Wot we did in Sweden
Here is my delayed Sweden report. Hey the weather has been too good here to be stuck behind a computer!
Saturday – We flew out mid afternoon on the squeeziest 737 ever, but you shouldn’t look a gift flight in the mouth! Landed in Stockholm and made camp, at the lovely 4 star Bern’s Hotel, didn’t even need to get the sleeping bags out. Went for a walk around the old town and harbour. A more beautiful city is hard to find. For dinner we went to a traditional beer hall, Czech beer but great Swedish food. Senta had Reindeer stew and I had deer fillet, which were both fantastic. After nice stroll home we were in bed before dark.
http://www.berns.se/english/hotell/index.php
http://www.kvarnen.com/
Sunday – Well I can’t say that I have ever had a grander breakfast. The Berns club/restaurant/breakfast room is an old 1860’s ballroom with huge chandeliers. The smorgasbord was huge as well. Too work that off we went for a walk to the Vasa museum which contains the raised 17th century warship. Then more of a tour around the sights including a climb to the top of the windy town hall tower, had to retire for rest and then get out for another great meal, this time a more conventional beef steak.
http://tinyurl.com/2vakc
Monday- After another huge breakfast we went out t o the airport and picked up the spiffy little Ford Fiesta. Pretty much a driving day heading out north west with a few stops at small towns and scenic spots (you should see Mora on your maps). The countryside was fantastic, early green farmland giving away to lakes, rivers and forest. We camped out on a lake near Sarna at one of the great huts that are scattered around. One thing is the mozzies, land of a thousand lakes and a billion mosquitoes!
Tuesday – Sunrise at 2am, on go the Emirates supplied eye shades and then back to sleep. A nice breakkie and then broke camp and hit the road again. Went to the Langfallet National Park near the Norwegian border. Went for a couple of hikes around there. Bloody windy and cold. The photo of me in Norway was there. Relations between the two countries are good, the fence is there to stop reindeer herds (which we saw) applying for asylum. Found another hut and light a fire to huddle around for a lunch break. Actually it was great. Headed back down to a town called Idre and managed to find a hut campground very close to town, on a river, opposite a caravan park.
http://fujirangefinder.com/document.php?id=2318
Wednesday – This was the big hike day. We through the forest and climbed a mountain called Stadjan, which is in the photos. So goddamn windy up there it was incredible. Found a great cabin facility to rest for lunch and headed back. This was a bit tricky as the forest floor seemed to be most made of water soaked sponge like plants. Made for some tricky footwork and I only once stuck my foot ankle deep in mud. After two nights out free camping we thought it was time for a shower, so we took a cabin a ski resort and lived it up. It was so clear and sunny at 9pm, we called it “a beautiful day tonight”. The ski slopes were pathetic (says the old hand) and we walked to the top to watch the suns last rays across 360 degrees of scenery. The TV was a hoot. Swedish free to air is generally in English, with Swedish subtitle. Hard to believe but we saw The Block (7pm), Aust vs Germany soccer, ads for a reality show in the outback called Miss Personality and the Rexona stunt ad filmed in Sydney. A bizarre night of Aussie.
http://www.idrefjall.se/
Thursday – After second cleansing showers we headed south for another road day. We stopped of at the Njuperskars Waterfall. The country was incredible and reminded me of areas of the USA near the Rockies. We continued south east and targeted a town called Ludvika. Unfortunately we realised that we were too close to Stockholm now to get any nice camp huts, so we were fairly disappointed. We tried our luck and turned down a smaller road in to the forest with a hope of finding a clearing to set up for the night. We saw a dirt turn off and thought we’d give it a go. About 500m in we found a grassed cleared and were chuffed. Then we look around and found full camp hut and kitchen, we couldn’t believe our luck. The main benefit of the huts is that you get sheltered seats and a table to cook and eat dinner, rather than grovelling on the ground. We read till about 11pm, by natural light!
http://tinyurl.com/7g77f
Friday – We headed straight to the University town of Uppsala, about 80km north of Stockholm. Got there by lunchtime and found a cheapie hotel. We chose this town as it was only about 30 minutes drive to the airport for Saturday. It was really a pleasant surprise, very laid back and cool. Lots of great old building and cafes. In the late afternoon we visited the nearby site of Gamla Uppsala which contains the ancient burial mounds of pre Viking Kings. Another evening spent was spent cruising the town for food and drink, as you do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala
http://www.raa.se/olduppsala/index.asp
Saturday – Basically a rush to the airport to drop the car and check in. After a few hiccups along the way we got to the plane about 15 minutes before the departure time (we were at the airport well before time but queues and procedures were a nightmare) and were rewarded with an upgrade to business class in a full aircraft. OK it only meant a decent seat and a free meal, but the idea of being upgraded on a free flight wasn’t lost on us. Back in Zurich at 1.20pm, home by 2.15pm. That night met a friend of Annettes whose mother lives in Uppsala. Freaky.
And yes, more Volvo’s than you could poke a stick at. Think Holden, we saw the equivalent of FJ’s, Eh’s to VX’s everywhere.
