were moved out and the remaining homes were destroyed. In 1973, Svenska Dalen was designated a Saint Paul Park.----------------------
Swan J. Turnblad , who was born October 7, 1860, became an American newspaper publisher. Turnblad 
is most associated with Svenska Amerikanska Posten, a very popular Swedish language newspaper published in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Posten was well-read and the family prospered.His family in Sweden were farmers but following a series of bad harvests decided to immigrate to the United States in 1868 when Turnblad was the age of 8. 
The family settled in Vasa Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, where there was already a community of Swedish immigrants. About 10 years later, he headed to Minneapolis, where he worked as a typesetter at several Swedish-language newspapers.In 1903 Turnblad commissioned the building of a mansion in Park Avenue in Minneapolis. Turnblad had a firm design a 30-room mansion for him, his wife, and their daughter. After Turnblad's wife died in 1929, he and his daughter moved across the street and turned their former castle-like mansion home into a museum located on Minneapolis’ Park Avenue.
Just twenty-one years later, they gave it all away to the community, founding the organization that would become the American Swedish Institute. Since then, the community has added a welcoming reception area, café, gallery, event center, studio craft classroom, terrace, courtyard, and new Museum Shop space open to visitors who can tour the Turnblad Mansion, enjoy exhibitions in the Mansion and Osher Gallery, and experience contemporary Swedish and Nordic culture .
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The Swedish experience lives!
Svenska Dalen has become a beautiful Minnesota scene.
Welcome home!
Of course, if you go in the winter there's always the Northern Lights...
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