Holly Spangler

Sweden in Photos, Part One

Sweden in summertime is a beautiful place. Here's part one of two, sharing a handful of the 800+ photos I took, on the farm and off!

Published on: August 21, 2012

It's difficult:

A) for a person to fully share the beauty and magnitude of a country through mere photographs, and,

B) for a photographer to not carry a camera pretty much everywhere and attempt to document pretty much everything, despite the aforementioned knowledge.

Which is all to say that I am fully aware these photos won't begin to capture the real Sweden. It is, however, a slice of time through my eyes, and with my experience.

And you'll notice few farm or agricultural photos – with great intent! The farm photos will follow in a separate post. Maybe two. There's a lot to show there.

Bicycle
Bicycles were EVERWHERE in Sweden. People rode them for fun, they rode them to work, they rode them with small children seated in back. Some workplaces even have showers so employees can get their workout riding to work, then shower up for the day. Exercise is a state of mind, as we saw all around Stockholm. I feel a little regret that we didn't rent a bike and join in.
Stockholm Buildings
Stockholm is a city by the sea, sitting partially on land and the rest on some 4,000 islands. Which is to say, there's lots of water and lots of boats. The Baltic Sea is incredibly beautiful.
Around the Table
Alltech sponsors two very special groups prior to the IFAJ Congress. One is the group I was a part of, the Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism award winners. The second was known as the Master Class, and included ag journalists from developing countries. In this photo, we're gathered around the table and sharing a little about agriculture and agricultural journalism in our countries. My perspective on the world broadened immensely during that hour or so.
Canadian Journalist
This is Alexis. She's from Canada. She writes for Alberta Farmer. She is smart, inquisitive, quick witted, she knows her way around a hostel, and I really enjoyed getting to know her. I think her mother would like this photo.
Calvin of Zambia
This is Calvin. He's an agricultural journalist from Zambia and was part of the Master Class. One of the really great aspects of the class was the opportunity for developed countries to sponsor journalists, and Calvin was sponsored by our group, the American Agricultural Editors Association. Here, he's explaining why his country is against GM food, even going so far as to turn away food aid in 2002 because it was genetically modified. I grew to very much respect Calvin, even in our differences. It's a good world when you can passionately sit on opposite ends of a belief, and still be friends.
Dallas
I don't know what to make of this. Dallas was everywhere we looked; in the Subway, on sidewalk advertisements, on grocery store magazines. I have unverified reports of a Stockholm bar named for Cliff Barnes. Again, I don't know what to make of it.
Armed with cameras, Americans Karlie Elliott Bowman and Christy Lee take in Stockholm in the summertime.
***This has been edited; an earlier version said "Larry Barnes." I think I was mixing my Dallas references. Also, jet lag.***
Hoopeston Girls
Karlie Bowman (left) is the editor of the IFAJ newsletter, and farms with her husband Andrew near Oneida, Illinois. But she grew up a Cornjerker in Hoopeston, Illinois. Christy Lee (right) runs a fantastic freelance writing and photography business and was the 2012 Alltech Young Leader and my partner in crime on this trip. She married a Hoopeston native, moved there and became a Cornjerker. What are the odds? Two of the dozen or so Americans on this trip, both forever linked to a tiny Illinois town. Very cool.
Carnival
We ended our first day with a dinner cruise through the Stockholm harbor, dining on beef brisket and herring. Among the beautiful and fun sites we passed by: a seaside carnival. Makes you want to swing, doesn't it?
Building Sunset
And as we cruised back to the dock, the sun set over Stockholm. Sigh.
Harbor Sunset
Another sunset glimpse. Being a Midwestern girl, I've never felt a strong connection to the sea. But I can totally see why some people do. This is peace.
Swedish Grocer
On another evening, we took a dinner hike through Stockholm, visiting several grocery stores on the way. We saw a lot of familiar products - including Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce - but also some new things. Lots of meat, lots of choices, nearly an entire aisle devoted to olive oil.
Coop Card
This particular grocery store was a co-op, and members buy into the co-op, then receive dividends each month. When asked if the food was more expensive there, the store manager answered "no." Perhaps the better question would have been, "Is it more expensive there?" Our rough exchange math showed it to be clearly more so. But as the tour leader pointed out, the Co-op stores are located in wealthier parts of the city and people don't shop there based on price.
Swedish Meat
See that little blue and yellow circle on the top left part of this meat package? That indicates the meat was raised in Sweden. Sweden is requiring livestock producers to raise animals in "natural" settings, witih no hormones, no stalls, and only therapeutic antibiotics. As a result, many producers have left the livestock business, and Sweden currently imports 50% of its meat, much of it from Denmark and other countries whose standards aren't quite as high as what Swedish farmers are required to meet.
Ladies on Bridge
It's a cliche to say your group has really bonded and become close in such a short amount of time...and yet it's true. Here, Ciara O'Kelly from Ireland (please read with a lilting Irish accent), myself, Christy Lee and Alltech's Katie Gerht pause on the walk home from the grocery tours. Fun. And good times. I miss them already.
Hamra
After the start of the Congress, we visited the research farm of DeLaval, a Swedish company that leads the industry in high-tech dairy feeding and milking equipment. Hamra, pictured here, is their research farm. And you see the red on that barn? Nearly every barn we saw was the same color. Turns out, Sweden is home to copper mines and the copper is used to tint paint. That means it's cheap. And everyone uses it. I'm a sucker for a red barn.
Calf for Christy
Christy and I spent much time trying to photograph each other photographing something else. This picture cracked me up. They're both looking at me like, "What?" Also, this heifer was the most curious, nosy, march-right-up-to-your-camera animal you've ever seen. She knew how to strike a pose. Work it, sister.
Gamla Stan
We used our partial-day-off to explore Gamla Stan, which means Old Town - parts of it date back to 1250 and it's home to the King's palace. The funny thing is, when we got off the subway, we made a wrong turn and circled back across the water, and crossed back into Gamla Stan on another bridge. The upside? This is what we saw as we circled back. Sometimes, a wrong turn is worth everything.