Happy Snaps are here.
Saturday – We flew out mid afternoon on the squeeziest 737 ever, but you shouldn’t look a gift flight in the mouth! Landed in Stockholm and made camp, at the lovely 4 star Bern’s Hotel, didn’t even need to get the sleeping bags out. Went for a walk around the old town and harbour. A more beautiful city is hard to find. For dinner we went to a traditional beer hall, Czech beer but great Swedish food. Senta had Reindeer stew and I had deer fillet, which were both fantastic. After nice stroll home we were in bed before dark.
http://www.berns.se/english/hotell/index.php
http://www.kvarnen.com/
Sunday – Well I can’t say that I have ever had a grander breakfast. The Berns club/restaurant/breakfast room is an old 1860’s ballroom with huge chandeliers. The smorgasbord was huge as well. Too work that off we went for a walk to the Vasa museum which contains the raised 17th century warship. Then more of a tour around the sights including a climb to the top of the windy town hall tower, had to retire for rest and then get out for another great meal, this time a more conventional beef steak.
http://tinyurl.com/2vakc
Monday- After another huge breakfast we went out t o the airport and picked up the spiffy little Ford Fiesta. Pretty much a driving day heading out north west with a few stops at small towns and scenic spots (you should see Mora on your maps). The countryside was fantastic, early green farmland giving away to lakes, rivers and forest. We camped out on a lake near Sarna at one of the great huts that are scattered around. One thing is the mozzies, land of a thousand lakes and a billion mosquitoes!
Tuesday – Sunrise at 2am, on go the Emirates supplied eye shades and then back to sleep. A nice breakkie and then broke camp and hit the road again. Went to the Langfallet National Park near the Norwegian border. Went for a couple of hikes around there. Bloody windy and cold. The photo of me in Norway was there. Relations between the two countries are good, the fence is there to stop reindeer herds (which we saw) applying for asylum. Found another hut and light a fire to huddle around for a lunch break. Actually it was great. Headed back down to a town called Idre and managed to find a hut campground very close to town, on a river, opposite a caravan park.
http://fujirangefinder.com/document.php?id=2318
Wednesday – This was the big hike day. We through the forest and climbed a mountain called Stadjan, which is in the photos. So goddamn windy up there it was incredible. Found a great cabin facility to rest for lunch and headed back. This was a bit tricky as the forest floor seemed to be most made of water soaked sponge like plants. Made for some tricky footwork and I only once stuck my foot ankle deep in mud. After two nights out free camping we thought it was time for a shower, so we took a cabin a ski resort and lived it up. It was so clear and sunny at 9pm, we called it “a beautiful day tonight”. The ski slopes were pathetic (says the old hand) and we walked to the top to watch the suns last rays across 360 degrees of scenery. The TV was a hoot. Swedish free to air is generally in English, with Swedish subtitle. Hard to believe but we saw The Block (7pm), Aust vs Germany soccer, ads for a reality show in the outback called Miss Personality and the Rexona stunt ad filmed in Sydney. A bizarre night of Aussie.
http://www.idrefjall.se/
Thursday – After second cleansing showers we headed south for another road day. We stopped of at the Njuperskars Waterfall. The country was incredible and reminded me of areas of the USA near the Rockies. We continued south east and targeted a town called Ludvika. Unfortunately we realised that we were too close to Stockholm now to get any nice camp huts, so we were fairly disappointed. We tried our luck and turned down a smaller road in to the forest with a hope of finding a clearing to set up for the night. We saw a dirt turn off and thought we’d give it a go. About 500m in we found a grassed cleared and were chuffed. Then we look around and found full camp hut and kitchen, we couldn’t believe our luck. The main benefit of the huts is that you get sheltered seats and a table to cook and eat dinner, rather than grovelling on the ground. We read till about 11pm, by natural light!
http://tinyurl.com/7g77f
Friday – We headed straight to the University town of Uppsala, about 80km north of Stockholm. Got there by lunchtime and found a cheapie hotel. We chose this town as it was only about 30 minutes drive to the airport for Saturday. It was really a pleasant surprise, very laid back and cool. Lots of great old building and cafes. In the late afternoon we visited the nearby site of Gamla Uppsala which contains the ancient burial mounds of pre Viking Kings. Another evening spent was spent cruising the town for food and drink, as you do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala
http://www.raa.se/olduppsala/index.asp
Saturday – Basically a rush to the airport to drop the car and check in. After a few hiccups along the way we got to the plane about 15 minutes before the departure time (we were at the airport well before time but queues and procedures were a nightmare) and were rewarded with an upgrade to business class in a full aircraft. OK it only meant a decent seat and a free meal, but the idea of being upgraded on a free flight wasn’t lost on us. Back in Zurich at 1.20pm, home by 2.15pm. That night met a friend of Annettes whose mother lives in Uppsala. Freaky.
And yes, more Volvo’s than you could poke a stick at. Think Holden, we saw the equivalent of FJ’s, Eh’s to VX’s everywhere.
Happy Snaps are here.
posted by Greg Walton at 1:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home