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Post by Suzy on Mar 2, 2014 4:45:49 GMT -5
It's called Vasaloppet and is 90 km long. It's being held today in northern Sweden. Over 15000 participants.  |
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Post by Suzy on Mar 2, 2014 4:51:41 GMT -5
The route is the same as young king Gustav Vasa took in 1520 to raise support to throw the Danes out of Sweden. He succeeded, of course.
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Post by shawninmon on Mar 2, 2014 10:00:23 GMT -5
I feel so provincial now, having never heard of it. Thank you for broadening my horizons!
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Post by Suzy on Mar 2, 2014 12:26:15 GMT -5
You're welcome. It's very well known all over Europe. But I wouldn't expect it to have crossed the pond.
The distance is a little more than 2x a marathon. I'm sure they're still skiing away over there.
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Post by Becca Mills on Mar 2, 2014 13:14:07 GMT -5
Wow! There's a yearly cross-country ski race in Wisconsin called the Birkebeiner (http://www.birkie.com/). My brother-in-law skied it a couple times in his youth.
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Post by Suzy on Mar 2, 2014 14:16:59 GMT -5
They get blueberry soup handed to them in paper cups every few miles or so. In Sweden, blueberry soup is believed to have magic qualities. I was brought up on it.
Explains my weirdness,doesn't it?
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Post by Becca Mills on Mar 2, 2014 15:07:20 GMT -5
They get blueberry soup handed to them in paper cups every few miles or so. In Sweden, blueberry soup is believed to have magic qualities. I was brought up on it. Explains my weirdness,doesn't it? I didn't know you could make soup from blueberries! And no -- while it's plenty weird, it's not an adequate explanation.  |
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Post by Suzy on Mar 2, 2014 15:09:59 GMT -5
And now a NORWEGIAN has gone and won the race! How dare they? I bet they drank more than blueberry soup!
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Post by Becca Mills on Mar 2, 2014 15:18:59 GMT -5
And now a NORWEGIAN has gone and won the race! How dare they? I bet they drank more than blueberry soup! Heh. Would it be even worse if a Finn or a Dane won?  |
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Post by Suzy on Mar 2, 2014 15:24:03 GMT -5
No. Well a Dane wouldn't be able to. And we love the Finns. But Swedes and Norwegians have always been arch rivals. Sweden occupied Norway for 100 years, they never got over that. But then Norway found oil and the Swedes are jealous. In fact, Sweden doesn't buy Norwegian oil.Too expensive. They practically told the Norwegians they could drink it for all they cared.
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Post by Becca Mills on Mar 2, 2014 16:07:53 GMT -5
No. Well a Dane wouldn't be able to. And we love the Finns. But Swedes and Norwegians have always been arch rivals. Sweden occupied Norway for 100 years, they never got over that. But then Norway found oil and the Swedes are jealous. In fact, Sweden doesn't buy Norwegian oil.Too expensive. They practically told the Norwegians they could drink it for all they cared. Wow, I did not know that! |
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Post by Suzy on Mar 2, 2014 16:12:34 GMT -5
Then the Swedes went and became the less oil dependent country in the world- using mostly hydro-electricity, running public transport on ethanol and heating their houses with geo-thermal heating. Two fingers to Norway again.
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Post by Becca Mills on Mar 3, 2014 1:29:56 GMT -5
Then the Swedes went and became the less oil dependent country in the world- using mostly hydro-electricity, running public transport on ethanol and heating their houses with geo-thermal heating. Two fingers to Norway again.  You know we over here on the left already think Sweden is the best place on earth. Do you have to rub it in?! |
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Post by Suzy on Mar 3, 2014 2:38:51 GMT -5
Then the Swedes went and became the less oil dependent country in the world- using mostly hydro-electricity, running public transport on ethanol and heating their houses with geo-thermal heating. Two fingers to Norway again. You know we over here on the left already think Sweden is the best place on earth. Do you have to rub it in?! *rub, rub, rub* |
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Post by Becca Mills on Mar 3, 2014 2:56:24 GMT -5
You know we over here on the left already think Sweden is the best place on earth. Do you have to rub it in?! *rub, rub, rub* D'oh! |
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