And back to Norway

 After exploring Stockholm we headed out of the town and headed north driving for about an hour, with a short stop at Lidl to buy some food. We stopped at a lake where we planned to spend a quiet night. The next morning we had a quick run before getting ready and heading slightly further north to a town called Gamla Uppsala where there are 300 burial mounds from as early as the 3^rd century. There are three called the Royal mounds which according to ancient mythology contained three gods but later they were thought to hold the remains of three kings. There is also a very old church which was a player in the development of Christianity in the country. We had a walk around the Royal mounds and found a cat to fuss before heading into the church. There appeared to be a camera crew outside but we headed in anyway to find some one recording a programme on the church so we quietly backed out and left them to it. We headed back to Jeff an on to our next destination which was a couple of hours away. We stopped for lunch on route and eventually arrived at Lake Siljan late in the afternoon. We wandered around the park up and then chilled for the evening. Once we had dinner and the skies had grown dark we headed out with the hopes of seeing the northern lights as there was supposed to be a bit of activity but unfortunately despite the clear skies there was nothing and we headed to bed about midnight. We weren’t sure if it was dark enough to see the lights as there was a couple of towns on the other sides of the lake which were quite bright. We did see alerts on the phone the next day that there was a possibility that we may have seen them at 3am but this was only a possibility.

 

The next morning we headed into the town (Rattvik) where we walked around and explored. We also walked along Scandinavia’s longest pier which was 628 meters long. After exploring the small town we headed back on the road and drove for about an hour and a half to our next destination. While driving however we did have a near miss as a lorry driving on the other side of the road had a blow out which sent debris everywhere. We missed it all and managed to carry on driving with no incidents but think we will be cautious with lorries now.

We managed to get to the start of the famous Vasaloppet which is a cross country ski race which is 90km long. There is a hiking and a cycling path which follow the route so we decided we would do a cycle for part of the route – there is no way we feel like doing the full 90km there as we would also have to cycle it back or find a way to get back. We settled on a shorter route and set off on the path across the fields. The path then curved to the right and we crossed the road and headed up into the woods. It was all up hill to get to the higher ground and then it settled down and carried on through the woods. It was a lovely ride on very quiet countryside roads and we cycled for around 15km before we decided to turn around and head back – enjoying the down hills section at the end. Once back we decided to head back into the woods and up the hill in Jeff for the evening and found a nice park up next to one of the lakes we had cycled past.

 

We were also joined by another camper and we chilled there for the evening and managed to light a fire in the fire pit and cook some food on it like real campers. Again there was a chance of seeing the northern lights so we stayed out watching the skies till the early hours before heading into bed without seeing them.

 

The next day we carried on west as we are heading back into Norway for a few days. The weather wasn’t great so we decided to have a day driving and getting the van serviced so we would have water and a clean toilet for the next few days. As we were also seeing people we thought we would ensure both us and the van were clean so we had long showers and cleaned the van from top to bottom (something it really needed). We also got the last bits of shopping in before we crossed the border. We then carried on driving late into the evening before we got to our stop for the evening which is next to a lake and already had two campers parked up so it was obviously a popular place to park for the evening.

 

The next morning we got up and headed towards Lillehammer where we had arranged to stay for a couple of days to meet my new cousin (technically my first cousin once removed) who was born just after we left the UK. They were out visiting their Norwegian family and as it wasn’t that far we had decided to pop along as well. We spend a couple of days there which was a nice break and we managed to get in a gym session in their gym, do all our washing and have showers in a real bathroom. It was a lovely few days and really let us relax and recharge our batteries while also allowing us to spend time with family.

 

After the few days with family we headed for the evening at a lake which was about halfway between Lillehammer and Sweden where Rich had a quick swim and then we cooked some food and chilled for the evening.

