Health and Safety : Herräng FAQ
Welcome to my* humble, unofficial, section about the fabulous Herräng Dance Camp in Herräng, Sweden. I'm particularly grateful for the input from Dave Madison and also KitKat, SwingBee, OfficemavenJohanna, ChefAnne, and other fine dancers.
Those who've edited this doc, please add your names here (optionally with obscured contact info, such as fred [at] example.com) AND/OR add your name + optionally contact info under "describe change" when editing.
EDITORS / CONTRIBUTORS
- rik panganiban rik [at] rikomatic.com
As someone who has attended Herräng in 2001 and 2002 (for weeks one and two each year), I've frequently urgheaed folks to go and tried to offer them tips and general advice along the way.
Finally, after much prodding, I decided to actually jot down some of my thoughts in a more orgnanized fashion :D
NOTE: Since transitioning this doc to LHWS, I'm endeavoring to add [Adam] to relevant items I brought over from the original docthat might be controversial or have significant differences of opinion amongst the Lindy community. I encourage you to add your name to the recommended note (e.g., [Adam, Bill G and Tamara Q]) or add a separate line with your own [] note.
General resources & stuff to know
If you haven't done so already, make sure you read through all the helpful and friendly info on the official Herrang.com Web site, in particular the useful official FAQ.
Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree is a quirkily fabulous forum where you can learn from other travelers and pose your own questions.
Stuff to prepare ahead of time
Travel
STATravel -- either on the Web or in person (in many major cities) is one of the top places you should check out for advice and also procurement of insurance, plane and train tickets, and so on. If you're still a student (HINT: Gotta love those local city colleges ;)), you absolutely MUST get an ISIC card at STATravel in order to get substantive discounts on museums, plane travel, and much more.
Regarding airfare... I'm also quite partial to Kayak and Priceline. [Adam]
Insurance
Make sure you have appropriate travel (theft, loss, etc.) and health (primarily catastrophic) insurance. Your current homeowners or health insurance may indeed cover you in Stockholm, but you'd be crazy not to check ahead of time!
- I've had good experience with AMEX Travel insurance [Adam]
Communications
You've got to have reliable ways of keeping in touch with family and friends. Get yourself a discount international phone card ahead of time, and make sure your e-mail account is accessible from any browser... and won't fill up while you're gone! In particular, with Gmail 's 2 gig accounts nowadays, you have no excuses in this area (Swing dancers -- listed on dancers.org or publicly identifiable from Yehoodi or elsewhere -- I'm happy to give you a Gmail invite if you need one).
Internet Connectivity
In the past years, Herräng's ice cream parlor has offered Internet connections, and though the location may be moved, there'll certainly be Internet access again this year. I believe that both per-minute and weekly rates are available. Rik notes that at Herrang07 they had a seperate communications center near the Ice Cream Parlor.
Plan on being in Europe more than a few weeks?
It might be worth unlocking your current cell phone (T-Mobile will do this for free and other providers may also do so for free or with minor payments/stipulations. Allow yourself some lead-time, since the unlocking authorization may take a week or more!).
With an unlocked phone that can handle European frequencies, you can get a prepaid SIM card in Europe. This gives you your own phone number (and you can generally keep it from year to year - so you can tell people what your number will be when you're gone).
Drawback: Making calls with a European SIM card may cost as much as what your American provider charges... but it's free to receive calls!
Katie also adds: "My SIM card I bought in France expired 6 months after the last minutes-fillup I bought. I have to call over there (to a cell #, not a fixed one, so it costs me about $2-3 a call) and buy another 5 euros of credit every 6 months to keep my number active. Also, you don't get a "prepaid SIM card," at least not in France--not sure how it works elsewhere. You get a SIM card, and THEN you buy prepaid minutes--but you could use those minutes on any old phone until the last minute, when you take your ticket, punch its code into a number you call from your phone (or, through a more complicated rigamarole, you can do it from another phone), your minutes you just bought from some little corner shop actually have anything to do w/ your "phone" (that is, your account stored in your SIM card)."
