Monday, July 07, 2008
Sweden Then and Now
I previously posted about a trip to Mellansel, Sweden in December 2007. I was there shortly before the Winter Solstice. As expected, it was cold, dark, and frozen. Last month, I travelled to Sweden again -- just after the Summer Solstice. As expected, a HUGE difference since it was bright and colorful (I stop at calling it warm though: the HIGH temp was around 60F).
What a great country to visit in the Summer! As a reminder, when I was there in December the sun was only up from around 8:30am until around 2:45pm. It was pitch black by 3:30pm. With this trip, it never got completely dark all night. Overnight it basically got to a point of being dark like at dusk and then started getting brighter again in the very early hours of the morning.
Below I have included a picture of the customer site from last December at noon and then again on this trip to see the contrast.
December 2007
What a great country to visit in the Summer! As a reminder, when I was there in December the sun was only up from around 8:30am until around 2:45pm. It was pitch black by 3:30pm. With this trip, it never got completely dark all night. Overnight it basically got to a point of being dark like at dusk and then started getting brighter again in the very early hours of the morning.
Below I have included a picture of the customer site from last December at noon and then again on this trip to see the contrast.
December 2007
June 2008
I took a number of pictures with my camera phone this time. I will share a few rather than trying to document everything.
Interesting Item #1: Wild Lupin Flowers
These flowers were in large patches at random spots along the roads. They grow wild like weeds do here at home!
Interesting Item # 2: Where's the Dark?
It never got completely dark at night. That made it difficult to convince my body that it was time to go to sleep. The picture above was taken near my hotel at 10:30pm. My camera phone has no light amplification functionality -- it was as bright as you see in the photo.
Interesting Item # 3: Summer Ski Jumping
The main item of interest in this photo is kind of small. Near the center-right of the picture is a ski jump. The Norwegian Ski Jump Team was in town for their summer training. The ski jump has a ceramic surface for the jump and fiberglass grass for the landing area so that they can practice in the summer. We got to see a few jumpers using it when we drove by. The structure to the left of the photo is a large indoor pool and water slide facility that is very popular.
Interesting Item # 4: Speed Boat Ride
We stayed in a town called Örnsköldsvik because Mellansel was too small to have any hotels. The pictures above show the boat we rode and a small fishing village that we passed. The boat ride include some high speed jumps over the waves and a tour of the natural harbor including the homes of a number of NHL stars from the area. The yellow survival suits in the first picture were needed because, despite being the height of summer, the water was COLD!
# posted by - Rob @ 2:11 PM 
Comments:
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Good contrast shot. I like how the clock shows your around the same time.
White Nights and sleep cycle means you should consider packing Melatonin on your trip. Pop one a 1/2 hour before you want to sleep and it will jump start your natural cycle.
The Lupins are of special comical interest to me (Dennis dum, Dennis dee).
Nice posting!
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White Nights and sleep cycle means you should consider packing Melatonin on your trip. Pop one a 1/2 hour before you want to sleep and it will jump start your natural cycle.
The Lupins are of special comical interest to me (Dennis dum, Dennis dee).
Nice posting!
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