Jeff: Valberg and Gothenburg Islands

The next morning we got up early and headed to the next northernly town called Valberg. There were a couple of things we wanted to do here but it ended up being a bit cloudy and looked like it was going to rain but as they say up here, there is no bad weather just bad clothing. So we got our coats out and headed to look around the fortress and quickly got lost in it and then we quickly headed back to the van for a quick bit of breakfast and to grab the camera. Whilst on our walk back we managed to see a tour going on which included a recreation of some sort which was entertaining to watch even though we had no idea what was going on. There seemed to be people dressed in traditional clothing running around and dragging a tour group with them, who also appeared to be having fun. If we were in the area again I think we would have done the tour just to see what it was all about. After walking back towards the fortress it all got a little bit exciting, an ambulance and police car drove up the footpath towards the fortress and we could see a fire engine up a head. It appeared there was a man in the fortress in places he shouldn’t be and they were concerned or wanted to arrest him (we couldn’t tell). He darted off at one point which made the police and ambulance move on quickly towards the fire engines and then it all went quiet so we think they resolved it. The other thing we had planned to do in Valberg was the bath house but as the weather wasn’t as great as other days and due to the fact we have been in the sea most days we decided to give it a miss, although I have to say its one of the most beautiful bath houses we have seen. We decided to walk around the town a little and grabbed a drink in a coffee house (that had WIFI so we could upload some pictures and blogs from the last few days) and then headed to a local vegan café which was disappointingly closed so we decided to head on out of the town after a bite to eat in the van.

We headed to a place on the way up to our next stop to try and get some water for the van and the van in front took ages to fill up all their various water containers which was a little frustrating and then once they moved Rich drove into place and tried to fill up only to find that due to the pressure and the tap fitting it was fruitless. All of you who know him can imagine the grump he was in after that! So we decided just to go to the camper stop. We knew we had enough water for the night but sometimes its good to carry a little more than you need for a night or two as you never know. Anyway we headed to the stop for the night which was in the middle of a forest and only a short walk away. Having scouted out the lake Rich hot footed it back to the van to get swimming shorts (there were a couple of other people on the other side of the lake so he had to wear swimming shorts) and in he went for a dip. I declined a swim this time knowing we were headed to the beach tomorrow (plus I didn’t know what was in the lake!)

The next morning Rich decided to go for another quick swim before we headed off, this time to some islands just off Gothenburg. While we try and do as much research on the go and before hand as possible there are some things which we just have to go with and find out the answer on the fly. We had looked at which islands we could take Jeff to and picked Foto which is the bottom island of the archipelago and we knew there was a ferry, but what we couldn’t find was the price, I had read something that said it was free but Rich couldn’t believe this would be the case so off we went to the ferry port in Gothenburg and drove in slowly so we could find the right ferry to get us over here and then got into the right queue for motorhomes and vans and then the light was green as we approached the final part so we boarded the ferry. I soon said to Rich are we moving which he said of course we aren’t but he quickly realised we were and on our way. It was a 10 minute ferry ride (although it seemed less as we didn’t realise we were moving for the first minute or so) and we got off at Hono and drove south over the bridge to Foto.

We parked up in the motorhome stop which is going to be our first paid stop since we started travelling three weeks ago and while Rich set up I went and paid. I made a little error and bought the ticket right away when I should have waited until 12 (it was 10.45) but we put the ticket in the window with a note explaining what I had done to hopefully get away without having to pay for another ticket. At £16 its not a bad price for all the services, some toilets, showers, a cheap washer and dryer and great views out to sea. We were quickly accosted by a local who was very happy to see British tourists and said that not many come here in vans and that he has only seen a couple in the last few years and while we have been in Sweden we haven’t seen many English vans. They are mostly German, Swedish and some Dutch.

Once we were settled we decided to get out on the bikes and explore the islands so first we cycled back over the bridge to Hono where we found a lovely park with an outdoor gym, and a great place for a our morning run tomorrow, which we tried out and then found a lovely swimming area so we decided to jump in. As we were getting ready to go in another local asked if we were okay if the dog came in as well and you know what we are like, I think it made Rich’s day. The owner was talking to us about life over here and gave us suggestions on places to go, including how to get to the highest point in the island. We continued to relax in the water until a little nasty jelly fish stung me then we got out quickly and got dressed. It was only a minor sting and while it stung (a bit like a stinging nettle) on and off all day we didn’t let it stop us. Next we headed to the highest point on the island which is a disused water tower so we tied the bikes up and walked up several flights of stairs to get to the top where we could see for miles and all the way over to Gothenburg.

Once we climbed back down we headed quickly to an ATM as we needed a little bit of cash for the washing machine later and then as we had to break the note it gave us we went and bought an ice lolly from the shop before heading off to Ro-berget which is a nature reserve on Hono. Again we tied the bikes up and walked around the reserve and then hiked to a cave on the reserve which was pretty cool (although fairly difficult to get to). After that we headed further up north to Ockrto which is the biggest island which had a pretty church on it before continuing up to the next island Haslo where we again found a place to get in the water for a swim. After my earlier encounter with a jelly fish I was a bit nervous and we ended up seeing another one (although this one was a moon jelly fish and doesn’t sting) but that was me done and so we got changed and cycled the 30 minutes back to the van for dinner and a naughty gin and tonic. There is a high deck behind the van and we thought it would be lovely to have our dinner up there only to discover just how windy it was (after we got everything set up) and we had to eat while not letting our dinner fly off the plate. We ended up sitting on the floor behind the wall to give us some wind protection but soon as we were done with the food we got back down to van level where it was still windy but considerably less so.

The next morning we put a load of washing on and headed off to the park, on the bikes, for a run, a circuit in the outdoor gym and a swim before cycling back. There were no major issues, a few moon jelly fish spotted but it was a lovely way to cool down. Once back at Jeff we put another wash in and bought a new ticket as we plan to spend another night here before getting ready for this afternoons festivities for Midsummer eve. The local football field is being used for what can only be described as a village fair. The poster said lotteries, dancing, music, coffees and more. It turns out lotteries are basically tombola’s from what we could see and the music and dancing happened around the large leaf covered post in the middle of the field. We stayed and watched the going on for quite a while but I have to say we had no idea what was going on for most of the time.

After all that we headed back to the van for dinner and to sort ourselves out before we head off the island tomorrow. We have really enjoyed our time in Sweden so far and the locals and other campers have been so welcoming to us. We haven’t had an issue with the language as everyone speaks really good English and they always like to chat and tell us places we should go.