You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2008.
The word “sommarstuga” in Sweden is not easy to translate: “summer cabin”, “summer house”, “summer cottage”, or “holiday cottage” all come close, but none quite sum up the spirit of the Swedish sommarstuga.
In the UK, it is considered a mark of comparative affluence to have a “holiday home”, a rural retreat, a weekend bolthole from the stress and overcrowding of urban life. In Sweden, there are around 680,000 summer cabins in the country as a whole. There are around 700,000 families in Sweden with an average of 2 children per family. Given that most summer cabins in Sweden are owned collectively by extended families and handed down from generation to generation, this means that the great majority of the Swedish population has access to a summer cabin and the opportunity to spend their weekends and holidays at their own private “holiday home” in the country.
But whereas a holiday cottage in the UK may, in other hands, serve equally well as a full-time dwelling, the vast majority of Swedish summer houses used by Swedish families (rather than available for hire to visitors) are an altogether simpler affair. Most will have modern conveniences such as electricity and cooking facilities, and perhaps running water in the kitchen area, but indoor toilet facilities are uncommon and showers and baths would be considered a real extravagance!
Instead, Swedish summer cabins generally have a dry outdoor toilet, or “utedass”, located in a small separate wooden building some distance from the house. Waste is collected in buckets and covered over with dry earth to prevent odours and aid rapid composting. When the buckets are full, they can be emptied into a composting area secluded in the forest and later used for compost. The Swedes had been doing eco-friendly composting toilets for generations before such ideas became fashionable in the UK!
Many first-time visitors to Sweden are often surprised to find that Swedish summers are, on average (and of course depending on how far north you travel) warmer and drier than in the UK. By the middle of summer, the lakes and archipelago waters are usually a fresh but very pleasant temperature for bathing and swimming. Most Swedish summer cabins will be located next to water, and it is a familiar morning sight to see a towel-clad Swedish family making their way from their summer cabin down to the water for their morning bathe.
These days, Swedish summer houses are often just that, private holiday retreats used during the warmer periods of the year. Most sommarstugor do not have the insulation required for modern standards during winter time, and so come autumn most families will close up their summer cabin for the winter. In earlier times, the cabins would have been lived in year-round, usually by ancestors involved in farming or forestry.
It sometimes seems as if all Swedes are born with an instinctive aptitude for carpentry, plumbing and electrical work. Certainly the vast majority of summer cabin owners in Sweden will do all necessary repairs and renovation themselves. This means that owning a summer house is a real commitment in terms of time and energy. Most Swedish families will pack up the car and drive out to their summer house (often referred to as going “ute på landet” or “out in the country”) almost every available weekend during the season, and will also spend at least a week or two of their annual holiday out at the summer cabin. It is much more common for Swedish families to take their summer holidays within Sweden than to travel abroad.
The Swedish summer cabin occupies a central place in Swedish cultural life – it is a focus of family leisure time, a demonstration of Sweden’s egalitarian principles where a private holiday home is not just the preserve of the wealthy, and an icon of the Swedish rural idyll with its beautiful landscape of deep forests and clear, sparkling lakes.
Rich or poor, old or young, most Swedes will be spending their summer weekends this year “ute på landet” at their summer cabins, painting the wood-clad houses red and white, picking flowers from the meadows to decorate the table at mealtimes and beginning each day with a refreshing dip in the lake. Summer at the family cabin is a Swedish tradition which harks back to a simpler, more innocent past, but which looks set to continue long into the future.
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a range of log cabins in Sweden available in both summer and winter. Our simplest log cabin experience in Sweden, Romantic Adventure in Forest Log Cabin, is a unique romantic break available between May and September with simple facilities in a beautiful forest setting. Our other Swedish log cabin experiences, Log Cabin Escape in Värmland and the Northern Comfort Lodge, offer modern facilities and year-round accommodation ideal for families or groups. For an overview of our log cabins in Sweden, see our website at www.naturetravels.co.uk/articles-log-cabin-holidays-in-sweden.htm
We are constantly expanding our portfolio of holidays in Sweden, and Nature Travels now offers over 50 different experiences, ranging from self-guided wilderness canoeing to 7-day husky holidays.
