Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day 9
The Jontorp Youth Hostel was amazingly clean. This is an important factor that will come up the a little later. The beds were very comfortable to sleep one, but not the most comfy ones that I have every felt as we were told they would be. I know that we talked about it yesterday, but the hostel was pretty amazingly decorated. The more I looked around, the more I found high quality antiques. At some point, I would like to come back for a visit.
We were planning on walking from the parking lot in Kullagården, mainly because they were charging yesterday 40:- to drive to the light house (let us not forgot the fact that we are cheap). The weather was a little cool this morning, so we decided to suck it up and pay it. To our luck, they only charge on the weekends, who says there is no such thing as karma! The lighthouse was cool. We walked from the parking lot to the lighthouse. The wind was blowing and it was cold. N was miserable, so we did not stick around like we had planned to eat at the café for fika.
We headed back towards Hoganäs with a stop along the way still in the Nature Reserve. Somewhere in the reserve is an art sculpture made from nothing but drift wood called Nimis. The powers to be did not like it and thus no signs excist as to where it is. It is just one of those things that you have to know about and have an idea where it will be. We did not have a clue. If N was not with us, then we would have searched for it. With N, it is a little more difficult. So we never found it, maybe next time.
We made it into Hoganäs. Just for the hell of it, we determined we should look again at the factory store. Neither of us thought that we were get anything or find anything. Which of course means that we did find something- coffee cups in the sienna color at an amazing price. It was one of those things that we really did not want to do, but almost had to do. We ended up getting 12 of them along with 6 saucers. The Punto is starting to get pretty full, which means we should stop shopping, which means we shopped more. When N was born, my mother bought us a really cool pot in the shape of a giraffe. So this time we got us a glass sculpture of a giraffe. I did not think about it until after we bought it of the connection, but pretty cool.
We ate lunch at Sibylla. M has been craving it all week. They have a hotdog, mashed potatoes and salad all wrapped in thin bread (kind of like a tortilla). I had a hamburger. After lunch we went into Hamstad. Of course, we did some more shopping (poor, poor Punto). The town is actually famous for a Swedish Band from the 70’s and the 80’s- Gylder Tyder. The lead singer is probably better known around the world as the male voice in the duo Roxette. Gylder Tyder is actually a good fun band. Every Swede knows all the songs. Their concert a couple of years ago sold out instantly. We went to one of the shows and the age of the crowds were from 3 to 65. It is just a fun band to listen to. Anyway, they come from this town and so now it is a hot summer destination. The beach here is always packed in the summer. Both of my brother-in-laws have spent a week or two down here. I had told M that I was going to take a swim in the sea, that was yesterday when it was sunny and “warm”.
Most countries love UNESCO World Heritage sites, Sweden is no different (the only one that I know that does not like them is the United States). A couple of years ago M and I said that we were going to visit every one of them. The was before we realized that there are 500 something different ones. Not to mention the fact that the list is growing every year. So that plan is no longer going to happen. With that being said, when we see one, we are going to stop. Today was one of those stops, we passed by the Grimeton Radio Station which has became a site recently. Apparently this radio station was the first one to broadcast across the Atlantic using six radio towers. It was closed for the season, big shock there. I took a picture. The last one of the trip actually.
The hostel tonight is the worse thus far on the trip. To start off with, it was suppose to be 300:- per night, but they charged us 420:- a night, making it our most expensive one of the trip. The beds are as thin as cardboard and as hard as plywood. The kitchen is beyond gross. M had to do the dishes before she was even able to start to cook dinner. The saddest part is that they do not have any trash bags. I would say that a nice after dinner drink may help with everything, but this hostel is owned by the anti-alcohol people, so drinking is not allowed. So here is the first true WARNING of the trip: If you find yourself is Åsa Sweden, do not stay at the youth hostel. Spend a little more and go to a hotel. It will be worth it!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day 8
To start the day off, we went for a walk in the national park. This is for sure my favorite park thus far in Sweden. The trails are well marked and it is beautiful with all the colors. Today we walked up to the copper point. The view was even better today over the valley. For sure I would come back here. The only negative, and it was not a large negative was the number of people. It was low season and it was crowded. On the trail this morning, we had to wait to pass a group because it was so large. That is one of the benefits to traveling in the low season. If it is busy now, I can not imagine what it is like in the summer. The only place that was empty, was the café at the end of the hike. That should have been a good sign to avoid it, but we did not. M’s apple pie was average and I got sick from the hotdog that I had.
One of the interesting things about the national parks here is that the majority of them, you are not allowed to camp in. I am sure that there are some in the states that one can not camp in, but I have no idea which ones they would be. When I think of national parks, I think of camping, not a hostel next door to the park. Part of it is that most of them are fairly small, but they do not even have a designated camping spot. Most of them have a commercial camping spot next to it.
In the afternoon we went to Höganas. When M and I got married, we had to pick out our “china”. We decided that we did not want the traditional china, we were more interested in a fun type china, so we went with Höganas. For the most part, we have all that we will ever need, but one is never for sure. The factory is still in this town. We had hoped that we would be able to do a factory tour, like one can do in the glass factories, but that is not possible. They only have a store. Considering our record, you would think that we found something there, but we did not, which is a little surprising. We did go next door to the Kosta Boda store. There we did find something, from a factory that we have visited a number of times and have never liked anything- Sea.
