MCQBushcraft Traveling Europe 4x4 Ep09: Finding our New Home in Sweden

Description

In our last episode we were heading North East away from Norway into Sweden, both of us with the aim of discovering if moving to Sweden permanently was a real possibility or just a dream we both had in the back of our minds. We had been on the road for over four months and the Jeep setup was running like clockwork plus the weather has been very good to us.

This is has been a huge chapter in our lives filled with unforgettable memories and challenges. Join us on what will be one of our last episodes as we travel North across Sweden to meet old friends and attempt to start a new life in South Lapland.

Asele Tourism - http://www.aseleturism.se/?p=2371

Husky Kennel Lapland - https://www.huskykennel.com/huskykennel/winter/huskykennel-lappland-musher-trainingsabenteuer-5-tage.htm

camp laponia åsele - http://www.aseleturism.se/?p=2533

Wingfields Quality Adventure Goods - https://www.wingfields.co.uk/alu-box

Ruffstuff Specialties - https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/JeepXJ.html

MCQBushcraft:

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Video Transcription

at the end of our last episode we were traveling northeast away from Norway and across the border into Sweden Norway had been good to us the landscape was absolutely incredible and it would be hard to forget such a journey and the Jeep I'd spent so long building had really paid off taking us to some beautiful and remote locations off the beaten track away from popular camping destinations where it could just be me and Megan alone with the wilderness around us but despite all of this it was time to leave noise mountainous landscape behind and keep making tracks northeast towards Sweden where we were potentially looking for somewhere to start a new life together and call our home but before we cross the border we had a couple more stops to make one was a camp site called Grimsby tourist centre we didn't stay there in camp but they had a large diner and we decided to sit down and treat ourselves to some chips which put a smile on both our faces as we couldn't remember the last time we'd had something like this they also gave me a free sticker for the vehicle and then we bought a milkshake and got back on the road and carried on and stopped off at a small campsite by the side of a river that was popular for fishing near a small town called Tolga it was a pretty peaceful area but sadly it was by a main road and Laurie screamed through the night and kept us pretty alert the next morning we set off bright and early after all at this time of year it was a light almost all through the night so he attended to wake up pretty early anyway the further east we travelled the more the landscape started to flatten out and without even realizing it we'd already crossed the border into Sweden Sweden was twice the size of the United Kingdom the United Kingdom has a population of about sixty million and Sweden has a population of around eight most of which reside in the south of the country meaning the rest of the country is largely dominated by wilderness forests lakes rivers and old mountains cover the landscape and look virtually endless as you travel through it it also has a broad range of wildlife including brown bears wolves European elk or moose as they refer to everything also beavers and a broad range of bird species to say the least and the people here tend to live alongside nature rather than on top of it

how she hadn't let Meg [Music]

she's wobbly yes it's very different to my 40s - that's for sure yeah it's like learning to drive all over again I like to think of it like you're driving an overweight drunk man yeah pretty much [Music]

after a couple of hours of driving it was time to find a camp location so we left the main road and set off down a forest road

making our way towards the lake we'd seen on a map we'd never travelled in Sweden like this before with a vehicle the last time we came here we were backpackers so having a vehicle was a new experience for us we didn't realize that these forest roads can feel almost endless as we were driving on this particular road for over half an hour and the end wasn't in sight fortunately we did find a clearing which was a perfect camp spot and also a good place to turn around this was the kind of introduction we were hoping for when we arrived in sweden forest trails exploration and remote locations in the wilderness where we could camp fortunately sweden had similar camping laws to Norway provided you weren't disturbing livestock or crops and you were far enough away from somebody's cabin or home we've arrived at camp boat after exploring the area I decided to look on some newly replaced u-joints on the jeep as the old ones had some play in them but we had both talked ourselves out of camping in this location we wanted to make progress and continue North to Oslo and there was still enough hours in the day to find another location so we left camp bone behind and carried on down the track as on the map it showed it rejoining the road allowing us to pick up where we left off when we joined the forest track earlier in the day

we spent quite a while on the tracks as they tended to just go on forever when you'd reach crossroads that took you off in different directions some of which weren't on the man but it didn't take us long to get back to the road and before we knew it we were making tracks as our journey and evolved from what started out as a vacation to a real possibility of finding a new home in this country so we wanted to make as much progress as possible before camping so we were close to Oslo where we could reach our friends and see whether actually living here was a real possibility or not but after driving for most of the day it was time to find somewhere to rest for the night Megan spotted somewhere on the map and we decided to check it out and upon entering the road we got a glimpse of a moose just running into the woodlands as we drove past okay