The Royal mounds at Gamla Uppsala

The film crew inside the church at Gamla Uppsala

The other building in the church yard - Gamla Uppsala

The outside of the church - Gamla Uppsala

Our lake stop near Rattvik

Our own pier on the lake stop

It was too light to see the northern lights but it was a lovely view at night

Scandinavia's longest pier - Rattvik

The stunning but huge lake Rattvik is on

The start of our cycle of the Vasaloppet trail

Rich cycling 

The lake at the top where we stayed

Our BBQ

Rich holding my new cousin 

Stockholm

The next morning we got up nice and early and headed into Stockholm to a park up near the University. We parked up and got the bikes out and headed into the centre, stopping on the way for a nice vegan breakfast. As we were out and treating ourselves I have vegan pancakes while Rich had oven baked oats and a smoothie each. Once we were stuffed we carried on cycling into the city centre loving the bike lanes and the relaxed vibe the city was giving. We explored the city stopping at City Hall, Parliament Square, the Royal palace, the Cathedral, the old town, the harbour (where we ended up being pulled into an old tower and being told about the history of it and how it used to lift guns from ships before it burnt down), the castle and past some of the many museums in the city. The city is very beautiful with lots of old buildings with great architecture and where new buildings were built they appear to blend really well and there are lovely views across the water from most places. We loved cycling around the city as it was so easy with millions of bike lanes but it didn’t have the hurried pace that many capital cities.

There are probably too many museums to choose from in the city and we would love to come back sometime and do more of them but we decided that as we are in Stockholm we should do the ABBA museum. It was an interesting museum that gave their history with some interactive elements, including the opportunity to get on stage with some holograms (which we chose not to do but did watch some other people doing it). It then almost ends abruptly with very little about the break up of the band and goes on to display what each person has done since. We quickly passed through the shop before heading onto the bikes and heading for some late lunch/early dinner at a buffet vegan restaurant across town. The issue with Stockholm is there is a lot of water to cross so while places may look close on a map if you have to cross water it can take a long time to get there. We got there and tucked into the buffet which had loads of options to choose from including some pasta, curry, Mexican choices, salad and soup. We also had some tea and relaxed after a long day of cycling. Feeling very full after all the food we headed back to the centre for another cycle around and headed into a nearby park which was great fun to cycle as it had some big hills. As we cycled into the park and up the first big hill we turned the corner to stumble upon three deer (a mother deer and two babies) who were eating the grass. They didn’t seem worried about us but soon trundled into the wood when we cycled slowly past.  We carried on around the park and past a very large hare who was bouncing around and got to the top for some great views of the city before riding back down towards the exit of the park and on route we again saw the deer and then the sign saying no cycling – whoops!  This park is near the centre of town so it was really weird to see deer this close to a city centre next we headed right into the centre to see if we could see inside the cathedral as it had been in service earlier but it was now closing so we decided to head back to the van for the evening. We decided to stay where we were for the evening as even though it is a little noisier than where we were last night it was a great base to explore from tomorrow.

 

The next morning we headed back into the city, stopping again for breakfast at the café (both having baked oats this time), before we went to look at the food hall which dates back to the 1800’s. It was a beautiful hall with lovely looking restaurants and shops selling most things from fish, fruit and vegetables to fine delicacies like caviar and chocolates. Afterwards we headed across town and through a beautiful park to the technology museum which Rich wanted to do. This was  a huge museum and we ended up spending three hours in there playing around with all the different areas. The issue was it was badly designed so you never knew where you were or where you had been and could walk around in circles. We have no idea if we managed to look at it all as it was a real warren of exhibits. Another problem is while it is very interactive this means you put your stuff down to play and then, if you are Rich, you walk away and later have to go back and try and find your things. He managed to lose our locker key (luckily they have spares and could open our locker for us) and our water bottle (which we did find again fairly quickly).

After that we needed some sunlight so we got back on the bikes and headed through another park to see some palaces before heading back towards the van. On the way back we went via Haga park where again there were palaces but also some interesting buildings including a gold looking circus tent which was the parks museum (although it is only open on the weekend for a few hours so we couldn’t go in). Also in the park we took some interesting little routes around the lake in the centre, one of which almost saw Rich in the lake as his back wheels slipped on a root and took him close to the edge.

Once we finished in the park we followed the route back to the van which didn’t take long and packed up to head out of town and a bit further north where we plan to stay for the night before travelling north over the next few days. There was soo much to do in the city and we probably haven’t covered half of what we want to do so I think we will head back another time and do some more exploring of the city. 

Haga Park - with views to the city

Haga Park museum

One of the lovely buildings in the city

Palace in one of the many parks

Technology museum - Rich was in his element

The old Food market

Silicon versions of Abba - they were very life like!

