Just 300 km from home – bright sky and temperatures round -25 °C – finally a winter as it should be in Northern Sweden.
I shot theses photos in Solberget tonight. Here I will stay some days and visit the winter market in Jokkmokk.
I walk along a forest path. The snow has become too deep for the car. In the right hand I carry a large waterproof bag, in the left hand my bright red neoprene drysuit. On the back I have an ICROSS.
A what?
Let’s quote the ICROSS website: What is ICROSS? – ICROSS® is a new type of watercraft. It resembles a float tube, but has many characteristics of a kayak.
My friend Hans Brettschneider bought two ICROSS for his camping ground In Bureå and invited my to test them today. We want to paddle over the Baltic Sea to the near island Björkön. According to Hans the Baltic Sea is still open.
When I arrive in Bureå Hans already had started inflating the ICROSS with a motor-driven air pump. We put the rafts into his car and drive to a place near the beach where we manually inflate them until they are filled to the brim.
(You see the rectangular patch free of snow on the ICROSS? That’s where Hans’ iPad was before I took it away for the photo. Hans uses it as a camera and takes it into the snow, the hot sauna, just everywhere)
On the back of the ICROSS there are D-rings where you can attach belts to carry the ICROSS as a backpack. That’s what I do in the first photo. We start carrying the ICROSS until one of the plastic hooks of the belt breaks. We then realise that it is much easier to drag the raft behind like a sledge. It’s winter!
After 800 metres walk through the forest I arrive at the coast. I must laugh. The Baltic Sea is far beyond from being open. It is covered with ice and snow to the horizon! Is it just slush or solid ice? I put on my drysuit and life jacket and enter the sea ice. I splash through sludge but underneath there is ice thick enough to carry my weight.
Time to change plans.
Instead of paddling (or walking) to Björkön we take fika here at the coast. There’s even a table with benches. Hans has coffee and sandwiches while I have tea and a pretzel. It snows.
Hans however has a plan B in mind. Right beside his fantastic camping ground, just behind the sauna there’s the river Bureälven. And this stream is still open. After fika we walk to the car and take it to his camping ground. There we trudge through the snow to the sauna by the river.
Again we put on waterproof clothes and put the ICROSSes into water. We have to rearrange the belts that hold the seat to improve the balance, then it’s fun to paddle to and fro. While my touring kayak is long and keeps direction, the ICROSS is easy to turn and very agile. Anyway I wouldn’t use it for longer paddle trips. Too exhausting.
(Do you see what Hans has in his hands on the last photo? I told you that he takes his iPad everywhere.)
After a while of testing and taking pictures we go ashore. Did I mention the sauna? Hans had fired it before our winter paddling experiment. It is not hot, only 30 °C, but it’s nice to sit there and relax a bit. I go into the river again, this time for winter bathing. Then a bit of sauna again until we call it a day.
Tack for turen, Hans – thank you for the tour. And thanks for your photos, which I cropped and edited for this blog article.
The weather of the last weeks is easy to summarise: Much too warm! It hadn’t snowed for weeks and rain transformed the old snow into a solid layer of bare ice.
So it looked like 8 days ago when my German friend Delle and I walked over the ice to the island Storgrundet.
Some days ago it snowed, but only some millimetres. But the day before yesterday it has started snowing and yesterday it snows all day. 15 cm of fresh snow cover the ground and everything looks wintry again. Finally!
Yesterday it was Annika and me who walked over the ice to the island Storgrundet. Same place, but how different it looked!
Today it promises to be a nice sunny day with temperatures round -5 °C. But tomorrow it will be warm again, according to SMHI’s forecast up to 7 °C!
7 o’clock. The sun was still below the horizon but already colourised sky and sea at Storgrundet.
Some minutes later – looking into the opposite direction revealed another colour impression.
There was thin ice on this bay. It was partially broken. You may already guess, why. I’ll tell you.
I love bathing in the sea and this bay is my favourite beach and bathing place. In mid-August the water temperature had been 18 °C, in September it had fallen below 10 °C and this morning it was only around 0.7 °C.
Anyhow, time for another bath.
