Are: A slice of life at these World Championships

ARE, Sweden — It’s easy to feel at home in this historic ski resort nestled in a valley cradled by a river-turned-lake.
    The mountains that flank the series of five hamlets are rounded and white, with overstuffed pine trees blanketing the hills.  
    Once on top of the main ski hill, you can see a vast Scandinavian mountain range topped by a brilliant blue sky. The landscape is similar to the Vail Valley in Colorado or Park City, Utah.
    The “ski” part of the area has been around since the early 20th century. Just outside our apartment sits a functioning 100-year-old funicular that carries skiers to chairlifts and residents to their abodes.
    The more than 1,000 people who live and work in Are are the same kind of snow- and nature-loving sorts you’d find in American resorts.
    They relish living in a winter wonderland.
    They live a prized life on a modest budget.
    They work so they can ski.
    The following are vignettes that we hope give some insight into what it feels like to be at these World Championships.

The understated Swede
    The characteristics of golden-blonde hair, glass-blue eyes and rosy cheeks are what most people picture when thinking of a Swede.
    That’s not far from reality, at least in Are.

ARE, Sweden — It’s easy to feel at home in this historic ski resort nestled in a valley cradled by a river-turned-lake.
    The mountains that flank the series of five hamlets are rounded and white, with overstuffed pine trees blanketing the hills.  
    Once on top of the main ski hill, you can see a vast Scandinavian mountain range topped by a brilliant blue sky. The landscape is similar to the Vail Valley in Colorado or Park City, Utah.
    The “ski” part of the area has been around since the early 20th century. Just outside our apartment sits a functioning 100-year-old funicular that carries skiers to chairlifts and residents to their abodes.
    The more than 1,000 people who live and work in Are are the same kind of snow- and nature-loving sorts you’d find in American resorts.
    They relish living in a winter wonderland.
    They live a prized life on a modest budget.
    They work so they can ski.
    Several American and Canadian ski racers have commented how much at home they feel, despite the frigid, yet somewhat-normal low temperatures in the minus-15 Fahrenheit range.
    It helps that nearly everyone in Sweden speaks English. Kids here take seven to eight years of it in grammar school.
    “We like living here because it’s kind of exotic. The very cold temperatures and ice crystals floating in the air are so beautiful,” said Helena, a hotel front-desk attendant. “So many places considered ‘exotic’ are warm, like Australia. But here, we are special.”
    She’s right.
    The following are vignettes that we hope give some insight into what it feels like to be at these World Championships.

The understated Swede
    The characteristics of golden-blonde hair, glass-blue eyes and rosy cheeks are what most people picture when thinking of a Swede.
    That’s not far from reality, at least in Are.
    The people here also have coal-black hair and thin, slender builds. Swedes in this region have been on cross-country skis for most of their lives and they weather the cold because, “that’s the way it’s been done for eons.”
    The Swedes greet visitors and each other with a high-pitched “Hey!” They are unassuming and disarming to clumsy foreigners uncomfortable in the cold or those trying to decipher a menu or pricelist.
    The locals are helpful without being overbearing, but more friendly than a typical resort employee sporting an “us-against-them” attitude.
    ”Tak” means thank-you and as a visitor, you use the word often.
    Picking up laundry at a service center one evening, the attendant ended up helping us with dinner reservations. She also allowed us to pay her the next day for the laundry because our credit card was on the fritz. She didn’t even ask for other identification.
    “Tak, tak, tak,” we said.
    “It’s nothing, really,” the attendant said — and she meant it.
    Swedish television is interesting. The unfortunate American TV reality show “COPS” has found its way here, as has a Swedish version of “Who Wants to be Millionaire.” Popular American sit-coms such as the “Simpsons” and “My Name is Earl” also are nightly TV choices, with Swedish subtitles, of course.
    As for the World Championships?
    The locals seem understatedly happy to be hosting the event and downright thrilled that Swedish darling Anja Paerson has swept all three golds in three women’s events so far.
    “I just can’t believe Anja right now. There’s so much confidence coming from her,” said Helena, a front-desk hotel attendant. “We love her.”

