Hi Guys 'n gals, it's been awhile since I posted something, but I wanted to share my experiences from the Swedish bushcraft festival held last weekend.
I copied it from my blog, so that's why it all looks a bit funny.
Bushcraftfestivalen 2017 - day 1, friday
Before I tell you about how I experienced the festival, a note; some of the pictures used in these posts are not mine. I chose to use them either because they show a lot better what things were like or simply because I had no alternative, because my phonecamera messed up. I asked and got permission by the photographers, for which my thanks.
Friday september 25th;
A small group of 6 people, myself included, had arranged to visit this bushcraftfestival and spend the night in my armytent. Unfortunately that group dwindled to 3 literally the night before departure. Too bad really, since I had really hoped to meet up with those that were unable to attend! But that should not damped my spirits and on friday afternoon I met up with Olli and Emma, loaded up the car even more and headed toward Gottröra, between Uppsala and Stockholm. The weather on the way in did make us a bit anxious; dark clouds and we could see showers of rain everywhere around us. The forecast had not been good early in the week, but improved greatly as the festival drew nearer. Could the forecasters have been wrong.... again??
On location we were shown where we could put up our tent and as we had spread out the cloth we were told to move. A minimum distance of 3 meters to our neighbours was mandatory. So we moved everything and gave it a second go. WHich turned out to be a good thing! The "camping" was actually a meadow for cows..... actively used! There were "small surprises" all over the place, but our new place proved to be clear of those.
I don't know where my mind was, but we proceeded erecting the tent incorrectly, as some folks were so kind as to point out and telling us the correct way of erecting such a tent. I had only done it twice on my own and the others never before at all. In the end we got that damn thing standing in a more or less acceptable way and we wrote it down to a learning experience.
After everything was in place, and me getting some disdainful looks for my level of comfort, we headed out on a "reconnaissance mission", see what the festival had in store so far..... which was not all that much at that time, since everyone was still busy getting set up and ready, including the salesstand crews. Food was being prepared, but I had brought my own, so that was of no concern to me anyway.
I had packed relatively lightly, leaving most "bush-essentials" at home, figuring I would not need them..... including my hatchet. I did bring 10l. of water, just in case and to avoid hauling it over a campingsite.
Olli was so kind to present me ( and many, many others) with a small present; real woodscoffee, roasted in Dalarna at a local microbusiness. It had a distinct dark flavoured smell and I was eager to try it, but that would not be today. This is how he described the contents; Dark roasted coffee, roasted by Tunestands kokkaffe. 60% brazilian Santos, 40% Colombian, 0% nonsense. Hey, that works for me!!
During the scouting out of the area my foolishness in packing lightly was brought to my attention. I had forgotten to bring a small frying pan! I had sausages, hamburgers, chapati bread, salad..... but no means to heat the meat! So I went looking for a kind soul, who had such a device and was willing to let me use it. As said earlier, warm food was being prepared, but it simply did not appeal to me. It was then that my eye fell on a gathering of tents that was arranged like a small camp.... with all the bells and whistles one would imagine in and around such a place, including off course a fireplace in the middle. And not such that. There were of course all the tools needed; pots&pans, knives and axes, skins and..... squirrels??? Yes, there were 2 squirrels hanging there, which by the looks of them, had exchanged the temporary for the permanent not too long ago. Looked like roadkill to me.... A bit of a bizarre kind of decoration, but they went well with the other skins.
Anyway.... Bustling about that little camp was a quite colourful young woman, who we would later get to know as Elle. Now there was someone with a passion for cooking over an open fire!! And we somehow got stuck there. The smells coming from her cooking might have had something to do with that, I suppose..... She prepared all sorts of dishes, all the while hardly being short in words or movement and she whipped up the most delicious bits of food with simple ingredients, gladly and constantly passing them around for everyone to taste. I did not get a chance to ask or use her muurikka (that's a concave metal disc with legs to put over a fire and fry on. Look at the picture), but it turned out I did not need to!! However she was not alone in doing so. Beside her was an at least equally "colourful" person, whom I already could identify before we even had met. That person was a heartwarming, hearty and joyful man, going by the name of Babek. Now there is a person, whom you can not dislike, try as hard as you might!! And he too passed around food bits for everyone to try, this time with a middle eastern flavour to them.
So as I said I got stuck there and quite a few more around me. The evening progressed, we talked and laughed and tasted, had a few beers and met with more people and potential new friends. The atmosphere was very relaxed and open and as I lowered myself on an open spot, I found myself sitting next to a charming young lady, whom I recognised too via that despised and yet wonderful medium facebook; Ida and her dog Luna. Apparently Luna liked me quite a bit, seeing that she ended up laying across my lap for quite some time that evening. The evening progressed, the list of names I learned and kept forgetting, grew longer and the temperature dropped quite noticeably! At around 23:00 I called it a night, thanking all for food and good company.
I copied it from my blog, so that's why it all looks a bit funny.