I undressed and started wading through the ice. First I stalked like a stork, than the water got deeper and thinner and I just walked normally, breaking the ice with my thighs.
Soon I reached both open water and swimming depth. I love bathing in cold water and think it’s invigorating and refreshing. Bathing before sunrise with these beautiful morning colours is an extra bonus.
After a bit of bathing and some swimming strokes I waded back to the beach. I already had expected cutting my legs at the sharp thin ice and so I did.
As long as the skin is cold, you hardly feel such scratches.
Being still wet I started freezing because the air was not warm neither. -9 °C the car thermometer had shown. Then the great moment came where I realised, that I had forgot to take a towel with me!
I dried myself a bit with my hands and slipped – wet as I was – into my clothes. And warm clothes it was!
This worked much better than expected and I decided to drive to the office directly. Arriving there only the tips of the socks felt a bit damp, the rest (outdoor pants and woollen sweater) felt warm and dry again.
Since the ice will get thicker and thicker every day I guess that this was the end of my bathing season 2019. At least at Storgrundet.
When I was a child I wanted to become a researcher. Of course I hadn’t the slightest idea, what a researcher really does. I assumed he would travel around the world looking for insects or collecting fossils – both passions of mine. Then my interests for maths and computer science as well as for jazz and playing piano grew more and more and my childhood dreams of beetles and trilobites faded into the background. To make a long story short: 1992 I started studying jazz piano and then worked as a musician; in 2002 I had started working with programming, which still is my main profession. I really like my job and the freedom that it gives me, but …
There are jobs that I would take instantly if I only had the chance.
Today was open day at the Polarforskningssekretariatet – the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat in Luleå. The Polarforskningssekretariatet “promotes the conditions for and coordinates Swedish research and development in the polar regions.”¹ It was really interesting and inspiring both to look around and to talk to the people working there.
If you know me, you also know about my passion for the Arctic regions, even though I only have visited a really tiny part. What you probably do not know is that I had contact with the Polarforskningssekretariatet some months ago. There had just published a job ad for a forskningsstödsamordnare – a research support coordinator – for the ship based expeditions to the Arctic. I applied for that job, although I guessed that without any fundamental experience within leading large international projects and especially research I wouldn’t have a chance. And I hadn’t. Today I learned that 80–100 people applied for that job.
I’m not disappointed, but a bit pensive. That would have been a job to my taste. Transforming needs into plans, working with international teams, travelling to Greenland or the North pole, but most of all: doing a meaningful job in times where climatical research is more and more crucial to humankind.
There are several lives I could have chosen. I could have become a mathematician, a composer or – following my childhood dreams – a scientist. It’s easy to say that I should have made other choices. If I were a scientist today I would miss my time as a jazz pianist. Life is just too short to squeeze in all the different interests. But just today I would have loved to become a part of the polar research in Sweden.
¹ quote taken from the English website.
This article is part of the series “2019-07: Southern Sweden”.
July 31 – August 1 – Grövelsjön, Röros, Flatruet, Ljungdalen, Stugun, Åsele
After a tent night in Grövelsjön (temperature minimum 5.7 °C) I take a morning stroll with several purposes: enjoying the fresh air, taking pictures and buying fresh bread for breakfast. My promenade starts at the “troll workshop” where guests are welcome to build their own wooden troll and place it beside the “troll trail”. From there I can spot some “wintry things”: a prohibition sign for scooters and red crosses marking the winter trail. I follow the red signs over a bog until I come to a road from where it isn’t far to Grövelsjön’s mountain bakery.
Annika and I have breakfast in the mountain lodge. Hm, the Brötchen are extremely delicious!
Actually I have planned to take a bath in the lake Guevteljaevrie nearby. The water was very clear but the car tires and metal scrap at the ground discouraged us.
You may realise that the name of the lake doesn’t look Swedish. You’re right. We are not only in Sweden but also in Laponia – the area of the Sámi people. Therefore towns, rivers, lakes and mountains have two names, a Sámi and a Swedish one. The Swedish name of Guevteljaevrie is Grövelsjön, as the village.
