Go see!!

 

Konstmuseet, Göteborg in January 

A wild idea turned into a project with a significant budget and a strictly limited time plan. SEK 65000 for a rail pass and twelve months to go see Sweden. My hypothesis was that it would all be doable with public transportation. Others might have rented a car now and then but I didn’t have that option. Boats, buses and trains it had to be. 

All in all, I made 44 journeys. I spent 95 nights on trains and in hotels. I used nine days of saved vacation time. It was an incredible year - here’s a recap. 

Jan 6 Sundsvall 

Jan 9-10 Malmö 

Jan 24 Göteborg 

Feb 6-7 Östersund 

Feb 21 Karlstad 

March 6 Växjö 

March 19-21 Storlien 

April 1-3 Malmö, Trelleborg, Smygehuk, Lund 

April 11 Västerås 

April 17-23 Visby, Fårösund, Burgsvik 

April 29-May 3 Storvallen, Storlien 

May 17 Oslo 

May 27-29 Falsterbo, Lund, Malmö 

June 4-7 Köpenhamn, Malmö, Sofiero 

June 11-13 Härnösand 

June 20-22 Mölle, Kullaberg, Malmö 

June 23-28 Storulvån 

June 30 Linköping 

July 8 Gävle 

July 11 Hudiksvall 

July 14 Katrineholm 

July 15-19 Vålådalen 

July 21 Norrköping 

July 27 Linköping 

July 29-Aug 2 Storulvån 

Aug 4 Norrköping, Abborrberg 

Aug 11 Linköping 

Aug 12-16 Humlebaek, Malmö, Hässleholm, Kristianstad, Lomma 

Aug 18 Norrköping 

Aug 19-23 Östersund 

Aug 25 Örebro 

Sep 2-6 Malmö, Köpenhamn, Halmstad, Tylösand, Lund 

Sep 11-18 Duved, Åre, Storlien, Storulvån, Östersund 

Sep 23-27 Växjö, Kivik, Simrishamn, Båstad 

Oct 9-16 Falsterbo, Skanör, Höllviken, Smygehuk, Humlebaek 

Oct 21-24 Uddevalla, Strömstad, Kosteröarna, Smögen 

Oct 28-Nov 1 Storlien, Strömsund, Östersund 

Nov 5-7 Göteborg, Skara 

Nov 11-14 Helsingborg, Malmö 

Nov 18-21 Kalmar, Mörbylånga, Emmaboda, Karlskrona 

Nov 25-28 Funäsdalen, Östersund 

Dec 3-5 Härnösand, Ullånger, Veda 

Dec 17-19 Karlstad 

Dec 25-31 Vålådalen 

My biggest mistake was trying to travel cheap in the first months. It wasn’t until April that I finally had a hotel night. I certainly saved a dime or two but those winter trips were hectic and not very pleasant. 

The best idea I had was to throw in a series of brief summer night excursions. Using X2000 I was able to reach places like Linköping, Norrköping and Gävle, spend a few hours and then return to Stockholm with the last train watching the sun reluctantly set after another long summer day. 

Weather-wise I was remarkably lucky all year long. Very little rain, lots of sunny days but few of them really hot. You know me, I can’t stand the heat. And when it did rain cats and dogs, like in Bohuslän on October 22, I was already on my way back from Strömstad after a great day at Kosteröarna and didn’t really mind. Lucky guy. 

The worst day was the very first one, in Sundsvall. It was Epiphany and the entire town was closed. I spent half the day walking on slippery, icy sidewalks and the other half in a café that had somehow forgotten to close. On that day I learnt to do my research and be prepared. Bring a map, a list of phone numbers; always check opening-hours and connections. Have a plan A for good weather and an alternative one just in case. What a valuable lesson that was! 

Biggest disappointment? Got to be the fact that I missed Dalarna entirely. Unforgivable, really. I was planning to go there several times but something else always turned up. 

My rail pass was the golden version, enabling unlimited first class train traveling. Was that really necessary? Definitely. For example, there are several options for traveling from Stockholm to Malmö but this card includes a single compartment with my own toilet and shower on the night train. I can rely on a good night’s sleep; I won’t be tired upon arrival. On top of this, a hotel breakfast is included. I’ll be just as alert as if I had slept in my own bed and ready to make the most of the day. I could certainly have traveled less expensively but there’s no way I would have managed these 44 journeys in twelve months. 

My only companion was my digicam. I took thousands of pictures, a few of them can be seen in my galleries for northern and southern Sweden. 

It’s been a while now. I keep thinking about where I was and what I was doing at the same time last year. Great memories. There’s just one regret. I didn’t get to see all of Sweden. SJ doesn’t cover the entire country. There’s a lot to be seen north of Åre and Härnösand. So my project will have to be augmented. Somehow. Sometime.

Did our future just blow up?

