Saturday, July 04, 2009

An exiting day in Österhaninge

← To the tenth hole

Husby is an old farm in Österhaninge. Back in the good old days this was the place where the local farmers paid their taxes to the king. They would arrive on their wagons that were filled with their produce. This is the old watermill that was also used as a sawmill, and later it also got a turbine which generated the electricity to the farm. Today there is a golf course here. And believe it or not, to get to the tenth hole you have to walk through the old mill! I spent some time here on Thursday with a flickr friend and photographer, Jim, who you can see here on the steep stairs, zooming in on a detail from the old mill.

Jim in action

We started by having coffee at the golf club, and that turned out to bee a big mistake, as it was very warm, and I was beginning to feel the heat. Luckily it was a bit cooler down by the stream. This is the view from inside the mill. What you see here is the Husby stream and a salmon staircase, also known as a fish ladder.

Mill Window

What you don't see here is what happened one hour after the visit to the mill. By then the temperature was around 30C and I was really feeling the heat as we were walking through an ancient grave field where you will also find Haninge's biggest ant hill in an old barn! Anyway, I was very dizzy and needed more water and as we made our way back to our bikes, we were chased by a bunch of angry horses through a horse pasture! Hard to believe, but that is what happened. I ran as fast as I could, while Jim hid behind a tree. Back at the stable, we told a bunch of girls what had happened as I drank around three litres of water in under five minutes. They probably got a big laugh out of that. Luckily for me it started to rain, and as I had a ten km bike ride home that rain probably saved me as my temperature slowly turned back to normal in the rain.

11 comments:

brattcat said...

What an adventure you had. I was afraid you were going to tell us you fainted. I knew you must have survived and not been trampled by the horses or you wouldn't have been posting. By the way, the first photo is gorgeous. Be careful in that heat, Steffe!

slim said...

The pictures are great but the adventure story even greater. I'm happy for all that mother nature provided a cool shower.

Don and Krise said...

When I get on my bike I always carry more water than I think I'll need. Glad everything turned out okay.

Jilly said...

My goodness, what a scary time - needing water and terrifying horses! Glad to know you pulled thru, Steffe! Fascinating group of photographs and good to meet your fellow photographer.

I had a horse gallop towards me too - but not as scary as what you two went thru - see Menton DP today.

B SQUARED said...

Be careful out there. You are supposed to enjoy the Summer.

Leif Hagen said...

Hej Steffe! Jag gillar FICKA! How's your golf game? I sent the Russian painting to you C.O.D. Hope that's ok. Halsningar fran Hagen

Lowell said...

This is a fascinating place and yours is a fascinating story! Love the photos...sounds like you got a bit of Florida warmth!

By the by, that boat on Cedar Key DP is similar to many boats on the island, and I think they're designed that way for clamming or lobster trapping...

cieldequimper said...

What an expedition! Can you send us some rain please? Over 30° all week long now! The first photo is wonderful, even for those like me who don't play golf!

crocrodyl said...

Great place and full of history!

Leeds in Yorkshire photography said...

As a boy my sister kept horses so I learned pretty fast that they might be big, but they are mostly friendly.
It has been really hot over here in the UK the last few days. I thought at first you were going to have problems with the ants!

Stefan Jansson said...

I have had similar experiences before, in Greece. But on those occasions it has been much warmer. around 48C. I always carry two big water bottles on the bike, but that was far from enough this time. My golf game is non-existing Leif. As I'm typing this the temperature is 16 C. I did have some problems with the ants. I only had the point and shoot camera and the photos I took of that big anthill were crap, so I will have to go back. Luckily there is another way in to the grave-field so maybe I will be able to get in and out without being noticed by the horses.