Stockholm, Mora and Karlstad Sweden
After leaving Nynashamn, our next three stops were in Stockholm, Mora and Karlstad. All three locations are in Sweden, and in all three we were teaching on lakes. We started at Svima Sport in Stockholm. Throughout our time there I taught five sessions of Simplifying the Roll, and Mark taught four sessions of Simplifying the Stroke. We also helped Daniel, owner of Svima, with a class for beginners, which includes a nine kilometer tour of Stockholm by kayak. Special thanks to Daniel for hosting us.
Daniel covers the basics.
Stockholm is a gorgeous city to explore by kayak.
All of the rolling classes started with Yoga for Paddlers.
People worked on all kinds of rolls. Lotta is learning a hand roll.
Daniel learned the Spine Roll.
After the classes in Stockholm, we made our way west, heading through Sweden to Mora. Mora is a wonderful place with friendly people, lots to see and a gorgeous lake. Magnus and Anders had organized a two-day event, which was very popular and very successful. I ran three sessions of Simplifying the Roll, while Mark ran three sessions of Simplifying the Stroke. Sunday afternoon was informal instruction, and instructors were available to help people clean up the techniques that they’d been working on throughout the weekend. Special thanks to Magnus and Anders for hosting us.
Both days of the event started with Yoga for Paddlers.
Mark talks about posture while paddling.
Throughout the weekend we enjoyed a couple of tasty barbecues.
Anders seemed happy with how the event turned out.
Martin gave the weekend a thumbs up.
We had a wonderful time working with everyone. Thanks for coming out!
After the event Magnus hosted a crayfish dinner. Crayfish is a delicacy that is celebrated during the month of August in Sweden.
And he showed us the correct way to enjoy these tasty freshwater crustaceans.
Mora is also the home to the Dala Horse, and we stopped by the factory for a quick visit.
Then we headed to Karlstad to run classes for Vanerkajak on Lake Vanern, the largest lake in Sweden. Although the lake is freshwater, its size gives it many of the same features as the sea. Throughout the three days we ran two sessions of Simplifying the Roll and a two-day BCU 3 Star Training. Thanks to Bjorn for hosting us.
During the rolling classes we worked on everything from the Balance Brace to the Storm Roll.
Wind provided swell, breaking waves and a fantastic learning environment for the BCU 3 Star Training.
More wind to play in.
During the BCU 3 Star Training we spent some time working on both self and assisted rescues.
Here three swimmers help each other get back into their kayaks.
Topics such as repairing kayaks were also covered.
The candidates were tired but happy at the end of the training.
Oktoberfest was taking place in the town center, so we stopped in to join in the celebration.
