The next morning we continued east and headed across the border, stopping before we crossed to get some fuel as diesel is cheaper in Norway and get some bits from the supermarket. We then headed to Ritamaki which was just across the boarder (in fact we crossed the border then turned and ended up back in Norway before turning again and finally managed to get into Sweden and stay there) and we parked up before walking the short way up the hill and through the forest to an old Finnish farmstead which is one of the best preserved on in the country. The farm consisted of a farm house, barns/stores, a sauna and a well. The farm, despite still being working in 1960s, was never modernised with electricity or water and therefore gives a glimpse of how people lived on these farms. Once we had walked around for awhile we headed back to the van and had to decide where to go next (with absolutely no data as we are in the middle of nowhere). We headed to a little lake side park up for the night in Kymmen where we found a fire pit and wood so we decided it was time for another BBQ and we spent the evening cooking outdoors and relaxing by the lake (which of course Rich had a swim in).
The next morning the weather was not great at all so we headed off to Karlstad which was about an hour away to pick up some groceries and some lighters for all the fires we appear to be having. Once we had finished all the shopping the weather had cleared up a little so Rich decided we should go for a run before the weather came in again. We headed to the local park where there was a 10km run and where there was an outdoor gym. We managed to get the run done and use the really good outdoor gym and get back to the van before the heavens opened and the rain started again. We headed on the road for a couple of hours to get to a forest where we planned to spend the night and as it continued to rain on and off all night there was no BBQ for us!
The next morning we got up and headed to the next town which is Sjotorp and we parked up the van and got the bikes out. We have a plan to cycle 30km of the Gota canal today and then the 30km back. This route is one of the newest cycle routes in Sweden and is 220km long and given it’s a canal route hopefully it is fairly flat. We headed out on the bikes along the gravel paths and up and over several locks. It did have an uphill gradient most of the way but we just knew that would make the ride back a little easier. We managed to see lots of herons, a bird of prey and some deer on the cycle through the countryside so it was lovely but at 30km we were happy for a nice break for a snack. The way back was less enjoyable as it rained couple of times and we were getting tired and the downhill wasn’t as helpful as we had hoped but we still enjoyed the whole cycle but were glad when we got back to the van for some food. We then headed south east and further down the canal to an old manor house called Ovralid which is where Verner Von Heidenstam (who won a Nobel Peace Prize in literature and was a national poet in Sweden) lived. We chilled for the evening and had some well-earned dinner.
The next morning we drove to Motala where we headed on the bike and did another 40km of the canal route but this section of the route is more road cycling and less by the canal so it was less enjoyable but it was at least a circular route so we didn’t have to cycle back on ourselves. The route did take us through some lovely farm land and the roads were really quiet. We did see 4 police cars at one point and that was the busiest the roads were.
When we got back to the van we had some food then headed south to Vadstena to see the castle and look around the old medieval town. It was cute little town with a lake and small beach and busy little market square. After that we decided to find somewhere to park for the evening and there was a little nature reserve not far away. The nature reserve was lovely and was on a lake which looked very enticing so we both decided to have a quick swim (yes even me!) and then light a BBQ on the cliff edge overlooking the lake. We managed to get the fire going really well and cooked all our dinner as the sun set.
The next day we decided to have a little go on the paddleboard in the lake and Rich wanted to do some freediving so we got in the lake for awhile and I paddled around while Rich did some freediving (I was his safety so I had to keep a close eye on him whenever he did a dive) Afterwards it was due to rain so we decided rather than hiking (and there was no way we were cycling again) we would head to Granna which is a town where they made Polkaprisnsen which is the red and white stripped peppermint candies but they do a whole range of different flavours and different sweets. It’s a bit like a Willy Wonka town full of sweet shops and people making candy in front of windows and leaves the whole town smelling very sweet. We bought a couple of sweets and headed back to the van before heading back north to Brahehus which is a ruined manor house we saw on the way into the town. Then we had to consider where we wanted to spend the evening and we decided as we had really enjoyed where we were last night we would head back there. We managed to get parked up in the same space as last night (as did the Swedish van next to us). We all had a good chat yesterday and when they saw us again they invited us for a drink on the cliffside. We sat with them for about an hour and had some cava and chatted about van life. Afterwards we got the BBQ going again and put our dinner on it but it was harder tonight as it was windier so Rich had to battle against that to get the fire lit and then it even tried to rain. We managed to get everything cooked just as it was getting dark so we headed into the van to eat it and relax for the evening.
