Posts under "Geography"

Styrsö

Posted by Tibor 3 Comments
May 17 2010
Church from 1752 and cemetery

Church from 1752 and cemetery

Summer cottage on a small rock

Summer cottage on a small rock

View over Tången
View over Tången

Villa with gazebo.

Villa with gazebo.    

 I want to share with you my other trip that I have recently made. I wasn´t that lucky with the weather as when I went to Marstrand. I took one of the local boats to Styrsö the other day. If you live in Gothenburg your month card (månadskort) would do it (so you don´t have to buy any tickets since the southern archipelago belongs to Gothenburg). Let´s say it is an old part of town. There are families who have lived here for generations, but also many people decide to buy their villas here on the islands. It feels almost like time stands still out here. And that was exactly the feeling and mood I was looking for.        

The ferry takes 20 minutes from Saltholmen´s tram stop to Styrsö. To Saltholmen you can take tram number 11 from the city centre either from Brunnsparken or Centralstationen. Be aware of the fact that in low season you should prepare food because the few cafés and restaurants they have are closed. Finding a toilet is also quite problematic. Take a long walk around the island because the views are amazingly beautiful. It is a great place to get spiritual, philosophical at and clear your head from all thoughts and city noise. During the summer the sea can get quite warm here since many of the small bays are hidden and secluded. If you chose to rent a motor boat then you might have a chance to take a sunbath on one of the hundereds of tiny islands/rocks among the bigger ones and not on the small and crowded beaches. The locals are very friendly. Since almost everyone knows each other out here they usually greet you with a big smile on their faces whenever passing by.        

The house prices are quite high. But if you are “lucky” you can find houses for in between around 270 000-500 000 euros sometimes even some renovation objects for lower prices. Otherwise count upwords…and then count a little bit more…       

Marstrand

Posted by Tibor 1 Comment
May 12 2010

I have recently done some long walks on the Swedish west coast (västkusten aka. bästkusten). just to clear my head out. One of my all time favourites is Marstrand which is a small town situated on two islands named Marstrand and Koön. I was lucky with the weather and there weren´t many people there since the season begins around the beginning of June. Then the place is packed with tourists not only from foreign countries and neighbouring countries but from other Swedish cities as well. Marstrand is also an important sailing spot for people who are sailing on the Skagerrak. You can take bus 312 from Gothenburg Central to the island, it is around 50 minutes. Another option is (since they have one bus in every hour) to take either a bus or train to Ytterby Central and from there you can take another bus to the island. This would take you 1h 15 minutes. The ticket for an adult is approx. 80 SEK.

Lighthouse by Marstrand
View from Carlsten´s fortress
View over the Skagerrak
Marstrand bay
Housing on Marstrand
When Jantelagen meets Marstrand

Click two times on the pics. It is all worth it. I promise.

Where is your favorite place to travel?

Posted by Gabriel 1 Comment
Apr 9 2010
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Spring in Sweden

Posted by Katja 1 Comment
Apr 6 2010

In some cities in Sweden winter is over and spring is on its way or has already come. One of many signs are dandelions (maskrosor) popping up everywhere. You will also see happy people smiling and walking slower just looking around in total happiness. Alright, everybody won’t be as happy as that but people in general will start seeing and living again after a sort of winter hibernation. It is also common that people are in better moods due to the sun.

In the more northern parts spring will come upon the cities in a matter of days. In the short period of around about two weeks all the snow will disappear to be replaced by the dry sidewalks and uncovered benches. Children jump jumprope (hopprep) and run around in their much missed sneakers (gympaskor). All the heavy clothes are left at home and every child’s thoughts are focused on the up coming summer holidays (sommarlov). In schools teachers and students have counted the days until the summer holidays start, knowing exactly how many days not counting weekends and so on and so forth. People ride their bikes to work and you see sunglasses everywhere.

Just before spring breaks out there is a longer period of much enjoyed time as well. The Swedish term for this is called Vårvinter. Literally Spring Winter. People go up to the mountains (fjällen) to go downhill skiing and it is not uncommon for families who share cottages to vigorously take turns inhabiting them.

Dark hours and too many of them

Posted by Katja 8 Comments
Jan 31 2010

Nothern citizens of Sweden are exposed to extreme temperatures (to the colder side of the thermometer) and long, dark winters. The long dark hours often drive a lot of people into a sort of hibernation, of the kind when people’s awareness of happiness, each other and positiveness get dulled. A kind of mutual, understood and accepted depression is spread far and wide in the North. Longing for the sun for so long creates a frenzy in the spring when the weather starts warming up. People lie outside without shirts (in men’s cases) and women in bikini tops when it is hardly plus degrees. You will almost see more people sunbathing in the spring than in the summer.  Crazy, huh?

During these long winters people console themselves with going to warmer countries for holidays, or the less expensive artificial sun in tanning beds.

So, what do people do to combat the dark, cold months? Well, unions have negotiated so people work longer days throughout the winter letting everybody go home earlier in the summer. But this doesn’t help anybody when you get up and it is dark outside and when you finish work or school it is pitch black, so people light candles. Lots of them. Every window has an electric candlestick lighting up the gloomy atmosphere.

Do you live in a country where the climate sets restrictions for daily activity? Any advise for dark climates would be very appreciated.

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