Gothenburg

This charming village ,Kunglav ,is about 700 years old and last night after dinner I wandered down some of the old streets . I came across this house where Lisa Meitner , the Austrian physicist lived after she'd fled nazi Germany in 1938. While
here she proved the theory of Nuclear fission.


You know , in Norway and Sweden we can't say we've seen a poor or lower class area. Everything is so neat . Except perhaps for this derelict old place


Interesting way of building houses Solid poured concrete


We followed the Goda canal for the last 20kms, no Graeme,it's not a good one to bike. Just a big industrial ditch ,along here anyway. Here's where it comes out into the harbour





We booked in to a hostel with a room big enough to hold 3 then went back to the train station to wait for Tracy











Tracys here in Sweden on holiday and it's soo good to see her


If I had to describe cooking in a hostel I'd say it was challenging.
But good fun ☺️🙂😊

Kungalv

We've arranged to meet up with Tracy in Gotaborg on Monday so we want to have a good day today to leave a short distance into the city tomorrow. The plan was to catch the ferry to Fiskebackskil and come down the west side of the island of Orust.
Oops ! First problem , it's Sunday and the ferry doesn't start until after lunch. The weather doesn't help, it's trying to rain and it's also freezing !!








We head back up the main road awhile ,until we find a vehicle ferry which will take us to a road down the centre of the island. The ferries are all free between the Swedish islands and very regular .( usually ) We're on roads through this section but they're quiet being Sunday morning








Over this bridge is the town of Henan. It'll be 10 am by the time we reach it , hanging out for some hot coffee.


The wind has increased now and is blowing us along. FAN -BLOODY -TASTIC. We roll up to the ferry at Svanesund just as its loading . This will take us to the mainland just north of Stenungsund, our goal for today





It's only 2.30 when we reach it so after another tea brake we decide we'll carry on to Kungalv to make it a really short day tomorrow


I'm getting a bit too smart , taking all these pictures as I'm moving.
Then disaster ! One photo too many, I slowed down too quickly and Christine ran up the back of me. CRASH !





We both went flying, me with my camera still in my hand. A lady driving along the road above us saw it all and came running down to help. Luckily we were OK. Christine's got a few grazes though.


At Kungalv we came across the Fars Hatt. A beautiful old hotel right next to a 13th century castle.
Peter the receptionist , gave us a special deal and then ,when he found out what we were trying to achieve he upgraded us to the 'grand' room.


He's just pointing out that this hotel was here before captain cook came to New Zealand

Lysekil

Most of the trail is on quiet roads down this section. As we get further south the crops are earlier and already farmers are cutting silage








It's clearly marked as a scenic route . We met this old local who took us up to a Viking fort. Not much to see except a few burial mounds and some trenches. A bit like a Maori pa








In fact what I'll remember most about it was the dog stopped and took a dump the size of a horse.
I can't get over how many American cars and Utes there are in Sweden





This couple were heading for Bergen. We swapped a few tips on sights and accommodation.
We stopped for lunch at this supermarket and sat beside this local in the BOP rugby jersey. He smelt pretty bad so it was a quick lunch








Spotted more deer . We're in a nice little cabin in Lysekil tonight. I cooked up spuds and sausages for dinner . 😋

Stromstad to Grebbestad

There are lots of camps all the way down this coast. The little cabins are just like a tent inside and are 250 kroner, the ones on the left , the same as the one we had, they have cooking facilities and are 350-450kr. The larger ones with shower and toilets are 850-950kr. About 5 kroner to the NZ dollar.


Everything is cheaper down here in Sweden and the shops really cater to the Norwegians who flock across the border to stock up on just about everything. There's even a FREE ferry from Stromstad to Norway. The Stromstad harbour was full of Norwegian boats including this beauty. I just can't get over the varnish








( "this beats pulling a sledge ")



("you can tell she's my mommy by the hair")
The EV 3 follows the coast most of the time but occasionally goes on little lanes through forests


Those windmills are facing the right way. We've had a tale wind all the way so far 😄





These mile markers have been here a long time


Now this makes my eyes water! I reckon there were about 50 vintage buggies and sleds lying around in the long grass





We arrive in Grebbestad about 4 and book into this hostel. It's really clean and well laid out

Sweden 🇸🇪

This was a VERY basic BnB . After dinner we went down town to post the blog and grab a coffee. Nice town!








In the morning we couldn't wake our host so we wrote her a thank you note and left town. This power station is right in the middle of town and you cross over it to go south.
This route from Oslo is also part of the North Sea route so this map shows our path








Sarpsborg celebrates 1000 years as a town in July. It will take place mostly here at the Manor / park.
Our route to the border follows quite a few Bronze Age sites including burial mounds and rock drawings











We find it fascinating . Note the blue sky's ! AND it's warming up
The trail varies between wide roadside paths to funny little trails through forests . We surprised a deer about here





AH ! A pilgrim !
It was great to finally reach the Swedish border and we celebrated with a slap up meal





Our goal today was Stromstad but we found this nice little motor camp 7kms short at Dynekilen.
Usual procedure now, fix the flats if any, shower and then wash today's clothes