Thankfully the ice has melted

Which means...dum dum dum, its outdoors, sunshine and fishing time!

The last two weeks have been filled with days consisting of a few minutes of sunshine, warmer temperatures, a bit of rain, 20 hours of sunshine, braai's, runs and of course a few days fishing. Still, its a bit early in the season, admittedly, but its no complaining getting out and having a few casts here and there to see whats, if anything is biting.

I have met up with a few friends who are crazy about outdoors and one or two who are nuts about fishing too and have explored a few regions. There are few fish to show for the effort, the memories of making a fire anywhere, viewing the awesome scenery that is to offer, and the return of smelling like a forest fire are all fondly remembered and eagerly looked forward to for the next times.

I have also spent a few days camping and doing a cycle tour. My good friend Kai and I packed out bikes recently, as lightly as we could, ie, no changes of clothes or unnecessary items (its good to be a man). Together we set off to a nearby nature reserve to enjoy some of Swedens best scenery. The great thing about swedes is their rule of the right of public access, meaning that you can camp anywhere and make a fire, as long as you are not invading someones privacy.

So, right next to a lake, we set up camp, made a HUGE fire and enjoyed a night outdoors, rain, wind and all. Despite the rain at 5 AM and gusting wind, we returned happy, smelly and filled with good memories of nature.

"What have we done moment?" with a good fire

The next night I followed more friends to yet another camping trip, to a different area and river for more camp memories. The sun tried to set at around 11 PM, we sat talking some more, set up a tent at 2 AM sans the aid of a torch it was that light, and attempted to sleep in the ever present glow of no evening. Great memories to behold.

Cycle tour bikes

River view

So, you see folks, 20 hours of sunshine, greenery, lack of snow and a fabulous arena for adventure, Sweden yet again delivers on entertainment.

Cool foxes skull for biology, mum.

And they call it a fishing boat

God smiles when you least expect it.

Birthday Post

I suppose as I age on yet another year and life continues on, that its time for another post. But this on serves as a celebratory post; and a little insight of what else has been happening for the past few weeks.

On the back of a rather stressful few months with internship and university work, its nice to take a breather and have some time to relax. Its been good to unwind over the last two weeks.

Morning of arrival

And one who loves Östersund

On April 22nd I am pleased to announce that I received my first visitor from South Africa. None other than one: Danelle Bosman, after travelling for a fair amount of time arrived in a very sunny Östersund to kick off a 10 day holiday for her. The days leading up to her arriving were bustling with excitement, as we planned what she will be doing etc etc. Needless to say I was excited as she was and looked foreword to her trip. (Did I mention that her trip coincided with yours-truly's birthday, so the prospect of home treats were also something to look forward too)

In a space of 10 action packed days, we did: Easter in Sweden (great concert in an old church btw), skiing in Åre (In short sleeve shirts as the picture demonstrates), Swam in indoor pools, had an outdoor picnic, experienced the towns nightlife, visited museum and historic sites, socialised, enjoyed the outdoors and celebrated a birthday with a mix of cultures.

Skiing in short sleves

Great sunny picnic

Easter concert 

Seeing as it happens just once a year, I feel that a birthday must be described. Bear in mind that the king of Sweden shares his birthday on the same day as I do, which is a big affair. Its also a day of celebration, public holiday on May1 and a huge fire that gets lit all over as Swedes chase away the nasties of winter.

Birthday dinner

The day started with Danelle singing and the standard pictures and coffee when you wake up. Yes, the tradition lives on. After a skype session with folks and present unwrapping, we surged around town and did last minute gift shopping and preperations for the evening began. We made a proper affair of Vetkoek, Mince, Biltong, Apricot jam et al! It went down a treat. (On that note, many thanks goes to Danelle for lugging along Vetkoek mix and grandma's apricot jam). Following the dinner, the group of friends all went to the harbour where a choir proceeded to sing Valborg songs and a HUGE fire was lit up, followed by fireworks. Now this is a way I must recommend to anyone to share a birthday.

What a way to make a fire, size does matter

So, concluding a great few weeks, I must thank Danelle for coming to Sweden and spending valuable time here, she made this break one to remember, and I look foreword to what the future holds for both of us.

And as for the onset of summer; well, if this is how you finish the winter then all I say is: Bring it ON!

Hehe, the wines name is Andrew