Hässleholm's Military Museum

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

The Vikings were seafaring traders and warriors who plundered and terrified Europe around the 11th century.

Ryan came over in the morning to join us for a day of being a "Tourist in Our Own Town." As you may recall, this is a concept that Jason Johnson relayed to me a couple of years ago from a book he had read.

The book's simple but true premise is that most of us don't take the time to explore the wonders of the places where we live our lives.

I have found that there is a lot of wonderful things to visit and people to meet in Skåne, if you just take the time to get out and explore a little bit.

We headed out to our local Hässleholm Heritage Park first. We have walked through this park at least four times a week on our way to and from practice but today our goal was to visit the Hässleholm Museum that displays artifacts from all facets of the city's history.

Heritage Park's Priest House

Meeting Place for the Ancients

Salmon Carving

I've alluded before that in this park, rather than cutting a dead tree down, an artist comes in and uses the tree as a canvas to create interesting images like this one.

It was 11:00 and to our disappointment the museum did not open until 1:00.

No problem, we just walked a little farther to another museun in town.

Hässleholms Transportation,

Technology and Military Museum

This splendid little museum also has lots of excellent exhibits.

The Old Swedish Army

T4 Regimental Ensignia

This regiment was housed in Hässleholm since the late 1800s.

Laurie badly wanted one of these

Swedish three crown buttons

That reminds me. . .

Our nephew, Tim Hicks, a University of California at San Diego graduate, leaves southern California on Sunday to start medical school at the University of Poznan in Poland.

Six years living and studying in Europe. . . hmm.

It's a shoe.

Is it on sale?

Laurie is interested

Or how about a new purse?

Ryan Bolland, Tank Commander

Batacas?

This vehicle brakes for squirrels?

These land mines aren't really operable

I think.

It's a Volvo!

Laurie's Love Tractor

Swedish Armored Fire Power

A Drill Press

A mechanized army also needs mobile work stations to make repairs. This work station vehicle had all sorts of tools relating to mettalic needs.

I think, help me here Bill Gardner.

Mobile Wood Shop Truck

Always return your tools to the right place.

The 619 Tank

Damn it!

Big Army, Big Appetites,

Big Cooking Utensils

No, not a Colts fan

The T4 Regiment was originall a cavalry regiment before the advent of the tank. Thus, you needed mobile blacksmiths who carried some of their basic tools in leather pouches like this one.

Everybody loves a fire engine!

The Original Wheel Chair

Emphasis on chair.

Dick Bellman's First Bicycle

Carl Michael Bellman may have written a drinking song about this very bicycle.

Hässleholm's Crest

As we walked back into town, Laurie, for some unknown reason, got Viking fever in her blood. She wanted to celebrate everything that we saw that was Viking related.

Like this Pizzeria Viking

She kind of looked cute in this helmet

What set her off into Viking mania today? Beats me.

Lunch. . . YUM!

After returning to Icelandia and planning some details for tomorrow's big game in Kristianstad, we joined Johan Persson for fika and a nature walk with Dexter the Dog.

Sheep grazing at Hovdala Castle

Although called a castle,

Hovdala is really more of a royal manor

Still, it is both pastoral and beautiful. This was only my second visit here, Johan brought me here with Dexter back in March when snow was on the ground and everything was closed for the winter.

Hovdala's old greenhouse

They grew oranges in here back in the day.

An apple tree

Entering Hovdala Castle

How old is this door?

This particular building was erected in 1641.

The old barn

It is now home to Hovdala's Fika Central!!!

Skåne has huge boulders everywhere,

might as well put them to good use!

The view from our fika eating table

Our fika options

It was all good, as usual.

Hovdala Castle's Barn up close

The fika is inside those widows. Horses were kept at ground level in days of yore. Those two doors at the second story level were the entrance for the hay that was to be stored, kind of like horse fika I guess.

Little Mats

Hovdala Castle belonged to a Swedish nobleman but in his day Skåne was constantly being fought over between Sweden, Denmark and the pro-Danish Snapphanar guerilla fighters that lived in Skåne.

Little Mats was a weapon found after a battle to capture the Castle that a Snapphanar left behind.

Little Mats' intricate toolwork

I just had to use my Nikon's nature setting

After fika, we drove back into Hässleholm to pick up Dexter. It was nature walk time.

We walked through a different part of the forest today and had a great conversation about our season and ideas to make the Hurricanes a better, stronger franchise in the future.

Dexter the Dog goes for a swim

I would have liked to have joined him.

Last Practice of the Season

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

Sweden was neutral during World War II.

I took out the Nikon D3000 and took a few photos today after a two day hiatus.

