Trip: Sweden

[hortense]

In 1939, the parents of my wife emigrated from a small farming community near but north of Östersund. We are planning a trip there in August 2006. We will use United Airline travel miles via SAS, to get to Sweden from Los Angeles.
A. From a photographer’s point of view, what entry city(ies) should we consider for the drive north.
B. What highway route would be recommended?
1. How long a drive in miles/KM or hours?
C. What medium format ASA 400 film is readily available in Sweden?
Ole’, if possible, it would be nice to visit you in Norway.

[gandolfi]

In 1939, the parents of my wife emigrated from a small farming community near but north of Östersund. We are planning a trip there in August 2006. We will use United Airline travel miles via SAS, to get to Sweden from Los Angeles.
A. From a photographer’s point of view, what entry city(ies) should we consider for the drive north.
B. What highway route would be recommended?
1. How long a drive in miles/KM or hours?
C. What medium format ASA 400 film is readily available in Sweden?
Ole’, if possible, it would be nice to visit you in Norway.

he he..

just reacted to nr "C".....
the answer must be: any one you'd like...

best regards from Denmark...

[Ole]

I don't know much about the Swedish scenery, so I'll limit myself to agreeing with gandolfi.

And if you can, please do come. Just drive straight across the peninsula

[George Papantoniou]

From my small experience in Sweden's motorways, consider that it'll take more time than you thought to get anywhere because:

A. it'll be raining (usually, hard)

B: the speed limits are low and HAVE to be respected

C: there are a LOT of lorries on the motorways, blocking the way. Not all routes are large highways.

On the other hand, it's been 20 years since I was on Swedish territory, so things might since have changed... I plan to do a trip up there (Norway) in the next 3 years (Ole, I'm coming)... keep us informed of the outcome.

[George Papantoniou]

Oh, I forgot to mention that you should NEVER mention to a Norvegian that you have Swedish blood running in vour veins. You'll risk a lot by doing it... especially if he's stronger than you.

[Patrick M]

Well, according to the weather I have to disagree with mr. Papantoniou: It won't rain all the time. But in this time of the year it might rain quite often.
According to the speed-limit I have to agree ... 90km/h is wha will be the limit very often but on a lot of roads you want be able to drive that fast but the highways ("riksväg" should be the name) are ok.

Ok, you want't to photograph. Some spots that are interesting for you should be:
- All those small islands at the west and east coast.
- The lakes. This country is full of them and some are really beautiful.

[Ole]

A. it'll be raining (usually, hard)

No. That's here - the Norwegian west coast. Last Wednesday we got 154mm of rain (about 6 inches) in 24 hours. But that was a new record, and not something that happens every year.

[hortense]

Thank to all of you for the input. If August has a lot of rain, perhaps another month would be better:
Ole' as we get closer to the our final plans, I'll ask for your address and see if we can work in a visit. I'd love to look at your collection of cameras. I'll be bringing my Hasselblad.

[Ole]

August is generally the best time, at least around here!

[laz]

Believe it or not we "Honeymooned" in Sweden (my beloved had a meeting to attend, so half the trip was free) We went in early October and it was lovely.

I don't want to offend Gandolfi but I will always remember discussing Scandinavian language with a local, I asked him about my difficulty in even identifying words spoken in Danish, he said, and I quote: :bah, Danish is not a language it's a throat disease!"