There is a second factory in Höganas as well. This one, unlike the other one, is all hand done. The pieces are somewhat similar, the point that both use as a symbol, but no two are alike here. I liked more of the things here, because they were unique. They are also much more expensive. A couple of he pieces I would love to have. They even had a kitchen sink which was way cool. This will just have to be another thing that is added to my Swedish want list.
Since we did the ceramic factories, we headed to Kullagården. This is the lighthouse area. I could not believe that they were charging 40:- just to drive the road. We had not planned to go today, so we drove on. It is better to only pay once when you have to. We also stopped by this little village along the way. It is a café that is famous in the area for their vanilla hearts. The view from the café is suppose to be great. The only problem, it is only open in the summer. We had an idea that this was so, but we were hoping that it was not so.
After the bad hotdog experience from this morning, we determined to get to the hostel early. The check-in time was 4 till 7, we got there at 3:30. The lady that checked us in was early and friendly. The hostel itself was pretty amazing. The art on the walls was tasteful and some of it was very beautiful. The place if full of great pieces of furniture which is blended together perfectly with items from Ikea. The kitchen was beyond well stocked, consisting of even cookbooks. The Jonstorp Hostel was actually one of the ones which were recommended to us; mainly because they were suppose to be the most comfortable beds ever. They were nice, but not spectacular. Last night’s youth hostel had down duvets and equally cozy beds, so they actually win the prize for the best beds. Like most nights, we have the place all to ourselves- the advantage of traveling in the off season.
To start the day off, we went for a walk in the national park. This is for sure my favorite park thus far in Sweden. The trails are well marked and it is beautiful with all the colors. Today we walked up to the copper point. The view was even better today over the valley. For sure I would come back here. The only negative, and it was not a large negative was the number of people. It was low season and it was crowded. On the trail this morning, we had to wait to pass a group because it was so large. That is one of the benefits to traveling in the low season. If it is busy now, I can not imagine what it is like in the summer. The only place that was empty, was the café at the end of the hike. That should have been a good sign to avoid it, but we did not. M’s apple pie was average and I got sick from the hotdog that I had.
One of the interesting things about the national parks here is that the majority of them, you are not allowed to camp in. I am sure that there are some in the states that one can not camp in, but I have no idea which ones they would be. When I think of national parks, I think of camping, not a hostel next door to the park. Part of it is that most of them are fairly small, but they do not even have a designated camping spot. Most of them have a commercial camping spot next to it.
In the afternoon we went to Höganas. When M and I got married, we had to pick out our “china”. We decided that we did not want the traditional china, we were more interested in a fun type china, so we went with Höganas. For the most part, we have all that we will ever need, but one is never for sure. The factory is still in this town. We had hoped that we would be able to do a factory tour, like one can do in the glass factories, but that is not possible. They only have a store. Considering our record, you would think that we found something there, but we did not, which is a little surprising. We did go next door to the Kosta Boda store. There we did find something, from a factory that we have visited a number of times and have never liked anything- Sea.
There is a second factory in Höganas as well. This one, unlike the other one, is all hand done. The pieces are somewhat similar, the point that both use as a symbol, but no two are alike here. I liked more of the things here, because they were unique. They are also much more expensive. A couple of he pieces I would love to have. They even had a kitchen sink which was way cool. This will just have to be another thing that is added to my Swedish want list.
Since we did the ceramic factories, we headed to Kullagården. This is the lighthouse area. I could not believe that they were charging 40:- just to drive the road. We had not planned to go today, so we drove on. It is better to only pay once when you have to. We also stopped by this little village along the way. It is a café that is famous in the area for their vanilla hearts. The view from the café is suppose to be great. The only problem, it is only open in the summer. We had an idea that this was so, but we were hoping that it was not so.
After the bad hotdog experience from this morning, we determined to get to the hostel early. The check-in time was 4 till 7, we got there at 3:30. The lady that checked us in was early and friendly. The hostel itself was pretty amazing. The art on the walls was tasteful and some of it was very beautiful. The place if full of great pieces of furniture which is blended together perfectly with items from Ikea. The kitchen was beyond well stocked, consisting of even cookbooks. The Jonstorp Hostel was actually one of the ones which were recommended to us; mainly because they were suppose to be the most comfortable beds ever. They were nice, but not spectacular. Last night’s youth hostel had down duvets and equally cozy beds, so they actually win the prize for the best beds. Like most nights, we have the place all to ourselves- the advantage of traveling in the off season.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day 7
This morning was a slow morning. That is one of the best things about this trip- the slow mornings. We actually did not manage to get out of there until after 10. It was more my fault really. I forgot the keys to the hostel, so I was stuck outside for about 15 minutes. I could see M doing the dishes in the kitchen, but she never looked out the window. The Kivik youth hostel has been one of the best ones thus far on the trip. I could see coming back in the summer for a week in this area, or at the very least a very long weekend.
We headed south along the coast for a little while. The sea was actually there today, since the wind had finally died down. This whole area seems to be really nice, which is pretty surprising. I do not know anyone who has lived in or even travels to and around Skåne. So I was not sure what to expect. Part of me thought that it would be beautiful, after all we are traveling along the coast. The other part of me thought that it would be ugly, since that is all I have heard (not from M). Parts of today was not the prettiest on the trip, very flat and boring, but other parts have been some of the prettiest I have seen in Sweden.
One of the towns that we passed through was the town of Sjöbo. It is interesting what different towns are famous for. This town is famous for the fact that the Swedish Democrats are popular. I am not sure how popular they are in a percentage, but I would say about 20%. The Swedish Democrats are known as the fascist political party here in Sweden. They are more popular in Skåne then any other part of Sweden, not sure why that is.