we find a clearing where we could park and got settled in at four months into the trip our vehicle setup was running like clockwork it had been a long day's driving and we were both very hungry so we got the cattle on for a cup of tea Megan cooked up something for us to eat and then we retired to the roof tent for an early night it was a very peaceful area no road noise no signs of people just the wind cutting through the trees and blowing across the lakes that surrounded us much like many other mornings on this trip it was an early start and as we were further north than we were in Norway it was much lighter through the night but we were fairly well adapted by now we made our way back to the road and out of the forest and spent a bit of time driving on the main roads before deviating on a forest track once again we spent a lot of time on forest tracks there were just so many of them and with beautiful lakes and scenery in the distance you couldn't help but want to drive down them to try and get there some of which went nowhere and they were just overgrown and forgotten but we would often get out the vehicle in this case and scout ahead to see what was at the end of the road whether there are any views worth seeing other roads that you would discover with service roads that would take you to utilities

hi norms of time beautiful incredible standing tall cutting through the landscape the pylons of time they'll galvanized they'll never rust they're here to stay destroying your view every day the pylons of time available on CD after recording some timeless classics alongside some treasure hunting we were back on the main road again but it wasn't long before we stopped off at another tourist attraction on our journey an old mill hidden away down some back roads surrounded by Stukas which had log cabins that you can rent and live in for a short period of time it was still fully intact but only open at select times but we investigated the area amazed by the huge water shoots in The Woodlands and if you look through the window you could still see all the machinery intact it's always good to have a reminder of what life used to be like especially in a country with such a harsh winter but we also spent a bit of time traveling around the local area to the mill and find some really interesting camp locations that are accessible via vehicle or snowmobile or sled dog in the winter you could see why this country was so popular for fishing and unlike back home you could be totally alone in these areas without the echoes of a go a segue center or more walls ice-cream stand in the background [Music]

after a bit of sightseeing it was time to check the map you were getting extremely close to Allah but it was a bit too late in the day to turn up on people we knew that so he decided to drive alongside the young demand Elvan which is a large River very popular for fishing that ran through all Silla and find a good location so in the morning we could venture into town bright and early as per usual with us paved roads became gravel roads and the longer we drove gravel roads quickly became dirt roads and we managed to find a quiet location besides the Angermann elven sadly though it was next to something called a mirror which is effectively a bog meaning the volume of flies were almost unbearable horse flies mosquitoes and conduct or midges that we call them in the UK were swarming all around us so we quickly used the area to get some water and we loaded back into the vehicle and continued on to try and find a better location

[Music]

yeah eventually though we did find an ideal location right beside the Angermann elven River the positioning of the vehicle was perfect as it was shielded behind the trees and the wind cut just past the front of the vehicle meaning we could set out our dinner table there and the Flies wouldn't bother us we also access the fresh water and a beautiful view and it almost felt poetic that we've gotten this far and found this spot just outside of our salon where we could prepare ourselves for entering the town tomorrow to see what fate awaited us Master sure it's looking nice I'm making mine look you know a bit more you're making yours that prettier time - looks like grumps makies cutting her hair it's a hard life this is a great spot though this is an ideal location the wind's coming in from this angle here diagonally we've parked the truck so all of our cooking stuff is out of the way you can see that there it's not being affected and we're also not getting loads of wind on the roof tent because of the way we've parks or the trees partially blocking that when you step out here though it gets really really windy but the great thing is is when it's windy like this with a bit of a breeze the Flies leave you alone the mozzies and the midges and the horse flies tend to back off and there are a few around here if we step into the shady area now to the wind but if you get sick of them all they start to bother you something in the woods back there it's using the trees barely but if you get sick of the flies you can move away and just eat your dinner and a bit of a breeze like we've been doing and then you get a break from you

we woke up to another beautiful day Sweden was having some unusually hot weather this year and forest fires were prevalent so you had to be careful of where you can't but we were both pretty excited about getting into town and potentially meeting up with people we've met before in our previous trip to a solar back in 2016 so Meghan check the map and plotted a route from our location into town where we followed the Angermann elven River and it wasn't long before we arrived and things started looking familiar and it was a strange feeling to be back especially given the way we travelled also low was a small town located in a county called vesta bottom and it consisted of a thousand people and was relatively remote but self-sufficient as it produced its own hot water from a solid-fuel heating plant