Bushcraftfestivalen 2017 - day 1, friday
Before I tell you about how I experienced the festival, a note; some of the pictures used in these posts are not mine. I chose to use them either because they show a lot better what things were like or simply because I had no alternative, because my phonecamera messed up. I asked and got permission by the photographers, for which my thanks.
Friday september 25th;
A small group of 6 people, myself included, had arranged to visit this bushcraftfestival and spend the night in my armytent. Unfortunately that group dwindled to 3 literally the night before departure. Too bad really, since I had really hoped to meet up with those that were unable to attend! But that should not damped my spirits and on friday afternoon I met up with Olli and Emma, loaded up the car even more and headed toward Gottröra, between Uppsala and Stockholm. The weather on the way in did make us a bit anxious; dark clouds and we could see showers of rain everywhere around us. The forecast had not been good early in the week, but improved greatly as the festival drew nearer. Could the forecasters have been wrong.... again??
On location we were shown where we could put up our tent and as we had spread out the cloth we were told to move. A minimum distance of 3 meters to our neighbours was mandatory. So we moved everything and gave it a second go. WHich turned out to be a good thing! The "camping" was actually a meadow for cows..... actively used! There were "small surprises" all over the place, but our new place proved to be clear of those.
 |
| Home away from home. My phonecamera has started to get a life of it's own; it messes with the images, changing colours and sizes! |
I don't know where my mind was, but we proceeded erecting the tent incorrectly, as some folks were so kind as to point out and telling us the correct way of erecting such a tent. I had only done it twice on my own and the others never before at all. In the end we got that damn thing standing in a more or less acceptable way and we wrote it down to a learning experience.
After everything was in place, and me getting some disdainful looks for my level of comfort, we headed out on a "reconnaissance mission", see what the festival had in store so far..... which was not all that much at that time, since everyone was still busy getting set up and ready, including the salesstand crews. Food was being prepared, but I had brought my own, so that was of no concern to me anyway.
I had packed relatively lightly, leaving most "bush-essentials" at home, figuring I would not need them..... including my hatchet. I did bring 10l. of water, just in case and to avoid hauling it over a campingsite.
 |
| The image is Olli's, taken on location! |
Olli was so kind to present me ( and many, many others) with a small present; real woodscoffee, roasted in Dalarna at a local microbusiness. It had a distinct dark flavoured smell and I was eager to try it, but that would not be today. This is how he described the contents; Dark roasted coffee, roasted by Tunestands kokkaffe. 60% brazilian Santos, 40% Colombian, 0% nonsense. Hey, that works for me!!
During the scouting out of the area my foolishness in packing lightly was brought to my attention. I had forgotten to bring a small frying pan! I had sausages, hamburgers, chapati bread, salad..... but no means to heat the meat! So I went looking for a kind soul, who had such a device and was willing to let me use it. As said earlier, warm food was being prepared, but it simply did not appeal to me. It was then that my eye fell on a gathering of tents that was arranged like a small camp.... with all the bells and whistles one would imagine in and around such a place, including off course a fireplace in the middle. And not such that. There were of course all the tools needed; pots&pans, knives and axes, skins and..... squirrels??? Yes, there were 2 squirrels hanging there, which by the looks of them, had exchanged the temporary for the permanent not too long ago. Looked like roadkill to me.... A bit of a bizarre kind of decoration, but they went well with the other skins.
 |
| There's Elle for you with babek in the back. Picture is made by Tommy Levin. |
Anyway.... Bustling about that little camp was a quite colourful young woman, who we would later get to know as Elle. Now there was someone with a passion for cooking over an open fire!! And we somehow got stuck there. The smells coming from her cooking might have had something to do with that, I suppose..... She prepared all sorts of dishes, all the while hardly being short in words or movement and she whipped up the most delicious bits of food with simple ingredients, gladly and constantly passing them around for everyone to taste. I did not get a chance to ask or use her muurikka (that's a concave metal disc with legs to put over a fire and fry on. Look at the picture), but it turned out I did not need to!! However she was not alone in doing so. Beside her was an at least equally "colourful" person, whom I already could identify before we even had met. That person was a heartwarming, hearty and joyful man, going by the name of Babek. Now there is a person, whom you can not dislike, try as hard as you might!! And he too passed around food bits for everyone to try, this time with a middle eastern flavour to them.
So as I said I got stuck there and quite a few more around me. The evening progressed, we talked and laughed and tasted, had a few beers and met with more people and potential new friends. The atmosphere was very relaxed and open and as I lowered myself on an open spot, I found myself sitting next to a charming young lady, whom I recognised too via that despised and yet wonderful medium facebook; Ida and her dog Luna. Apparently Luna liked me quite a bit, seeing that she ended up laying across my lap for quite some time that evening. The evening progressed, the list of names I learned and kept forgetting, grew longer and the temperature dropped quite noticeably! At around 23:00 I called it a night, thanking all for food and good company.
 |
| Some of the goodies presented to taste. These actually were not Elle's, but another lady's. Forgot her name (of course), but know it was estonian smoked cheese and bread. Picture by Ida Olsson |