Sweden, as most countries, has a true dialect for different areas. I am no expert in it and neither is M. I can usually guess an area- north, south, east or west. Skåne has to be the easiest though. They speak normal Swedish with a potato in their mouth. By far the most difficult to understand for an immigrant. The other dialect which is very distinct, but until this summer I had never really heard a true one is the Dalarna dialect. We listened to a radio program this summer with a Swedish explorer from Falun. One of the first things that I asked M was if he was an immigrant. She was quick to point out that it was in fact a Dalarna dialect that he was speaking with and not a immigrant one.
Other then spending quality alone time with M and N, the national park today is my favorite. It has been called the “Grand Canyon of Sweden” in our Swedish travel magazine. The canyon was very cool, but it is no Grand Canyon. So far this trip, we really have not seen any color in the trees. Today that changed. The forest was a blend of yellow, green, brown and red. The park felt as though it would be perfect in the fall. I am sure that it would be nice anytime of the year, but I am guessing that it is the prettiest during this time of year. I could totally imagine coming back here every fall for a long weekend if it was not so far. The national park was actually crowded. It is the first place that we have been to thus far on the trip that we were not the only people there. Kind of nice, but at the same point it has been nice being the only ones there.
Tonight’s hostel is really nice. We are alone, of course. The house is used as a nature school in the summer. It is well decorated and seems to be very nice. The convenience to the park does not get any better. All one has to do is cross over a little stream and you are there. Also, it has a TV in the room. Not the best thing, but it is still kind of nice (M hated it).
This morning was a slow morning. That is one of the best things about this trip- the slow mornings. We actually did not manage to get out of there until after 10. It was more my fault really. I forgot the keys to the hostel, so I was stuck outside for about 15 minutes. I could see M doing the dishes in the kitchen, but she never looked out the window. The Kivik youth hostel has been one of the best ones thus far on the trip. I could see coming back in the summer for a week in this area, or at the very least a very long weekend.
We headed south along the coast for a little while. The sea was actually there today, since the wind had finally died down. This whole area seems to be really nice, which is pretty surprising. I do not know anyone who has lived in or even travels to and around Skåne. So I was not sure what to expect. Part of me thought that it would be beautiful, after all we are traveling along the coast. The other part of me thought that it would be ugly, since that is all I have heard (not from M). Parts of today was not the prettiest on the trip, very flat and boring, but other parts have been some of the prettiest I have seen in Sweden.
One of the towns that we passed through was the town of Sjöbo. It is interesting what different towns are famous for. This town is famous for the fact that the Swedish Democrats are popular. I am not sure how popular they are in a percentage, but I would say about 20%. The Swedish Democrats are known as the fascist political party here in Sweden. They are more popular in Skåne then any other part of Sweden, not sure why that is.
Sweden, as most countries, has a true dialect for different areas. I am no expert in it and neither is M. I can usually guess an area- north, south, east or west. Skåne has to be the easiest though. They speak normal Swedish with a potato in their mouth. By far the most difficult to understand for an immigrant. The other dialect which is very distinct, but until this summer I had never really heard a true one is the Dalarna dialect. We listened to a radio program this summer with a Swedish explorer from Falun. One of the first things that I asked M was if he was an immigrant. She was quick to point out that it was in fact a Dalarna dialect that he was speaking with and not a immigrant one.
Other then spending quality alone time with M and N, the national park today is my favorite. It has been called the “Grand Canyon of Sweden” in our Swedish travel magazine. The canyon was very cool, but it is no Grand Canyon. So far this trip, we really have not seen any color in the trees. Today that changed. The forest was a blend of yellow, green, brown and red. The park felt as though it would be perfect in the fall. I am sure that it would be nice anytime of the year, but I am guessing that it is the prettiest during this time of year. I could totally imagine coming back here every fall for a long weekend if it was not so far. The national park was actually crowded. It is the first place that we have been to thus far on the trip that we were not the only people there. Kind of nice, but at the same point it has been nice being the only ones there.
Tonight’s hostel is really nice. We are alone, of course. The house is used as a nature school in the summer. It is well decorated and seems to be very nice. The convenience to the park does not get any better. All one has to do is cross over a little stream and you are there. Also, it has a TV in the room. Not the best thing, but it is still kind of nice (M hated it).
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day 6
Well, the hurricane that the mother-in-law promised never happened. We did get some really strong winds in the morning and the coast was emptied of water (the Baltic does not really have a high and low tide, but the strong wind was blowing out to the sea. The water on the beach was pushed away from the beach out to the sea by about 100 feet). We used it as an excuse to stay in bed and take a super lazy morning, not that we needed much of an excuse. This is the only hostel that we have planned on staying two nights at and I have to say that it is a wonderful idea!
This trip is a bit of an experiment. M and I have never taken a trip where we were not really always on the go. Plus we have not traveled (other then to my parents’ house in Texas) with N before, which is a huge factor. We have talked about taking a long road trip with N next year to Australia and this is a little test to see how it will be. So far it has been very educational. What we have learned is that we can not do everything we want to do. Travel time is about 10 am until 5 pm, with at least 2 breaks in that time period. Car poops are the worst poops of all. And perhaps the most important lesson of all is that no matter how tired each of us are, it is important to remember not to take the tiredness out on the other parent.
