Group Hang in Sweden/Scandinavia in July 2012

[WEx]

What will be a good way to get Seks?

Nobody has the urge to make silly, juvenile comments about this?

Am I alone on this one?

[Leffe357]

What Swede said, ATM's everywhere, or cashback in supermarkets. Traveler's checks are probably more of a hassle, banks around here have a tendency not to deal with cash anymore.

If your card company charges you for international withdrawals, do a big one in Arlanda to cover your expenses in Sweden. If not, use your card (VISA and Mastercard guaranteed, American Express 95%, other cards not so sure) everywhere, just have some cash for canoes and some for emergencies.

Cashback in supermarkets will not work, it will only work with swedish cards, I have thi last week seen two tourist (Norwegian) that was refused taking out cash at ICA nära and Ö&B, at ICA they said that foreign card was not allowed for cash, only payment, so ATM is the best option.

As I can't participate I hope that Stavros whether good is giving you a BIG sun all the way and I'm looking forward for the trip reports.

Have fun.

[born2roam]

Unfortunately I can't make it, but my normal bank card (maestro logo) is accepted in supermarkets, busstation and system bolaget (liquor store!). For back up I keep my Visa card.

Never had a problem with canoe rentals or atm's.

Will (most likely) never ever buy any American Express product again but that is completely off topic (related to Trav. Cheq's though and changing them....)

Have fun guys!

Grtz Johan

[Joz]

Should i make the reservations or is someone else looking at this?

I was hoping you would do it, since I won't be there.

I think I read somewhere on the website that they appreciate booking in advance if you plan to eat on the boat.

[hanktehtank]

Nobody has the urge to make silly, juvenile comments about this?

Am I alone on this one?

Haha, it was a close one that i did but i resisted the urge!

I was hoping you would do it, since I won't be there.

I think I read somewhere on the website that they appreciate booking in advance if you plan to eat on the boat.

Ok no problems, i´ll call them today!

Dont really know what the final headcount on the steamship is so
i´ll try to reserve 6-8 passenger tickets and 2 tables for the Lunch.

#EDIT#

Or perhaps 8-9 tickets is more likely? ^^

[hanktehtank]

Allright!

I heard that we could only reserve tables for Lunch. Not the tickets for the
boat ride so i guess we should be good to go on the 22nd!

We got two tables reserved and each table takes 6 persons.

I said that we are still not sure on the final headcount so i´ll call back
and confirm our reservation when we know for sure.

[hanktehtank]

2 weeks left guys! anyone else getting exited about this
or is it just me!?

[Swede2378]

So I haven't written a trip report from last week, thought I'd give you something to look forward to during the coming weeks.

We rented two canoes from Kanotkungen, my wife and I, our two kids, and our dog. We had basically two bags: 22kg of hammockhear/sleeping clothes, and 10kg for the kitchen/food. We also had 10L of water.

We had great weather, almost no wind, sunshine and 22 degrees C. We did four lakes before stopping for lunch at 2:30pm. I quickly found out that there is a lot more to paddling then paddling My wife is an experienced sailor with small boats, she has been a sailing instructor for children when she was a teenager. My kids have never paddled, but they learned quickly the more basic bits.

I can recommend this film for anyone who hasn't paddled before:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/path_of_the_p...doubles_basic/

It is a classic, and there are a few more in the series.

After lunch we found a spot on the sunny side of the lake where we were all alone, in the sun, and could hang up four hammocks. By the time we got ourselves on land, hammocks hung and dinner ready, it was 9pm and the sun was still out A great way to get a good night sleep in a hammock is to paddle for six hours.

Of course we overslept, and it took about two hours to make breakfast and pack up all our gear. My wife and I have had quite a bit of discussion on how to reorganize our paddling packing to make this easier for next time.

We got started at noon, and had to have to canoes back by 6pm. We paddled until lunch, three hours, and then were back in time to return the canoes.

For those of you that have been looking at the maps, we started in Åkers Styckebruk by the landing, stopped for lunch at Krampan, overnighted close to Laxne, and ate lunch on day two at Langåeden.

I also found out that my kids can paddle at least as long as I can, if not longer. It was a great trip to see if it was even possible for my kids to join us at SKAHOi, and I am convinced that they will have a great time. My nine-year-old can hang her own hammock, and stow it the next day, all by herself.

Apparently there is a parking area for Sörmlandsleden there in Gnesta, I am going to mail the canoe club in Gnesta today and ask about parking, and about "Prästön", the large island just north of Gnesta, if it is allowed to camp there.

After the trip I have been wondering if there is enough lake for those of us who have alot of energy. There is a possibility to continue after Gnesta and then paddle back in time to return the canoes, if we haven't had our fill yet. Unfortunately my mpas don't go that far.

[Swede2378]

So I just got off the phone with a guy that works with the kajak club in Gnesta. I asked him a few questions about parking and about possible campsites around the lak in Gnesta, and the island that is in the middle of the lake. I even asked him about possibilties of continuing our paddling after Gnesta. He will get back to me shortly.

[hanktehtank]

I can recommend this film for anyone who hasn't paddled before:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/path_of_the_p...doubles_basic/

Thanks for the tip!

There were some techniques there that looked very nice!