You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2007.
Walpurgis Night, or Valborg in Swedish, is one of the year’s major holidays in Sweden, coming as it does just as spring is starting to get a proper grip on much of the country.
On this night, large bonfires are still lit in many areas of the country, particularly in the regions of Svealand and Uppland, and families gather around these “majbrasor”, or May Fires, to listen to choirs, join in the singing, and celebrate. The traditional function of this was to ward off predators before releasing livestock for grazing, and also to protect against the evil witches at large on this night.
As with many festivals and events in Sweden, singing is an integral part of Valborg. These spring songs were popularized and spread by the student communities, and the strongest Valborg traditions still remain in the country’s two oldest universities, Lund in the south and Uppsala, just to the north of Stockholm. From early in the morning until late into the night, white-capped students will be celebrating the last day of April, “sista April” and singing to welcome the spring. Elsewhere in the country, other student traditions have grown up on the back of Valborg, including the Cortège carnival parade in Gothenburg.
The tradition of Valborg originates in the Walpurgis Nacht evening of feasting in Germany, and commemorates Walburga, an 8th century German abbess. In the Middle Ages, the end of April marked the end of the administrative year, with festivities for the merchants and artisans. For farmers and village-dwellers, this day was also important, as this was when the annual village meeting was held.
For a taste of Sweden on Valborg night, listen to one of the most popular Valborg songs: Vintern Rasat (“The winter has fallen”)
Why not try singing along with the text below?
Vintern Rasat
Vintern rasat ut bland våra fjällar,
drivans blommor smälta ned och dö.
Himlen ler i vårens ljusa kvällar,
solen kysser liv i skog och sjö.
Snart är sommarn här i purpurvågor,
guldbelagda, azurskiftande
ligga ängarne i dagens lågor,
och i lunden dansa källorne.
Ja, jag kommer! Hälsen, glada vindar,
ut till landet, ut till fåglarne,
att jag älskar dem, till björk och lindar,
sjö och berg, jag vill dem återse,
se dem än som i min barndoms stunder
följa bäckens dans till klarnad sjö,
trastens sång i furuskogens lunder,
vattenfågelns lek kring fjärd och ö.
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a wide range of year-round outdoor holidays in Sweden including dogsledding, canoeing, kayaking, cross country skiing and hiking for independents, families and groups.
Each year in winter and summer, a select group of tour operators, journalists and equipment retailers gather somewhere in the wilds of Sweden for the Outdoor Academy. A partnership between the Swedish tourist authorities, SAS airlines and the Scandinavian Outdoor Group, the Academy aims to spread the word about Sweden as a wonderful holiday destination for outdoor experiences year-round.
This year, the area chosen was Swedish Lapland, in the far north of the country well inside the Arctic Circle. The Nature Travels team joined colleagues from Germany, Holland, France, Belgium and Switzerland for six days of snowy adventures, exploration, and VERY good food!
This year’s winter Academy (or rather “spring winter”, as the mountain areas of Sweden are said to have eight seasons) showcased the potential of this vast and beautiful area as an outdoor destination, both for those who enjoy the challenges of winter camping and those who prefer to keep the pleasures of home a little closer to hand!
As well as sampling the comfort, excellent cuisine and hospitality of some of the mountain stations in the area (perfect for a hot sauna after a hard day in the hills!), we spent cozy nights by the fire in a Sami Lavvu, a kind of teepee, sipping hot lingonberry juice and being slowly hypnotised by the crackle of the fire and the rising woodsmoke. The temperature was well below zero, but even now in early spring it was still light as we made our way with happy hearts and full stomachs towards our sleeping teepees. But with thick down sleeping bags and a mattress of reindeer skins to keep us warm, we were soon fast asleep, our dreams made sharper by the crisp night air and filled with sensations of endless space and silence. This part of Sweden has a population density of less than two people per square kilometre, compared to an average of 20 people for the country as a whole and around 250 for the UK, so there’s plenty of space for everyone!
We awoke early (it gets light around 3am up there at the moment) to the sounds of Ptarmigan echoing across the hills, feeling refreshed and oddly invigorated despite the brevity of our first night’s sleep in the Lavvu. It took a couple of days to acclimatise to the late sunset and early sunrise, but by the middle of the trip and a few adventure-filled days in the mountains, sleeping in was definitely no longer a problem!