Even though the wind continued this afternoon, we went for a hike anyway. I know I just said that we were going to take it easy, but there is a limit to the madness. We went ahead with our plans for the day and went to the National Park Stenshuvud. This is not a very large national park, but it is cozy. We walked to the top of the little hill where it actually has three different peaks. The wind was blowing so hard that we determined only to hike to one of the peaks. Then down to the nature centre. We returned to the car along the trail that followed the coastline. The hike in total was about 5km long. By the time we got back to the car, N was sound asleep.
Sweden has a total of 28 national parks. It was the first nation in Europe to create a national park. They range in size and accessibility. An example of the differences is the park in Lapland (northern Sweden) called Muddus is 493 sq km, whereas the national park in Dalarna called Hamra is only 800m by 400m and can only be accessed by foot by knowledgeable outdoorsmen. They are talking about establishing the nation’s first underwater national park off the west coast. It is currently being negotiated and is supposed to be established in 2009.
We had a nice little fika at the hostel this afternoon. M was boring and had the same thing again. I was a little more daring and had basically the same thing again, only with apple filling. I think that we have determined that we want to have at least one additional 2 nights in the same spot. The problem is trying to figure out how we can do this. We would like to do it in one of the more cozy hostels, but then it makes the national park at the end a little more difficult. Plus, the one that we would like to stay two nights in only has horrible phone time during the week and no phone time during the weekend. So we will not know until Sunday if it is possible to stay for a second night at the hostel.
We talked about having fika at the restaurant at the Kivik apple cider factory, but we did not. Not because we did not want to, but because we decided to go out for dinner tonight. This town has a restaurant that is well known called Buhres (www.buhresfisk.se). It started as a place to buy smoked fish, then into a deli and finally into a restaurant. It has won all kinds of awards for its food and for the building that the restaurant is in. We had planned on eating out one nice meal on the trip. Experiencing new foods and restaurants is one of the many fun aspects of traveling. The place was a little expensive, but price worthy. For us, at this point in our lives, it is more of the question of how will N behave.
So we took a chance and decided to go. We were expecting the place to be packed, far from it. We were the only people in there for the first hour. After 1.5 hrs, two other groups arrived. One of the benefits of coming in low season is that you don’t have to book a table. Yesterday we talked about how Kivik is famous for its apples. It is also famous for its smoked eel. So that is what I had for an appetizer. It is a little intimidating eating eel for the first time. It was really good, as I have been told by M. For the main course M had baked salmon with an apple topping and an artichoke sauce. She said that it was fabulous and the best meal she had eaten in, she can not remember since when. My main course was good, but I went with something a little more daring. I had grilled herring, nothing that I would normally get. It was good and I was glad that I had tried it. The waitress was really good with N. She talked to her and brought her little things to play with and color. The food, the service and the atmosphere were wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a good meal in the area to try it. It would be worth a little trip to try it. Make sure to check to make sure they are open. In the low season they are only open Thursday through Sunday.
I do one/two warnings about the restaurant. First, they charge 10:- for tap water. I do not think that it is bad to charge for water, but it should be published that you are going to charge (I can not complain too much, since we really did not look for it, it may have been there). The other thing is to double check your bill. We were overcharged for M’s meal. It was not enough to go back and complain, but it is just the principle of the matter. It was a wonderful meal, but the first thing that M will think about this place is getting overcharged rather then the wonderful sauce.
Well, the hurricane that the mother-in-law promised never happened. We did get some really strong winds in the morning and the coast was emptied of water (the Baltic does not really have a high and low tide, but the strong wind was blowing out to the sea. The water on the beach was pushed away from the beach out to the sea by about 100 feet). We used it as an excuse to stay in bed and take a super lazy morning, not that we needed much of an excuse. This is the only hostel that we have planned on staying two nights at and I have to say that it is a wonderful idea!
This trip is a bit of an experiment. M and I have never taken a trip where we were not really always on the go. Plus we have not traveled (other then to my parents’ house in Texas) with N before, which is a huge factor. We have talked about taking a long road trip with N next year to Australia and this is a little test to see how it will be. So far it has been very educational. What we have learned is that we can not do everything we want to do. Travel time is about 10 am until 5 pm, with at least 2 breaks in that time period. Car poops are the worst poops of all. And perhaps the most important lesson of all is that no matter how tired each of us are, it is important to remember not to take the tiredness out on the other parent.
Even though the wind continued this afternoon, we went for a hike anyway. I know I just said that we were going to take it easy, but there is a limit to the madness. We went ahead with our plans for the day and went to the National Park Stenshuvud. This is not a very large national park, but it is cozy. We walked to the top of the little hill where it actually has three different peaks. The wind was blowing so hard that we determined only to hike to one of the peaks. Then down to the nature centre. We returned to the car along the trail that followed the coastline. The hike in total was about 5km long. By the time we got back to the car, N was sound asleep.
Sweden has a total of 28 national parks. It was the first nation in Europe to create a national park. They range in size and accessibility. An example of the differences is the park in Lapland (northern Sweden) called Muddus is 493 sq km, whereas the national park in Dalarna called Hamra is only 800m by 400m and can only be accessed by foot by knowledgeable outdoorsmen. They are talking about establishing the nation’s first underwater national park off the west coast. It is currently being negotiated and is supposed to be established in 2009.
We had a nice little fika at the hostel this afternoon. M was boring and had the same thing again. I was a little more daring and had basically the same thing again, only with apple filling. I think that we have determined that we want to have at least one additional 2 nights in the same spot. The problem is trying to figure out how we can do this. We would like to do it in one of the more cozy hostels, but then it makes the national park at the end a little more difficult. Plus, the one that we would like to stay two nights in only has horrible phone time during the week and no phone time during the weekend. So we will not know until Sunday if it is possible to stay for a second night at the hostel.