With so many different experiences to choose from, how should you decide which one is best for you? One option is simply to give us a call or send us an email. We are very happy to answer any questions you may have and can make recommendations and suggestions to suit a wide range of interests, abilities, ages and budgets. Nature Travels offers such a varied choice for outdoor and adventure holidays in Sweden that we can almost guarantee you will find something to suit your tastes!
We also provide a range of resources and tools on our website to help you find the best experience for you, whether you are a family with young children looking for an affordable camping holiday or a large corporate group wishing to combine team-building with luxury accommodation:
Search by month
If you know when you would like to travel, but are not sure what activities might be possible or would like some inspiration, the best place to start is our month-by-month listings. Here you can see all the experiences available in a particular month. Don’t forget that many of our experiences are bookable on custom dates by arrangement for small groups and families, so please don’t hesitate to ask if there is a particular activity you cannot find during your chosen period.
Search by location
Perhaps you are travelling to Stockholm for a business trip and would like to add a few days to your trip for an activity. What can you do in the area? Our interactive map shows the approximate locations of all our Sweden holidays, helping you to narrow down your choices. We are happy to advise on the best public transport connections to your chosen experience, or to send detailed driving instructions if you have a vehicle.
The interactive map is also a very useful resource for planning your journey. Simply click on the airport icons to see flight connections to/from each city. Ferry routes are also displayed.
Find the perfect holiday in Sweden for you
Perhaps you know that you would like to go canoeing but are unsure which of our canoeing holidays in Sweden would suit you best. We have a series of articles to help you choose between the various tours on offer. The articles also cover suggestions for different times of year and for different types of traveller, such as winter family holidays in Sweden. Currently, we have articles on the following subjects (if you have ideas for a particular article you would like us to add, we would love to hear from you):
- Holidays in Sweden in different seasons
- Choosing a self-guided canoeing tour in Sweden
- Choosing a dog sledding holiday in Sweden
- Suggestions for family holidays in Sweden, including families with young children
- Ideas for a summer family holiday in Sweden
- Ideas for a winter family holiday in Sweden
- Choosing a log cabin in Sweden
- A personal account of our Sea Kayaking in Sörmlands Archipelago experience
Group travel to Sweden
Many of our experiences are ideal for groups travelling to Sweden. For example, our self-guided canoe tours have proven very popular with canoe clubs, school groups and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, while Timber Rafting on Klarälven is an excellent team-building activity for corporate clients. In wintertime, our range of dog sledding tours in Sweden have provided the perfect challenge for University Armed Forces groups and charity expeditions.
We have a special section of our website dedicated to group travel, with tailored suggestions whatever your group’s requirements and interests. Standard itineraries can easily be tailored to suit the particular needs of your group, with custom start dates, bespoke activities and extra additions such as hotel accommodation and coach transport. A group discount is also often available.
We currently have the following resources dedicated to groups. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding group bookings for any of our experiences:
- Group travel to Sweden
- Holidays in Sweden for clubs and associations
- Activities in Sweden for private groups and families
- Group trips to Sweden for scout and student groups
- Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions in Sweden
- Suggested adventure training in Sweden for University Armed Forces groups
- Bespoke experiences in Sweden for corporate clients
We do hope the range of resources outlined above will be helpful in choosing your next holiday in Sweden with Nature Travels. If you would like to discuss anything about our experiences, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
The Göta Canal is one of Sweden’s best-known holiday attractions. Pronounced “yutta”, it is sometimes known as “Sweden’s blue ribbon” (although within Sweden it is perhaps even better known as the title and location for a series of enormously popular Swedish comedy films). The Göta Canal was built in the early 19th century, linking the port city of Gothenburg in the west with Söderköping on the Baltic Sea. Along the way, the canal passes through Sweden’s two largest lakes, Vännern and Vättern, and through parts of the Göta älv (or Göta river) and Trollätte canal.
The renowned Scottish engineer Thomas Telford developed the first plans for the canal, which were finally implemented by architect Baltzar von Platen on the directions of the Swedish King. Work begin in April 1810 and the canal finally opened in 1832.
In total, the Göta Canal is 190.5km, about 120 miles, of which just under half is excavated canal. The rest consists of natural rivers and lake systems.
The timing of the construction was perhaps not fortuitous, as the importance of canals as transport routes went into steep decline shortly afterwards with the growth of the railways, but although it turned out to be of limited importance for industry, the legacy of Telford and von Platen’s efforts has been a unique leisure resource. In modern times, the canal itself offers excellent canoeing, kayaking and boating opportunities, while the paths that run alongside are popular with cyclists and hikers. The firm paths are particularly good for Nordic Walking (aerobic walking using special poles).