he had a fuel station a range of mechanics a hospital a supermarket and various other amenities the small towns like this needed to be self-sufficient the nearest city was 200 kilometers away and the next major town 90 kilometers away and everything in between was wilderness given the distance we traveled the vehicle had earned an oil change so I stopped off at Volk and placed an order for a filter we also popped into the fuel station to get some supplies and we bumped into Yaka a knife maker we spent time with back in 2016 when we visited all solar before yakar had only been making knives for a year when we originally met him it was great to see that things had really moved on for him two years on and he'd set up his own company on the side called Jo knives and design and not only was he making knives but he was making a whole range of crafts out of natural materials like bone antler and variations of wood type yaku is highly skilled much like his father Jana who we spent time with also father like son he was a knife maker also and had been making traditional knives since the age of about 12 he was currently in his seventies and still producing them day to day and they weren't so much traditional Sami knives but more like traditional knives with Yanis own twist he was a truly skilled knife maker an incredibly meticulous in his work we were lucky enough to spend the day with them both and Jana kindly gifted us two knives from his collection which we still have today and still use it was nice to see a familiar face given Lee just arrived in town and Yaka kindly invited us back to his place for a cup of tea although I noticed a car on his drive that he was restoring a Ford Thunderbird

fortunately Megan managed to drag me away from this before the conversation went too far but after a quick catch-up we made our way to Husky Kenna Lachlan to meet up with Kristian and Ingrid back in 2016 when we visited all Silla before it was Husky kennel Lapland who had gotten south destination Lapland and to sponsor us to come out here to make a series of videos on the Swedish wilderness for the YouTube channel Kristian and Ingrid were originally from Austria where they ran an outdoor activity company and did a similar thing with the dogs but here in South Lapland they mainly specialized in working with the dogs as guests would come and stay with them much like we did in the guesthouse in Oslo but we were provided with equipment and all the things we needed for whatever expeditions we wanted to do sadly there we weren't able to go out with the dogs at that time of year it was just the wrong time of year and things were too warm but we did get to spend time with them on our previous visit and see how they work act in large kennels in packs with an alpha which was an unusual way of keeping dogs in this part of the world but after catching up and seeing the dogs we inquired whether Christian knew anywhere we could stay in town temporarily or rent and he pointed out some free cabins on the map where we could stay in the wilderness surrounding all solar so he said our good-byes for the time being Megan plotted a location on the man and we set off back out into the wilderness the one place where we knew we could stay made our way down a dusty

into another beautiful location by the side of a dried-up water source alongside the Angermann elephant [Music]

[Music]

we were taking some risks coming to this part of the world with only knowing a handful of people and expecting things to go smoothly we've left everything behind in the UK and everything we owned was in the Jeep there were so many unknowns ahead of us more so than we realized at the time but at least we had each other

and we were mobile if things didn't go well we could always turn around and go home

and say we tried but Christian had mentioned the campsite in Oslo they had some stew Gers there that they rent out so we decided to stay in this location for a night and then head into town tomorrow and speak to the owners of the campsite and see if there was any opportunities for staying there the next morning was much like many mornings that come before it we were up very early and we began our journey to the campsite in town and when we arrived some sort of event was taking place a much like our luck all the way through this trip it turns out that one of the biggest events in the whole of Norland takes place in all Silla once a year for four days we'd arrived just a day prior to it starting the population of all Silla was about to become a hundred and fifty thousand plus visiting over the period of four days to see live music an enormous market of over 1,300 stalls demonstration of jet skis and snowmobiles on the Angermann elven River alongside general drinking fun and enjoyment

[Music]

me and Megan visited the market I ate fish and chips and also gorked at quadbikes with chainsaws on the front of them we also made some new friends at the campsite the son and daughter-in-law of the Dutch owners of also the camping Jeff and Naomi Jeff was a lorry driver also an operator of heavy machinery the Naomi's passion was keeping and racing Siberian Huskies one of her dreams why she moved to South Lapland we also bumped into email somebody else we met back in 2016 email was a hunting guide and he took us out into the wilderness to hunt Kappa Kaylee and ptarmigan and at the end of the hunt we sat beside a lake an email told us about how he wanted to open a cheese shop selling traditional Sami smoked cheese that him and his wife had been making for many years and it turns out that dream had become a reality as we walk straight into the shop and saw them both there it was really great to see email and his wife's dream come true after making my dream come true and winning a stuffed lul emoji we went back to the campsite and helped Jeff build a wall around the generator before the campsite got too busy Jeff's parents who are the owners of the campsite have been incredibly kind to us whilst the mark nog festival was on they couldn't offer us us to go as it was being rented out allowed us to stay on the campsite and use all the facilities for free and when the festival was over we'd be able to rent one of their studios whilst we were getting things set up in Oslo and looking for somewhere a little bit more permanent but in the meantime it was time to leave Ursula whilst the Martin art festival was still in play so Meghan check the map and we found a few locations we wanted to visit it was time to head back out into the wilderness once again