And the days were adventure-filled (and sun-filled) indeed, with dog sledding, snowshoeing, telemark skiing, ski touring, ice fishing and caving all on the agenda. Lapland is a limitless playground for all who love the outdoors, and though our muscles are still rather sore from our attempts to master telemark technique and the exertion of mountain ascents on snowshoes, we have returned again to the UK with only happy memories.
How strange to see spring and early summer already in full swing here again, the forests and gardens bursting with new life – but we just need to close our eyes and we are transported once more to a very different world: a world of ice, of the cries of eagles and the snuffling of reindeer, and all around us a horizon of rolling mountains, colossal shapes dominating the landscape like patient guardians, and everywhere snow lying thick on the ground like a winter duvet over a sleeping world…..
Our greatest thanks to all those involved in the planning, organisation and running of this winter’s Outdoor Academy of Sweden – we can’t wait for the next one!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a number of summer and winter holidays in Lapland, including horse riding in Vindelfjällen on Icelandic horses, the chance to drive your own reindeer sled on a Reindeer Sled Safari, and our multi-adventure Experience Lapland. Keep an eye on our website at www.naturetravels.co.uk for new summer activities in Lapland to be added shortly.
Find out more about this winter’s Outdoor Academy of Sweden in Lapland on the official OAS blog.
With 2000 miles of coastline and an archipelago of 24,000lands just off the capital Stockholm, Sweden is a wonderful destination for sea kayaking.
Sea kayaks, or touring kayaks, are longer, more stable versions of the kayaks intended for whitewater paddling. They are effectively small boats with a spray skirt to keep you dry during your adventures. While less maneuverable than whitewater kayaks, they are more comfortable and have a greater capacity for luggage storage. They don’t turn as well, but they are ideal for paddling in a straight line!
Sea kayaks may be designed for one, two or even three persons, with storage space in the body of the kayak for luggage and camping equipment. The possibility to take everything you need with you makes sea kayaks perfect for extended trips around the Swedish archipelagos, especially since, thanks to the “Every Man’s Right” system of public access, wild camping is generally permitted on most of the islands.
The design of modern sea kayaks has its root in the boats used by the indigenous peoples of North America and Greenland. In fact, the word “kayak” comes from the Greenland Eskimo work “kajakka”, meaning “small boat of skins.” Steering is accomplished by a combination of paddle work and, usually, but a foot-operated rudder. The rudder is usually retracted when landing.
These days sea kayaking is becoming increasingly popular, combining as it does much of the hiker’s joy of exploring nature in silence with the novelty and adventure of being on the water. What’s more, although your technique will certainly improve after a few days, sea kayaking is a very accessible sport for novices. The boats are stable and will not capsize easily, and with a little practice even a beginner can cover quite reasonable distances from the very start.
As you glide quietly through the water, kayaks produce very little disturbance to local wildlife, which makes it possible to have astonishingly intimate encounters with marine mammals and birdlife. Kayaks are therefore the ideal mode of transport for marine wildlife safaris!
Nature Travels offers sea kayaking experiences in the beautiful and wild area of Södermanlands archipelago, a short distance south of Stockholm. The experiences are open to novice or more accomplished paddlers, and give you an excellent opportunity to explore this unspoilt area in tranquility and silence. We also offer a tailor-made sea kayaking experience, where a tour can be created to suit the needs and wishes of your group.
The waves lap gently at the side of the boat and the cries of an Osprey echo across the water…. sometimes it seems that the Swedish coastline might have been created just for sea kayakers: so get paddling!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Wolverines are Sweden’s least known and most secretive large predator, and one of its most misunderstood. With such a confusing name, many people assume it must be some kind of wolf, perhaps a smaller cousin to that icon of the wilderness, the grey wolf.
Actually, wolverines are mustelids, a family which includes badgers and otters, and have far more in common with these animals than with their canine namesakes. Wolverines in Sweden have had a very hard time of it indeed, and have been saddled with a terrible reputation. Myths and folk wisdom have labelled the wolverine (in an image that is reminiscent of the folklore surrounding our own red fox here in the UK) as a bloodthirsty killer, a vicious glutton which takes pleasure in killing more than it really needs.