Our Göta Canal Activity Break is an affordable and accessible experience on the banks of the Göta Canal ideal for couples, active families with children of any age, or groups of friends, located just a couple of hours by public transport from either Gothenburg or Stockholm. Accommodation is in the “House of Nature”, a beautiful light and airy building constructed using environmentally-friendly materials and treated with natural paints. The house has also been cleared of magnetic fields.
The House of Nature offers tranquil accommodation and excellent cuisine, served in a dedicated dining house in the garden. Though affiliated to the Swedish Youth Hostel organisation, the standard of the accommodation is far above what one might expect of a hostel. Each party of guests have their own rooms (there is no shared accommodation) and each room is allocated a private bathroom.
The Göta Canal Activity Break is both ideal for a family holiday in Sweden and an excellent choice for groups of mixed ages and interests. For those who wish to relax and take it easy during their visit, the House of Nature provides a welcoming and intimate atmosphere in which to leave the stresses of modern life far behind.
If you are looking for a more active holiday in Sweden, guests enjoy free access to a wide range of outdoor equipment and activities. You can borrow kayaks to go paddling on the lake or the canal itself, take a rowing boat across the lake in search of the perfect picnic spot, borrow bicycles to explore the canal or surrounding forest, or take some Nordic Walking poles and try your hand and this popular and highly addictive way to keep in shape.
Whether you are looking for an idyllic rural retreat or a base for adventure, Sweden’s Göta Canal offers a wealth of possibilities for independent travellers, families or groups.
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
For details of other multi-activity holidays, family-friendly holidays and canoeing and kayaking holidays in Sweden, please see our website at www.naturetravels.co.uk
A camp fire is the centre of social life in the Swedish outdoors, a focal point for conversation, a place to cook and eat, a source of heat, and a hypnotic and endlessly fascinating thing to watch. Without a camp fire, life in the outdoors is a colder experience in all senses of the word. A fire at the end of a long day out in the wilds will lift the spirits and soothe the body.
Wild camping and the freedom to light camp fires is one of the great joys of any outdoor experience in Sweden, and one of the many things which attracts visitors to this vast and beautiful country. But with this freedom comes important responsibilities – the responsibility to guard effectively against the risk of your camp fire spreading out of control, and the responsibility to take only what you need and in the least damaging way from the local environment. Sweden’s forest resources may seem endless, but their ecology is fragile. In northern and mountainous regions where temperatures are low for much of the year and available daylight limits the growing season, trees just a few centimetres high may be surprisingly old and ecosystems can take a very long time to regenerate after any damage.
Potential for the most dramatic problems comes from the risk of forest fire. While natural fires are vital to the fertilisation and regeneration of some forest ecosystems, as with everything in nature, it is maintaining a balance which is important. Large fires can have an enormously damaging impact on local wildlife, in some cases destroying whole populations of threatened species, and the ecology of the area can take decades to recover. In addition, of course, they can pose an enormous risk to human life and property.
While the UK has had a rather damp start to the 2008 summer season, Sweden by contrast has been basking in the sunshine, with above average temperatures and an extended dry period. This is good news for visitors (our early season canoeists had some truly wonderful weather for their tours in May!), but with the sun and the lack of rain comes the increased risk of forest fire. This has already led to serious problems in some parts of Sweden. As we write, large fires caused by the extended dry spell are raging in the northern province of Hälsningland.
The potential for forest fires was illustrated dramatically recently when one of our clients was unfortunate enough to have a problem with his camp fire during a canoe tour, resulting in the complete destruction of his sleeping bag, rucksack, camera and clothes and melting the paddle for their canoe. He and his travelling companion acted quickly to bring the fire under control, narrowly avoiding a much more serious incident, and to their great credit then spent what must have been a most uncomfortable night at the spot to ensure that the fire was completely out before returning to base the following day. Fortunately, the key to their hire car, which had also almost completely melted, was still functioning!