[Music]

[Music]

one location we headed to was stock homes garter which was a large Canyon formation 50 meters deep and about one and a half kilometers long and it was formed over 9,000 years ago potentially due to an earthquake there are a number of free cabins there where you could come and it was a popular location for bear sightings Eagles or even Lynx if you were lucky we stayed out in the wilderness for a number of days waiting for the mark not vegetable to end driving rounds various locations and just being a part of nature we really enjoyed the serenity something we just couldn't find back home but after a few days it was time to return to Walla and move into our new student and it didn't take long for us to get settled it was very comfortable in the stew ger and it was segregated from the rest of the campsite so we didn't tend to get bothered by anybody we had our own space outside where we had fires in the evening and sometimes cooked our dinner with friends and socialized we had a comfortable bed cozy facilities inside even a washing machine and dryer and it was really good to get all our gear squared away get some work done and just start to get settled into life here in Sweden jumping in the car and going to the nearest town to get supplies wasn't quite as convenient as being back in the UK lick Silla was 90 kilometers away so when we worked hard enough we treat ourselves to a day out which we almost certainly made the most often given the distance and in my spare time I gave the Jeep a little bit of TLC rebuilding the draw system so it would work with the two rear seats reinstalled and this way we could have passengers pick people up from the airport like family and friends I also check a place of the whole draw system and reinforced it with brackets this way it could be a permanent installation also rewired the electronics and put in a fuse box so the electronics are actually a part of the vehicle now and not an extra panel in an unusual place that was hard to reach I remains of the fire extinguisher so it was easier to grab but some stainless steel lies in so he could ratchet strap down baggage and boxes move the cage to the back of the vehicle so things could be contained on top of the draw system I also added some new large spotlights on front of the vehicle for the dark winters courtesy of Jeff who gave me a whole load of LED lights for free so I put them on the sides and I put them on the back as well and the rear ones will be rigged up to the reverse lights his winter was on the horizon so I had to take my vehicle to Volk and get the tires studied so driving on the icy roads would be a lot safer I also got a surprise package from ruff stuff as they sent through some control arms and a one-ton steering kit which would correct a lot of the geometry problems I'm having with the front axle I also decided to remove the roof tent and give it a bit of an inspection see how it held up and I wasn't happy with the mounting system so I rebuilt it made some quick-release pins and if all of this wasn't enough my managed to pick up a Chrysler ace in a quarter rear axle 29 spline in 410 gears along with the gears for the front axle this was an axle I've been looking for for a very long time and they're becoming hard to find in Europe it's an incredibly strong axle and if some of you have no idea what I'm talking about

it's just a very good thing and it means bigger tires and I was glad I did all this before the weather turn is the heatwave died away and the rains came in we lived in the stu go for about four weeks we even took a trip to MU the nearest city to pick up some rear seats for the Cherokee and off the back of that we got invited to an off-road Club it took a science on a special course in the Swedish forest it was actually pretty technical given all the trees and tight bends you had to take Megan even got to try a hand out as spotting for the first time which I think she found pretty difficult and understandably so because it's a very tough job off the back of it she did very well and we came off the course with no damage which is always a plus okay yeah yeah yeah yeah you're fine we'd have a lot of fun and we'd met some great people and if it wasn't for the people we'd met and the friends we've made we wouldn't be in the position we'd be in now and it was time to pack up the stu ger and move into our new home just on the outskirts of Oslo we'd even adopted a dog called Muntz an enormous Great Dane st. Bernard's cross who seemed to have taken to us really well he was enjoying his new life we regularly took him on walks and even runs with us Muntz also came to the cat with Tyson

they were the best of friends and Tyson was a Norwegian Forest Cat he spent most of his time outside and most of the day just sleeping in the house we'd come such a long way and so much had changed in such a short space of time but we were both happy and we were enjoying life in Sweden but there were still many challenges ahead to overcome but this is where this part of the story ends to those who have watched the whole series we hope you've enjoyed it and thank you for watching and we'll see you in the next chapter very very soon take care