The Stora Tuna Training Camp in Sweden
and the 1998 World Masters Orienteering Championships
at Novy Bor, in the Czech Republic

 The trip to Sweden

After arriving at the Copenhagen airport the plan was to travel to Malmo, Sweden and stay overnight and fly to Borlange the next morning from the Malmo airport which was about 25 km from the city. Our flight time was 7:30 am.

After leaving the Copenhagen airport we asked a bus driver about getting to the ferry terminal to go to Malmo Sweden. He finally told us that we could go on his bus and sold us tickets for the bus and the ferry.

This was the beginning of an experience that exemplifies the friendliness of the Swedish people. When we were on the ferry, a man whom I had seen on the bus sat down near us. After a while he spoke to us about our questions with the bus driver and he asked if he could help us in any way. When we told him that we were flying to Stockholm the next morning from the Malmo airport he offered to drive us to a hotel beside the airport if they had room. As soon as we got close enough to Sweden he used his cell phone to see if there was room for us at the hotel. We accepted his kind offer and Gert Persson drove us the 25-km to the Sturup Airport Hotel and he came in to make sure that we had a room. He then gave us his business card and asked us to send him a postcard. It was a wonderful warm friendly experience. The Sturup Airport Hotel was a small hotel where we enjoyed a quiet dinner that evening.

Tuesday June 16

The next morning at the hotel the buffet breakfast was excellent and we shared it with the SAS crew that were to fly us to Stockholm at 7:00 am that morning. After walking to the airport in the rain and checking our bags we found that the plane would be late due to fog at Stockholm airport. This reduced our wait time at Stockholm to about 20 min. which meant we had to hurry to terminal 3 where we saw our small Skyways plane waiting for us and our baggage had already arrived ahead of us. The plane was a small two engine Swedish built Saab with a row of single seats on one side and a row of double seats on the other side.

At the Borlange airport was of course Ted waiting for us to drive us to his new house on the edge of town and the last house on the street beside a large forest. This will be the location for the last day of Oringen 1999 for which Ted's club is responsible.

Ted's new place is very nice with two floors at the back overlooking a newly logged area which will look better in another year. Ted was short of beds but he had just bought two mattresses and it was decided that two beds should be built for them. A design was soon drawn up and Dick built the beds after we arrived back from the Stora Tuna training camp.

Wednesday June 17

Today Ted had to drive to Vasteras to have his passport stamped for his new extended work visa. This was about a two and a half-hour drive through beautiful countryside. When he arrived he found that they had just opened a part time office in Borlange. Regardless of that we had enjoyed the drive and a good lunch beside the City Square.

Thursday June 18

The agenda for today had been planned in detail for a while as we found out. Per Sandberg, one of Ted's best Swedish friends, had invited Ted to bring us to visit his parents Bo and Anna Lisa Sandberg.who live near Rattvikt in an area overlooking Lake Sylyan. Per and his wife and family were visiting and also the parents of Per's wife, Odd and Inger Larsen.

After morning coffee there took place the raising of the replacement wood flagpole by all the five men. The new pole was about 15 m. long and 20-cm.in diameter at the butt. The original pole had been 17 years old. The house was built in1969 and Bo Sandberg had been living there for three or four years.

After lunch we all went to the small town of Mora, also near Lake Sylyan, where all the red wooden horses are carved and painted. We then said goodbye to all our hosts for the day and Ted, Pat and Dick headed for the Stora Training Camp located in a large ski area near the town of Salen near the Norwegian border. On the way we passed the start area for the Vasa Loppet and saw some of the trails near the highway.

 Stora Tuna Training Camp

Our accommodation at the training camp was in a group of lodges as part of a hotel complex and included a completely stocked kitchen. Since the sun set at 10:30pm and rose at 2:30 am we had some trouble finding enough cover for the windows. When we were having supper, the doorbell rang and it was Anton Sjokist inviting us over for after dinner tea. Lars and Karin were in the next lodge.

The first training session was very informal and we went out and found a few controls on a map across the valley from the ski slopes. Afterwards, when we were having lunch, Tika, who was the main organizer, came in to tell us that because of all the work that Ted has done for the Club, our accommodation here would be paid for by the Club. This was a very nice tribute.

Friday June 19 was midsummer eve, a special day in Sweden. Pat and I drove to a park near the town of Salen to see some of the traditional celebrations. This included people in costume arriving in wooden boats, some music, speeches and the raising of the Maypole. After the decorated pole was raised there was some traditional dancing around it. Pat and Dick joined in with Lars and his family for a short while.

The training camp lasted until Tuesday morning and we usually had two orienteering sessions each day on very good maps. There was also some form of entertainment or games in the evening. We found that the people in the club were very kind and friendly towards us. This is partly because this is their nature and partly because they all like and respect Ted.

One afternoon when Ted was working at his computer there was a knock on the door and two young men were there and said "Ted-Go Carts" and off they went to the Go Cart track which was nearby. There were eight of them including the father of two of the boys. They all wanted to go faster than the others and it was fun watching them. The last morning of the training camp was Tuesday June 23 and we looked for a few locations and also controls on the same map as before.

After lunch we packed up and left for the home of Mecca and Gosta Sjokist near Leksand where we enjoyed another good Swedish dinner. Lars came in Ted's car to show us the way. We arrived home in Borlange at nine PM and I thanked Ted for a great experience at the training camp.

On Wednesday we were invited for dinner and a swim at Leif Åkerblom's in-laws, who live near Ludvika. Ted was the only one to swim but we all enjoyed dinner outside near the water. They have property beside a river which is part of a long river and lake system that flows all the way from the Norwegian border near Salen to the lake system near Stockholm.

