Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Björklundaslingan Trail


Another day inside of toasty Icelandia but "NO!", I had to keep up my daily training regimen.

How can I train so hard day after day after endless day for almost a whole week now you ask?

Easy . . .

. . . TIMBERLAND SHOES!!!

Easily the best investment I've EVER made at the Camarillo Outlet Mall!

OK, the Auntie Anne's cinnamon pretzels near the Addidas store are up there too I must admit but I digress.

These shoes are comfortable and provide the perfect traction for walks during the Swedish Winter.

Shrinkage?

You bet, pretty much after every walk.

Quaint Setting

Today's choice was the 4.4 kilometer Red Björklundaslingan Trail. Once again this was a part city and part forest trail with sights of interest.

Indoor Arena?

I'm guessing that this is Hässleholm's main downtown indoor arena, kind of like The Staples Center back home.

The doors were locked and, of course I'm still clueless in Swedish, so I couldn't read the signs to be sure of the true nature of this edifice.

Hässleholm's Soccer Stadium

The pitch does not appear ready for a match just yet.

The Zuper Bowl

Two things that stand out on my walks.

One is the delicious smell of fires in people's homes, "Isn't it good, Norwegian wood.", I know I'm in Sweden but I couldn't help drop a Beatles reference.

The other is the aroma of food from various restaurants and bakeries.

Is there good food in every bowling alley in the world?

The Red Mark

As I blogged yesterday, the two walking trails in town are designated as the Red and Purple Trails.

To help you along the way, you'll find these color coded, Arne Saknussemm-like markings to guide you. In the city portions of the walks these are fairly easy to find as they lead you to . . .

The forested paths

In the forested areas, the markings are a little harder to find.

Tree Markings

Not as easy to find on the trees, I feel a little like Professor Lidenbrock in Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" as I get a bit lost and then stumble upon the correct markings and get back on track.

The spirit of adventure lives here!

Interesting Home

Near Icelandia, towards the end of the Red Trail.

Patrick Bill, Head Coach
Kristianstad C4 Lions

Call me "Bill".

I met Uffe at a local eatery after my walk. Bill just happened to be having his lunch there as well.

He is the very successful coach of the traditional powerhouse team in Skåne, i.e., southern Sweden.

Nice guy, I liked the bald headed, bearded look he was sporting, thin but distinguished!

Christian runs the Graffiti Café

This is another of my Meal Plan restaurants whose specialty is baked potatoes.

Coffee, great.

Aromas, greater.

Baked potato with ham, lettuce and spicy chili sauce, PRICELESS!

Uffe and I met here with hot prospect Linus Nilsson to discuss his bright future as one of the "Five Chosen Ones" slated to be key member of our offensive line.

My Librarian
Call me "Marian"?

Uffe helped me get my official "Biblioteken i Hässleholm" Library Card!

They have a large selection of English language books here so my literary life in Sweden will indeed be enhanced.

Tomorrow's challenge? My first load of laundry in the apatment buildings communal/tribal/ritualistic laundromat.

Never a dull moment, stay tuned!

8 comments:

DPLassen said...

Oh boy, European washers and dryers (I'm assuming you don't try to line-dry in Sweden in March). I wish you luck.

Michael said...

I can go fir Bill's look as well.
When does the fútbol season take place in Sweden?

George said...

I know that the Womens FC Hessleholm team, different spelling I know, had an indoor training game last night about 9K out of town.

Outdoors has to start in the spring I'm guessing.

Have watched some televised outdoor ice hockey on rinks the size of a futbol pitch!

DPLassen said...

That's probably bandy, not hockey:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandy

George said...

David,

How in the world did you know about Bandy? I think you are correct by the way.

JTwice said...

Funny, I didn't see any dryers in Italy. Then again, they probably weren't hanging their clothes north of the 45th parallel!

By the way, your navigation skills will come in handy on the Camino, where the red tape is replaced with shells and arrows!

George said...

At least on the Camino I can get lost in a language I know.

DPLassen said...

J2: I can attest that there are dryers in Italy; I used them in laundromats in Firenze, Roma and Verona during various trips. I can't attest that they were very effective, but they did exist.

And George, speaking as a veteran curling and biathlon writer, a winter sport has to be awfully obscure to have escaped my notice.