NB! If you buy a Swedish SIM card (you can get one with credit already loaded for about 100 SEK/$15) only get Telia--the other networks do not have very good coverage in Herrang. It's the countryside, after all. Telia is a bit more expensive but worth it in terms of reception. SIM cards are available in Hallstavik (nearest town to Herrang) but not in Herrang itself. In Hallstavik go to the small electronics shop located across-and-down the street from the pharmacy/chemist's/apotek. --Mike (aka Ice Cream Mike in Herrang)
Passport
You aren't goin' anywhere -- at least not to Sweden -- without one. Plan AHEAD, or you'll pay dearly (in expedite-fees or worry or both). Scan a copy and put it somewhere secure online (a private-passworded Yahoo briefcase, a secure folder on your own Web site, etc.) and/or give a copy to at least one friend and family member, one copy hidden somewhere on you, and another copy back at your hostel. You never know when your actual passport might be stolen, and let me tell you, it's never fun... but decidedly less fun if you don't have a copy handy.
Stuff to bring
Bring any medicines that you could possibly need... especially allergy medications and pain relievers... it can be challenging even to find ibuprofen and similar medications that are ubiquitous in the U.S. You may wish to bring flu-type medicine with you as well.
Don't bother bringing anti-mosquito stuff; Sweden has a special breed of laughs-at-American-bug-repellant strain of mosquitoes, so you need to buy MyggA (the Swedish brand) when you arrive at Herräng. Dave suggests that, if you want to avoid putting harsh chemicals on your bod, you can also try the 'natural way' of mosquito repelling by avoiding both bananas and meat (especially meaty bananas, I'd guess!). He has several years of no-bites as at least anecdotal evidence that his abstensions do the trick :).
Rik has found effective full-strength DEET, which comes in an oil that you should use VERY sparingingly. If you are wearing light clothing, mosquitos will bite right through it. So spray or apply your ointment to the outside of your clothes as well as skin if you want to be bite free.
Vitamins are a great idea! While the food at Herräng tends to be really good and often well-rounded, it may be different than you're used to getting at home. Vitamins can help your body adjust... and also fight off the viruses that are often spread in the close quarters of communal living and dancing.
Protect your skin and your eyes! Bring sunscreen and quality sunglasses, both of which will especially come in handy when you're hanging out at the lake or the ocean nearby. Remember, the sun is more intense up north than you're likely used to! Don't be a fashionista and try to tan. There's nothing worse than trying to dance -- or sleep -- with a sunburn.
Feet comfort and overall body comfort
- Moleskin or other padding-type stuff for your feet.
- Bandaids, liquid or otherwise
- At LEAST two pairs of shoes!!! Ideally, you should have one pair of sneakers for dancing on outdoor platforms, one semi-dressy pair for the formal affairs (blues night, etc.), and one additional pair for dancing inside. And consider putting athletic or gel inserts into all your shoes. Your feet will thank you. Remember, you have four hours of lessons a day, plus probably at least four hours of social dancing a night, too. That's over 50 hours of dancing a week!!!
- Flipflops for the shower :). Oh, and you Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy fans will appreciate this: don't forget to bring multiple towels, preferably fast-drying and not-so-thick ones. Dave particularly recommends the "swimmer's towel," which you can grab at almost any sporting store. It's super-small and never has to dry. One last shower note: If you want the limited amount of hot water available in the morning, you'd better learn to be less bashful and take showers in the co-ed section.
More about clothing to bring
- You'll easily go through two pairs of socks per day. Bring a bunch extra, since they don't take up much room. For that matter, same advice for underwear :)
- Comfortable shorts! It is generally warm-to-hot in Herräng.
- Fast-drying stuff; sometimes rainstorms happen unexpectedly. And besides, you don't want to spend forever drying your clothes when you wash them (and if you're in Herräng for more than a week, you WILL be doing laundry!)
- Lots of t-shirts, preferably the kind that breathe well! The indoor dancing area at Herräng gets VERY steamy and crowded in the evenings.
- A hat, to protect your hair and scalp and face from the sun when you're out sunbathing or playing volleyball outside, etc.
- Something dressy (but still dance-in-able) for Blues Night. Guys, that means a nice shirt and a tie at minimum. And polish those shoes! Women, consider wearing a nice (but not formal) dress and maybe doing your hair up a bit. Don't wear too-high heels, though, because -- again -- you want to be able to dance all night :).
