Kung Bore

 "Kung Bore", or King Winter to the uninitiated, is a classic folk hero in Sweden and herald of winter around here. And at last, it's freezing here in Östersund! So far it's been down to -12℃ (10℉) on a couple of nights, and there's a couple inches of snow. So all the winter activities can begin...

Clearing snow on Lillsjön at around 1:45 PM

Namely, skating! Fritidsbanken is a magical store where anyone can rent any kind of used outdoor equipment for free, on the condition that you return it. The wonders of a high trust and high income society. I picked up a good pair, the first and most comfortable I've ever known for more than one occasion. 

When it was so cold, we didn't have a breath of wind, so all the (small) lakes have frozen perfectly. Excepting Storsjön, the big lake, which I suspect will be open water until the new year. In my experience Minnesota lake ice is much bumpier thanks to our incessant wind. Not to mention covered in snow! 

I've done at least 10 miles on skates in the last week, around the perimeter of our little lake. 

Familiar looking skis at Fritidsbanken and shenanigans on the ice with an old surfboard. (which was leftover from the raft incident and has since become a resident of Lillsjöns beach)

Lillsjön is about a kilometer (half mile, give or take) from my spot at the camping, so we've been there to skate a few times. On Saturday there must've been 40 people sliding, fishing, and skidding about. 8 to 10cm (3 or 4 inches) of clear ice, so more than enough. Though for most of the international crew it was their first time on a frozen lake; and understandably all the ice sounds are unsettling. 

Nobody fell through! I think hockey will be the next step. Even closer to Östersunds camping, we have the city ice rinks, which are just as great: 

A few laps of skating, perfect ice, a frosty morning, nothing beats it!

Last week also brought a side quest out to Doda Fallet, the dead falls. Here the Indalsalven river formerly flowed over this cliff, before being (accidentally) diverted centuries ago. An interesting hike, but not much else to see. 

And much more interesting: my first attempt at kanelbullar in this country! I didn't mess with the fancy knot that you see in bakeries here, these are just "American Style" as they say.  

This weekend and next I'm volunteering at the Biathlon World Cup, which has its opening round in Östersund this year. This strange sport of XC skiing and shooting is far more popular in Sweden (and the rest of Europe, for that matter) than in the US. What exactly I'll be doing is still up in the air. Picking up trash, shoveling snow, and getting lots of free food and clothes are all certain. Eventually, when we get some serious snow, I'll head out on skis myself. Until then!

The Sundsvall Expedition

 Those of you familiar with The Simpsons will know about the famous Springfield-Shelbyville rivalry. While there's no such violence between Östersund and Sundsvall, the subtle differences are uncanny. So this is the story of last week's adventure to that city on the sea. 

All of us outside the other MIUN campus; which we incredibly had full access to. 

I say "expedition" because it really does feel like it. It's a 2.5 hour drive up hill and down dale to get there, on lovely but super remote roads. Likewise with the train connection there. We drove, having such a large group. 

It was a cold and gray day to explore the town, and we were on the road before sunrise. Talk about dedication! (and this after a late night on Friday...) In all other countries I believe you must be 25 to rent a car, but as explained previously, this rule goes out the window here. Convenient too, as everything here is ridiculously far apart. 

We rolled into town at 10:00 and rendezvoused for some waffles. Some of the best I've ever had it must be said! We all crowded into a rustic cafe, around a rickety table, drinking sour coffee. Now this is what I came to Sweden for! 

An overview of Sundsvall from Norra Stadsberget. It feels much larger and much more commercial than Östersund. (and I'm glad I live where I do!) 

The rest of the day we walked about, and quickly discovered that there's not that much to do here. Hence the lack of pictures, though that's mostly on me. There's a big church, some nice streets downtown, a rather industrial waterfront. It didn't help that it was such a gray and windy day- we sought refuge in coffee shops and the city museum. 

It almost feels like Stockholm! The downtown is entirely built in stone, mandatory after a devastating fire in the 1880s. There was a nice (and early!) Christmas market on the main square, where I had many free samples. 

Of course no visit to this city is complete without a trip to IKEA. (which, for us, is the top attraction here... maybe that says something!) We all had a lovely dinner there just before they closed. And then another long drive back in the dark. I felt a little guilty for not being behind the wheel, though it's probably for the best. My driver's license card is sitting in a drawer back in Minnesota, and I imagine the authorities would not look kindly on me if I was caught without it. 

Another great picture from our resident photographer! That's about all there is to tell. Even though we didn't do much here, it's always a good time with friends. Coming up next time: the first days of winter in Östersund and the usual friluftsliv.*

* "Free-air life", the idea of being outdoors, connecting with your environment, and being happy. 