Where reindeer rules and vodka is old fashioned
    What began as a simple choice — “You’ll drink vodka and like it” — has evolved to the point where drinking alcohol in Sweden also encompasses the best in beer and wine.
    As told to a couple of tired and hungry journalists by the manager, Tomas, at the cozy, house-turned-restaurant Villa Tottebo in the center of Are on Monday night, the Swedes love their vodka but prefer to sip it at special times and not put it away like water as, he said, many Russians do.
    Some of the better vodka in the world is produced in Sweden, but Tomas said the population has branched out from its traditional love and into imported wine and beer. After all, Tomas said, Sweden isn’t known for its abundance of vineyards. In fact, it doesn’t produce any.
    The wine list at Villa Tottebo was extensive, and Tomas advised a hearty red Ripasso from the northern reaches of Italy, around Venice, for a meal of Swedish meatballs. Covered by mildly sweet gravy, the meatballs were delicious. It was a second meal of the day that included the meat of reindeer, as ubiquitous an animal in these parts as the beef cow is in the States. They have been raised for years and still are by the native people in Sweden, the Sami Nation.
    Tomas said the Swedish people have never been afraid to branch out and try new things in many areas of life, including alcoholic beverages. The official malted drink of choice during these two weeks is Carlsberg beer. The Danish brewery’s signature label is a presenting sponsor at these World Championships. The green label is plastered everywhere in Are, you can’t escape it.
    First impression of the drink? Not bad afte
r a long day in the pressroom. It satisfies your thirst, but we wouldn’t go out of our way to buy it. The taste struck us as a lot like a mass-produced domestic beer back in the States.
    A little more on Villa Tottebo. Located in a small red house that resembles a barn with a steeply pitched roof and Scandinavian-inspired details, the atmosphere inside was unpretentious and welcoming, sort of like the whole of Are and most of the Swedish people — friendly but modest, classy but not flashy.
    Along with the Swedish meatballs, our other course was goat cheese-stuffed ravioli accompanied with black root and asparagus. Very tasty.
    As for the finale, we ordered two of the same sinfully good chocolate desserts that consisted of a dense chocolate brownie that was covered in mocha-flavored ice cream and topped with an espresso-covered wafer.  
    For a little more than $100 for two people, dinner and drinks at Villa Tottebo were divine.

Activities in abundance at worlds 
    Daily concerts, snowmobile driving, ice fishing and ski video games are proof that organizers of the Are World Championships didn’t forget about fun off the slopes.
    Part of what has made this event so special is the myriad activities in which to lose yourself — or your kids — when not watching the world’s best ski racers perform.
    The valley’s lake, Aresjon (Lake Are), is the site for snowmobile riding, dog sledding and a local favorite, ice fishing for char. Just overhead, snowkiters catch wind coming down off the mountains and across the lake to fly effortlessly.
    Nearly every day there is a concert at the Festival Arena or in the main village on a huge amphitheater with an equally huge video. Everything from Swedish hip-hop to soulful acoustic guitar to drum-beating Scandinavian tunes can be heard and viewed.
    The World Championships also pay tribute to “new-generation events” by hosting nighttime competitions in freestyle, moguls and snowmobile jumping.
    Take a stroll through the Festival Arena, the main center for everything fun, and you’ll quickly see that kids rule here. There is a Polar Zone for kiddos who can try their hand at a treasure hunt, slalom competition and climbing and rappelling. The savvy Swedes even set up a pseudo golf driving range.
    But what seems to have garnered the most attention is the widescreen video game in which kids steer a downhill skier through a course. You can do it too if you log on to www.Are2007.com.
    Go for it.

    — Sam Flickinger contributed to this story