The Swedish sky is so blue

Laurie in the forest

Only a few more days to enjoy these walks

Purple, GREAT color

In the evening we held our last practice of the season starting with ten Juniors at 5:30 followed by 17 Seniors at 6:30.

We let the Juniors play a five-on-five game so they could have a little fun. They did.

QB Dennis Kempf on the keeper

GREAT BLOCK!!!

SWEEP!!!

Semir Mohammed breaks away

Fredrik Waldt's excellent catch

Semir Mohammed about to make a big hit

Dennis Kempf on the sprint out pass

Jacob Osterman shakes loose

Lots of good work was put in by our core of Junior players. The future is bright.

The Senior practice was spirited as always but also lacked some key players as always.

We play the #3 ranked, 7-0 Kristianstad C4 Lions on Saturday. It should be a tough one to say the least.

Planning Day

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

Björn Skifs sang the U.S. Billboard chart-topper "Hooked on a Feeling" in 1974.

Rainy weather kept us in Icelandia most of the day. Since we leave Sweden a week from today, Laurie to go home to Camarillo and I to the south of France to start the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk, it was a good day to clean up the apartment and start sorting through things deciding what to keep and leave behind.

It was day two of no photos being taken, definitely an all-time European record.

Since I've mentioned the Camino de Santiago in passing in other posts, I thought that today I would give you a little more information of the task at hand.

The Challenge and

the Search for Spiritual Enlightenment

http://www.santiago-compostela.net/frances/index_cf_en.html

The Camino is both of these things. First, let's talk about the Challenge.

On 25 August Laurie and I will get on the train together one last time for the ride on the Øresundståg to Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport. About two hours after takeoff, we arrive in London where Laurie connects with her plane to Los Angeles while I remain in the U.K.'s capital for a night.

On 26 August, I hop on a flight with my favotite airline, Ryan Air, to Biarritz, France. From Biarritz, I take a train to the small French village of St. Jean Pied-de-Port. There I get my pilgrim's passport that will allow me to stay in Alberque de Peregrinos, Pilgrims' Hostels for only a few Euros a night.

The Camino is a 496.2 mile or 798.6 kilometer walk over the Pyrenees Mountains and along the north of Spain. For me it will conclude in the City of Santiago de Compostela via what is called the Camino Francés. There are other routes that get you to Santiago de Compostela but this is the main one.

Help Wanted!

This book on the Camino by John Brierly has been a great help in planning my Camino. It breaks down the walk into 33 logical segments with lots of pertinent information. I have read that the average pilgrim the starts in St. Jean Pied-de-Port finshes the Camino in 28 days so that is my goal, but I would be delighted with the 33 day journey as well.

More Help!

I read this journal of Hape Kerkrling's Camino before I left Camarillo. It was both funny and informative.

The best help though has come from our old friend Jason Johnson who walked the Camino last Summer and from his brother-in-law, Kyle Chorley, who walked it in last Fall. We been able to really discuss things in detail and their first hand knowledge has proven to be invaluable!

My Camino starts in St. Jean Pied-de-Port on Friday, 27 August bright and early in the morning. The first day, by all acounts will be the toughest. Day 1 takes me from an elevation of 170 meters/558 feet in St. Jean Pied-de-Port over the Pyrennes Mountains where I will walk through the summit town of Col de Lepoeder, Spain, elevation 1,450 meters/4,758 feet! The rest of the Camino takes place in northern Spain.

That is a climb of a little over 20 kilometers/12.5 miles with an elevation change of 1,280 meters/ 4,200 feet. From Col de Lepoeder, the day ends with another 4+ kilometers/2.5 miles downhill to the village of Roncesvalles, elevation 950 meters/3,117 feet. The uphill is tough while the short downhill walk I have read can be dangerous for the tired traveller.

Now, the hardest part in preparation is what to take and what to leave behind, as I must CARRY everything I need for almost 500 miles. I'm taking my black JanSport backpack, three dry fit T-shirts, three dry fit boxers, three pairs of shorts, three pairs of white sox, one poncho, one light weight nylon shell only pants, a hat, one pair of walking shoes, a pair of flip-flops, a towel, some basic toiletries, a small mag-lite and my Nikon camera. Oh yes, and I will also be luggng my journal and Camino Guide book.

That's it. Travel light, it is a long walk!

I can't imagine why Laurie doesn't want to go with me?

Since I will not be taking my Mac laptop computer, the blog will be somewhat sporadic as I will be at the mercy of Internet cafés or lack of same as I travel. Pictures will have to wait until I finish my Camino I think.

