Sweden

A few weeks ago, the Ekobuss embarked on yet another 5 day excursion. This time the plan was to tour Lake Vänern. We would begin in Karlstad, of course, which sits on the north shore, and travel counter clockwise, spending most of our time on the south shore. Our first night was spent dead center in the middle of the lake on an island called Lurö.

Two weeks ago, I spent five days hiking through the mountains and swimming in the cold clean lakes of Norway. I stayed in cabins with varying levels of facilities, from one with a private sauna to another with no electricity nor running water. I'm not describing my vacation, but a class of mine: Nordic Environmental Studies. The aim of this course is to familiarize students with Scandinavian environmental policy and the landscape itself. Like any course, there are lectures, group projects and papers to write, but there are also excursions!

So why fly to Gothenburg when Oslo is an hour closer to Karlstad? Way Out West, of course! It's recently been ranked one of Europe's top 20 music festivals.

The Flight
August 12th, 2009
Checked luggage: 1 Backpack
Carry-On: 1 Messenger Bag and 1 hiking-stick/tripod.

For the next 10 months, I will be reporting my experience as an exchange student at the University of Karlstad in Sweden. This project will encompass all forms of media (video, text, pictures and maybe a podcast or two). The primary focus will be the local music scene in southern Sweden.

The first post will be up within a week.