A small part of the lake is on Norwegian territory and Norway is our next destination, hardly 10 km away. Soon we are at the border.
We already met reindeers on the Swedish side, in Norway however they seem to be more numerous and they love to block roads.
In the lake Femund – Norways third largest lake – we catch up with the bathing. 13 °C in the water, much warmer in the sun. A nice place to relax.
Two and a half hours later we are in Røros. In this old mining town one could stay for days and write long articles. We however stay only for two hours. Just some snapshots:
After filling up the car we follow a small gravel road that leads us to a Norwegian mountain hut – a possible accommodation for the night. 2.5 km before the hut the road stops – at least for cars. Our luggage is chosen for travelling by car, not for hiking. So this hut that even may be fully booked is out of bounds. Will we find a shelter for the night?
#cliffhanger
Next morning we wake up in a bunk bed in our hostel in Funäsdalen. Of course we found an accommodation, not in Norway but in Sweden. After breakfast we pack our things – a daily routine – and start the next daily stage.
In Mittådalen we take a spontaneous stop. We have just crossed the river Mittån and spot a Sámi resort with souvenir shop. Beside the river there’s a kåta, a traditional Sámi hut. The word kåta is Swedish. The Sámi have several related languages and so their names for this type of dwelling vary: goahti, goahte, gábma, gåhte, gåhtie or gåetie.
We buy some souvenirs and continue. Soon we reach Flatruet, a place I’ve been especially looking forward to. Flatruet is a plateau above the tree line with a gorgeous view to all directions.
The last photo above shows the Helags massif with the Helags summit (1797metres above sea level).
I’ve been there in winter 2006 on a ski tour with J. and T. . It had been very stormy for two days and one of the huskies was so scared that she hid under the bed. We decided to abandon our ski tour. We skied to Ljungdalen where T. waited for a lift to Fjällnäs where he parked the car. Hours later he came back and we took the car over Flatruet. I had never experienced anything that looked as arctic as this snowy road leading through an infinite white void. Here’s a photo that I took from the car 12½ years ago:
That’s the reason why you should visit all Scandinavian places at least twice. In winter they are completely different than in summer.
Back to present: I hardly can tear my eyes away from Flatruet but we have to leave. It’s at least 400 km to Åsele, our today’s destination. Some more stops on the way – some of them caused by reindeers again.
In the evening we arrive in Åsele. Here we will visit M. and F. and stay overnight. Before dinner there’s time to cuddle some sheep.
Now we’re almost home. To Annika’s flat in Umeå it’s only 164 km and another 130 km to my house in Skelleftehamn. “Peanuts” compared with the long distance the last days.
Next day Annika will be home again and the day after me, too. What a wonderful journey!
This article is part of the series “2019-07: Southern Sweden”.
July 26 – Crea Diem Bokcafé in Od Kyrkby and Solviken bathing place
It’s really hot weather in Europe and so in Sweden (though not as extreme as e.g. in Germany). Time to focus on drinking lemonade in the shadow in the book café, not moving too much, trying to avoid the wasps, eating ice cream and of course taking long baths in the lake Ärtingen together with our friends and hosts Annika and Jonas.
And with this recipe the day becomes another nice one on Annika’s and my summer holiday.
Later that day – after an abundant dinner – we played music together. Clarinet, viola, double bass and piano. Sorry, no recordings and no photos neither.
This article is part of the series “2019-07: Southern Sweden”.
17 July – Mälarhusen—Figaholm
Today we leave Skåne and continue to the historical province Småland, home of Astrid Lindgren and many of her characters. But before we start our tour we have breakfast and before breakfast we take a morning bath in the Baltic Sea. 12 °C water temperature – a bit chilly. We lock the tiny, cozy house where we stayed the night and start our car trip north.
We make many small stopovers and bath three other times this day, enjoying the fresh water and the warm sun.
Some photos:
This article is part of the series “2019-07: Southern Sweden”.