We talked about having fika at the restaurant at the Kivik apple cider factory, but we did not. Not because we did not want to, but because we decided to go out for dinner tonight. This town has a restaurant that is well known called Buhres (www.buhresfisk.se). It started as a place to buy smoked fish, then into a deli and finally into a restaurant. It has won all kinds of awards for its food and for the building that the restaurant is in. We had planned on eating out one nice meal on the trip. Experiencing new foods and restaurants is one of the many fun aspects of traveling. The place was a little expensive, but price worthy. For us, at this point in our lives, it is more of the question of how will N behave.
So we took a chance and decided to go. We were expecting the place to be packed, far from it. We were the only people in there for the first hour. After 1.5 hrs, two other groups arrived. One of the benefits of coming in low season is that you don’t have to book a table. Yesterday we talked about how Kivik is famous for its apples. It is also famous for its smoked eel. So that is what I had for an appetizer. It is a little intimidating eating eel for the first time. It was really good, as I have been told by M. For the main course M had baked salmon with an apple topping and an artichoke sauce. She said that it was fabulous and the best meal she had eaten in, she can not remember since when. My main course was good, but I went with something a little more daring. I had grilled herring, nothing that I would normally get. It was good and I was glad that I had tried it. The waitress was really good with N. She talked to her and brought her little things to play with and color. The food, the service and the atmosphere were wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a good meal in the area to try it. It would be worth a little trip to try it. Make sure to check to make sure they are open. In the low season they are only open Thursday through Sunday.
I do one/two warnings about the restaurant. First, they charge 10:- for tap water. I do not think that it is bad to charge for water, but it should be published that you are going to charge (I can not complain too much, since we really did not look for it, it may have been there). The other thing is to double check your bill. We were overcharged for M’s meal. It was not enough to go back and complain, but it is just the principle of the matter. It was a wonderful meal, but the first thing that M will think about this place is getting overcharged rather then the wonderful sauce.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day 5
N woke us up at 7:30 this morning. One of the nice things about this trip is that we have nothing that we need to hurry up to. Well, one day on the trip we do, but that is it. The hostel lady last night said that it was suppose to be storming in the morning. The sky was actually blue when we departed in the morning. Shocking as it is, it is true. We got on the road just before 10am. The lady was much nicer this morning then she was last night.
The driving part of the day was not to be too long. In fact, it was only like 100km or something. We took the small roads for the most part, so it took a little longer, but not much longer. First we stopped at Åhus. The town itself means probably nothing to you, but its product you will more then likely recognize, Absolut Vodka. The factory does not actually give tours at all during the off season, so we just drove by it. That is basically the town. Sad as it was, we did not even get out of the car. The centre was cute, but nothing that screamed out at us and N just fell asleep. Thus the reason why we headed on down the road. On a side note, the hostel there looked very cool. We looked it up in our hostel book and it did not sound nearly as cool. If we ever make it back down this way, we will have to try it out.
It was not long until we made it to our destination for the night, Kivik. This is the town that we will be spending two nights at. Our break in the trip, nothing but relaxing for two nights. Just knowing that we will not have to pack up all of our stuff in the morning sends warm feelings through my spine. Check in for the hostel is not until 5 and we arrived at noon. Five hours to kill in a town of about 4,000 people. As a side note on this trip, this is not high season. In fact, it is far from high season. During the summer, all the hostels that we are staying at would be full and we would be lucky to get a room. As it is, everything is closed and the weather has very little to be desired.
With that much time to kill, what else is there to do but go to a café. Kivik is famous for two food things. The first is smoked eel, which I hope to try tomorrow (not sure if I can force myself to eat eel), and the second is apples. Before we walked into the café, I said to M that I wanted to have something made from apples. Then we read on the sign outside the café that they specialized in items with apples. Of course, they did not have a single thing that had apples in it. The girl acted like we were yesterday’s garbage, but N needed to be fed, so we stayed. They did not have a high chair and the lady that served us did not offer one to us. So we did without. Right before we left, M went to the toilet and sitting in the toilet were two high chairs stacked up. Hmm…so much for service.
We then went to the Kivik Apple Cider plant. In the summer you can go on a tour of the factory, but it is not summer. We went into the store and bought some Glögg for Christmas. It has a cranberry and cayenne pepper taste to it. Sounds good, or at the very least interesting. N tried apple cider for the first time and she loved it. She was a little skeptical at first, but was then mad when she finished it.
There are two reasons why we have come to Kivik. One of Sweden’s National Parks is located here and the second is a nature reserve called Haväng which is located just north of the town. Today we went to the nature reserve. We did a little hike, about 4.5km long along the coast and up through the rolling hills. The area is beautiful and I am thankful that it is low season. In high season, this place would be packed. As it is, we were the only people there. At the end of the hike was a youth hostel that looked really cool. The architecture is the traditional Skåne style: white walls and the timber painted brown. The roof was a thatch roof, which I am always impressed by. Though I would hate to be here during the high season, that hostel would be an option to stay at.
We arrived at 4 to the youth hostel. We were hoping to get to check in a little early. Lucky for us, the lady that runs the hostel had to be somewhere at 5, so she left the key in the mail box for us. We were able to get in at 4- YEA!!! The hostel seems nice. For a change, we are not the only ones here. A girl from England is here as well. Tomorrow night we are supposed to have the place alone.