- Cold / rainy weather gear. 2007 Herrang had a lot of rain and chilly breezes that Rik was completely unprepared for. Bring at least a light rain slicker, sweatshirt and thicker pants.
For when you lie down and when you rise up
Get a ShakeAwake vibrating alarm clock. There's no substitute for this... it rocks! And while you're at it, pick up a packet (or little jar) of high-grade-but-disposable foam earplugs. The ShakeAwake/Earplug combo will serve you well and have you sleeping better than 95% of the other campers :)
Also, consider getting an eyeshade, because you'll be wanting to nap and sleep many times when it is still light outside (which, in Sweden summers, is about 20 hours a day).
A small umbrella's a good idea, too; the weather in Herräng can be unpredictable.
And miscellaneous
You can't pay your Herräng fees (or food bills) with a credit card, though you CAN get cash-back on credit card purchases at the local corner store (Kuggen). In general, Herräng administrators give very fair exchange rates on traveler's checks, so I advise you get some ahead of time. American Express and AAA (at least in the States) offer low or no-fee checks.
Buy one of those foam-bead colorful neck pillows you can pick up usually at Walgreens for $10 or so. You'll really appreciate them on the plane ride to and from Stockholm, and possibly on buses as well.
A more personal look at Herräng
Food
Paying for the group meals may seem expensive (and okay, it's NOT cheap), but it's worth every penny. While breakfasts are a bit basic, I found dinners to be very hearty and tasty. And of equal importance, you'll find that lots of friendships are made and solidified over group dinners.
NOTE: Dave notes that the all-week cafeteria pass can be a bad deal if you miss meals, and also reiterates that the cafeteria breakfasts are far from exciting. Instead, he recommends the delicious café and bar meals... including the fine Vegan soup. Also, no matter whether you eat at the cafeteria or not, you'll likely want to grab some fruits, veggies, and other snacks at the local convenience store ("Kuggen.") In summary -- variety is the spice of life. Make sure you try food in all four places (cafeteria, bar, café, and Kuggen).
Rik bought a lot of trail mix and carried it around with him in small baggies. After several hours of dancing you get hungry and don't have many options for food. Scarfing a few nuts and dried fruits helped get me through several nights of dancing. Rik ate all of his meals in the bar or cafe and was very happy.
Other food options: the burger joint, the kuugen convenience store (sandwiches, pastries, groceries), the pizza place by the marina, and the ice cream parlor for light snacks. A short bus ride (or long bike ride) to the next town of Ostervyik rewards you with many more food possibilities, from two large grocery stores to restaurants and cafes.
Misc
Make sure to look at the notes I posted on SwingTalk for more of an idea of the feel of the camp :). You are also welcome to see my Herräng pictures. Rik has posted on his blog his experiences at Herrang 07: "About the Herrang Dance Camp," "Rik's tips for Herrang," and other blog posts.
Here are DON'T-MISS things from my perspective:
- The nightly "meetings." Lennart and his guests are regularly hilarious.
- Rowing on the lake. Very peaceful... by yourself, or with a special someone ;)
- Swimming in the ocean. A bit chilly, but so refreshing!
- Ice cream and fresh-made brownies from the cafe. I don't give a damn about your diet, and -- given the amount of exercise you'll be getting at Herräng -- neither should you. Live a little, for goodness sake ;). Oh, and I'm also very partial to the apple-crumble. Sinful! Rik is helpless when confronted with freshly made banana bread from the Ice Cream Parlor.
And some things to be aware of:
- Herräng caters to the shy and unshy. Showers and the sauna are co-ed or not depending on the hour, determined by a posted list.
- Some showers will have warmer water than others. Don't be afraid to experiment. The early-birds ALWAYS get the warmer water in any case.
- Many people in Europe are accustomed to dancing two dances in a row with the same person. You may wish to keep this in mind... though you should never feel obligated to dance with anyone (or to any song) you aren't in the mood for.
- Get in naps wherever you can!
- Dress up for the Friday night parties, or you'll stick out like a sore thumb. Do at least a bit of planning or thinking ahead; you can find additional props in the Prop Shop at camp that you can borrow for free. Dave, however, thinks that dressing up is less important... especially if you're tight on suitcase space. Remember, you can make yourself a costume from the Prop Shop stuff at camp.
