Tågresa (Train travel)

Jag tar tåget från Eskilstuna station, en modern version av de gamla motorvagnarna tar mig över broarna vid Kvicksund, till Kolbäck och vidare över slätterna till Västerås. Spåret letar sig in i obefolkade skogar på väg mot Sala. Ett snabbt tågbyte i Sala, jag saknar höjd över havet på nya stationsskylten. Huset är detsamma som förr. Undrar hur många stationshus som fanns under tågens stortid? Intercitytåget mot Uppsala ser ut som vanligt, men är nästan folktomt. Borde man inte kunna sälja lite fler biljetter om det var billigare? Det borde gå jämnt ut. Vi är 10 pers i en vagn på minst 80 platser. Konduktören har bytt den traditionella mössan mot en svart SJ-keps. Modernt, men jag hajar till. Ännu visslar han på perrongen vid avgång, i klassisk visselpipa. Min ungdoms resor, alla dessa visslingar, alla tågresor jag gjort. På väg till, på väg bort, på väg hem, på väg till älsklingen, på väg mot okända marker.

Ibland när jag står och väntar på pendeltåget i Stockholm så står det ett fjärrtåg på perrongen bredvid. Mot Kiruna, Narvik, Malmö, Berlin, Hamburg....

 Lusten att kliva på finns där, alltid. Jag reser genom ett landskap av lövskogar, nyslagna stubbåkrar i senapsgult, gröna höstsådder och granplanteringar. Just nu är vi mitt emellan sommar och höst, svala nätter men ännu är det varmt när solen skiner. Blommorna går i frö, bara några enstaka ettårigar blommar vidare. Nypon, rönnbär och havtorn har röda bär i stor mängd. Snart är höstens flammande färger här, det saknas bara några frostnätter.

Min resa tar slut i Uppsala, idag var det hit jag skulle. Domkyrkans spiror sticker hål på dimmolnens gråmulna himmel, snart tittar nog solen fram. Slottet ligger bastant och tryggt på bergets topp. Uppsala, min studiestad, min glädjetid.

(A note for English speaking readers, I describe a train ride through the Swedish landscape from Eskilstuna to Uppsala. A lot of memories from train rides in my youth too.)

Translation by LS:

I take the train from Eskilstuna station, a modern version of the old rail buses take me over the bridges at Kvicksund, to Kolbäck and then over the plains to Västerås. The track finds its way into uninhabited forests towards Sala.  A quick train change in Sala, I miss the sea elevation on the new train station sign. The station house is the same as before.  I wonder how many stations there were during the trains great times? The Intercity train towards Uppsala looks like usual, but it nearly empty.   Wouldn't they sell a lot more tickets if they were cheaper?  It would be about the same cost.  We are 10 people in a car with at least 80 seats.  The conductor has changed the traditional hat to a black SJ-baseball hat. Modern, but I are taken aback.  Still he whistles on the platform when the train is about to leave, in a classic whistle.  My youth's travels, all these whistles, all the train trips I have taken.  On the way to things, away from things, on the way home, on the way to the sweetheart, on the way to unknown destinations. 

Sometimes when I stand and wait for the commuter train in Stockholm there is a long-distance train on the neighboring platform. Destination Kiruna, Narvik, Malmö, Berlin, Hamburg...

The desire to get on is there all the time, always.  I travel through a landscape of deciduous forests, newly cut mustard-yellow fields, green freshly fall sown areas, and spruce plantations. Right now we are between summer and fall, cool nights but still warm when the sun is up.  The flowers are setting seeds; only a few annuals continue flowering.  Rose hips, mountain ash, and sea buckthorn have red berries in large masses.  Soon the flaming colors of the fall is here; we are just waiting for a few frost nights.

My trip ends in Uppsala, it was here I was going.  The cathedrals spires cut their holes into the foggy grey-clouded sky; soon the sun will probably show its face.  The castle is mounted on the hill as a heavy and secure thing.  Uppsala, my college years, my happy times.

Outdoor Library

Outdoor Library, originally uploaded by debeeldenplukker.

Apart from being a bit inconvienent in snow and rain, I love this. Pick a book, drop down on the grass and get lost between the pages. Wonderful art and much more. This is part of an art installation in Ghent, Belgium. Nice, isn't it?

Gorgeous: Colorado-New Mexico border

colorado view, originally uploaded by Vilseskogen.

Sky, land and not much in between. Simply beautiful.

Old times - pressed, printed, papered, and nearly pulverized

An old map of southern Manhattan (New York City) from late 1700s was recently found, but it was tattered and yellowed and fragmented and on its way to destruction.  But with some restoration and preservation tricks it is now nearly like new - check out before and after here, and use the zoom to see details. Incredible how you can change paper for the better...