During dinner tonight, we got a call from M’s mother. Apparently the storm that was supposed to hit last night is going to hit tonight. According to her, it is supposed to be as strong as a hurricane. If that is the case, we are just going to have a lazy day at the hostel, which does not sound too bad. Otherwise we are going to go to the National Park. The winds are starting to pick up outside, so we will have to wait and see.
N woke us up at 7:30 this morning. One of the nice things about this trip is that we have nothing that we need to hurry up to. Well, one day on the trip we do, but that is it. The hostel lady last night said that it was suppose to be storming in the morning. The sky was actually blue when we departed in the morning. Shocking as it is, it is true. We got on the road just before 10am. The lady was much nicer this morning then she was last night.
The driving part of the day was not to be too long. In fact, it was only like 100km or something. We took the small roads for the most part, so it took a little longer, but not much longer. First we stopped at Åhus. The town itself means probably nothing to you, but its product you will more then likely recognize, Absolut Vodka. The factory does not actually give tours at all during the off season, so we just drove by it. That is basically the town. Sad as it was, we did not even get out of the car. The centre was cute, but nothing that screamed out at us and N just fell asleep. Thus the reason why we headed on down the road. On a side note, the hostel there looked very cool. We looked it up in our hostel book and it did not sound nearly as cool. If we ever make it back down this way, we will have to try it out.
It was not long until we made it to our destination for the night, Kivik. This is the town that we will be spending two nights at. Our break in the trip, nothing but relaxing for two nights. Just knowing that we will not have to pack up all of our stuff in the morning sends warm feelings through my spine. Check in for the hostel is not until 5 and we arrived at noon. Five hours to kill in a town of about 4,000 people. As a side note on this trip, this is not high season. In fact, it is far from high season. During the summer, all the hostels that we are staying at would be full and we would be lucky to get a room. As it is, everything is closed and the weather has very little to be desired.
With that much time to kill, what else is there to do but go to a café. Kivik is famous for two food things. The first is smoked eel, which I hope to try tomorrow (not sure if I can force myself to eat eel), and the second is apples. Before we walked into the café, I said to M that I wanted to have something made from apples. Then we read on the sign outside the café that they specialized in items with apples. Of course, they did not have a single thing that had apples in it. The girl acted like we were yesterday’s garbage, but N needed to be fed, so we stayed. They did not have a high chair and the lady that served us did not offer one to us. So we did without. Right before we left, M went to the toilet and sitting in the toilet were two high chairs stacked up. Hmm…so much for service.
We then went to the Kivik Apple Cider plant. In the summer you can go on a tour of the factory, but it is not summer. We went into the store and bought some Glögg for Christmas. It has a cranberry and cayenne pepper taste to it. Sounds good, or at the very least interesting. N tried apple cider for the first time and she loved it. She was a little skeptical at first, but was then mad when she finished it.
There are two reasons why we have come to Kivik. One of Sweden’s National Parks is located here and the second is a nature reserve called Haväng which is located just north of the town. Today we went to the nature reserve. We did a little hike, about 4.5km long along the coast and up through the rolling hills. The area is beautiful and I am thankful that it is low season. In high season, this place would be packed. As it is, we were the only people there. At the end of the hike was a youth hostel that looked really cool. The architecture is the traditional Skåne style: white walls and the timber painted brown. The roof was a thatch roof, which I am always impressed by. Though I would hate to be here during the high season, that hostel would be an option to stay at.
We arrived at 4 to the youth hostel. We were hoping to get to check in a little early. Lucky for us, the lady that runs the hostel had to be somewhere at 5, so she left the key in the mail box for us. We were able to get in at 4- YEA!!! The hostel seems nice. For a change, we are not the only ones here. A girl from England is here as well. Tomorrow night we are supposed to have the place alone.
During dinner tonight, we got a call from M’s mother. Apparently the storm that was supposed to hit last night is going to hit tonight. According to her, it is supposed to be as strong as a hurricane. If that is the case, we are just going to have a lazy day at the hostel, which does not sound too bad. Otherwise we are going to go to the National Park. The winds are starting to pick up outside, so we will have to wait and see.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day 4
The mannequin in the youth hostel was a bit creepy, in fact it was very creepy. Otherwise I really liked this hostel. The bed was cozy and the shower hot, well ice cold, but all the same.
Today we went to two different glass factories. Like I said yesterday, I think that it is sad that all the factories are combining to make one factory. Today’s factories are still independently owned and operated. The first one was Skruf, which used to be one of my favorites. In the past they made cartoon type animals. I always wanted one, but when they were produced, we were in our poverty time. Now they make mainly glasses and vases, so I never got one (time to check ebay). The other factory we went to was Johansfors. Unlike most of the glass factories, we were not allowed to go onto the production floor. We did end up getting some stuff, ironically it was M who suggested. I did not argue or comment, I learned that lesson years ago.
From there we headed to Karlskrona. This city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. M had never been there before, and until recently never had much of a desire to go there either. It was really nice. We parked in the very center of town and went into the tourist office and then walked around. First down to the Swedish Naval base (they have 1 boat!) and to Rosenbom. Rosenbom was a real guy at one time. He collected money for the poor, so the legend goes. M learned about him is school and was excited when we went to the statue of him. My theory is that he is a little like Johny Appleseed. We also went to the Maritime Museum. The museum is well displayed and they did a good job at the descriptions, but it is not very captivating. Nothing, other then when we went under water, just screamed out at me. The museum needs more interaction with the visitor to truly work. If you ever get a chance to come here, take a walk around the west side of the town. The houses are worth a look at.
