Trip: Sweden

hortense · Sep 16, 2005

In 1939, the parents of my wife emigrated from a small farming community near but north of Östersund. We are planning a trip there in August 2006. We will use United Airline travel miles via SAS, to get to Sweden from Los Angeles.
A. From a photographers point of view, what entry city(ies) should we consider for the drive north.
B. What highway route would be recommended?
1. How long a drive in miles/KM or hours?
C. What medium format ASA 400 film is readily available in Sweden?
Ole, if possible, it would be nice to visit you in Norway.

gandolfi · Sep 16, 2005

hortense said:
In 1939, the parents of my wife emigrated from a small farming community near but north of Östersund. We are planning a trip there in August 2006. We will use United Airline travel miles via SAS, to get to Sweden from Los Angeles.
A. From a photographers point of view, what entry city(ies) should we consider for the drive north.
B. What highway route would be recommended?
1. How long a drive in miles/KM or hours?
C. What medium format ASA 400 film is readily available in Sweden?
Ole, if possible, it would be nice to visit you in Norway.

he he..

just reacted to nr "C".....
the answer must be: any one you'd like...

best regards from Denmark...

Ole · Sep 18, 2005

I don't know much about the Swedish scenery, so I'll limit myself to agreeing with gandolfi.

And if you can, please do come. Just drive straight across the peninsula

George Papantoniou · Sep 18, 2005

From my small experience in Sweden's motorways, consider that it'll take more time than you thought to get anywhere because:

A. it'll be raining (usually, hard)

B: the speed limits are low and HAVE to be respected

C: there are a LOT of lorries on the motorways, blocking the way. Not all routes are large highways.

On the other hand, it's been 20 years since I was on Swedish territory, so things might since have changed... I plan to do a trip up there (Norway) in the next 3 years (Ole, I'm coming)... keep us informed of the outcome.

George Papantoniou · Sep 18, 2005

Oh, I forgot to mention that you should NEVER mention to a Norvegian that you have Swedish blood running in vour veins. You'll risk a lot by doing it... especially if he's stronger than you.

Patrick M · Sep 18, 2005

Well, according to the weather I have to disagree with mr. Papantoniou: It won't rain all the time. But in this time of the year it might rain quite often.
According to the speed-limit I have to agree ... 90km/h is wha will be the limit very often but on a lot of roads you want be able to drive that fast but the highways ("riksväg" should be the name) are ok.

Ok, you want't to photograph. Some spots that are interesting for you should be:
- All those small islands at the west and east coast.
- The lakes. This country is full of them and some are really beautiful.

Ole · Sep 18, 2005

George Papantoniou said:
A. it'll be raining (usually, hard)

No. That's here - the Norwegian west coast. Last Wednesday we got 154mm of rain (about 6 inches) in 24 hours. But that was a new record, and not something that happens every year.

hortense · Sep 18, 2005

Thank to all of you for the input. If August has a lot of rain, perhaps another month would be better:
Ole' as we get closer to the our final plans, I'll ask for your address and see if we can work in a visit. I'd love to look at your collection of cameras. I'll be bringing my Hasselblad.

Ole · Sep 18, 2005

August is generally the best time, at least around here!

laz · Sep 18, 2005

Believe it or not we "Honeymooned" in Sweden (my beloved had a meeting to attend, so half the trip was free) We went in early October and it was lovely.

I don't want to offend Gandolfi but I will always remember discussing Scandinavian language with a local, I asked him about my difficulty in even identifying words spoken in Danish, he said, and I quote: :bah, Danish is not a language it's a throat disease!"

Magnus W · Sep 18, 2005

You will probably land in Stockholm (Arlanda Airport) which is a beautiful city for the photographically inclined.
( http://www.geographia.com/sweden/stockholm.html )
August is very nice btw. Östersund ( http://www.turist.ostersund.se/ ) is inland and about 650 km (NNW) from Stockholm, 8-10 hours non-stop drive. Not recommended for the tourist. (driving non-stop in the moose hunting season) Make it two days and enjoy the scenery.

South and south-west of Stockholm there is a metric a**-ton of cool sights. Old cloisters,
( http://www.raa.se/sites/alvastra.asp )
ruins, channels, locks, and waterways.
( http://www.gotakanal.se/en/ )
And nature. We have available nature it in spades.
( Dead Link Removed )
And the Stockholm Archipelagio.

If you swing by Uppsala (90 km NW of Stockholm) I will be happy to show you around. We have a Viking museum,
( http://www.raa.se/olduppsala/index.asp )
a 12 c. cathedral,
( http://www.factbites.com/topics/Uppsala-Cathedral )
one of the few anatomical theatres still excisting,
( http://www.gustavianum.uu.se/english.shtml )
and a university founded in 1477.
( Dead Link Removed )

-- MW

(edit) Kodak, Ilford, and Fuji films are readily available in most cities. 120 films can be a little bit tricky, so my recommendation it to stack up while in Stockholm.

modafoto · Sep 19, 2005

Ole said:
August is generally the best time, at least around here!

Same in Denmark.

abeku · Sep 19, 2005

hortense said:
In 1939, the parents of my wife emigrated from a small farming community near but north of Östersund. We are planning a trip there in August 2006. We will use United Airline travel miles via SAS, to get to Sweden from Los Angeles.
A. From a photographers point of view, what entry city(ies) should we consider for the drive north.
B. What highway route would be recommended?
1. How long a drive in miles/KM or hours?
C. What medium format ASA 400 film is readily available in Sweden?
Ole, if possible, it would be nice to visit you in Norway.

Welcome to an enchanted country! For how long do you plan to stay in Sweden? Anything particular you have in mind that you would like to photograph?
There's a quick route north by taking a "freeway" along the east coast, but you will have great opportunities to visit small villages and cities along the shore. Driving straight to Östersund from Stockholm will take one day, a long day...
Inland, you will take a slower route, but there's plenty to see as well. I'm originally from the Gästrikland county which is close to Dalarna, which is a very picturesque part of Sweden. Taking this route to Östersund is also a good option.
I live in Stockholm and I can show you around here. We're all APUGers, right?
When it comes to 120-film you can get that in Stockholm, but I advice you to stock up already in US, you'll save a lot of money in that way.

cheers,

abeku

hortense · Sep 19, 2005

Particular thanks to both Magnus and Abeku. Will try to arrange a meeting.

Trip: Sweden

hortense

gandolfi

Ole

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George Papantoniou

George Papantoniou

Patrick M

Ole

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hortense

Ole

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laz

Magnus W

modafoto

abeku

hortense

Trip: Sweden

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