For most Danes it has been one of the hottest summer breaks at home ever, but for close to 200 volunteer firefighters, it has been’s a busman’s holiday during which the heat has rarely followed the weather forecasts.
The firefighters have been spending their summer break heroically helping the Swedish authorities fight the country’s worst wildfires in living memory, primarily in Ljusdal Municipality north of Stockholm, where the flames have been threatening to engulf a power station.
“We love you”
Another 60 travelled to Sweden on July 31 to relieve an initial response team of close to 100, who arrived between July 19 and 23.
Volunteers from Poland, France, Italy, Norway, Germany and Lithuania have also been present in the country, where road signs proclaiming “We love you” to the foreign firefighters have become a common sight.
New highest peak
The summer has been so warm in Sweden that the country has a new highest peak, although it remains in Kiruna Municipality in the north of the country.
Prolonged high temperatures have melted the ice cap on Mount Kebnekaise’s southern tip by 14 cm a day, meaning its northern tip, some 2,096.8 metres about sea level, is now the country’s highest mountain.
Businessman commissions private plane after Ryanair cancellation
Christian Anneberg, a 52-year-old businessman from west Jutland, took matters into his own hands when his Ryanair flight from Stansted to Billund was cancelled on the evening of July 27 and he was informed he would not be able to return home for another five days. He booked his own private plane via Denmark and then invited 34 other similarly-stranded passengers to join him and his family on a return flight to Karup two days later. Each passenger had to pay 5,000 kroner – a bargain given that Anneberg personally stumped up 180,000 kroner. Anneberg later told BT he would never fly with Ryanair again.
Two Danes die in Alps plane crash
Two Danes, a 59-year-old mother and her 20-year-old son, were among the fatalities when a small plane crashed in the Swiss Alps on Friday July 27. The pair, who were both Danish residents, died along with the Swiss pilot and his son. A rescue team quickly reached the crash site, but there were no survivors. The authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash, which took place in a glacier on Mount Dunantspitze.
Climate-friendly coach travel all over Europe
Environmentally-conscious travellers who avoid planes are finally being rewarded for their steely resistance to tempting offers from budget airlines. FlixBus is offering travellers from Denmark the chance to travel to destinations in 27 European countries – including Amsterdam, London, Brussels and Paris – for just 99 euros (around 750 kroner) on a climate-friendly coach. Part of the ticket price goes to supporting climate projects. The coaches depart from a number of different Danish cities, including Copenhagen, Fredericia and Aarhus.