With this in mind, here are a few hints and tips for enjoying the warmth and comfort of your camp fire safely and limiting your impact on the local environment during your experience in Sweden:
When not to light a fire
Observe any local or temporary restrictions regarding the lighting of fires. During particularly dry conditions when there is a high risk of forest fires, local restrictions may be imposed prohibiting the lighting of fires. Check notices and local information for the latest situation. Certain protected areas such as national parks and nature reserves may also have their own rules regarding the lighting of fires and use of forest resources.
How to make a fire
When lighting your fire, please make sure you observe the following guidelines:
1. Choose a suitable place for your fire, with a base of gravel or sand. It should also have easy access to water in case you need to put the fire out quickly. Check the wind strength and direction – sparks can carry some way and ignite the surrounding forest or grassland.
2. You should not light your fire on a bed of peat or moss, which burn very easily. Peat fires can smoulder and burn underground for a very long time, and may still be burning below ground level even when the fire seems to be out from above. Similarly, you should avoid lighting your fire in any earthy, forested area. You should also avoid lighting your fire near to anthills or old tree stumps, both of which may catch fire very easily.
3. Do not build large bonfires – this is a waste of resources and extremely dangerous. Keep your fire small, focused and controlled (this also makes it much better for cooking on if you are planning to make food on your fire). Dig a shallow hole in which to make your fire or make a circle of stones around the fire to contain it. Do not use wet stones, which can crack and explode when heated. Also, do not light your fire on or next to flat rocks. This chars and may crack the rock and looks very unsightly, and the marks will remain for a very long time.
4. If there is a strong wind, do not light a camp fire.
5. Do not burn rubbish of any kind on your fire. Even cardboard and paper is difficult to burn completely and will leave an unsightly residue. Burning paper can be carried into the surrounding trees by small gusts of wind. Do not try to burn plastic or food waste. Please take everything with you and dispose of it correctly.
6. When collecting fuel for your fire, it is permitted to use small branches, twigs and pine cones which are lying on the ground. Bear in mind that dead wood provides an extremely valuable habitat for a wide range of species – more species of insect can be supported by dead wood than live wood – so avoid larger branches and stumps. Just because they are no longer on the tree, doesn’t mean that they are not still extremely important to the local ecology!
7. You must not take any material from live trees or damage them in any way.
How to put out your camp fire
Do not leave the campsite before the fire is completely extinguished – it must burn down completely before you leave. Use water to put the fire out, then poke it to extinguish any embers. Use a small trowel to dig up the earth under the fire to ensure there are no embers or smoke remaining.
What to do if your fire gets out of control
If you can, call the fire brigade immediately. In Sweden, the number is 112. It is important to stop the fire spreading in the direction of the wind. Take some bunches of branches from pine or juniper trees (these are better than leafy branches). Wet the branches if possible. Use the branches to sweep the burning pieces towards the fire while pressing the branches against the ground to put out the flames. Clear brushwood and twigs out of the way and remove moss from the path of the fire. DO NOT beat at the fire with large strokes, as this will spread sparks.
What to do if your clothes catch fire
Get down on the ground and roll over and over. If someone else’s clothes catch fire, lay the person on the ground and smother the flames with a blanket or jacket. Protect their face by covering from the head downwards. Bear in mind that some fabrics, e.g. nylon, can catch fire and melt and may increase the risk of injury.
Use cold water to cool burning clothes and soothe burn injuries. If clothes are stuck to the skin, do not try to remove them. You should keep affected skin in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
General camp safety
You should never have an open fire or any glowing coals inside or near your tent. Have a knife to hand to cut your way out in case of emergency.
If using a camping stove, wait until any unused fuel and utensils are cool before packing the stove away or pouring the fuel back into the bottle.
A last word…
A camp fire on a long Swedish summer evening (or a short winter one if you’re winter camping!) is a wonderful experience. If you follow the simple guidelines above when collecting your fuel and lighting your fires, you will be able to enjoy your fire safely and ensure a supply of fuel and a pristine environment for those who come after you.
Happy camping!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a wide range of outdoor experiences in Sweden, most of which offer wild camping. In the summer, we offer a range of self-guided canoeing holidays and guided sea kayaking expeditions, all of which include wild camping. In winter, it is possible to experience the joy and challenge of winter camping on our Go Camping by Dogsled, Winter Mountaincraft in Jämtland, Snowshoeing in Wolverine Country and Dog Sledding and Winter Bushcraft experiences. For information, please see our website at www.naturetravels.co.uk