Things looked real good. But now my sense of optimism has been weakened. All it took was a couple of disastrous referenda and four bombs in London. The momentum for peaceful integration and prosperity has served us remarkably well since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Can it be regained? Let's hope so. Fortunately, the Union has got a strong leadership now.

One small step for mankind…

…one giant leap for me!

Ok, a driving license is no big deal really. It’s tougher in Sweden than in some other countries, it’s more difficult in a big city and it would probably have been easier if at least some of my lessons hadn’t occurred at rush-hour (bad planning on my part!). But it’s not exactly rocket science. How could it be? Most people go through this. Most of them significantly younger than I am and without such a struggle. What made my journey so difficult?

Alinge turns out to be a real soul-mate in this matter. A slightly-less-practical guy, to put it mildly. Just like me. Reading about his ordeal at school had me amazed. Could have been me!

I’m not very brave and never was. I certainly enjoy exploring new frontiers but preferably through a radio documentary! You get the picture. Not the bold adventurer. So I was scared stiff when Magnus had me driving round that parking lot in Väsby in March. At a velocity of 15 km/h images from my childhood kept flashing by and I was certain something was about to explode. Yes, I’m exaggerating slightly but trust me – it was no picnic.

This spring wasn’t my first attempt at driving. I did take some lessons in the early eighties but gave up for much the same reasons. That failure made the whole idea spooky and it just grew spookier as the years passed by.

But now I’m through, I’m officially authorized. My thanks to the staff of Väsby Trafikskola, they’re really the best. I have absolutely no idea how they did this but they did. And here I am. I’m very grateful.

Apart from giving my parents a lift now and then, I'm not sure what I’ll use my driving license for. My expertise in public transportation has served me well in Stockholm and all of Sweden as well as through Europe and even on Sicily. But I’ll come up with some kind of project, I always do.

See you around, on the road!

Quiet, please. Players are waiting...

If it wasn’t for tradition, why would half the world eagerly follow The Championships these days? Grass is probably the worst surface for tennis. It has been abandoned almost everywhere and for good reasons. Not so in London. Tradition, you know, old chap. 

Speaking of London, with its ever unpredictable weather and without a decent roof over any court. Why would anyone sponsor an event with entire days of “rain delay”, why would anyone pay a pocketful of pound notes (no Euros here, old boy!) for the opportunity to get soaking wet while waiting for nothing: “Ladies and Gentlemen, play is suspended.” 

Why do TV companies pay large sums each year for this? It’s tradition, Sir. Why do almost all players forsake weeks of important training on regular surfaces for a few weeks on grass? Why would a spectator in the year 2005 interrupt whatever he’s doing because the Duchesse of Torquay is arriving: “All rise!”. Tradition seems to be a valid excuse for anything. 

A generation ago there were two major grass tournaments, in Melbourne and London. The Aussies then wisely chose hard-court and built a roof over Rod Laver Arena to protect the event from the weather. Not so in London. You know why. 

Like it or not, tradition does matter.

It’s not the heat

It's not the heat. I can’t stand warm weather so I try to have air conditioning installed wherever I lay my hat. It’s not the green stuff, truly beautiful but my allergy requires constant medication and I keep sneezing from March to June. It’s not the birds - a busy woodpecker keeps waking me up by hammering my cottage. What is it, then? It’s the light, the Nordic light. The slow evenings, just a couple of dusky hours and on comes the light again. With the birds, the green stuff and the heat. Well, you can’t win’em all! So I turn up my AC, I blow my nose and take some more Loratadin, I forgive the woodpecker and wish I could save some of this light for a darker, gloomier day. 

 

Midsummer at Storulvån, Jämtland 2004  

And I remember Midsummer last year at Storulvån in Jämtland. Beautiful surroundings, friendly people, superb dining. Wish I could be with you again this year. Happy Midsummer, in Storulvån and everywhere!

Why?

A little girl, less than a day old, was murdered before Christmas 2002 and found in Kungsängen, north of Stockholm. She was buried a year later. The tragedy is still a complete mystery. Who is she? Who did this? Why?

June 6 in Sweden: And now it's official!

Not exactly sure what we’re celebrating today but… anyway... hooray!  

Formerly unofficial national day at Sofiero outside Helsingborg, June 6 2004.

Grundlov in Denmark

One day early but what the heck... Congratulations, Denmark!  

Constitution Day at Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen, June 5 2004.

Continued on Page B37

Did you also grow up in a world where newspapers where the only conceivable way to start a day? So did Michael Kinsley and this column is hilarious.

caution: fragile Union

The history of Europe hasn’t exactly been peaceful. 

Bringing an end to our wars by tying the countries closer together is what the Union is all about. If this project should fail there is every reason to be worried. So I can’t really imagine why anyone with a tiny knowledge of history would be gloating about the recent setbacks. It’s not a perfect union but it’s the only one we’ve got. Let’s take good care of it. The alternative is distinctly unpleasant.