Western Sweden amazingly still to be discovered by British gourmets!

The West coast of Sweden remains a mystery to most Brits which is amazing as we consider ourselves to be such a nation of food fanatics these days. For anyone that loves seafood a short break or holiday to the region of Bohuslän, it runs from Gothenburg, hugging this stunning archipelago coast, north to the Norwegian border, is a must.

Pretty, individual family run hotels along the coast boast exquisite kitchens serving seafood throughout the year but the arrival of the lobster season at the end of September sees the addition of special menus as people flock to the region from throughout Sweden to mark the occasion.

If you are in search of a special gourmet experience and charming accommodation why not visit one or more of the following hotels in Western Sweden this September.

For Villa Sjötorp click here.

Grand Hotel Marstrand click here.

Handelsman Flink click here.

Emagine are delighted to introduce their dates and prices for sailings from the UK to Scandinavia and Russia with Celebrity & Royal Caribbean Cruises for summer 2007.
The cruises take in highlights such as St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Life couldn’t be easier with these wonderful ships sailing from and to British ports:

Royal Caribbean Cruises
– 12 night cruises on Jewel of the Seas sailing from Harwich.

Cruises prices start from £1063 per person for a category L inside stateroom.

For full itineraries, ship information and prices for all stateroom categories click here

Greenpeace join forces with Sami Reindeer herding communities to help save the last areas of reindeer forest.

The Sámi Reindeer Forests of Arctic Lapland are amongst the few remaining areas of ancient forest left in Europe.

So much is at stake here - the Reindeer Forest is under siege by the Finnish government's own logging company, Metsähallitus. Sámi reindeer herding co-operatives have identified areas of forest vital for the free grazing of reindeer - areas that continue to be logged by Metsähallitus. Up to 70% of the timber logged by Metsähallitus in Sámi areas goes into the production of pulp and paper - ending up as magazine and copy paper throughout Europe.

In Inari, Sámi reindeer herding communities are now taking action to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. A team of Greenpeace activists has joined forces with the herding co-operatives, to help save these last areas of Reindeer Forest.

Inari reindeer herders disappointed on Natural Resources Plan
Joint working group of Inari reindeer herding co-operatives sent out a press release on June 21st. They are disappointed on the Natural Resources Plan of Metsähallitus. The reindeer herders call for negotiations, but Metsähallitus will start logging in August.

TRANSLATED PRESS RELEASE FROM JOINT WORKING GROUP OF INARI REINDEER HERDING CO-OPERATIVES
WWW.INARINPALISKUNNAT.ORG
= = = = =

STILL NO NEGOTIATIONS – LOGGING IN INARI WILL CONTINUE
Joint working group of Inari reindeer herding co-operatives is disappointed in the new Natural Resources Plan (NRP) of Metsähallitus. Logging in reindeer grazing forests will continue.
The Inari reindeer herding co-operatives have for many years asked for negotiations to solve the forest dispute. Instead of negotiations, Metsähallitus in a joint meeting today presented its new NRP, which has been made without participation of the reindeer herding co-operatives.
Metsähallitus also proposed discussions separately with each reindeer herding co-operative about the specific locations of logging plans in their area. These discussions cannot be regarded as negotiations, because Metsähallitus has not agreed to negotiate forestry decisions in all important reindeer grazing areas as a whole, but will only discuss the locations of next loggings.
The NRP is an internal planning system of Metsähallitus, where Metsähallitus alone holds the decision-making power. Its central aim in theory is to guarantee the rights of the Saami culture and reindeer herding in forest use. The Finnish state has through legislation committed itself to safeguard the preconditions of reindeer herding livelihood in the Saami area.
The aim is still not reached, because the annual logging quota is still too high to protect the important reindeer grazing areas. The mandate and means of State´s enterprise Metsähallitus to make decisions are not sufficient to safeguard local jobs both in forestry and reindeer herding.
The inadequate mandate of Metsähallitus was the primary reason for the failure of the previous negotiations between the reindeer herding co-operatives and Metsähallitus in the summer of 2005. That fundamental problem is also the reason why the Inari reindeer herding co-operatives did not take part in the new NRP. Instead, the co-operatives have many times appealed to the Finnish government to start real negotiations with the co-operatives.
The logging quota in the new NRP would only leave a few of the important grazing areas outside of forestry. Most of the grazing areas of crucial importance would still be left in foresty use. The distribution of protected areas between co-operatives is even more unequal than before. For instance, the Nellim herding group and Muddusjärvi co-operative would be left completely without protected areas. ”The logging quota should be adequately reduced and the reduction must be distributed between the co-operatives so that there will be enough winter grazing areas for everyone”, says the chairman of Muddusjärvi co-operative, mr. Pentti Valle.
The way how Metsähallitus plans and carries out the loggings has become even worse during the NRP process. Since the summer of 2005, Metsähallitus has not negotiated with reindeer herders at all about logging plans. Now Metsähallitus has again marked logging plans in the important grazing forests.
The joint working group of Inari reindeer herding co-operatives appeals once again to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to start the negotiations about the forest dispute.

