We were fortunate enough to get a winter renter for our house in Saint Paul, but that further delayed my plans for a Spring visit. Then my parents began to consider a fun opportunity because the grandson of long-time family friends shared news of his upcoming Concordia College Choir Scandinavian tour. As a Concordia alumna, Go Cobbers, I was also excited for an excuse to travel to Uppsala for a special event. The idea spurred us on and we got the ball rolling for an Anderson trip to Sweden! We checked the CC tour dates for Sweden and were pleased to see that they aligned well with our Gotland Girl’s concert. In spite of feeling intense anxiety about international travel, my parents were highly motivated to see us in Lund and have the chance to see the two concerts as well.
In retrospect, I seriously underestimated how challenging it would be to travel around Sweden using public transportation. But we persevered and Mom especially pushed herself to make it work. She did a whole lot more walking than expected, and I think she even surprised herself with how much she was able to manage! We came in hot for the journey to Uppsala with a local bus, to the regional high speed train, to the commuter train, then walking to the hotel, followed by a half mile walk to Uppsala’s Cathedral. It was too much, but at least things went smoothly and we arrived in time to enjoy the concert and meet up with the Gregoires. It was shocking to think it could be 30 years since I last saw Heidi. Though memory fails me, it was probably shortly after the time when I was in Concordia’s Bel Canto Choir myself. And now our similarly aged children were both having choir events in Sweden… it’s kind of mind blowing! Here’s a bit about Martan’s musical life. The concert was beautiful, and had there been a prize for fans traveling farthest, I’m sure my folks would have won it! I’m so proud of their achievement. It’s not easy to take risks and leave your comfort zone.
We needed some time to rest and recover from the journey and the rigors of public transit so we spent another full day in Uppsala. Dad and I roamed around town and toured the Linnaeus Museum, home and Botanic gardens. It was quite interesting but there was very little acknowledgement of the racism and harm to indigenous peoples (and flora!) that was done in the name of science. I’m on team Linné Must Fall. In my opinion it is possible and necessary to acknowledge both the harms and positive contributions, restore native biomes, give credit where it’s due, re-examine, consider the consequences and harms that might result more carefully and move forward with better, more ethical science. It’s great that CL and others documented and created new systems…but the nerve of these guys acting like they discovered everything and then naming things after themselves. Did they consult any Sámi plant experts with their 1000+ years of deep connection to their environment? I guess not, especially since most of those botanists were not only of a people whom Linnaeus literally NAMED a “sub-species” but also most likely women. Poor old Carl had a terrible time ensuring an heir to his work because he and his wife (who funded his ventures) had mostly daughters and they could only be ‘educated to run a household’. He did teach them some botany at home, though I find little sympathy for the von Linnè dynasty dying out only 5 years after Carl passed away when his remaining son also died without having any children. Would he have chosen to give his daughters a formal education had he known?
On a nicer note, I greatly admire CL’s choice of the Twinflower as his official emblem. That was a boss move! I love the symbolism and idea of having a personal motif. He went all in on this cute, persnickety little flower. I think designing your own coat of arms/ family emblem would be one of the best things about being made a Swedish noble. We later saw a cup and saucer of the twinflower patterned china at the Hallwyl museum in Stockholm. I guess I will long remember this charming detail about CL (and that his great-grandmother was accused of being a witch and then murdered for that preposterous charge against her. Maybe because she loved plants, used herbal remedies or dared to voice her ideas?) Oops, I’m struggling to end on a positive note. Cheers to the lovely and unusual china pattern and the amazing wild tulips and fritillaria!
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