A Visit to Löfstad Castle

A Visit to Löfstad Castle

A while ago, I wrote about exploring Händelö, the first stop on Kerstin’s and my 4-day summer séjour.  What other places did we visit? Day1. Löfstad Castle Our second stop, after Händelö, is Löfstad Castle. This castle, built in the 1600s, has been privately owned until it was bequeathed by the last owner, Emilie Piper (1857-1926), to the House of Nobility (Riddarhuset) and Östergötland’s Museum. […]

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Lotten’s Letter: Mourning a Grandmother

Lotten’s Letter: Mourning a Grandmother

Lotten Westman’s letter to Augusta, Stockholm, 25? March 1846 (Wednesday) My own beloved Augusta! If I did not know you and that you would forgive me, I would hardly dare to write to you after such a long silence. Maybe I thought it was longer than you found it to be because I’ve been thinking about writing to you all the time and longing for an […]

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Happy Birthday, Kerstin!

Happy Birthday, Kerstin!

Happy Birthday, Kerstin! Kerstin and I are often told how lucky we are to have an old family diary as a source and a guide for our travels and research. What I think is more important in life is to have a bosom friend, a kindred spirit, and someone who inspires you and make you laugh. So my answer should be that – how fortunate […]

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A Winter Funeral in Umeå

A Winter Funeral in Umeå

In my last blog, I wrote about Augusta’s friend Lotten and her family. I mentioned that her grandfather, the famous pharmacist, Carl Johan Fredrik (CJF) Plageman, had moved to northern Sweden with his second wife, Eva Sofia. On a wintry day in 1853, she died. Letters from CJF Plagemann to his daughter, Dorothea, who lived in Stockholm, describe all the details of the funeral and […]

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In Search of Dora and Finding Dorothea Plagemann

In Search of Dora and Finding Dorothea Plagemann

Stockholm, 22 January 1846 My own, beloved Augusta! Thank you, thank you, my good friend for your last letter, even though I had to wait quite some time to get it. But I will not scold you, only thank you so much for your last letter. I should probably start by thanking you for your good wishes for the new year. … You know what? […]

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