29th July 2007
Log Number 14
500 kms south of Stockholm was my next destination. My Great Great Grandfather was born on Oland in 1847. He had a brother Peter and that is the basis of my information to try to find some ancestry. They travelled buy Boat out to Australia and New Zealand.
The weather had turned for the worst, cold and blustery, rocking the van round on the highway and making driving more difficult. I generally drive for about 2 hrs before having a break . It surprising who you can meet buring breaks, on the road . Swedes are very helpful and want to tell you about their country and some nice spotsto check out .
The laptop has been a good investment , helped me keep track of my outgoings and I have logged where have been camping, according to latitude and longitude. The spreads sheet also encompasses the mileage , temperature and fuel use . All to be analyzed in the future . Wi Fi connection to the outside world is also becoming very prevalent. It is genealy possible to get a connection by pulling up in the centrum or in a densely populated area .
After an evening meal I generally rest for a while then pull out the laptop and link with friends and family. Thanks to those who are keeping me updated with events in their lives. You can imagine the radio stations are in a language incomprehensible to me and I'm tired of listening to the music on the Ipod. The music i downloaded has now repeated itself several times.
It has taken a couple of weeks of traveling to get a routine with my camping and cleaning , Bev was so pedantic about hygiene in the kitchen area, i can now see why as the mess can get away in a short time.
OLAND is a long narrow island on the Baltic coast of Sweden down from Stockholm about 500 k . This is where we think my Great grandfather originated from. I had called to Borgholm three years ago on a flying three day break from London .
We have a photo which we utilized for the family reunion document, depicting the family home in Borgholm. My cousin Jon Olson found this house when he was in Sweden about 15 years ago. The house has been demolished an council flats ate now gracing the site. At the library i was able to identify the particular house and talk with the locals about it . Apparently it was an old stone house used as a 'Poor House' also used for people with 'Venerial Disease', back in the 1860 when famine and political changes took place .
My research on the emigration data base indicted the 46,000 people with derivations of the name OLSON left Sweden for north America alone . As my Great Great was not on this list then he could well have left as a sailor and worked his passage to seek his fortune. I have to try to find the Parish he was born in which will help the researchers find the old links .
I lingered to long with my research and forgot about my parking meter . Shit I received an polite request to pay a 850sk fine . To compound this it took an other hour to find the place to pay the bloody fine before i left town . I was tempted to bugger off and not pay but now all these traffic infringement and parking fines get processed and sent to the owner at your expense, new UE rules. I want to avoid any bad debt scenario.
Even though the weather was poor with high winds and occasional showers i wanted to have a look at the landscape of Oland . The southern tip of Oland is designated a world heritage site. There are a multitude of pre history sites , ancient tombs, fortifications from the iron age and an area called Alveret . This is like parkahi soils on the West Coast of New Zealand , poor soils with limestone underneath with an array of wild flowers and unique plants .
Farming, dairy and mix cropping, surrounds the central plain and animals graze the Alveret. Windmills new and old dot the landscape . I had struck it lucky, the birds where migrating south with their young. The weather , blowing hard , had held them up at the tipof the island . They were in their thousands, geese, swans, shag and array sea birds. the conservation Department have a capture program at the tip of the island trying to mark and measure the birds of all description. There is a strong smell of rotten seaweed which pervades the air, i couldn't get used to it in the time i was a on the island. I went back to Kelmar on the mainland for the night as i knew i could get an Internet link form there .
I was now at the south of Sweden, in the province of Scane. Most of Sweden's population live in the south in this geographical area. The country side is in full flush. Wheat and barley crops look a picture blowing in the wind . Farmsteads are generally well painted in Red and White trim or Yellow and White which gives a distinctive rural scene. No rubbish or old implements are laying about and most of the tractors are modern with all the mod cons.
I noticed five badgers killed on the road today . It could be silly season for them as well as this does seem a high number of road kill in one day. Badgers harbor TB in the UK and farmers want to eradicate them as vermin. These animals where all fully grown but could have been this years juviniles, learning the rules of the road.
There is a several ways to leave Sweden down south , Ferries cross to Denmark, Germany and Poland the massive bridge structure linking Malmo Sweden and Copenhagen is about 40 KM long . My choice was to take the 8 hr ferry across to Poland's Swimoujscle. The cost of a campervan and one person was supposed to be 1800 Swedish Krone one way, The ticketing girl was obviously new on the job and only heard me say "Small Camping Car". I therefore cross the Baltic for only 800 skr . I feel as though I have retrieved my parking fine.