On Thursday we invited Lola and Yngve Odell to Ted's office cafeteria for lunch which we enjoyed outside. After lunch Yngve and Lola took us for a drive to look at an old Church and then to a little quiet park where we enjoyed the dessert and tea that they had brought with them. Lola makes the best ginger snap cookies in the whole world.

On Friday, June 26, Ted took us to a nice restaurant to celebrate my seventy first birthday. At the restaurant there was a small room with various antiques and paintings and also a set of bound volumes of The National Geographic from 1896 to 1996.

Saturday was a quiet day for us and we took some Canadian maple syrup to Lars and Karin and then to Tycka who did the organizing for the training camp.

Sunday was our last day at Borlange with Ted and we drove to the other Stora Tuna clubhouse that was in another small town near Borlange for some compass training. The first session was checking our paces between two flags 300-m apart on a flat open dry marsh. The second part was compass work between two flags 150 m apart through thick woods. The third part was a course of 13 controls on a map where only a small area around each control was shown on the map. The controls were well chosen with good catching features such as paths and forest edges.

 The Trip to the Czech Republic.

Monday, June 29. Ted drove us to the Borlange airport for our 6:15 am flight to Stockholm and then a connecting flight to the Sturup airport near Malmo. We arrived there at about 9:30 am and spent the rest of the morning in the airport people watching. The World Wide Tour bus was due at the airport at 12:20 PM to pick us up. It arrived at 12:17 and left at 12:20 for the trip to Trelleborg, Sweden for the 2 1/2-hour ferry trip to Rostock, Germany.

On the ferry we sat in front of a TV screen which showed a chart of the trip including the ship's location all the way. All the buoys were shown and when we went between two buoys I could look out the window and see the buoy beside the ship.

The drive from Rostock to Berlin was through pleasant farmland and a few small towns. On the way to the Forum Hotel in Berlin we drove past parts of the Berlin Wall. When I was standing by the bus at the hotel, our bus driver asked me if I recognized him. He then told me that he had spent two days with us in Vineland. He had been to Canada with Leif Akerblom on one of his trips to Canada.

Later, when looking out the window from our hotel room on the 21 st floor, I counted 40 construction cranes.

 Tuesday June 30.

Today we continued our drive through the German countryside and passed through the city of Dresden. Although the city had been badly bombed during the war it seemed to be completely rebuilt. After passing through some very hilly country we arrived at the Czech Republic border. After a short wait at the border we continued the trip to the Hotel Bohemia in Usti Nad Laben. Soon after arriving at the hotel we were off to a small park beside a small lake for some training and a picnic supper.

 Usti Nad Laben was a very interesting town on the Laben River. Our room on the ninth floor overlooked the river and the busy main street below. From our window we could see a new very modern bridge over the river.

 Wednesday July 1.

Today we were off to Novy Bor for a tour of a glass factory, the model event for the competition and the opening ceremonies. The tour bus had developed some power steering problems so we went on a local bus. Our tour bus was taken to Prague early next morning to be repaired.

 Qualification Two Day Event.

The weather was cloudy and cool as we left the hotel for the first day of competition on a local bus. The competition area was difficult orienteering and running. During my run I thought that Ted would like this terrain and he did, coming first in his group. Pat was third in her group and I was 41 out of 45. The other six in my group were disqualified. Since the first 40 of my group would qualify I had to do better on the second day.

On the second qualifying day, the weather was warm and sunny. The finish area was the same as the first day but with a new map adjoining the first map. At the start I took a bearing from the first control instead of from the start triangle. After this mistake my run was better and I made it into the A final by 4 places.

Saturday July 4 This was a rest day and since Pat had developed a cold we decided not to go on the tour to Prague.

 Final Day of Competition.

This was the final day of competition and we had a 2km hike to the finish area and then a 1.6-km walk to the start. The weather forecast was rain and it started to rain lightly as I arrived at the start. At the end of my run it was raining quite heavily. My run was fairly good with only one or two misses and my route choices seemed quite good. My final result was 55 out of 80. The time of the winner was very impressive. My time of 97 min was 45 min. behind the winner.

Ted's final placing was sixth in the M40 final but only three minutes behind the winner. Pat was thirteenth in the W70 class.

Later that evening at the Hotel Bohemia the World Wide Tour group was treated to a dinner and a dance. It was a very good party.

The Trip Back to Trellebourg.

Today, July 6, we left for Rostok at 8 am. It was a long drive, but pleasant. When we arrived at Rostok we found that that the ferry was late because of rough weather. The first part of the trip was very rough and when we realized that we would not arrive until ten PM we decided to stay in Trellebourg overnight instead of going to Malmo. We were able to make a reservation at the Stadt Hotel from the ferry. When we arrived at the dock we could see the hotel just up the street. We then put on our backpacks, turned and waved goodbye to all the people on our bus. They had all been so helpful and friendly.

 Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen.

After a good breakfast we found the bus to Malmo where we took the ferry at 12:00 o'clock. On arriving at Copenhagen we found a bus to the central station where we booked a room at the information booth. We then walked four blocks to the Ansgar Hotel. We later walked to Tivoli were we had a date to meet Paul Erik. After walking through wonderful Tivoli we had dinner in one of Paul Erik's favourite restaurant. Paul Erik was involved with the IOF for many years and came to Canada for an IOF meeting a few years ago.

Wednesday July 8 and the trip home.

Today we took the bus to the airport for our long trip home via London and Toronto. There was a three-hour wait in Toronto and Brenda came with Joshua and Nicole to see us in the airport. When we saw Nicole in January she had just taken her first steps but now she was running around the airport chasing Joshua.

Arriving at the Ottawa airport we were glad to see Andy there to welcome us.