Stockholm

 It's easy to forget that I live very much on the periphery of Sweden- most Swedes hear "Östersund" and think "wilderness". (a pretty comfortable and well-provisioned wilderness in that case) Last week I finally got to see the capital, six hours by any means to the south. 

Drottingholm Palace, home of the Swedish royal family. It's quite a ways out in the countryside. In 2012, they visited Saint Peter, now I can at last reciprocate!

I had the misfortune to be on a night train which departed Östersund at 9:45 and arrived to Stockholm Central at 05:15 the following day. I slept well enough, better than I would on a plane! The worst part is being thrown out onto a cold and rainy street three hours before sunrise. Nothing was open, so we camped out in the lobby of our hostel, then bounced between coffee shops and IKEA until we could check in. 

There is an unusual obsession here with American products and Asian foods. The latter is far more interesting and spicier than you'd expect!

This was a pretty cheap hostel, paid for by the university. Everything else was out of our pockets which means a lot of IKEA mealtimes and supermarket salad bars. Breakfast was especially bad; everyone was making jokes about prison food by the fifth day. Enough cheap bread and bad coffee will do just that!

I averaged roughly 2 kaneelbullar per day, seen here in their many variants. Fika, as explained in previous posts, is crucial when walking all day. Lower left was the best of them all, from Lillebrors Bageri. At IKEA you can get one for just SEK 5 (about 0.53 USD) but these are stale and too sweet. 

A street in the old town and a nice walk in a park. There's a huge park with centuries-old oaks on just about every street corner here. Notice: no rain!

Our time was mostly spent walking and being shown around by our professors; who somehow found a way to keep us busy for 6 to 8 hours each day on the streets. It's an incredible city from a spatial planning/urban design perspective! A ton of forest and clean water to enjoy, excellent public transport, and many mixed-income neighborhoods. 

Exploring a new-ish neighborhood, about 25 years old. Highlights: vacuum-tube waste disposal, 50% rental units, (a city standard if I'm not mistaken) and vast interconnected public space. 

The old gas works and royal seaport are being transformed into a new district for tens of thousands of new Stockholmers. Northern Europe's largest urban renewal project- we saw the whole thing!

It was exceptionally inclement weather for the entire week, in the low 40s and pouring rain most days. One evening a few of us went out to the Vasa museum: the preserved remains of a 17th-century warship which sank on its maiden voyage. Hands down one of the best I've ever been to. 

The ship sank due to fundamental design flaws, and it's exceptionally well preserved after 333 years on the seafloor. Make no mistake, this thing is big. And entirely made of wood! It was never explained how they moved it from the water inside the museum building...

Of course we went to IKEA afterwards as well. 

Friday was our last day in the city, and in the morning we visited a start-up out in the suburbs. Two guys growing oyster and lion's mane mushrooms in a warehouse, a little bit of urban agriculture. MushuMushrooms is the name if you're interested, this was my favorite part of the week. 

Everything was very low-tech but precise; even the smallest differences in temperature and humidity can vastly affect these fungi. Most of their business is with restaurants and supermarkets- they say now is the time to invest in mushrooms!

It was also Halloween, which is mostly a commercial holiday here. Not so much trick-or-treating that I saw, but lots of candy and decorations for sale in the stores. For me the scariest part was being stuck in the backseat of a compact Ford focus for seven hours- I got a ride back north with friends. 

We stopped at IKEA in Sundsvall of course. The food is way better at the full sized locations. Of course I got lingonberry jam and a råtta for my room. 

Now it's back to regular service in Östersund. With such short days, I've finally caved in and bought a pass to the pool/sauna/gym complex right next door to my place here. Literally next door: I could throw a frisbee from my window and make it to the entrance! This will be a necessity when we have such scant daylight- already I can imagine a long sauna and swim every day after class.

An Average Friday in Sweden

Nearby Östersund is the river Indalsälven, one of Sweden's largest. Upstream from this cozy city are countless cascades, falls, rapids, and whirlpools famous enough for me to skip Swedish class and visit them. (since nice days are precious gems up here!)

Vasilli and Seb at the foot of Tännforsen, Sweden's largest waterfall. 

So on a chilly Friday morning, I woke up early and headed downtown with friends Seb, Vassili, Stefano, and Raja to pick up a rental car. In most countries you have to be 25 to drive one; it seems that Sweden is more trusting. And rightly so, this car was a Volvo that could actually drive itself. To an extent... it was certainly the fanciest vehicle I've ever ridden in!