- Take notes, keep a journal!!! I can't stress this highly enough. You will be learning an ENORMOUS amount in classes each day, and you'll lose it if you don't remind yourself at least a bit of what you learned via some notes. Also, you'll really thank yourself later if you keep a journal. Herräng is a special place, and you will make memories and make friends and have experiences you'll want to remember more vividly.
- Take pictures, but not too much. There's already a camp videographer; don't lose out on spontaneous fun personal moments because you were always behind a camera. But at least take pictures of people you enjoyed meeting... and remember to get their contact info. The last days of each week are not only bittersweet... they can be hectic, and you'll be sad if you forget to get that cutie's e-mail address before he or she leaves!
- See beautiful areas around Scandinavia and other nearby countries before or after Herräng!!! Stockholm is one of the most beautiful and clean cities I've ever visited! I also had a wonderful time in Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia). Dave also agrees that Stockholm is an amazing city - try to get yourself at least a few days there. If you plan your Stockholm (or European) visits *after* Herrang, then you can often find hosts while at Herrang and cancel your hotel or hostel room. Rik adds that after the final week of camp, the organizers offer Herrang style shared accommodations in Stockholm at a very cheap price.
About Stockholm
- If you want to stay on the boat-hostel -- AF Chapman -- (and you should!), make reservations ahead of time, probably via STATravel. Hostels in Stockholm fill up quickly!
- Spend a full or at least a half-day at Skansen if you're at all interested in history, architecture, animals, or nature. Skansen is a gorgeous outdoor park where you can learn (in English!) amazing details about old Swedish living by literally walking in renovated centuries-old Swedish farm houses and talking to people dressed historically.
- Djurgarden is a lush green park area in Stockholm that's a joy to walk or bike or even kayak around.
- Definitely take a guided walking tour of the old historical area of Stockholm!
- You are welcome to visit my Stockholm pictures. :) [Adam]
Sharing and keeping in touch with friends afterwards
One of the great aspects of Herräng is the friendships made every year!
But... after everyone's gone back to their respective country, then the challenge becomes keeping in touch.
Here are a few of my suggestions:
- Internet calling
- Skype -- This is a free program that lets you make calls to your friends over the Internet using an inexpensive microphone (which you probably already have with your computer) and your Internet connection. Technically "Voice Over IP" (VoIP), the only thing you really have to know is it works... and it's a lot of fun!
- You may also want to try GoogleTalk ; I've not tried it much but have heard the sound quality CAN be better than Skype (and GTalk is also free) [Adam]
- Sharing photos
- Fotki -- Okay, so the premium version costs $30 a year, but this unlimited-capacity photo album service is worth every penny. You can upload tens of gigabytes of your original-sized digicam pics and your friends can download these same originals if they want. Plus fotki offers 19 cent prints, your own journal, flexible permission settings, and lots of other goodies. Since posting this, I've also become a huge fan of Flickr, which supports posting from your phone, setting up private group galleries, and much more! Flickr offers a limited account for free, or a practically unlimited (and much more feature-rich) account for $30/year. [Adam]
- I've also started using Picasa Web Albums. PWA is a new and very simple service by Google that's pretty speedy. Limited space for free and a LOT of space for $25/year. [Adam]
- Global IM client
- Trillian -- Some of your friends have ICQ, others have AIM, and still others have Yahoo IM... and you don't want to run all those programs? If you have a PC (rather than a Mac), try Trillian. With one program, you can connect to all the major IM systems and see your friends all in one place! Even the free version rocks (without spyware or adware, of course). For you Macheads out there, Miss Leeshie recommends Fire.
- Meebo -- it's a Web client so you don't have to install anything. Not quite as many features as the regular IM software packages, but accessible from almost anywhere!
Rik recommends bringing calling cards or other small papers with your name and contact info on it to share with friends you make in Herrang.
Talk to me, baby!
Have any questions or additional suggestions or general feedback?
- Edit this page (see link at top)
- Add a comment on this page
- Contact Adam
* I, Adam Lasnik, originally wrote this entire FAQ, with the help of the folks mentioned above, but decided to transition it to LHWS on July 2, 2006. |
