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Scandinavian Deer

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dailyscandi

August 26, 2016

Endless forests and clear lakes, desolated and varied landscapes make up the nature of the three Scandinavian kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. With such an enormous land area and a relatively small number of inhabitants, large parts of Scandinavia are unoccupied by people. They are also home to numerous of game and offer unique and exciting hunts. Every country has its unique and special charm and species of deer.

Roe deer
In Denmark, deer are primarily roe deer, the size of a small sheep, which have inhabited Scandinavia for at least 8,000 years. They exist in vast numbers and as many as 100,000 are shot every year, most of them consumed by hunters’ families and restaurants. Their meat is dark and has a pleasant, intensely game taste. They can be treated as other game, or lamb.

Fallow deer
This deer, about the size of a llama, is not indigenous to the Nordic countries, but was imported for hunting game in the Middle Ages and has spread all over southern Scandinavia. The meat has a very mild taste, much like veal. It can be successfully farmed and most of the fallow deer meat today is farmed. It does not have as much flavor as wild deer, but it is still a pleasant change from the other domestic meats.

Red deer
The red deer is larger, similar to a small cow in size, and has been in Scandinavia since the last Ice Age. A red deer stag is an impressive sight, and the calves are lovely, if you are lucky enough to see such shy animals. The red deer has been threatened in the past, but the numbers are again on the rise so they can now be hunted legally. The meat is like gamy beef, very lean and tasty.

Reindeer
In northern Scandinavia the reindeer reigns, roaming over the low-growing Arctic tundra, finding food where there seems to be none. Reindeers are charming, relatively small animals, with spreading hooves designed to work like snow shoes, and a rather strange but very fast stride.

All reindeer have their particular owner, who keeps an eye on them and protects them from wolverines and other predators, but basically they are wild animals. They are not hunted, but butchered in special abattoirs.

Reindeer are more than a livelihood. They are part of a culture much older than the farm culture of the rest of Scandinavia. The Sami now have the exclusive right to reindeer herding in most of the vast area occupied by this ancient people. The Sami live in an expanse stretching across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia – an area as big as Sweden, known as Sapmi.

Their traditional culture is flourishing, now finally being supported by the governments after centuries of conflict and ill treatment comparable to apartheid on South Africa. Reindeer have been herded by Sami since the Middle Age; before that they were hunted along with other game.

Reindeer travel great distances, moving from the lower forests in the winter to the mountains in summer, and back again. The Sami once lived a nomadic existence as the followed the herds, but nowadays reindeer herding is done by helicopter, snowmobile and four-wheel drive; and the Sami are no longer nomads, though some choose to camp with the herd in the mountains in summer.

Reindeer meat us like no other, being extremely tender and with a sweet taste rather like a mildly gamy veal. Many of the various forms of preserved reindeer meat, and many traditional dishes, have their origins in the food eaten by the Sami shepherds on the long seasonal migrations. Every imaginable part of the reindeer is used: you get salted and smoked reindeer tongues, smoked hearts, and sausages in great variety, both smoked and fresh.

Suovas
The best-known of the dried reindeer meat, suovas (meaning ‘lightly smoked’), has been dry-salted, smoked and then normally dried. The smoking is traditionally done in a special smoking hut, in the form of a small Sami tent (called a kåte) placed on the ground with a smoking bonfire in the middle; the meat is simply hung up to smoke over the fire. The delicacy comes in different forms, some very dry and salty, others more mildly cured. The best cuts of leg are used.

When not excessively dried, suovas can be eaten like fresh meat, and is often cut thinly and eaten like other cold cuts, or cubed and skewered as a kebab. The drier forms of suovas are eaten with a soft flatbread and a topping of pickled mushrooms and lingonberries – it’s simply delicious.

Renskav
This is thinly sliced, dried or frozen reindeer meat; as it’s shaved so thinly, it’s a way of using the less tender parts of the animal. Usually, it’s pan-fired with onions and mushrooms and served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries.

It is also used for the homely pytt in panna, a much-loved dish often made with leftovers if roast meat, but raised to something beautiful and celebrated when made with fresh renskav, the meat, onions and potatoes are fried separately and the mixed, and often finished with a little cream. It’s served with pickled mushrooms and the ubiquitous lingonberry.

All images: Wikipedia

Scandinavian Deer, written by Tor Kjolberg

A Mountain Bike Paradise

dailyscandi

August 25, 2016

Skibotn in Northern Norway is probably the best place around the Lyngenfjord to go mountain biking. Here you will find a wide range of trails to choose from and in August the Downhillfestival “Stifestivalen” and the offroad race “Lavkarittet” take place.

