Why be like the other sheep?
This story seems heart-warming on the surface, but it has an undercurrent that left me feeling quite chilled.
By John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber
I’ve been picking motivational books up in charity shops again.
This one’s a fable along the lines of ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ only instead of mice this stars penguins. Continue reading “Our Iceberg is Melting”
Photographs from the final section of Sweden’s Kungsleden trail.
This week’s Friday Flickr album has the photos from the final stage of my Kungsleden hike. On this section I stayed in huts for the first time and experienced my best ever sauna. I was also hit with the worst weather I’d experienced on the trail since starting in Abisko two years ago, though from my photos you wouldn’t guess this as there are plenty of blue skies on show.
The total Kungsleden is around 440km (depending on which source you read). This section is 78km long.
Would I recommend it? Definitely. Would I go back and do it again? No. But only because there are so many other places I want to see.
Click on the image below to access the Flickr album.
The Kungsleden is a trail that begins in Abisko above the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden and finishes 440km later in Hemavan.
It is divided into five parts with the breaks in the sections falling where there is a road and access to public transport.
Although most people walk one or two sections, there are plenty who walk the whole path in one go. I’ve met people walking the whole way in as a little as two weeks (my mind boggles at this), but most take at least a month.
Even if you’re only walking one section you are going to have to think about what food to take with you. Continue reading “Food to Pack for the Kungsleden”
Photographs from the fourth and penultimate section of Sweden’s Kungsleden trail.
This week’s Friday Flickr is an album of photographs I took whilst walking the fourth section of the Kungsleden this summer. I’d walked the first two parts of the trail two years ago and had returned to finish it.
Last week’s Friday Flickr shows the first part of this year’s walk (the third section of the trial) and this week’s is the continuation from Jäkkvik (pop = 90), where I stayed in the village for a couple of nights, to Ammarnäs (pop = either 95 or 250 depending which source you believe).
This section is one of the quieter sections as, apart from the small village of Adolfström with its one shop, there isn’t anywhere to buy food along the way. There are a few STF huts, but as these are not manned, staying in them means arranging to borrow a key before setting off.
I spent about 10 days walking this section camping along the way.
To access the Flickr album click on the image below.
The Moravians have been in my home town for several hundred years, yet many people have no idea this beautiful settlement exists.
The place I live isn’t known for its aesthetic beauty, trendiness or cultural delights. If anything, it attracts more bad press than good. So it’s all the more surprising that somewhere like the Moravian Settlement at Fairfield exists here. It’s hidden away between two main roads and you could easily drive past it every day without realising it’s there. Continue reading “The Moravians at Fairfield – A Photo Essay”
If you haven’t got naked in a sauna with a group of strangers then you haven’t experienced Sweden properly.
Be honest now. Did you click on this page expecting to be titillated by erotic tales and salacious images? If you did, I have one thing to say to you … Continue reading “Getting Naked in a Swedish Sauna”
Photographs from the Kvikkjokk to Jäkkvik section of Sweden’s Kungsleden trail.
Before I left for Sweden I wanted to set up enough Friday Flickr posts to cover my time away, so I’d at least have something appearing on my blog whilst I was sans-Wifi. Of course that didn’t happen due to some weird Flickr downtime in the UK. Thankfully everything seems to be up and working again now and so here is the first of my latest batch of Friday Flickrs.
Of course, this week’s Friday Flickr has to feature the Kungsleden.
Two years ago I walked the first two sections of this epic trail in the far north of Sweden. I was determined then to get back to finish it and this summer I got the opportunity.
This week’s Friday Flickr features photographs from the third section (the first section I walked this year) which runs from Kvikkjokk to Jäkkvik. This is one of the least walked parts as it’s on this section hikers need to be completely self-sufficient as there is nowhere to buy food along the way. Also as there are no STF huts on this section it means as well as carrying plenty of food, you also have to carry camping and cooking gear.
Most people walk it in 7 or 8 days. I walk slowly. I had a VERY heavy backpack. I knew that I’ll probably never be back here and I wanted to have time to give it the appreciation it deserves.
I spent 13 days walking just this section.
I forgot about everything that was happening in the world outside and focused on my bit of wilderness. I breathed, I relaxed, I slept, I reflected, I daydreamed, I wrote, I read, I walked. And walked. And walked some more.
I was glad when it was finished and happy to arrive in Jäkkvik, but at the same time I had a feeling of sadness that it was over and didn’t want it to end. As I got close to Jäkkvik, I sat on a rock enjoying the sunshine and gazed at the lake. I felt I’d really achieved something – I’d walked across the line of the Arctic Circle and I’d rowed across a lake for the first time. But most of all I’d proved to myself I could survive in the wilderness supported by only that which I could carry on my back.
I mentally high-fived myself, stood up and walked the last half kilometre into Jakkvik.
To access the Flickr album click on the image below.
A list and photos of everything I took on my Kungsleden hike this summer.
I had intended to write this post before I left for the Kungsleden, but as usual real life got in the way of my cyber life and I ran out of time. I still wanted to write it though, so once I arrived home I cleaned and sorted my gear and then collected it all together to take photographs before putting it away. Continue reading “Packing for the Kungsleden”
Should I be worried on my trip to Sweden this summer?
I keep seeing headlines and Facebook posts about how Sweden is the rape capital of Europe and how the police are advising women not to go out alone at night.
Is there anything to all this or has it got more to do with the fact Sweden has opened its doors to numerous refugees and for many people refugees = bad people and an increase in crime? Continue reading “Is Sweden Dangerous for Women?”
Getting frustrated with Flickr
I’ve been trying (and surprisingly succeeding) to do a weekly feature on my blog – each Friday I’ve showcased one of my Flickr albums. This has encouraged me to build my presence on Flickr as well as having helped get me into a routine with my blog.
This Friday there was no Friday Flickr post. Continue reading “Not the Friday Flickr”
