Inland, to the Forest

We took a trip to our nearest waterfall, Västanåfallet, 40 kms inland, and walked up the side. Our spiked shoes got a good test because the "path" was very icy. On the steepest sections, steps, almost ladders, are provided but each step was filled with hard snow so I'm not sure they helped much!
This picture is taken at the top where a bridge crosses the beck. We crossed the bridge and went down the other side where there is much less of a path and no-one had walked in the snow. It meant we got better grip and those who preferred could slide down the steepest bit on their bum in the soft snow.
We finished the day at a nearby cafe where people seemed fairly laid back. After the guy serving took our order he told us they'd actually closed 15 minutes ago, but no worry's, they'd do our burgers. As we sat there eating he came back and said he was locking up and going home now, but we could let ourselves out the side door when we'd finished!!! It wasn't quite as wild as it sounds as there were a couple of people working in side offices down a corridor so the cafe/shop wasn't entirely our own when he left but even so, it was quite a surprise.
The cafe is doing well just now because there is a large group of workers living in the village and building 122 wind turbines just outside it, which will tower over the forest and deliver a lot of electricity. We chatted with a local guy about the project. He said there were benefits; it brings money to the area (the local council gets a % of the profit), but  drawbacks too. It's hard to sell "wilderness" experiences when you can see 122 wind turbines sedately turning.
Our visitors were quietly surprised that all the people we met in this little village just smoothly switched into English when we said our visitors came from the UK!

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