SWEDEN

Thursday 20^th June

Central Sweden

I crossed over to Sweden last night and found a spot down a side road beside a Mountain lake. I can hear the main road above me but to all extents I'm isolated . I decided to have a 'no drive day'. I needed to wash some clothes and tidy the van. The insect impact on the bonnet of the van is summit to behold. I was feeling tired from my travels and felt like a days rest. My log indicates i have covered 4100km not counting the distance traveled in ferry's

This lake is about 10 km long ans 1 to 2 km across , glacial formed with large boulders on the shore line the surrounding hills are low and rolling covered with coniferous forest. There is a man made earth works across the other side and an outlet construction but that is the only evidence that the landscape has been changed. On closer examination, the scotch pine trees about 30 feet tall interspersed with Silver Beech. The under growth is low and soft and spongy to walk on . I'm sure it is covered in snow most of the year. I came through a mountain pass at the border, melting snow either side of the road no snow around here.

The lake is cold and clear. I washed myself this morning and attended to the bit of clothes washing, the temp soon moved up to the 20s by 0900hrs. In the bush beside the van I can hear small animals in the trees and scrub. It took a while to identify a family of red squirrels which are bigger than the London Grays. They have a very bushy tails and ears with extended hair giving them a comical look.

Ants are in abundance in the undergrowth and all round the van, larger than normal and have quite a nip when they get on to your bear skin. Small migges 's and mosquitoes are present. I have had to kept the van closed to get any respite. The occasional bee, wasp and hornet comes a visiting. They are escorted out smartly.

Bird life seems scarce. This morning I could see a few ducks and geese and can hear then chattering away somewhere. About two hundred yards of shore a family / flock of 8 'Black necked divers' cruised by fishing. They attracted several Arctic Terns who were opportunist and swooping down attempting to snatch the catch as the Divers surfaced. I suppose they are rearing chicks nearby also. Across the lake i can see an Eagle's nest high up in a half dead pine tree. It a substantial construction which sticks out against the skyline. No sign of inhabitants, I think the nesting activity has happened. Ill keep and eye out this evening. Its location is ideal as the eagle can come down at speed to the lake.

Spring growth gives a vibrancy to the landscape, I have been watching out for Elk, Reindeer, Moose but have only seen a badger sized unidentified animal scurry across the road in the distance. There is so much grass and pasture about at present that it is unlikely that any animal will appear on the lake shore today.

Have been reading the book my brother in law Bill, gave me when we were in Florida . 'Undaunted Courage', about the early exploration of the American West, following the big rivers the Missouri and Columbia. I read with interest about the tenacity of Grizzly Bears. They hate being shot and will charge even though they have been hit mortally several times. A zoo in the next town ORSA has a collection of Brown Bears. Apparently I'm in the heart of Sweden's brown bear country. Ill ensure the windows and doors are firm tonight. It will one more thing to watch out for over my shoulder, when im having my wash by the lake in the morning.

Sweden alone is twice as big as Britain and it will take a lot of driving to get north.

I'm still tempted to go up beyond the polar circle, and will probably leave the van at a place called SVEG .... I will check out the price of the train north tomorrow and make my plans from there. The 23^rd June will be a big day in Scandinavia as they celebrate Mid Summers Day

I wonder what will happen next

Friday 23rd Sweden

Log Number 14

Have you ever had that sinking feeling when you switch on the Key to the van or car and hear a low grind to the starter motor. Bugger I had run my main battery down . Looking around it was the Cassette Player , Passenger Seat warmer and excessive pull down to power the bloody laptop.

Options without jump leads where slim. Hitched back to the next town to organize assistance. Sven my new friend and savior was knowledgeable about the environment, wildlife, history and future of his Kommune. He chatted, I pumped as we drove back to the van. He was amazed at where i had chosen to park because two weeks earlier he had been instrumental in helping the Police apprehend 'Eagle Nest Robbers' who had utilized the same spot.

He had seen a car , with foreign plates, parked in the spot for three days. No tent or sign of activity. He thought those buggers are up to something and suspected egg thieves as it was Bird nesting time. He informed the police who called to the spot . No arrests where made but the info passed on to central and Boarder Police. Just last week he heard back from the police that two Germans where arrested , they had climbing gear and incubators with two eagle eggs.

He told me, with great enthusiasm, of the Bear Park down in ORCA which i made my destination having a late start to my day. It closed at 1700hrs but the drive up to the hills was relaxing as i seemed to be the only traffic on the road. A female Moose was grazing by the side of the road . Initially she moved away but soon settled and began snatching at new growth on shrubs and bushes. I kept the motor running while i grabbed the video camera from the back . She posed for me for 5 minutes or so before loosing interest.

The bear park is unique in Scandinavia, The carnivorous are having a rough time of it right across Europe and numbers have reduced drastically. This venture is to help conserve and better understand the bear and its needs. The European Brown bear and the Massive Kamchatka Bears where on display in well set out compounds . Viewing platforms high up give a clear view into the hectare sized enclosures . Mothers with Cubs, last year young browns along with several breeding adult browns . They are very active and alert . Feed time was still four hours away.

Other enclosures had Wolverines , I think the one I seen was balmy , it wold run and stop turn and twist sniff and snort in a repeated fashion. I assumed its behavior has arisen from incarceration in a small area for too long. A wolf pack of about 10 wolves in total held my interest . I watched them through the binoculars . Easy to follow when they are on the move but as soon as the stop the blend in with the surroundings and disappear . They were being stimulated by the zoo keeper driving through their enclosure on a 4X4 Motorbike

The biggest Bears I have ever seen where in a separate enclosure. These breeding pair where from northern Russia originally and had recently arrived from a zoo in Hungry. When the big male stood up i couldn't believe my eyes . He was as tall as me in the saddle . An interpretation panel nearby demonstrated that when he stood on his hind legs he was over 3meters tall.

Back in the town of Lakesund, I found a nice spot to park the van for my afternoons rest following my exertion in the morning . Pointing down hill of course . I awoke from my nap to see three women gathering wild flowers around the van . This was in preparedness for the midsummer festival to be held latter in the day

On the river nearby, three longboat were being prepared to bring a party down the river to the main town harbor . The occupants bought with them wreathes in the form of hearts and circles to attach to a may pole in the city gardens . The procession was accompanied by a band playing violins and flutes . All participants where dressed in period costume from the turn if the century. The raising of the May Pole requires about thirty men with cross sticks of varying lengths . As the pole is raised the lifting teams move their supporting poles towards the base thus moving the May Pole to an erect position . All of this process takes time and the band continues to play while dancing and speech making continues

When finally the May Pole is vertical the whole town of about 5,000 people join hands and dance in a circle around the central Pole. Even though there had been a light sprinkling of rain the dust was soon raised and the tempo of the dancing increased along with a variety of different dance moves .

I had set precedence for parking where i planned to stop for the night, when i got back to the van the whole area around me of approximately an acre, was filled with camper vans intent on not paying at the camping Sites .

Next day , down to Stockholm a five hour drive .

I wonder what will happen Next

Sweden Oland

29^th 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.

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 i have 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 spots to call into for the breaks .

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 not often that i cant 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. I try not to use the toilet facilities in the van because even with infrequent use, it still requires an effort to attend to dumping.

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 and i had struck it lucky the birds where migrating south with their young. The weather , blowing hard , had held them up at the tip. 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.

( Bit like you Bernie )

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, rape and pillage mainland Europe

I wonder what will happen next

Alvin