Back then New York itself was just a village at the very southern tip of Manhattan, down near Battery Park and Wall Street. A great book has been written about how the nature looked like on Manhattan when the Europeans arrived - Mannahatta by Eric Sanderson.  There were meadows, springs, small ponds, hills, and saltmarshes. Bears roamed on Manhattan and there were several indian villages.  Today it is a concrete jungle.  Fascinating...

Made by nature in a man-made form

SF Bay mudflat capillaries, originally uploaded by aroid.

From the air over San Francisco you can see these mudflats with their meandering veins, capillaries, and branches. Photo by our friend aroid on Flickr.

More clear messages

..we suddenly have an avid reader of Kurt Vonnegut in the house, after AREA got him as her school project author this year.  She is mesmerized and reads, and reads... 

For your thoughts and enjoyment, here are some of Kurt Vonnegut's most famous quotes:

"Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand."

"Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance."

"Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops."

Landscapes in rain

Just a few photos from our trip to the Swedish and Norwegian mountains this summer. These are from a lake in a valley somewhere close to the Norwegian-Swedish border in northern Värmland, but I have forgotten exactly where. Even if it was cloudy and rainy the scenery is gorgeous.

Day 6: These boots were made for walking, and swimming...

Another day in the Swedish Arctic from OK's iphone diary/camera (posted and translated by LS):

Idag tog vi bilen västerut till Kopparåsen, där jag klev av och mamma fortsatte med bilen för att hitta ställen att skåda och måla på.

(Today we took the car to the east to Kopparåsen (= The Copper Ridge), where I got off and mom continued with the car to find some nice places where she could bird watch and paint. )

Kopparåsen heter inte så utan skäl, på berget Koukkel inmutades 1897 en stor yta för brytning av just koppar. Detta var innan järnvägsförbindelsen mellan Kiruna och Narvik var byggd, men planerna var storstilade trots detta. Man planerade brytning och viss anrikning på plats vilket skulle ge arbete åt 500 man, och transporten ned fram fjället skulle ske med linbana.

The Copper Ridge isn't named that without reason, sine a large area was claimed on the mountain Koukkel in 1897 for mining of said copper. This was before there was a railroad between Kiruna and Narvik was built, but the plans were grandiose regardless. They planned mining and some concentrating right there which should give jobs for 500 men, and the transportation down from the mountain should be done with a cableway. )

Man kan på många ställen se var de brutit i grunda dagbrott, och invid har de staplat malmen i snygga rätblock. Detta gjorde man för att mäta hur mycket malm som brutits, lönen var nämligen 4,50 kronor per kubikmeter.

(You can see in many places where they mined in shallow open areas, and next to each pit they have stacked the ore in nice cubes. They did this to measure how much ore they had collected, since the wage was 4.50 Swedish kronor per cubic meter).

Det hus som gruvadministrationen använde finns kvar, med fin snickarglädje och strålande utsikt. Idag var dock molnen ganska låga och när jag fortsatte stigen norrut mot Vadvetjåkka nationalpark så gick jag upp i molnen och regnet. Molnen lättade efter ett slag och plötsligt fick jag en strålande vy mot udalen mellan Vadvetjåkka och Njunjes. Tog fikarast på en kulle nära Njuoraluspi.

(The house that the mining administration used still exists, with nice gingerbread work and gorgeous views. The clouds were a bit low today and when I continued the trail north towards Vadvetjåkka National Park I walked up into the clouds and the rain. The clouds eased up after a while and suddenly a fantastic view opened up showing the U-shaped glacial valley between Vadvatjåkka and Njunjes. I took a break on a little hill near Njuoraluspi.)

Vände åter i mina fotspår på den måttligt använda stigen, de enda skoavtrycken jag såg var mina egna. Stigen var trots bra rösning svår att hitta bitvis då den gick genom snölegor och över hällar ristade av isen. Per telefon avtalade jag med mamma att mötas vid Björkstugan, men stigen ned dit visade sig vara mycket vag och svår att följa. Väl nere i dalen fann jag bara brofästen men ingen bro över den forsande jåkken som jag behövde passera för att komma till E10:an.

(I turned back into my own foot tracks on the ligthly worn trail, and the only tracks i saw where my own. The trail was hard to find despite good stone markers [those stone mounds in the photos], since it partly went through snow and over large rockslabs engraved by the ice age glaciers. By phone I talked to Mom and we decided to meet at Björkstugan (The Birch House), but the trail down to there turned out to be very vague and hard to follow. When I finally got down into the valley I only found the remnants of the foundations of the bridge but no bridge over the rushing stream that I need to cross to get to road E10.)