Some girls performing on stage with Abba holograms 

Amma outfits

Me in Abba

Rich in Abba

The museum enterance

One of the old museums

Stockholm castle

Another old building

Art work outside the museum

Old town

More of old town

Inside the palace/treasury 

Statue outside the palace

The royal palace

The view from Parliament over the city

Parliament buildings

The entrance to Parliament Square

Town hall

The City from Town Hall

Another view of the city from Town Hall

Town hall tower

 

 

Aland Islands

 The next morning we got up and headed to the supermarket to pick up a few things and then to Ikea for a bite to eat and a look at the many things we don’t need. We did end up buying a couple of things as who can resist! We carried on pottering around the town till around 5pm when we headed down to the harbour to catch a boat to our next destination – the Aland islands. There are 6,500 islands in total and while the islands are technically part of Finland they are autonomous and have their own Government. Some are connected by bridges, some by cable ferries while others may have ferry lines or only local boats travelling there. They also speak Swedish rather than Finish so it’s a good stop on our way to Sweden.

 The boat trip was quite strange all in all. The boat was set up almost like a cruise with lots of entertainment fit for a Butlins camp in the 90s including Bingo and karaoke and people seemed very giddy/drunk all evening. We settled into the pub but had to move after an hour as live music started so we moved on but there was no where really quiet on the whole ship.  We landed on the islands late in the evening so we just headed to a place for the night and had a cup of tea before bed. 

The next morning we got up ready to explore the main islands so we headed to the main town called Marieham where 11,000 of the 30,000 inhabitants live. We had a walk around the town and popped into the tourist information to find out some of the best things to do. We were interested in heading to an island but researching online showed you couldn’t really do it as a day trip due to the ferry times (you would only get about an hour on the island following a 2.5 hour trip each way). Having had this research confirmed we made some new plans and first up we headed back to the van and drove to the next town where we got on the bikes and headed out for a cycle. The cycle paths are really good here so most of the cycle was on a path separate from the road and very safe. We cycled for a few Km before we reached the Kastelholms Castle where we explored the castle grounds, the open air museum and the postal information centre. The castle was on the edge of the lake and while mostly in ruins is an impressive structure. The open air museum was great to walk around as we got to go into many of the old buildings including farm houses, barns, mills and get close to the windmills. We also met some very friendly sheep who came to the fence for some fuss and loved a good scratch on the head and took it in turns to say hello. Rich didn’t want to say goodbye to them but onwards we must, especially as next up was the Gin distillery where we bought a couple of G&Ts for tonight! The postal information centre gave some information on how the island played a vital role in the movement of mail across the ocean throughout history and the different routes needed in the different seasons.

 After all the exploring we headed back to the bikes and onto Bombsund which is an old fortress which was Swedish before the Russians conquered it and took the island as Russian. There are different sections and we only walked around the main section before heading back to the bikes and back to Jeff to have some dinner and chill for the night (and drink our very nice G&Ts)

 The next morning we headed north and caught a cable ferry to the island of Vardo where we parked up to have some breakfast and then drove to a small little harbour and out came the paddleboard. We set off paddling towards some of the island but the sea was a little rough which did effect our route but we managed to circle a large island and go partially around one of the other small islands. While paddling Rich thought he spotted a large crow but it was as it flew over us we realised it was actually a white tailed sea eagle and we went on to see another one a short time later flying over the island. This was about the only wildlife we saw though, apart from a lot of moon jelly fish in the water. The islands appeared to have a couple of houses on them but I don’t think they were inhabited all year round as it looked very remote and probably difficult to get to in winter.

We managed to battle the currents and waves without too much trouble although being at the front of the board I did take the brunt of the splashes and we got back to Jeff safe and sound. We put the paddleboard back in the van and headed back towards the beach we stayed at last night as it was lovely and calm. On the way back we stopped at antoher section of Bomdbsund to look at some of the old towers that are still standing and get some more views out over the islands.

When we parked up  at the beach we decided to actually walk down to the beach and had a look around. We saw a BBQ/fire pit and decided that, as we haven’t done so yet, we should have one before we leave Finland. Most of the pits we have seen have firewood supplied but we couldn’t find any this time so we gathered what wood we could and attempted to light the fire but the wood was a bit too wet so it was a real struggle. Just as we were about to give up Rich found some dry wood which actually took and we got the fire going well and we quickly put our food on it an waited for it to cook, adding more wood as time went on. It took awhile but eventually dinner was ready and we sat at the bench next to the fire pit, overlooking the beach, for a lovely fire cooked dinner. We then headed in to the van quickly as the mosquitos appeared to have come out in force and we didn’t want to get bitten too much (although in hindsight we were still probably too late going in as we have now woken up with lots of bites!)

