Month: January 2022

Sweden. Day 10. Cows and horses.

I didn’t do much today, but I had fun feeding a couple of carrots to a cow and a horse. The cows are Highland cows (a breed originally from Scotland). The horse, I am not sure. It seems to be a type of pony, with shorter legs than a normal horse, and a bit longer…

Are politicians mentally ill?

Or do they just love the new control they found? (Daily rant.) There is a pandemic going on, but it’s not a respiratory disease. It is a disease that only affects politicians and makes them create insane laws to try to “control a virus” and force an unwanted and inefficient vaccine on every man, woman…

Sweden. Day 9. Animals.

Many wild animals live in the archipelago of Björko-Arholma. We can see their footprints in the snow all the time, one track crisscrossing another. Once you learn their basic shape, you can identify them: hares, elks, lynxes, deer, foxes, wild boars, otters — and… well, others. However, spotting the actual animals is a bit harder….

Good news on the "war on viruses" front

We interrupt this travel documentary for a news update Finally, a bit of good news. Despite not declaring his vaccination status, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic was allowed to remain in Australia (although it is not clear yet if he will be allowed to play, or if they will cancel his visa later on). Germany…

Sweden. Day 7. The Silence of God.

I attended a service at the small local church today. I don’t go so often to church these days, and in fact, I hadn’t attended mass in more than a year, but today the local small church, which is almost next door, announced through a sign that it was open and there would be a…

Sweden. Day 6. Walking over thin ice.

So today the idea was to skate over a frozen lake. I went with Håkan, who is a documentary film-maker from Stockholm that is visiting up here, and a very experienced skater. He’s been making movies all over the world, from the Himalayas to Hawaii. He’s also a former Navy Seal, or the equivalent of…

Sweden. Day 5. Meeting some locals.

Yesterday I walked all the way down to Skeppsmyra, 5 km away, which is an actual beach with sand. I tried to go by bicycle, even though the roads were covered with snow and ice, and therefore not ideal for riding, so I did most of the way on foot anyway. But it was the…

How to Survive the Winter in Sweden

A handy guide It is difficult, but not impossible. Sure, it is cold. Days are short. It can get lonely, especially if you are, like me, in a faraway region where there are no pubs, no bars, nor any kind of social life, or if you don’t practice any winter activity and don’t like much…

No one cares about freedom

Just going back to that boring issue for a little moment I’ve been ranting like a crazy old man for almost two years against “lockdowns” and “vaccine passports”, and for the right to freedom of movement and to make your own health choices, in other words, to a life such as we had back in…