The city is remarkably clean. It’s a very safe place too. Swedish crime figures are among lowest in world.

Stockholm has a rich history and many points of interests. Take a walk in Gamla Stan, old town centre with its medieval streets, well-preserved houses and royal palace. Visit world’s first open-air museum Skansen, which is a joy even if you are not a museum fan. Or make a boat trip in archipelago: no less than 24,000 islands and rocks create majestic sceneries you will never forget.

But even modern Stockholm has a lot to offer. Nightlife in Swedish capital is hip, Scandinavian design goods in shops are hard to resist, and once controversial business district around Sergels Torg becomes one of most vibrant parts of town in summer.

Stockholm mixes latest trends and developments with ancient Nordic culture and tradition, located in an area with an almost magic natural charm. It’s truly one of world’s most beautiful capitals.

Modern snowshoes are usually made from lightweight aluminum, titanium or an alloy with neoprene webbing in a bear paw shape. Heusinkveld thinks these shoes fit bill for most snowshoers because of their light, easy maneuverability and, as an added bonus, they lace up easily. Thiel, while admitting these modern innovations lend themselves to high-tech trail exercise, points out they’re more expensive than traditional shoes. He doesn’t recommend them for hiking in woods.

Thiel laments scarcity of traditional snowshoes, but he’s happy Sandhill will offer its first traditional snowshoe-making classes this year. Treehaven has offered classes for years. For a modest fee, an eager beaver can create a pair of traditional snowshoes from a kit over a weekend.

Both Treehaven and Sandhill offer a wide variety of classes at very reasonable prices. Visit their web sites or call for more information:

Sandhill – 715-884-2437; www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/reclands/sandhill

Treehaven – 715-453-4106; www.uwsp.edu/cnr/treehaven ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wolf tracking in Wisconsin

Each winter, both Sandhill and Treehaven offer eager naturalists a chance to learn about and track wolves in their native Wisconsin habitat. While still on endangered species list in Wisconsin, wolf population has grown to 400 over years, making for an exciting repopulation success story.

Jim Halfpenny conducts Treehaven’s A Study of Wolves Weekends. Classes consist of learning about wolves, their habits, their interaction with man, and how to track them. Participants take opportunity to hunt for wolf tracks and trail them in Treehaven.

At Sandhill, wolf-tracking weekend class participants hear lectures on wolf ecology in morning, then follow tracks in afternoon, sometimes using Michigan snowshoes. The weekend ends with discussions of wolf status and management issues.

“It’s a life-changing event,” promises John Heusinkveld of Treehaven. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

City snowshoeing

Inside Appleton lies a hidden gem for winter enthusiasts: Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve. While it offers groomed cross-country ski trails for those in a hurry, executive director Mike Brandel urges snowshoe enthusiasts to take advantage of its 775 acres of hardwood bottomlands, white cedar forests, prairies and ponds.

“It’s very good for winter birding,” says Brandel, listing owls, woodpeckers, ruffed grouse, and even a few northern shrikes among its winter citizens. Deer also winter here.

Bubolz offers its own snowshoe-weaving class at end of January for anyone 12 and older. For more information, contact preserve at 920-731-6041 or http://my.athenet.net/~bubolz

For more on Where to go & What to do in Wisconsin, check out http://www.WisconsinGuide.com