Bicycling toir at Jægervatnet. Photo: Inge Storsteinnes — Bicycling tour at Jægervatnet. Photo: Inge Storsteinnes

MTB race. Photo: Chris Brynjulfasen — MTB race. Photo: Chris Brynjulfsen

Mountain biking in Northern Norway, and especially in the Lyngenfjord region, is an arctic experience. Trails up to almost 1000 meters above sea level, creates views of the impressive Lyngen Alps and the Lyngen Fjord, the midnight sun that allows for trips 24/7 and in the autumn the possibility to see the northern lights.

The village of Skibotn and the Skibotn Valley are the center of the mountainbike activities in the Lyngenfjord region and therefore most information is about Skibotn. Also the nearby valleys Kåfjorddalen, Signaldalen, Kitdalen and the mountains in between, are an Eldorado for mountainbikers who are looking for something special. Around Lyngseidet you will also find some trails.

Mountainbiking in Skibotn
The dry climate in Skibotn and the Skibotn Valley ensures that you already early in the season can mountainbike here. The Lyngen Alps with the mountain Jiekkivarri (1834 meters) protects Skibotn from the wet weather coming from the Atlantic and is the reason for the dry climate. Skibotn have a rainfall of 300 mm per year, which is almost 10 times less than for example Bergen on the western coast of Norway.

Best time of year for Mountainbiking

Already in April/May, when there still is a lot of snow other places in Northern Norway you can go mountainbiking in the Skibotn region. From the middle of May the midnightsun is there, providing daylight 24 hours a day, giving you great experiences all day long.

From July, when the snow has melted in the mountains, you can go higher in the mountains with the mountainbike. You will find several trails and smaller roads leading up to about 1000 meters providing great views of the region.

August can be considered the best month as there is no snow in the mountains, all trails are clear and it is still daylight for almost 24 hours a day.

Also September can be beautiful, with the autumn colors and northern lights dancing across the sky in the evenings.

View towards the Lyngen Alps. Photo: Inge Storsteinnes

In October the first snow normally falls in the mountains, it gets colder and darker which makes the forest-trails around Skibotn more attractive before the snow falls there as well.

Lavka race (Lavkarittet). Photo: Sigmund Steinnes

The trails
There are many single trails and forest roads in the valleys. In the mountains it is generally forest roads, ATV roads or construction roads for the power lines and/or the hydroelectric powerplants which you can use. There are also scattered hiking trails in the mountains, which can be difficult to navigate due to obstacles on the trails. Close to Skibotn, is also a partially prepared Downhill trail (“Hengen Ned”) which invites to fast downhill runs.

In general there are no marked mountainbike trails, with the exception of the Lavkarittet trail.

You will find a selection of tours here, in and around Skibotn. Furthermore you are reliant upon having your own map with you in order to find trails.

A possibility to experience new trails is to participate in the “Stifestival” which happens every august. At Stifestivalen you will meet likeminded people and join different guided tours in and around Skibotn.

Festivals/Races
There are some popular bike events in the region. The offroadrace “Lavkarittet”, as well as the Skibotn Stifestival in Skibotn and “Lyngen Exp Enduro” in Lyngseidet.
Skibotn Stifestival
The Skibotn Stifestival is a gathering of likeminded people, interested in mountainbiking and downhill. Every year in August this festival takes place between a weekend, Friday – Sunday. Several guides ensure that you find the right trails and the offered guided tours are quite different so there is something for everyone.

Strandbu Camping is the basecamp for this festival. Here you can put up your tent, camp in your car or rent one of the cabins. In the evenings we gather around the open fire or inside the big tent. The meals will also be served here and on Saturday evenings there is usually live music.

The website for the festival: http://www.skibotnstifestival.com

Lyngen Exp Enduro
This mountainbike and downhill gathering is a new festival in the region around Lyngseidet, showcasing what this region has to offer.

The basecamp is Magic Mountain Lodge in Lyngseidet, where you everyone can stay and eat together. Different guided tours will be offered and the social aspect of the festival is a big part of the gathering.

Lavkarittet
The first weekend in August the race “Lavkarittet” takes place in Storfjord. It is the biggest offroad race in Northern Norway with over 500 participants. The event is divided into three different difficulty levels, so that everyone can participate.

The “Mini-Lavka” is for kids under 10 years and is 2,5 km.

The “Lavka30” is for 10 – 16 years and for those who want to participate in a shorter race.

The main race “Lavkarittet” is 65 km and starts in Hatteng. At first you follow the gravelroad up Kitdalen, before heading up the mountain. The trail becomes narrower once you get to the mountain and the views more impressive. After you pass the highest point, it goes fast down the Skibotnvalley and after 65 km you reach Skibotn and the goal.

Professional mountain bikers from the whole of Scandinavia participates, as well as amateurs who want to experience the mountains here. Lavkarittet is really an offroad race for everone.

A Mountain Bike Paradise, source: Visit Lyngenfjord

Feature image (on top) photo: Norrøna

Related article:
The Water Trekking Route in Norway