Beware Beaver At Work!
Some years ago, I went on a wildlife tour of Sweden, called Sweden’s Mammals.
The company; Wild Sweden, have just sent me this YouTube video.
Enjoy!
Sweden’s Mammals – Would I Go Again?
It is now a few days since I returned from my trip to see Sweden’s mammals, and it is time to pause for reflection.
Although, I ask the question of whether I would go again in this post, I actually don’t think, I would do the exact same trip again, as I’ve done it once and the only disappointment was that the bears and the wolves were on holiday too.
So I might go just to see bears or wolves and Sweden would be one of the places I would look at. After all, it’s a country, where things are done correctly, the food and accommodation, I had on the trip was very good and overall, it was all well organised.
Overall, I enjoyed it immensely and don’t regret going one bit in any way.
I said on the first night on the boat looking for beavers, that we would get some surprises and things wouldn’t turn out as expected.
Obviously, the problems with the bears and the wolves was one surprise, but as someone who lived in the countryside for forty years, I know how unpredictable animals and birds can be.
But we also had two very positive surprises; the ants and the magnificent skies.
If I was organising the tours, I would make sure that these were explained better.
But then as in all things, it is attention to detail that counts.
I have a feeling that this tour and others like it will get more popular, as surely Norway and Sweden, are the one place close to the UK, where you can see large wild animals. It’s also an ideal short break.
I think coupled with visits to Stockholm and Oslo at either end, it could be part of a fuller exploration of Scandinavia for everybody.
THe tour I took was organised by Marcus Eldh of Wild Sweden and I booked it through Naturetrek in the UK.
All of the posts can be accessed by clicking this link.
We Need A Duty-Free By-Pass At Airports
Oslo Airport had one of the largest duty free areas I’ve seen in a long time. It was very crowded too, with passengers trailing cases and carrying overflowing baskets.
I found it difficult to walk through and it was a completely wasted few minutes, that I could have spent much better.
It’s all totally pointless, as if duty-free was banned on flights and passengers bought their duty free as they arrived in a country, airlines wouldn’t waste fuel flying all that useless junk around the skies.
I wonder how much duty free contributes to global warming?
The EU should make it the law, that every airport has a by-pass for those, who don’t want to buy any duty-free.
And was there anything to eat that was gluten-free in the airport? I didn’t see anything that was!
Oslo’s Tourist And Transport Information
There is a lot of transport information in Oslo, but much of it, is not really geared at tourists and especially those that walk everywhere like me. Here’s some examples.
Note that the bus timing information is in the stop itself and the clock in the train information.
But there were no walking maps and you needed to have a paper guide or book in your hand.
A Missed Opportunity
Was it? But some years ago, I backed a guy making something called a TEBA brush mat. The company failed, but judging by these examples in Oslo, mats are being sold under another guise.
I’ve been lucky in life, but perhaps this is one place, where I didn’t do as well as I should have.
Endless Bits Of Paper
Queue in Norway and Sweden and you always seem to have to get a ticket with a number on it.
but I suppose, they have plenty enough trees to make the paper for the tickets.
The Museums On The Bygdøy Peninsular
There are several museums on the Bygdøy Peninsular.
I took a ferry to see two of them; the Viking Ship Museum and the Fram Museum.
I would have gone to the other two; the Kon-Tiki Museum and the Norwegian Maritime Museum, but the weather had turned and I was suffering a bit from the cold.
There is a lot to see on the peninsular and I wish I’d been able to devote more time to it. I think it would be easier, if on the peninsular, there was better signposts and maps and perhaps a bus on a route past all the attractions. An inclusive ticket for all the attractions on the peninsular would save time too!
Oslo City Hall
I didn’t like Oslo City Hall. But then it was designed in the 1930s and opened in 1950s, so it’s of the same era as that great British eyesore; Battersea Power Station.
Oslo City Hall
it’s scale is all wrong and except for the clock, it has nothing to recommend it.
Mind The Gap – Norwegian Style
As I got into the Metro train to go away from the stop at the Munch Museum, I thought I heard the familiar phrase from the London Underground – Mind the Gap.
There was this picture on the train window.
Mind The Gap – Norwegian Style
However, when I took the Airport Express it was more obvious.
MInd The Gap On Airport Express
This article from Wikipedia explains the worldwide use of the phrase, but Oslo doesn’t get a mention.
The Anonymous Widower 