 The next morning we got up and headed to the local leisure centre to go to the gym which is a perk of being in one area for a few days. The gym wasn’t brilliantly equipped but it had some weights and meant we could do a little workout before heading into the really nice pool for a swim before a sauna and a shower. Once we came out feeling refreshed we headed to the north of the island where we planned a short hike to find some caves. Now you know how our cave hikes go, they are usually disappointing but this hike actually wasn’t bad. It was a 5km round trip and gave us some great views over the island as we were about 100 meters above sea level (on a fairly flat island) and then we walked down into some forest area where the caves were. They weren’t really like caves you could get in but they were crevasses in the rocks and they were very popular for bouldering, which Rich had a very quick attempt at. We carried on around the caves and down to the lake which was inlet from the sea before having to climb back up the 100 meters to the van. It was a lovely sunny day which made it a nice but sweaty walk. After the walk we headed back to the van and headed to the beach again as it is so central its great to explore from here. We had some dinner and then headed out on the bikes to the island brewery to have some local beer.  It was a busy pub/restaurant but we managed to get a seat and relaxed and first we tried the tasting paddle with 4 beers on and then we both got a pint of the beers we liked. As the pub got quieter with people the music got turned up and it was some good old rock music. Once we had finished our beers we had a quick look around the shop before heading back on the bikes to Jeff in the dark (because its actually getting dark now).

 The next day we were due to be getting the ferry off the islands so we had to plan things that wouldn’t take too long or be too far across the island so we did a short hike to a large tower on the east of the island, called Herroskatan. The walk was fairly pretty and flat but we did have to try and avoid all the spiderwebs as we passed through the bushes and over the boardwalks. We reached the old rickety tower and climbed it to get great views over the water where ships (big and small) were passing through. We stayed up there for awhile but didn’t get to see any sea eagles today. Afterwards we hiked back and headed to the port to catch the boat to Sweden.

Just before boarding the boat we realised that this was part of the Grimaldi lines and that filled us with dread. Grimaldi ferries once took us from Italy to Greece and was the worst ferry we have ever been on (and we were stuck on it for over 20 hours). We went through passport control and waited with one other car to get on the ferry and once it docked and unloaded a couple of cars we drove on and off we went (this is a stop on the longer route so it’s a very quick on and off process) and we headed up to the deck with trepidation. While the ship looked older in places than the other ferry it wasn’t bad at all and it was very quiet, with very few passengers. It was very quiet but we soon found it had a sauna for us to use (unfortunately we didn’t have towels but that didn’t stop us from using it), a small duty free shop, a foosball table, a couple of bars and lots of places to sit. We tried to do some admin by using the WIFI but gave up after 30 minutes as it was painfully slow. So we went for the sauna (which was empty) and then went to look around the shop when it opened. As we were leaving the shop the cashier asked us if we knew the buffet was open and that it was included in our ticket, which we totally did not know. So off we headed to the buffet for a free feed. there were lots of things that said lactose free but we struggled to work out if that meant vegan but we did manage to get a full plate of fairly safe food, some squash and a cup of tea. There were even some desserts but I decided to ask if they were vegan and they weren’t but they did give us some vegan mango sorbet so we were very happy.

 It wasn’t long afterwards that we docked into Sweden and as we had eaten we knew we could drive further and so we headed off inland to a park up around a 20 minute drive outside Stockholm in the forest for the evening.

View from the ferry on our way to Aland islands

Rich and his ewe friends

Hello 

Midsummers celebration monument 

The horse drawn thrasher

One of the many windmills at the open air museum 

A barn at the open air museum 

Indoor at the farm house at the museum 

The gin distillery 

Kastelholms castle 

one of the fortress walls of Bombsund

View from Bombsund

the remnants of the tower at Bombsund

Having a BBQ on the beach

The view from the start of our hike to the cave

Rich trying bouldering on the caves

The lake at the middle point of the walk, before the climb back up to 100 meters

Our beach stop for the three nights

The paddle of beers for us to try. My favourite was the first one but they were all nice

The boats coming past the bird watching tower

Final view of the islands as we left Aland