As I already threatened to do, I am now presenting a list of the things I learnt in Sweden before and after my day in bed with a nasty cold. Considering the fact that some of our readers may find the details of Swedish forage production – fascinating though they are – of only minor interest, I will limit myself to the non-directly grassland-related issues. So I learnt :

1. That there must be some relationship beween the Swedish and the Hobbits, both having five meals a day. In Sweden the main meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are interrupted, as a fellow traveller put it, by at least two “fikas“, consisting in tea or coffey with at least some biscuits, but quite often also cakes or sandwiches.

2. That the Swedish also have quite a strong adaptation to the northern radiation regime: Even down in Uppsala I have waited in vain for some kind of darkness at night, so the Swedish seem to be able to sleep in advance in winter and be up 24 hours a day in summer.

3. Some important does and don’ts when having a nasty cold: Schnapps really helps against sore throats. If you still feel rather sick and most of the things available for dinner contain some sort of fish at the mere sight of which your stomach raises a determined veto, Schnapps plus wine in sufficient amounts will help to get and hold it down. Sleeping on house boats, on the other hand, when you still feel the world turning and tilting around you even on firm ground is a less good idea

4. That not only grass, but herring, too, can be ensiled. Or fermented. You look into a big barrel with a muddy fluid in it, big bubbles rising to the surface at several locations. Someone picks a fish out of this barrel, which then is – eaten. Apparently, it will never go off after this conservation method, because no microbe can survive in it anymore.

5. That a talent in trotting horse racing has been lost to the world as I never had the opportunities to develop my natural abilities in that field. As a non-horse person it was a marvellous experience for me to steer a sulky with a real racing horse in front around a slalom course, with the horse doing exactly what I told her. Who would have expected that?

6. What Swedish Protestants think of the Reformation. In a bus tour, we passed an old monastery, and I asked our guide for some more information concerning it. He regretted not being able to help me there, as he was a Protestant and did not know much about monasteries. “Are you two Catholic” he enquired. “No” said my seat neighbour. “Yes!” beamed I. The Swedish Protestant then began to inform us about the Swedish Reformation: The king having been short of money and thinking about where to get some, coming up with the idea that Church property would be a very handy gain. He continued by saying that he felt the Reformation had been a very bad thing for Sweden with so much cultural heritage being lost and so many works of art being destroyed, and that he felt somewhat ashamed and sorry about being a Protestant. My remark that there were ways to change that, however, did not receive the enthusiastic response that would have been nice to get.

7. That national predjudices hold a great deal of truth. No, I do not talk of the tourist in Stockholm Cathedral behaving in a shockingly blaspemous way being a US citizen. Rather, at the beginning of the conference, which was opened by the Swedish king (he walked past me less than two metres away), I remarked to my neighbour that it would be hard for Germany hosting this conference in two years’ time as we had no king. “I know”, my neighbour replied rather sharply, “and this is a good thing. I am no friend of monarchy!” Such a determined statement at such a moment made me curious to find out where he was from, and some determined efforts to get a glimpse of his name tag revealed that he came from – guess! – France.

Having an internet connection at home (hurray again!) I found out I have to take tram very soon, so you are spared more lenghty reports of boring stuff. However, Berenike, I am again considering the moving to Sweden plan. There are loads of cheap flights to Stockholm, though, a city that made it to the top of my list of Most Attractive European Capitals.