12 July, Jogersö—Gränna—Bjärnum
It always seems to be the third night in a tent, when I got used to the camping mat and sleep very well. Nevertheless I’m looking forward to a real bed. Annika and I dry the sleeping bags and the tent in the sun and have breakfast. Half past nine we start our journey farther south. We have to drive 413 km, mostly on the E4, the very same European route, that connects Umeå, Skellefteå, Piteå and Luleå.
Here it connects Nyköping, Norrköping, Linköping and Jönköping. While å stands for river, köping means market town.
We stop in Gränna, a town by the lake Vättern which is Sweden’s second largest lake. Here’s a large campsite, a lovingly designed minigolf course, a ferry to the island Visingsö and – most important for us now: several restaurants and ice cream shops. Children are wading in the water, grown up are sunbathing on the public benches, the place is touristic but not crowded.
There are nice bathing places along the coast of the Vättern, so we bath twice, first in Röttle, then near Sjöbergen. Since the Vättern is so large you can think that you bath in the North Sea or Baltic Sea – until you taste the water. It’s fresh, not brackish or salty.
Röttle has another attraction besides its bathing place: there were severals water mills. Here we stroll around for a while.
After our long break we continue our car trip southwards. We cross the border to Skåne, the southernmost part of Sweden. In the evening we arrive in Bjärnum.
You see the light behind the front window of the house? That’s our place for the next days.
A word to the title of the article: Sweden is divided into three parts: Norrland in the north, Svealand in the middle and Götaland in the south. The population density in Götaland and Svealand is more than ten times as high as in Norrland.
This article is part of the series “2019-07: Southern Sweden”.
11 July, Turku—Stockholm—Jogersö
After our side trip to Finland we are sitting in the car and waiting to be allowed to drive on the car ferry Amorella, that connects Turku with Stockholm. Soon we enter the car deck.
We go up the stairs until we reach the upper deck. The journey takes eleven hours. While we wait for the departure another large ferry leaves Turku.
At 8:43 the ferry leaves. We drive through the Turku Archipelago that consists of more than 20000 islands and skerries. The large islands are wooded. Impressive wooden villas are hiding between the trees and small huts that look like carved are by the sea.
After a while we reach more open water. The islands nearby are smaller skerries, some wooded, some rocky.
While the islands pass by there’s a lot of entertainment inside. Bingo – minigolf – dance band – face painting for kids and much more.
At lunch time we enjoy the extensive buffet on board. Here is an expert of the menu. Although it’s Finnish some of the words like paprikaa or palsternakkaa are understandable.
The ferry makes a stopover in Mariehamn, capital of Åland. Here several ferries meet. They connect Åland with Sweden, Finland and Estonia.
Åland is an autonomous territory. Although it lies under Finnish sovereignty it is Swedish-speaking. At the terminal nine flags are fluttering in the wind. From left to right it’s:
Sweden, Norway, Greenland, EU, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Denmark, Finland and Åland.
After the stopover we continue our journey to Sweden. Sometimes it’s cloudy, sometimes it’s sunny and we can sit or lie on the top deck. There’s a small wooden platform right in front of the huge chimney that is perfect for sunbathing. We say goodbye to the islands of Åland and an open water passage lies before us.
After a while we see the first rocky skerry, the first trees, the first houses. We have reached the Stockholm Archipelago, that consists of ca. 24000 islands. We are back in Sweden and slowly we are approaching Stockholm.
Before we dock in Södermalm, we have to leave the top deck to enter our car. It’s Annika who is going to drive. I’m too scared to drive in Stockholm.
Our plan is to leave the greater Stockholm area as fast as possible and look for a campsite. Annika masters the chaos on the road behind the ferry terminal, where’s a big pushing and shoving. Priority rules? Who cares …! She masters the huge four-lane motorway, too.
South of Södertälje the traffic decreases. Now it’s only one hour left to Oxelösund where we want to look for a place to stay. We drive to the island Jogersö and arrive six minutes after the reception of the campsite has closed. Luckily the receptionist is still there and we are allowed to come in. All small cabins are occupied but there’s always place for a tent. So we put up our tent, eat bread and cheese and finally I have to take a bath in the sea before going to sleep.
When we lie in our sleeping bags ready to fall asleep it starts to rain. Just gemütlich!