Mariebergsskogen ... rural tranquility right in the middle of town.

In one of my last blogs I mentioned Mariebergsskogen and if you were paying attention you would have realised that there did not appear to be many photos. The question should then have been: have I really visited it?

I have indeed and was saving an entire blog post for this wonderful place! We in Karlstad are so very lucky to have such a slice of tranquillity within the city, in walking distance from just about anywhere.

Entering through the grand entrance makes you think of fairgrounds and hectic areas of candy and crowds but, on quiet days at least, Mariebergsskogen is a wonderful park to visit. The land was gifted to Karlstad in 1896 by a Dr Conrad Hook and ever since has been a magnet to the elderly, parents and children, the active and ... well me!

There are varieties of things to keep you active and interested, or indeed, plenty of open space to relax on should it be a lovely sunny day. The very first place I visited was Lillskogen Zoo. Perhaps zoo is a little strong a word as the animals within this zoo are farmyard petting animals which are, of course, a draw to all little children. I began at the pig sty but as the wind was pretty chilly and pigs are pretty naked, they were hidden away in their hut bar one little guy who paused in his snuffling to look up at me. The rabbits too did not show their twitching noses and to be honest their burrows of hay looked pretty enticing.

 The snow goats were lying right near the fence and one guy was fast asleep, head dropped down and chin on the ground. Next door though, a big black woolly sheep came over for a scratch and a rub on the fence while a goat with the most enormous testicles swung over for a look too.

Next on the farmyard tour was the chicken coop where a single duck hung out. Besides this is the budgie, parakeet and homing pigeon cage. I would imagine that language here is a barrier as there seemed to be bickering in many different avian tongues over some problem that was not visible to me. I sat and watched a while but no bird was kind enough to enlighten me as to the issue!

The three cows were as bovine as anywhere in the world and chewed on their feed contentedly. When I passed by later on they were chewing the cud while delighted children looked on and sqealed with delight.

One garden section has been given over to a local primary and pre-primary school to grow vegetables ... and I guess have scarecrow building competitions. There is a greenhouse with a heating oven that would be oh so snug in winter and outside, if one could brave it, a little fire pit for the scouts and brownies.

Another section is given over to medieval Sweden and in summer is open and complete with characters in costume spinning wool, playing and making traditional woodwind instruments, darning and really just acting out life as it was then. An old mill with a now dried up water feeder looks almost romantic in setting.   

Naturum Varmland is a beautiful and very child friendly natural history museum that sadly, at the time of my visit (Thursday the 12thof September 2019) was closed for renovations and so I was unable to take some photos there. You will just have to take my word for it!

But besides the playgrounds, mini golf, boules lanes, cafes and open grass the absolute best part about Mariebergsskogen is the many walking paths that weave in amongst the trees and are wide enough to cycle. At night these paths are lit and in winter become ski tracks.

There is a point when the woodland reaches the water and here a bird sanctuary has been formed. Over a kilometre of boardwalk has been constructed that allows you to wander across the water from small island tussock to small island tussock. From the boardwalks there is a real sense of how close the city is with the concrete in sharp view. But all around birds call and here and there a nesting duck can be seen peeping from the reeds. At the very furthest end a large tower has been built for bird watchers although I must say I have not yet visited it.  

I have lived in no other town where such a large outdoor and free resource is available to its residents. The park is also a perfect venue for national celebrations and I hear that bands and choirs often set up an impromptu stage and provide great entertainment to the people. Perhaps with Halloween coming I should be expecting something big?

Tips for Erasmus students:

• When you get to Karlstad buy a bicycle. The best places to buy one would be on the Swedish trading site Blocket or at the bike shop which is on the ground floor of the large building to the left of the Central Buss Station.
• If you have binoculars then take them with you when you visit Mariebergsskogen as the birdlife is really quite special.

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