Information on reindeer herding and forest dispute in Inari: http://www.inarinpaliskunnat.org/index_en.html

The annual Swedish migration.....Where exactly have all the Swedes gone.

If you are planning to invade Sweden do it now. The lights might be on 24/7 above the Arctic Circle, but there’s no one home. Not really anyway.

You’ll find leggy, golden-tanned blonds crowding the streets on the Greek Isles, particularly on the islands of Rhodes and Crete. The Costas del Sol y Brava are also entertaining their Scandinavian guests. While using Swedish as your secret language might work in Switzerland, it won’t be as effective anywhere near sunny beaches serving cheap chilled beer. Vi talar svenska is on all the menus.

The ones who are home have packed the Volvo and absconded to a picturesque red cottage trimmed with white, probably within a walk or bike ride to a cool, dark bathing. If they’re not basking in the sun or cooling off in a dark lake, they might be plodding about in the woods picking the last of the wild strawberries or blueberries or if they’re lucky, the early wild mushrooms.

Stockholm echoes a purring hum rather than a roar and crackle. No one runs for busses and there’s no lines—anywhere! Well, except for at the tourist spots.

Don’t even think of invading Sweden through the Vasa Museum just after opening. It’s not because of hoards patriotic Swedes are at the ready to man the cannons. It’s just about hoards; hoards of every nationality imaginable, mostly on shore leave from their cruise ships bobbing in the Stockholm harbor.

Just because they have to, Stockholmsbörsen, the Swedish Stock Exchange, is open for business and trading. Don’t worry if you can’t reach your stock broker, you’re not missing anything. You will never make or lose a fortune day trading on the Swedish exchange in July.

Just because the stock exchange is open for business doesn’t guarantee any other business is open at all. Every Mom & Pop shop has a handwritten sign on the closed front door telling you whether they will be closed two, three or four weeks. You really should call before you lug that printer across town to be repaired.

Production concentrated towns and regions have industrial shut down. For some production line employees, four of their five weeks of mandated holiday will be spent the month the factory is closed in July. That still leaves a week for either the sports holiday or Easter break.

So now back to the strategy of invading Sweden. Plan the invasion for a sunny day July. Any time would work, but just after the evening meal might work particularly well. The end of the day is most often winds down corking a bottle of wine or cracking open a beer.

Whatever you do, avoid a naval attack. The armada of sailboats and other recreational ships are so complete it would be difficult to reach the coast before a few thousand mobile phones call, send a text or picture or even a live streaming feed.

It wouldn’t be unimaginable that with the laptops booted and a Bluetooth connection to a mobile phone equipped with GPS, Swedes as young as toddlers could coordinate a counter offensive.

Your best bet is to drive in at just above the speed limit on the highways in Volvos packed full of gear.

By Elizabeth Dacey. Originally Published: 11th July 2006 10:59 CET In The Local