Med hjälp av telefonens GPS visade det sig att jag kommit ned en km för långt österut och fick ta mig zick-zackandes genom tät vide och krokiga björkar till den bro västerut som faktiskt skulle finnas. Nästan framme hade jag nästa lilla äventyr, jag skulle kliva ned mot en forsande bäck för att sedan passera den. Då brast min vadringsstav och jag fann mig strax sittandes mitt i bäcken med vatten över naveln! Tur i oturen så klarade kamera, telefon, karta och annat inte så vattentåligt sig precis över vattnet. Numera vet jag att sarekstövlar rymmer mycket vatten! :)

(With the help of the phone's GPS I found out that I had come down one kilometer too far to the east, and had to get myself to the west zig-zaging through thick willow shrubs and gnarly birches to the bridge that actually should exist. Nearly there I had my next little adventure. I should step down into a little streaming creak to cross it, when my hiking pole broke and I found myself sitting in the middle of the creek with water up to my belly button! Lucky for me, the camera, map, and other not so waterproof things kept themselves right above the water. Now I know that Swedish Sarek rubber boots can contain a lot of water. )

Jag hittade rätt bro strax därefter och mötte mamma, som fick bistå mig att med stor ansträngning dra av mina stövlar. Väl hemma igen åt vi en välförtjänt middag bestående av renskavsgryta smasatt med messmör och färskpotatis.

(I found the right bridge soon thereafter and met Mom, who had to help with all her force to pull off my boots. Back home in the cottage we ate a well-deserved dinner consisting of reindeer stew with 'messmör" and new potatoes.)

Vy mot Tornehamn från Koukkel. (View towards Tornehamn from Koukkel.)
Historien om Kopparåsens koppargruva. (The history of the mine [LS note: Sorry, I won't translate it all])
Snyggt och prydligt staplat. (Beautifully and neatly arranged.)
Ett lite djupare brott, med snö på botten. (A little deeper mine, with snow at the bottom.)
Gruvhuset. (The mining house. [LS note: Try to locate this at coordinates 68.4166718, 18.4833336, it is out in nowhere])
Kopparmalm. (Copper ore.)
Veranda med snickarglädje och fin vindflöjel som sig bör. (Porch with gingerbread work and nice weathervane, just like it should be.)
Vy från trappen. (View from the porch.)
Tjohoo, jag hittade rost idag! Rester efter decauvillebanan. Det var länge sen nån smörjde dragbanan. :) (Yipee, I found rust today! Remains of the Decauville cableway. It was a long time ago since anyone oiled the gears.)
"Näfveqvarn 1270 kilo" ("Näfveqvarn 1270 kg")
Fjällbjörken håller en låg profil. (The birch is keeping a low profile. [LS note: Det är en liten dvärgbjörk, inte fjällbjörk :) )
Mot Vadvetjåkka! (Towards Vadvetjåkka!
Gammal snö. (Old snow.)
Uppklarnande mot Vadvetjåkka. (Nicer weather towards Vadvetjåkka.)
I de många småsjöarna fanns vigg, sjöorre och alfågel. (In the many small lakes were Tufted Duck, Common Scoter, and Long-tailed Duck.)
Fint flyttblock. (Nice boulder.)
Finare udal än Lapporten? Vadvetjåkka nationalpark. (Nicer u-shaped glacial valley than the Lap Portal? Vadvetjåkka Nnational Park.
Jag trampade nästan på en ruvande alfågel, vi blev nog lika förskräckta båda två. (I nearly stepped on a nesting Long-Tailed duck, we probably got equally scared both of us.)
Grönt te i det gröna. (Green tea in the green.)
Snön kalvar. (The snow is making babies in the lake.)
"Vintage Lapsang Souchong". Det var te i burken. Eller om det var en sten. Svårt att säga... :) ("Vintage Lapsang Souchong". It was tea in the jar. Or maybe a rock. It was hard to tell... :) [LS note: Definitely vintage!]
Rosling. Särskilt för LS. (Bog rosemary. Especially for LS. [LS note: Thanks! I love this wonderful plant in the blueberry family. Its Latin name is Andromeda polifolia. It must be a treat for a plant to have such a nice star-like name as Andromeda.)
Vy mot Tornehamn på nedvägen. (View towards Tornehamn on the way back.)
Någon sorts lav. (Some kind of lichen.)
Var är bron??? E10 är så nära men ändå inte. (Where is the bridge??? E10 is so close and still far away.)
Här är bron! Och telefonen fungerar fortfarande efter mitt mindre frivilliga bad. (Here is the bridge. And the phone still works after my unplanned bath.)
Louktatjåkka.

