#brevik

Brevik, Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway

Eidangerfjord nach Brevik Strand35 Kilometer, 531 HöhenmeterGefahren am 1. Juni 2024 Gestern Abend noch haben wir mit unserem neuen oberpfälzisch-norwegischen Freund Leon über Gott und die Welt diskutiert. Aber nun heißt es Abschied nehmen, denn wir müssen auch mal weiter. Danke für deine Hilfe und den schönen Abend, Leon! Unsere dritte und letzte Nacht auf dem Campingplatz am Eidangerfjord ist…

„Brevik“ was: canoeing, campfires, deep discussions, individuals growing into a group, breathtaking nature, unforgettable sunsets…. I wonder why Brevik and the surrounding countryside made such a deep and lasting impression on me again. Is it because Sweden is slightly larger than Germany but only 8 million people live in it? Or is it the type of vacation - with a group, close to nature and without luxury? Or because I've really fallen in love - not only with the country, but also with a fellow traveller? All I know is that I often think back to Sweden - even now months later. If I look at the poster of us canoeists on my wall, I can practically hear the water rushing past the paddle. That summer in Sweden will always remain burned into my mind as a conscious experience because it reflected the kind of life I could have continued endlessly: only with basic things, without stress and chasing success, but deeply connected with nature. Brevik raised the question of the meaning of life for me. Is it really our destiny to learn a profession, work day in and day out for years, eventually have a family and raise children? Or is there something more? What depresses me is the fact that our society maps out our path of life and we actually can't live the way we want to and how it might correspond to our nature. Brevik made that very clear to me. So Brevik wasn't just a vacation, it was also insight: Don't let your society force you into a certain pattern, but rather realize your own ideas about life - even if it means "renunciation" in one form or another.

Youth/Holiday Camp „Brevik“

For a long time, Sweden was „the goal of all desires" for me - until I discovered other beautiful spots on this planet. The brother of my best friend was a youth worker at the Christian youth organization in Stuttgart Degerloch and had been organizing (as part of his tasks there) a holiday camp in Sweden for years: "Brevik" - about 80 km south of Stockholm. In the mid-80s, some friends and I booked this holiday camp. Many of us knew the film adaptations of Astrid Lindgren's books such as "Pippi Longstocking" or "Seacrow Island" - which was exactly the attitude towards life that awaited us there in Sweden: a certain „lightness of being“. Campfire romance, singing to the accompaniment of a guitar, my first concert (covers played by musically experienced youth workers)…. and canoeing. The highlight of the trip was a two-day canoe trip out into Sweden's archipelago - the many small islands in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish coast.

We liked the short canoe trip so much that a few years later my best friend and I booked a canoe-only trip with the same organization which took us through that archipelago for several days. On this trip we experienced a complete feeling of freedom and harmony with nature, so that we still talked about this trip years later. At the end of the trip there was a short detour to Stockholm - for me one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. At least the location of the city, which is built on 14 large islands, can hardly be matched in Europe. The Swedes like to sing and dance - especially at "Midsommar". On the way back from Stockholm we came across a brightly lit village festival: Swedes prepared an old barn with a stage for a band and held a dance there. That evening I was fascinated by how well some Swedes could dance classical dance standards and had a lot of fun doing it. We let ourselves be carried away as well…at least we tried.

Many years later my wife and I visited Stockholm with a cruise ship. You drive quite a long time through "Stockholm's archipelago" before you get to the port of Stockholm. Experiencing this archipelago landscape from an elevated position makes this landscape appear even more impressive than from a canoe. A tip: Enjoy a coffee with a typical Swedish cinnamon roll in a cafe in Stockholm's old town (Gamla Stan) and watch people go by. This is how you slow down life and come to rest.

Preparing for a canoe tour

無人駕駛全電動貨輪要上路了！那船員們要失業了嗎?航運股又有新題材繼續漲翻天?

無人駕駛技術可以運用在汽車、飛機上，現在將運用在輪船上。外媒《electrek》報導，挪威公司 Yara International 打造全球第一艘零排放的全自動電動貨輪「Yara Birkeland 」，並計劃在 2021 年底在挪威進行首次沒有船員的航行。 (more…)