The next day we thought we actually have to leave this place although we know we could have stayed longer, it was so nice. We headed to Gamla Linkoping open air museum where we walked around looking at several different museums and old buildings. We went to the bank museum, the old fire house, the old park and theatre, old farm buildings, the old post office and general store. There was also a nature reserve we walked through before ending up in a park where lots of people (who we think were university students) were participating in some games which involved them either being covered in mud or bright paint. We also found some horses and goats (who loved a good scratch) in the park. After seeing the animals we had to head back to the van as our two hours of parking was up so we got back to Jeff and headed on to the next town Norrkoping. We parked up a couple of kilometres outside of town and cycled into Laxholmen which is the canal centre of the town. We wandered around the area which had lots of restaurants, museums and things to see and do. We decided first to go into the Visualisering centre where there were interactive educational exhibitions on things from Mummies to the planets. They also had some video games so we had a quick play on those (and realised how crap we were at games) before heading out to Arbetets museum which had interesting exhibitions on digital life, UFOs and a photography show. After awhile exploring the 7 floors we headed out to find some food as this town has several vegan restaurants. We found a nice little place to go and ended up having three courses (although we did share both the starter and the dessert) and came out feeling totally full. We then had to cycle back to Jeff (still feeling full) and then drove a little further north out of the town to a forest for the night. when we got there we found somewhere to park amongst the many other campers already parked up for the night.
The next morning we got up and Rich had planned a route for a run and so off we headed into the forest for a 9km run. It was a difficult one with sections that had to be walked as there were boulders to climb and stairs which wrapped around trees so it wasn’t a fast run by any means. After that we got back to the van showered and made our plans for the day. We headed to the supermarket to grab a few things before heading to Stora Sunby which is a privately owned castle with gardens that you can explore. We walked around the castle and through a deer enclosure for about an hour before heading back to the van and onwards towards a stop not far from the town we want to explore tomorrow. As we got there fairly early we were able to clean the van a little and do some food prep before a comedy of errors hit us. First we thought we would clean the shower tank so we put some cleaner down there but then forgot to close the drain so half of it ended up outside the van. After that he proceeded to drop the kettle full of cold water on the floor which broke so not only did we have water all over the floor which we quickly mopped up but we have a broken kettle now as well. During the course of the rest of the evening we both managed to drop things and were generally a mess all evening, which is out of sorts for us.
The next morning we headed on the bikes into the local town and straight to a second hand mall that I had read about. There were about 10 shops that all dealt with second hand items (and some new items) but they ranged from an Ikea second hand store to a book shop, a technology shop to a clothes store. It was a great concept and we thought there must be a kettle here. The issue we have found previously is kettles in Scandinavia tend to be electric kettles rather than gas ones which are only used for camping so then you have to buy a really light one that doesn’t have a large capacity. We had a look in the sports and outdoors shop before wandering upstairs to look in some of the odds and sods stores. We stumbled across a store that had lots of vegan and health foods as well as a collection of kitchen wares. I think this was Rich’s favourite store as it had lots of vegan chocolate (with free samples) and health foods. We found two potential kettles here but we thought we would check some of the other stores before we committed to either of them. We carried on and managed to also find some other items we needed before we headed back to the health food store and bought one of the kettles and some chocolate for us both. We headed back to the van for tea and lunch before giving the van a little clean and servicing with water ect. We then headed off to chill for the rest of the evening and night at a stop in the forest near a lake as some things never change with us.
The next day we headed not far away to a golf course where Rich had planned another run for us. He made me cycle it though as it was fairly hilly so I managed to get two laps in while he did one. It wasn’t the best route we have ever done but it was good to get it done. We then had some breakfast and headed to Gripsholm castle which is a 16th century castle. After walking around it for awhile we headed to the supermarket to pick up a couple of items for a potential BBQ tonight. We then drove to the stop we had planned to stay at but after walking around it we didn’t like the vibe it had. So we jumped back in the van and researched alternative places. We are quite near Stockholm again which does reduce the quality and quantity of places to stay but I found us a new place and we headed there. This place was in a large park and when we got there we saw a line of campers already parked up, I think there was about 8 – 10 by the end of the evening. The park was also very nice, with an outdoor gym, lake and BBQ area. We got our food and started a little BBQ whilst watching the sun set.
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