Day 5: Flow

Another entry in the Abisko iPhone photo diary from OK:

Dagen har gått i flödets tecken. Regn och låga moln, så vi höll oss nere vid vattnet. Vi gick ned längs abiskojåkk mot deltat för att kikarspana. Mamma satt och målade där ett tag. Vi gick en sväng på stranden, för att därefter åka till Björkliden och titta på silverfallet bland annat. Det var betydligt högre flöden i jåkkarna idag.

(The day has been in the theme of flow. Rain and low clouds, so we stayed down by the lake. We walked down along Abiskojåkk stream towards the delta to look for birds with our binoculars. Mom sat and painted there for a while. We walked for a while on the shore, then went to Björkliden to look at Silverfallet (The Silver Fall), among other things. It was considerably more water flow in the streams today than yesterday.)

Långfil, en norrländsk specialitet. (Long yoghurt, a northern specialty.)
Abiskojåkks utflöde, här ligger ett fågelskyddsområde. (The mouth of Abiskojåkk, this is an area protected for nesting birds.)
Inspirationen flödar. (The inspiration flows.)
Lummer. (Club moss.)
Nu vet jag varför det kallas istunga. (Now I now why it is called a tongue of ice.)
Högt över Abiskojåkk sitter mamma och dinglar med fötterna. (High over Abiskojåkk stream Mom is sitting and dangling her feet.)
Bra fart i jåkken. (Good speed in the stream.)
Strandsvall. (Beach waves.)
Svallad sten. (Polished rock.)
Ett vårtecken: Sälgen blommar. (A sign of spring: the willow is flowering.)
Silverfallet föll långt. Inte ens hälften fick plats på bilden. (The Silver Fall fell far. Not even half could be shown in this photo.)
Molnen flöt ned för bergen. (The clouds flowed down the mountain sides.)
Fjälltätört hittade vi idag. (We found a butterwort today, Pinguicula alpina, a carnivorous plant)
Klarar ni tipspromenadens frågor? (Can you answer the questions for the quiz?
Children: Why are there so many moose in Abisko?
1: They are curious and want to see tourists.
X: There is very little snow in Abisko, so it is easy for them to get around.
2: They like the off-pist-skiing on Njulla mountian.
The adult question was about the weight of a newborn baby bear, not as interesting. )

(Photos and text by OK, post and translation by LS)

Day 3 in Lapponia

Report from OK's and AnS trip to Abisko, Day 3 (via LS and iPhone):
Dagens tilldragelse var en expedition ner till Stordalens naturreservat, ett myrområde med små sjöar, och som även hyser en liten forskningsstation. Vi skådade fågel och mamma målade medan jag provade fiskelyckan. Vi såg lom, gulärla, sjöorre, brushane, småspov, silvertärnor, rödvingetrast, kricka, vigg, knipa, enkelbeckasin, grönbena, ängspiplärka och en massa annat. Vädret var lättande under dagen med måttliga vindar. Nu lagar vi kyckling med morötter, rotselleri, vitlök, purjolök och annat gott i ugnen.

(Todays happening was an expedition down to Stordalens (=Big Valley) nature reserve, an area with bogs and small lakes, as well as a small research station. We did some bird watching and mom painted while I tried to catch some fish [LS note: I guess you didn't get any...]. We saw a Loon, Yellow Wagtail, Common Scoter, Ruff, Whimbrel, Arctic Terns, Redwing, Common Teal, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Meadow Pipit, and a lot of other birds. The weather became better as the day passed, and the winds were moderate. Now we are cooking chicken with carrots, root celery [LS note: ick!], garlic, leeks and other good things in the oven.] [LS: I found a great bird name translator online!]
Beware of science! (Warning for science!)
Vetenskaplig utrustning. (Scientific equipment.)
Vetenskaplig utrustning? (Scientific equipment?)
Om man knyter rosa rosetter om signal- och elkablar till utrustningen så kanske man kan äska bidrag för genusforskning? ;) (If you tie pink rosettes around your communication and electric cables, maybe you can get funding for gender role research?)
Sjöstrand. (Lake shore)
Mycket gott om hjortronblom, fjolårslingon, -kråkbär och -tranbär. Smaken var det inget fel på. (Lots of cloudberry flowers, last year's lingonberries, XXX, and cranberries. The taste was fine. )
Klart vatten. (Clear water)
Terrängen var bitvis oländig för mamma, men det gick. (The terrain was sometimes horrible for mom, but it worked out.)
Man måste inte äta frystorkat bara för man är i fjällen.. (You don't have to eat freeze dried food just because you are hiking in the mountains.)