In reality, the wolverine has been called “the hyena of the northern mountains” and is for the most part a scavenger, actually a rather poor predator. In Sweden wolverines live predominantly on reindeer – which sometimes brings them into catastrophic conflict with the reindeer herding peoples of the north. When the snow has a crust, which is hard enough to support a wolverine but not the heavier reindeer, a wolverine has a chance of bringing down a reindeer, and this perhaps is what has given them such a bad reputation as wasteful killers. In fact, wolverines do not eat their whole kill in one go, but will, like the fox, hide most of it and return to it later. Traditionally wolverines in Sweden have been confined to the northern regions, though some are now spreading south, finding a new source of food – the by-product of the annual (human) elk hunt.
European wolverines are generally 70-85 cm long, rather smaller than their North American counterparts (which can reach 110cm), with a tail around 20cm long. An adult may weigh almost 20kg. Visually they resemble a large, brown, bushy-tailed badger. They are widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, inhabiting tundra and northern forest regions. Mating takes place between April and August, with 1-4 cubs being born the following February or March. While reindeer are the mainstay of their winter diet, in summer Swedish wolverines subsist mainly on small rodents, birds and vegetable matter. Wolverines are at their most active through the night and at dusk and dawn.
Though Sweden’s population is only a couple of hundred, wolverines are spreading slowly south into the areas away from the reindeer herds. A protected species in Sweden, the population is nevertheless subject to illegal hunting and persecution, usually as a result of conflict with the interests of reindeer herding. Since 1993 there has been an ongoing project to study the species with a view to planning for its conservation, in and around Sarek National Park in Lapland – a large expanse of trackless mountains often called “Europe’s Last Wilderness”. A total of 168 wolverines have been captured and fitted with radio transmitters to allow scientists to monitor their movements and behaviour.
With careful management and greater understanding, we hope that the mountains of Sweden will echo to the sounds of wolverines for many years to come!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a number of experiences in Sweden which take place in around the range of the wolverine. Though we cannot promise you a glimpse of this elusive creature in the flesh, the wolverine’s homeland is a breathtaking and inspirational landscape, and you may find fresh tracks criss-crossing your path! See Snowshoeing in Wolverine Country.
To find out more about wolverines and wolverine conservation in Sweden, visit http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/research/persson.htm
If you find yourself in Sweden this weekend, you may be forgiven for thinking that you’ve stumbled into a time warp, transported back to October 31st, with children dressed as witches going door-to-door in search of candy.
But no, look around you and you will see the blue skies of early spring and the flowers making their way shyly through the brown grass of winter. So what’s happening?
The traditional Easter holidays last from Thursday to Monday in Sweden and begin with a candy hunt which bears some resemblance to our own Hallowe’en trick or treating. But the Swedish version is rather gentler and less ghoulish than a modern Hallowe’en. Children dress up in headscarves and paint their cheeks red – becoming “påskkärringar”, or Easter witches – and go visiting house to house. In exchange for giving a drawing or singing a song (always accompanied by the cry “Glad Påsk!” or “Happy Easter”), the children receive sweets. Later that night, according to tradition, the witches will fly to the Blue Mountain, or “Blåkulla”, for a meeting with the devil.
Saturday sees Swedes young and old scouring their gardens and surrounding forest, sometimes with the aid of maps and compasses, in search of eggs – these are the Swedish version of Easter eggs, or “Påskägg”, made not from chocolate but from cardboard and filled with candy. The old adage “waste not, want not” still carries some weight in Sweden, and these cardboard eggs will be saved and reused for the egg hunt for many future Easters!
The other tell-tale sign that you are in Sweden for Easter is the birch twigs (or “Påskris”) decorated with coloured feathers adorning the dining tables and windows of many houses. This tradition dates back to the 19th century and is thought to encourage the arrival of spring as the birch twigs magically sprout their green leaves.
Easter and early spring is a lovely time in Sweden – a time when on the lowlands it is time for Swedes to travel out to their summer houses, which have been closed up and shuttered since the autumn, take forward the garden furniture and do a spot of spring cleaning. Meanwhile, up in the mountains, winter is still very much in evidence with a blanket of snow still covering much of the landscape. It is a wonderful time of year for winter sports – with longer nights and warmer days, just being outside in this winter world is an invigorating and uplifting celebration of life.
Whether you are spending Easter this year in Sweden or elsewhere, our very best wishes for the holiday season.
Best regards and Happy Easter!
The Nature Travels Team
Discover the beauty and tranquility of the Swedish mountains at this time of year on our Spring Winter in the Mountains of Western Sweden experience.
