Krageholm, Sweden
I've had a lazy few days in many ways, a bit drained from the cycle maybe, but have still managed to see and do quite a bit. Most of all I've enjoyed just hanging out and embracing the typical Swedish life. Everything I've encountered here so far has felt quite normal - whilst the country has many of their own traditions, nothing feels in any way alien. I like it a lot.
It's a great country both to visit, and by many measures one of the best in the world to live - high GDP, quite liberal, low inequality of income, and one of the most well run governments. It's more than twice the size of the UK with about a fifth of the population and climate wise in the south where most people live isn't too dissimilar to us. And the scenery is pretty nice too!
So, a bit of a (long) dear diary on the past week:
Saturday
Went to Sandhammeren; the finest beach in Sweden, which had very fine sand and was quite rural, with unspoilt dunes behind backed by a forest; very nice. Sea was a bit cold that day mind.
Went to Sandhammeren; the finest beach in Sweden, which had very fine sand and was quite rural, with unspoilt dunes behind backed by a forest; very nice. Sea was a bit cold that day mind.
After, we went to Sweden's answer to Stonehenge - Ales Stenar, followed by lunch at a seafood cafe called Kasebera. I had the local delicacy - breaded and double fried herring with mash and lingerberry jam, alongside a ginger beer which I'm told is a rare drink here.
Later, back at Krageholm we watched Wallander - a BBC crime drama series that was actually filmed around the local area, having been originally written by a Swedish author.
Sunday
Painted the spare bedroom, getting more on me than the walls. In the afternoon oldest sister Ebba came home to celebrate her 21st birthday, with family and family friends coming for tea. All very friendly and interesting people. The conversation amongst the group was mostly in Swedish with regular outakes to explain to me the gist of what was going on. Sometimes everyone would converse together in English before switching back, which is a funny sensation.
Painted the spare bedroom, getting more on me than the walls. In the afternoon oldest sister Ebba came home to celebrate her 21st birthday, with family and family friends coming for tea. All very friendly and interesting people. The conversation amongst the group was mostly in Swedish with regular outakes to explain to me the gist of what was going on. Sometimes everyone would converse together in English before switching back, which is a funny sensation.
Finished the day by watching 'I'm Not There' about Bob Dylan. A bit too deep abstract and philosophical for me but not bad.
Monday
Back to nature today. Walk round Krageholm lake following wild boar tracks for a fair bit of it, it transpires they're able to go many places that I can't. After lunch a lorry came to collect barley from one of their 600 tonne bins so I spent an hour or so shovelling out the last of the grain and learning how their £250k silo setup works.
Back to nature today. Walk round Krageholm lake following wild boar tracks for a fair bit of it, it transpires they're able to go many places that I can't. After lunch a lorry came to collect barley from one of their 600 tonne bins so I spent an hour or so shovelling out the last of the grain and learning how their £250k silo setup works.
After tea, Christer took Constant (French student) and I on safari around the estate in the pick up. We saw elk in the zoo next door, then back on the estate forest, loads of German hares and roe deer - both a pest that are regularly hunted. As are wild pigs and even badgers - legally!
Tuesday
Bit of a business morning doing banking, bills, research etc. You can't escape some things!
Bit of a business morning doing banking, bills, research etc. You can't escape some things!
For a trip out I went with Christer running errands to the local town of Sjobo to a hardware store and tyre shop. He knew the guy well, and he showed me how they repair huge tyres from quarry trucks, which was more interesting than it sounds, to me at least.
Back the house I was tasked with assembling a flat pack wardrobe (which surprisingly wasn't Ikea), and then got a tour around the woodchip boiler system which heats all the houses in the hamlet, as well as the corn drying system, using wood from their forest; very good setup.
Wednesday
Christer had to visit Malmo - the third biggest city so I went along for the ride. Whilst there he showed me around the docks area, as well as 'the turning torso' skyscraper, which I'd seen in a photo before but didn't know where it was in the world.... til now.
Christer had to visit Malmo - the third biggest city so I went along for the ride. Whilst there he showed me around the docks area, as well as 'the turning torso' skyscraper, which I'd seen in a photo before but didn't know where it was in the world.... til now.
Back the farm I was shown the rooftop solar panel setup they installed last year, before going 20 mins up the road to see Christer's sister for tea. Red deer steaks, shot on the farm and cooked to perfection.
Thursday
Spent a fair bit of the day researching and planning both the next bit in Sweden, and some stuff for Germany. I also got back on the the bike for the first time for a ride around the lakes and down to the coast, and guess what, got a puncture! The first in well over 1500 miles, definitely a personal record.
Spent a fair bit of the day researching and planning both the next bit in Sweden, and some stuff for Germany. I also got back on the the bike for the first time for a ride around the lakes and down to the coast, and guess what, got a puncture! The first in well over 1500 miles, definitely a personal record.
Friday
Once again spent the morning on the net trying to research and organise the next step of the trip, hopefully the last for a while. Bought an Interrail pass to get around Sweden over the next few weeks.
Once again spent the morning on the net trying to research and organise the next step of the trip, hopefully the last for a while. Bought an Interrail pass to get around Sweden over the next few weeks.
Youngest daughter Astrid is off to college further up north today, so I've decided to get a lift with them, and with summer starting to disappear travel round the rest of the country for a few weeks. Thermals packed just in case!
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