As for The Search for Spiritual Enlightenment, I simply don't know. When I was doing a lot of nature walking before Laurie got here, I did have ample time to reflect on my life's high and low points, the people I've helped and the ones I've hurt. I am sure there will be a lot of time for this to continue on the Camino.

Buen Camino!

Quiet Day

Mats Sundin

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

Mats Sundin, nicknamed "Sudden" and "Captain Clutch," was a long time National Hockey League star who played most of his 18 year career for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Amazingly, I did not take a single photograph today! This could be a first in my three years living in Europe.

After four days of sports mania, I opted for a quiet day in Icelandia.

At practice tonight we had 18 players in attendance as we prepared for the final game of the 2010 season, a road game at the home of the 7-0 Kristianstad C4 Lions. It was spirited but I wish we had a better turnout to prepare for this very strong team.

Fotboll, Football, Football, Fotboll Weekend Continues

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

Export company Electrolux specializes in vacuum cleaners and refrigerators.

Friday it was a Finja IF fotboll match, Saturday it was Hässleholm Hurricanes' football game and Sunday it was the marathon trip to Denmark to watch a Kronborg Knights' football game.

Today Ryan and I decided to complete our madcap four day sports weekend with a train ride east to Sölvesborg.

We arrived in Sölvesborg about an hour before the scheduled departure of the special commuter bus from the train station which would take us to Strandvallen Stadium, a.k.a., "The Great Wall" for tonight's Allsvenskan game between Örebro and our beloved Mjällby side.

But first it was. . . FIKA TIME!

Kristinas Konditori

Only a few minutes walk from the train station, I remembered it well from my previous trip to Sölvesborg.

Ursula

Ursula is the very friendly lady who was running Kristinas Konditori tonight. One would never guess by her pleasant demeanor that she was really working for the "Evil One" by selling devilishly good fika!

The People of Sweden vs. Kristinas Konditori

Exhibits A and B

Ursula tempted us with these incredibly delicious treats.

We were powerless.

On to "The Great Wall"

It was a gorgeous, warm Summer evening, perfect for a crucial Allsvenskan match by the Baltic Sea.

Let's set up the game story. First you must remember that Mjällby is the Allsvenskan feel-good story of the 2010 season.

MAIF had earned their way back into Sweden's top fotboll division after an absence of over 20 years. Predicted to finish near the bottom of the 16 team Allsvenskan table, they had been in the top four all the way to the World Cup break.

Unfortunately, in the four games since the World Cup break our lads were a lackluster 0-2-2. This string of non-winning efforts had dropped MAIF into fifth place, six team points (3 team points for a win, 1 for a tie) behind tonight's opponent Örebro SK.

Had the bubble burst?

Örebro SK

10-2-6 = 32 team points

at

Mjällby AIF

7-5-6 = 26 team points

Part of the 3,558 fans in attendance

Örebro fans at the far end

Let the game begin!

Mjällby is wearing their home gold jerseys, Örebro is in white

Header

Corner Kick

Sprint!!!

INCOMING!!!

Defense!

Shot to the mouth

Nipple pinch?

Jump!

It was halftime and the score was 0-0.

Nil-Nil, who would have guessed?

It was time to do two things.

First, take my brand new MAIF scarf out of my backpack and wear it in the second half to jolt the team's Mojo back to life.

Secondly, I needed to finally meet MAIF team photographer and blogmaster, Lena Sandberg.

With Lena and my Mojo changing scarf

Lena loves her MAIF side and takes her passion to the next level by being the team's voice and eyes through her blog and photography.

It was great to finally get a chance to meet her after e-mailing and blogging back and forth.

You can find Lena's MAIF blog at http://askadaren.blogspot.com/

Anticipation

MAIF on the attack

The Fotboll Ballet

MAIF Head Coach Peter Swärdh, made his first substitution of the game at about the 68 minute mark, #10 Marcus Ekenberg, an attack specialist entered the match.

Good move Peter!

Ace Substitute Marcus Ekenberg

Breaks Away. . .

Ekenberg sets up the ÖSK goalie. . .

Ekenberg Shoots. . .

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!

"Celebrate Good Times, Come On!"

She was pumped to see Mjällby out front 1-0

IT'S OVER!!!

The final score was 1-0 in favor of the good guys. The scarf did indeed change the team's Mojo and MAIF now trails Örebro SK by only three team points in the Allsvenskan table.

If MAIF can overtake Örebro SK, a team that they have beaten all three times they've met this year by a combined 6-0 score, and get back into any of the top four Allsvenskan spots they would qualify for European team championship tournaments next year.

It would be a truly amazing accomplishment.

GO MAIF!!!

THE MOJO IS BACK!!!