From here we hit the road again. We made two little stops. The first one was in Karlshamn. Here we looked at a statue depicting the two main characters from Moberg’s novel “The Immigrants”. Then we went to Mörrum to look at the house that Salmon (the fish” built. I was hoping to see the fish with hammer and nails working away, or at the very least some pictures of them working. I was sadly disappointed to learn that the house was not built by salmon, but in reality was a house dedicated to the fish. To make matters worse, they wanted to charge 60:- per person to look in this house. I would not have a problem paying the 60:- to see the salmon building it, but just a house dedicated to them- HA!
The hostel was a bit of a rude awakening. First they had left the hostel organization which we are a member of to join one that cost less money. Then the lady was rude. She accused us of not telling her about N. I made the reservations and I know that I said that N was going to be with, so I was a bit offended. It worked out fine. We had a house all to ourselves and the shower water was hot. What more could one ask for?
The mannequin in the youth hostel was a bit creepy, in fact it was very creepy. Otherwise I really liked this hostel. The bed was cozy and the shower hot, well ice cold, but all the same.
Today we went to two different glass factories. Like I said yesterday, I think that it is sad that all the factories are combining to make one factory. Today’s factories are still independently owned and operated. The first one was Skruf, which used to be one of my favorites. In the past they made cartoon type animals. I always wanted one, but when they were produced, we were in our poverty time. Now they make mainly glasses and vases, so I never got one (time to check ebay). The other factory we went to was Johansfors. Unlike most of the glass factories, we were not allowed to go onto the production floor. We did end up getting some stuff, ironically it was M who suggested. I did not argue or comment, I learned that lesson years ago.
From there we headed to Karlskrona. This city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. M had never been there before, and until recently never had much of a desire to go there either. It was really nice. We parked in the very center of town and went into the tourist office and then walked around. First down to the Swedish Naval base (they have 1 boat!) and to Rosenbom. Rosenbom was a real guy at one time. He collected money for the poor, so the legend goes. M learned about him is school and was excited when we went to the statue of him. My theory is that he is a little like Johny Appleseed. We also went to the Maritime Museum. The museum is well displayed and they did a good job at the descriptions, but it is not very captivating. Nothing, other then when we went under water, just screamed out at me. The museum needs more interaction with the visitor to truly work. If you ever get a chance to come here, take a walk around the west side of the town. The houses are worth a look at.
From here we hit the road again. We made two little stops. The first one was in Karlshamn. Here we looked at a statue depicting the two main characters from Moberg’s novel “The Immigrants”. Then we went to Mörrum to look at the house that Salmon (the fish” built. I was hoping to see the fish with hammer and nails working away, or at the very least some pictures of them working. I was sadly disappointed to learn that the house was not built by salmon, but in reality was a house dedicated to the fish. To make matters worse, they wanted to charge 60:- per person to look in this house. I would not have a problem paying the 60:- to see the salmon building it, but just a house dedicated to them- HA!
The hostel was a bit of a rude awakening. First they had left the hostel organization which we are a member of to join one that cost less money. Then the lady was rude. She accused us of not telling her about N. I made the reservations and I know that I said that N was going to be with, so I was a bit offended. It worked out fine. We had a house all to ourselves and the shower water was hot. What more could one ask for?
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day 3
It has been a long time since I slept in a bed that was as miserable as the one last night. Add to the fact that N had a horrible night, it made for a very long night. We survived though and just made it out of there by 10 in the morning. When we first got up, it was not raining, but by the time I started to pack the car, it was raining- typical!
Our first stop on the today’s journey was Eksjö. We had been there once before, though the last time we were there it was pouring rain, cold and before 8 in the morning. The only difference between last time and this time is that it was around 11 in the morning. Just like the last time, this time it is pouring rain and cold. So we did what every good Swede does when it is raining, we had fika at a café.
Just outside of Eksjö, there is a nature reserve called Skurugata. Basically it is a gorge 800 meters long and 56 meters at its height. The lady at the tourist office suggested that we not walk down into the gorge because it would be too slick on the way back up. So we of course walked down into the gorge and had no problems getting back up. The one problem that we did experience was that it had rained so much recently that the gorge had filled up with water, thus covering the trail. We worked our way around it for a short bit, but then turned around.
From Eksjö, we went down to the glass factories. We have done the glass factories several times before. In fact, we had an opportunity to do them this summer, but turned it down because we had done them so many times. So I am not sure how we ended up here again. We decided to go to two different ones. The first was Kosta Boda in Kosta. This is a big one, which we have been to multiple times. Not surprising, we found several things that we liked and wanted (me more then M, it is a rare day when M wants to buy something). I could have easily bought several things had we had space and if M would allow it (for the record, we are not looking for anything. I learned a long time ago that when you are looking for something to buy, you are not going to find anything). The second one that we went to, we had never been to before, Åfors. The pictures in the brochure were of pieces that we recognized and liked, so we were looking forward to it. Sadly, none of those pieces were there. It was an exact copy of the Kosta store. They had been bought out by Kosta Boda.
This brings up a sad point. In this area, there are perhaps 20 different glass factories, or I should say their use to be 20 different glass factories. Today there are maybe 10 in the area, the others have been closed. That is supply and demand, I know that. Of the other 10 that are still open, about 4 or 5 of them are owned by Kosta Boda. The factories are just there, not really artist spots at all. One of the things that Sweden is known for, and one of the things I really like about Sweden is the glass design/art. When only one or two companies remain, then it is only the commercial favorites that are left. An art form will be lost to capitalism (don’t get me wrong, I am all in favor of capitalism, but I am allowed to complain about the negatives of it as well!).
