Survival Course/Outing (Överlevnadskurs)

First off, as usual, here are a few pics:

Our shelter the first night (After raining all day and night)

The "Tee Pee" Shelter

Building the Tee Pee Shelter

A lesson on Eating Ants

"Mmm" Roots for Dinner

A few weeks ago I took part on the final excursion of my Survival Course. After several weeks of theory and learning about how the mind and body work together to survive ordeals, etc. we had to put our "knowledge" to the test!

Just a few kilometers south of Linköping we spent the weekend in the woods, with no food, shelter, knives, etc. The first night we were given a tarp due to the heavy rain that came ALL DAY.

After the first night, we all became a little hungry...but that actually went away. Our luxurious "tarp camp" was then taken away and we had to build a Teepee type shelter where we could have a fire inside to keep warm. Knifes and sleeping bags were also taken away...so this was very primitive!

To satisfy our hunger (or just to have some carbs and sugar to have our brains function) several plants and roots were shown to us that were edible. Kärleksört and Hundkäx (have no idea what they are in English). Moreover, we even ate ANTS, which are actually quite good!

All in all, the experience was amazing, and put to the test body vs. mind. I can say I got home feeling like crap and with a headache (possibly due to a coffee deficiency)...hahaha.

Ems Herrgård (Fishing for Sea Trout in Emån)

This past Wednesday, I took a trip down to Ems Herrgård to fish on the Emån (Em River). Pretty expensive place to fish, but definitely very nice! To sum up, no fish....saw quite a few fish rolling and waking, but to my knowledge no one caught fish on Wednesday. Was pretty hard with the conditions (bright, sunny and warm) and could have hoped for a little cooler cloudier weather. Nonetheless a great day out on the water and I look forward to returning....hopefully in the fall for some sea trout when they are in full action mode!

Easter Weekend, Team Flannel and the Quest for Sea Trout

Here's a few pics from our latest adventure in Stockholm's Archaepelago on the island of Gålö. Johan, Davie and I headed out to try and battle some Sea Trout, but there seemed to be none at all....at least we didnt manage to catch any. Otherwise, it was an awesome way to spend our Easter weekend. A bit cold, but fun and great to be outdoor nonetheless!

Morning View from the Tent

Davie along the Coast

Lunch Break

Sausage Break after a long morning of fishing

The Ford Fiesta, PACKED TO THE BRIM!

Davie and Johan along the coast in a nice bay

Team Flannel and our fire

Davie carrying a log across the bay

And here's a video of my fire steel, actually worked great all weekend!

My first ever Havsöring (Sea Trout)

Today a buddy of mine from our fly fishing club here at Linköping University headed out to Bråviken near Norrköping. What started as a rather cold, still day turned into an exciting day for me.

After a few hours of fishing in very still, calm and cold water, my excitement bloomed with the catch of a havsöring!!!! (sea trout)

Seatrout come into the bay Bråviken (literally Brå bay) to head upstream and spawn, but stay there basically all year round feeding on shrimp and small baitfish.

I managed to lure one on a fly I made this morning! All I can say is...AWESOME DAY! Thanks again Alex!

Look out Survivor Man and Bear Grills....

Sofia and I are going to take a course on Surviving in March!




Yes that is right, a course on how to eat what mother nature provides you, building fires and all that other survivor man type of stuff. It consists of 5 lessons, and finally a camping weekend (which Sofia is not too fond of, since she thinks we'll have to eat moss and sleep on twigs).

Sounds Fun!

In Swedish it is called "Överlevnadskurs" (Survival Course)

BILPROVNINGEN!!!! Annual Vehicle Inspection Results

The technician checking the shape of the car underneath

It is done, and suprisingly the little baby (our Ford Fiesta) cleared the inspection without any marks or problems. We are proud! One thing I was worried about was some cracks in the windshield, but that doesnt make it dangerous to drive, bad for the environment or endanger others...so....PASS!

The "Bilprovningen" is a great system they have in place here in Sweden. It is an annual check of the vehicles condition to ensure it is able to drive on the roads without endangering others, yourself or the environment. They test the condition of the electrical system, chassis, tires, shocks, struts, exhaust emissions, brakes and many more things including seatbelts and wipers. It is to ensure Swedes can rely on one another on the road. It is also a great way to ensure your car is up to standard when you go about selling it. A "pass" and moreover "without marks" is a great way to ensure the buyer the car is in good, or at least drivable condition.

Exhaust Emissions Check (Cleared this NO PROBLEM)
The car is Environmentally Friendly (well not 100%)

Sälen 2009 (This time for Skiing)!

Here's a video of me tele-skiing in Sälen. This was one of our favorite runs from Lindvallen. Snow was great, but up on the top of the mountain, it was a bit too windy! BLÅÅÅÅSIIIIIG!

Total Relaxation, The Afterski Fest in our Room

The View from the top of the Mountain

Me at the top of Tandådalen

Sofia on top of Lindvallen

McDonalds on the Slope...yes it is true!!! McSKI!!!

The View from our Room