First stop was ICA Maxi (Swedish for "biggest and greatest supermarket ever") where we loaded up on snacks for the day. Including the first lussekatter of the year; saffron buns traditionally made and eaten around the holidays. The local equivalent of Halloween decorations in July. 

We ate 'em all before any pictures were taken; enjoy this stock image.

Tännforsen was our first waterfall of the tour. And if you think you've seen big waterfalls, think again. This one shakes the ground and creates a perpetual mist around itself. I've never been to Niagara Falls but I imagine this must be pretty similar. 

At the base of the falls. 

I think waterfalls as a tourist destination are often overhyped, but not here. All the ones we visited today were regular parks on the side of the road, no guardrails either as you can see!

Next was Handölsforsen, (forsen means "rapids" in this language, what an understatement) another hour down the road. Now we were properly up in the mountains and close to Norway- that meant snow! 

"Maximum three people on the bridge at a time", the sign said. 

Looking downstream from the bridge

And upstream, at the next set of falls! It really felt like winter up there. 

After a nice picnic and conversation with curious Swedes (Which was a first! They wanted to know what we were doing there on a weekday in the offseason) we checked off the final two cascades. It feels repetitive to dive into all the details of these falls, so I'll let the pictures say their thousands of words:

Our lunch spot at Handölsforsen, on top of the turbine house. Of course no vertical drop is left unutilized for hydroelectric power here- they're just efficient like that!

Tegeforsen and Ristafallet. After the other two these were rather underwhelming but in any other location they'd be jaw-dropping. 

You'll be glad to hear that nobody fell in! Considering that one slick stone could be fatal around so much falling water we were lucky in that regard. Maybe that's the American voice in my head talking; people should be smart enough not to get close to this rushing water. Anyways, we got back to Östersund at sundown (5:30 these days!) and with 2% battery remaining in the car. Perfect timing and what a trip! 

On the plate for the coming weeks is a school trip down to Stockholm from the 27th the 31st; to see the city and all its sustainable systems, green roofs, museums, etc. Until then!

Stefano is also quite a good photographer; this was from another day but it's still one of the better pictures taken of me here. 

Funäsdalen Fjällsemester

Standing around on the ski slope- our home for the week is in the background.

 This week in Sweden: a questionably planned trip out to the mountains for a bit of field work! The majority of the people in this program here at MIUN are exchange students and it's no secret that the university wants to treat us to a good time. (likewise, we're headed to Stockholm later this month)

Notably, signs are in both Swedish and Sami.

On Monday we drove three hours south to Funäsdalen, a mountain town with the usual ski industry. Where all the shops are dedicated to outdoors equipment, fancy candles, and bulk candy. I'd wager such places can be found on all inhabited continents. We stayed in a excellent ski lodge, cheap because it's the off-season, and much nicer than I'm used to for school trips.

A traditional mountain farm, which we explored on the way there. 

The reason for all this was to measure the height and diameter of trees to calculate their volume, useful for estimating biomass, timber value, and habitat. (there's no reason that we couldn't have done this in Östersund, hence my speculation that the uni is treating us)

A typical thinned-out forest near Funäs. These trees grow slowly in the fleeting summers here.

The actual measuring took only a few hours, doing 10x10 plots and then estimating the tree-density in a larger area. Everything else was crunching numbers and making maps in GIS. The forests here are as boring as they come, just spruce, pine, and birch. Throw in a dense carpet of moss and berry bushes and you have an idea of the terrain across most of this country.

Right down the road, a lovely waterfall. 

Three moose seen from a distance and the last of the lingon and blueberries.

So we had time to do loads of other things! Play cards and eat while it rained, and hike when it didn't. It hasn't been especially warm, but everyone was well-prepared and in good spirits. This was effectively a school-flavored vacation for us- what a cool opportunity I've stumbled into.

On Thursday we drove two hours over the border into Norway to Røros, a copper-mining town and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The former mine area is pretty bleak, but the rest of the town is packed with pastel-colored wooded houses. Like Funäsdalen, it's intensely commercial, but in a more cozy way. If I had the cash and the space in my luggage I'd buy every sweater and coffee grinder in that town. 

The original green roof appears to be of Norwegian origin.

A troll and an average street in Røros. I had the strongest coffee of my life here- Thor's Hammer!

The old mill and tailings heaps, quite the juxtaposition to the cheerful town. 

We took the backroads home and were treated to some excellent and vast scenery. Reindeer are given free range of the mountaintops so one must drive carefully! We didn't see it, but the rumor is that it snowed a little in Östersund while we were away. I welcome it: do your worst, winter!