So I write this Mid Baltic following my ancient Viking ancestors on there way to plunder and pillage mainland Europe
I wonder what will happen next
Alvin
Log Number 14
500 kms south of Stockholm was my next destination. My Great Great Grandfather was born on Oland in 1847. He had a brother Peter and that is the basis of my information to try to find some ancestry. They travelled buy Boat out to Australia and New Zealand.
The weather had turned for the worst, cold and blustery, rocking the van round on the highway and making driving more difficult. I generally drive for about 2 hrs before having a break . It surprising who you can meet buring breaks, on the road . Swedes are very helpful and want to tell you about their country and some nice spotsto check out .
The laptop has been a good investment , helped me keep track of my outgoings and I have logged where have been camping, according to latitude and longitude. The spreads sheet also encompasses the mileage , temperature and fuel use . All to be analyzed in the future . Wi Fi connection to the outside world is also becoming very prevalent. It is genealy possible to get a connection by pulling up in the centrum or in a densely populated area .
After an evening meal I generally rest for a while then pull out the laptop and link with friends and family. Thanks to those who are keeping me updated with events in their lives. You can imagine the radio stations are in a language incomprehensible to me and I'm tired of listening to the music on the Ipod. The music i downloaded has now repeated itself several times.
It has taken a couple of weeks of traveling to get a routine with my camping and cleaning , Bev was so pedantic about hygiene in the kitchen area, i can now see why as the mess can get away in a short time.
OLAND is a long narrow island on the Baltic coast of Sweden down from Stockholm about 500 k . This is where we think my Great grandfather originated from. I had called to Borgholm three years ago on a flying three day break from London .
We have a photo which we utilized for the family reunion document, depicting the family home in Borgholm. My cousin Jon Olson found this house when he was in Sweden about 15 years ago. The house has been demolished an council flats ate now gracing the site. At the library i was able to identify the particular house and talk with the locals about it . Apparently it was an old stone house used as a 'Poor House' also used for people with 'Venerial Disease', back in the 1860 when famine and political changes took place .
My research on the emigration data base indicted the 46,000 people with derivations of the name OLSON left Sweden for north America alone . As my Great Great was not on this list then he could well have left as a sailor and worked his passage to seek his fortune. I have to try to find the Parish he was born in which will help the researchers find the old links .
I lingered to long with my research and forgot about my parking meter . Shit I received an polite request to pay a 850sk fine . To compound this it took an other hour to find the place to pay the bloody fine before i left town . I was tempted to bugger off and not pay but now all these traffic infringement and parking fines get processed and sent to the owner at your expense, new UE rules. I want to avoid any bad debt scenario.
Even though the weather was poor with high winds and occasional showers i wanted to have a look at the landscape of Oland . The southern tip of Oland is designated a world heritage site. There are a multitude of pre history sites , ancient tombs, fortifications from the iron age and an area called Alveret . This is like parkahi soils on the West Coast of New Zealand , poor soils with limestone underneath with an array of wild flowers and unique plants .
Farming, dairy and mix cropping, surrounds the central plain and animals graze the Alveret. Windmills new and old dot the landscape . I had struck it lucky, the birds where migrating south with their young. The weather , blowing hard , had held them up at the tipof the island . They were in their thousands, geese, swans, shag and array sea birds. the conservation Department have a capture program at the tip of the island trying to mark and measure the birds of all description. There is a strong smell of rotten seaweed which pervades the air, i couldn't get used to it in the time i was a on the island. I went back to Kelmar on the mainland for the night as i knew i could get an Internet link form there .
I was now at the south of Sweden, in the province of Scane. Most of Sweden's population live in the south in this geographical area. The country side is in full flush. Wheat and barley crops look a picture blowing in the wind . Farmsteads are generally well painted in Red and White trim or Yellow and White which gives a distinctive rural scene. No rubbish or old implements are laying about and most of the tractors are modern with all the mod cons.
I noticed five badgers killed on the road today . It could be silly season for them as well as this does seem a high number of road kill in one day. Badgers harbor TB in the UK and farmers want to eradicate them as vermin. These animals where all fully grown but could have been this years juviniles, learning the rules of the road.
There is a several ways to leave Sweden down south , Ferries cross to Denmark, Germany and Poland the massive bridge structure linking Malmo Sweden and Copenhagen is about 40 KM long . My choice was to take the 8 hr ferry across to Poland's Swimoujscle. The cost of a campervan and one person was supposed to be 1800 Swedish Krone one way, The ticketing girl was obviously new on the job and only heard me say "Small Camping Car". I therefore cross the Baltic for only 800 skr . I feel as though I have retrieved my parking fine.
So I write this Mid Baltic following my ancient Viking ancestors on there way to plunder and pillage mainland Europe
I wonder what will happen next
Alvin
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