Trees

I took a break from studying today and went for a jog in the botanical garden—I needed a little ”fri-luft” (free air, open air…). I actually jogged through ”Amerika,” a section of the park featuring North American tree varieties…ran past eastern hemlock and Sitka spruce and even a white pine or two…this arboretum is amazing—expansive and lovely. I jogged past numerous groups of elementary aged students with their teachers which brought me great joy of course! They seemed to have classes set up in the woods, couldn't tell if it was environmental ed. or simply an outdoor classroom...anyhow, they seemed to be actively enjoying themselves.

A part of the arboretum consists of highly sculpted gardens, another part of the arboretum is designed deliberately to feature species from different parts of the word (e.g. the noted "Amerika"), but my favorite part is the wild stretches of West Sweden forest. West Sweden, Västra Götaland of the Göteborg area, is so unlike the extensive boreal forest I associate with Sweden. The climate here along the coast is much more temperate, allowing for an amazing diversity of plant species (diverse relative to the boreal forest). I am shocked by all the hardwoods…oaks, basswoods, maples, beech and birch. I need to work on learning all of the Swedish names for these European relatives of trees I know from home. I will send more pictures, however, here is one of a deep ravine of beech:

Beech are beautiful with their elephant-leg-like trunks and their ability to shade out everything on the forest floor below; they create a very open green-airy feeling. There is a key scene from Ingemar Bergman’s film, The Seventh Seal, from the beech forests of Southern Sweden—magical places.

A part of my return jog is down a very urban corridor…cars, bikes, the commuter trains, buses, walkers…it is a busy and lively stretch, and despite the urban busyness, or perhaps because of it, I am amazed at how people get around. The only way these tightly populated cities can function is the willingness of the majority to walk, or ride (bike, bus or train)...or even car-sharing, the sign on this car reads: "Dela Bil." which means "share car."

I am thinking a lot about transportation these days as I am currently without bike or car, it is not so odd for me to go without my car, but this is the longest bike separation I have experienced in a long time (that will change soon!). Anyhow, I am reminded on how much more we all can do back home to reduce our transportation impact.

One final note in today´s posting. I need to be sure that I let you all know that this is NOT an official Department of State blog and that the views do not represent the Fulbright Program or US Department of State…got it? Simply Tom Beery´s ramblings.