We arrived at the hostel at 5, as we were told that we needed to do. The lady did not arrive until about 5.20. I know that 20 minutes is not a lot, but when one is told to be there at a specific time and N needed to be fed. So we did not get the best first impression of the hostel. The rooms and the kitchen are super clean and nice. I am sure if it was not low season, it would have never happened. From what we have been told, the forest which is located next to the hostel is great for picking mushrooms.
It has been a long time since I slept in a bed that was as miserable as the one last night. Add to the fact that N had a horrible night, it made for a very long night. We survived though and just made it out of there by 10 in the morning. When we first got up, it was not raining, but by the time I started to pack the car, it was raining- typical!
Our first stop on the today’s journey was Eksjö. We had been there once before, though the last time we were there it was pouring rain, cold and before 8 in the morning. The only difference between last time and this time is that it was around 11 in the morning. Just like the last time, this time it is pouring rain and cold. So we did what every good Swede does when it is raining, we had fika at a café.
Just outside of Eksjö, there is a nature reserve called Skurugata. Basically it is a gorge 800 meters long and 56 meters at its height. The lady at the tourist office suggested that we not walk down into the gorge because it would be too slick on the way back up. So we of course walked down into the gorge and had no problems getting back up. The one problem that we did experience was that it had rained so much recently that the gorge had filled up with water, thus covering the trail. We worked our way around it for a short bit, but then turned around.
From Eksjö, we went down to the glass factories. We have done the glass factories several times before. In fact, we had an opportunity to do them this summer, but turned it down because we had done them so many times. So I am not sure how we ended up here again. We decided to go to two different ones. The first was Kosta Boda in Kosta. This is a big one, which we have been to multiple times. Not surprising, we found several things that we liked and wanted (me more then M, it is a rare day when M wants to buy something). I could have easily bought several things had we had space and if M would allow it (for the record, we are not looking for anything. I learned a long time ago that when you are looking for something to buy, you are not going to find anything). The second one that we went to, we had never been to before, Åfors. The pictures in the brochure were of pieces that we recognized and liked, so we were looking forward to it. Sadly, none of those pieces were there. It was an exact copy of the Kosta store. They had been bought out by Kosta Boda.
This brings up a sad point. In this area, there are perhaps 20 different glass factories, or I should say their use to be 20 different glass factories. Today there are maybe 10 in the area, the others have been closed. That is supply and demand, I know that. Of the other 10 that are still open, about 4 or 5 of them are owned by Kosta Boda. The factories are just there, not really artist spots at all. One of the things that Sweden is known for, and one of the things I really like about Sweden is the glass design/art. When only one or two companies remain, then it is only the commercial favorites that are left. An art form will be lost to capitalism (don’t get me wrong, I am all in favor of capitalism, but I am allowed to complain about the negatives of it as well!).
We arrived at the hostel at 5, as we were told that we needed to do. The lady did not arrive until about 5.20. I know that 20 minutes is not a lot, but when one is told to be there at a specific time and N needed to be fed. So we did not get the best first impression of the hostel. The rooms and the kitchen are super clean and nice. I am sure if it was not low season, it would have never happened. From what we have been told, the forest which is located next to the hostel is great for picking mushrooms.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day Two
If we thought that we had crap weather yesterday, we were mistaken. Today we have beyond crap weather. We woke up to the rain and it continued to rain through out the day. The worse part is the packing of the car in the rain. Just going back and forth from the car to the room made me pretty wet. Yes I did bring waterproofs and yes I am too lazy to put them on. So I got wet, plus the car was under a tree that dropped brown water drops on me. So my shirt is now beige with brown spots.
In the end, the youth hostel was a good choice. The staff were friendly and it had everything that we needed. M and I were thinking that perhaps we should run a youth hostel when we retire (at age 53 and 50 respectively). Have one of the ones that are only open for the high season and the rest of the year we can travel or do what ever. That way we have an income coming in, but we also have a long holiday season. A friend of mine owns a hotel in Kandersteg, Switzerland. She works 18 to 20 hours per day in the summer. She always tells me that she works so hard in the summer so that she does not have to the rest of the year, makes sense.
Back to the trip, we went from the hostel through Motala to Gränna. Gränna is famous for three things. First is the peppermint sticks which every second building is making them. The second thing is a polar explorer. He died. The third thing that it is famous for is bears, no wait…pears. Our purpose of the visit is because of the, oh wait, we did not come for any of those reasons. We came for a hiking map for the John Bauer Trail. We tried to download it from the internet, but failed. So this was a required stop. The guy in the tourist office was very helpful. He even gave us the hiking map for free. N and I collect brochures, which I am sure we will never really look at.
John Bauer is a famous Swedish artist. He was born in 1882 in Jönköping and died in November 1918. He was an artist, painter and an illustrator. He is perhaps best known for his nature/troll paintings. His use of light is fabulous. I would highly recommend looking him up. He has his own museum in Jönköping that is worth a visit.
The guy in the tourist office said the trail was very well marked and that it would not be a problem at all. Well, it was a problem. We found the trail markers to the section that we wanted to start in. We followed it around in Röttle. It went by several water mills and very cool buildings. After we went for about 20 minutes, in a very slow pace, we were back to the exact space that we started at. Now M and I are pretty experienced hikers and do not usually get lost, but we just could not find our way, well away. So we then went to a different section of the trail. N had fallen asleep and the rain had started to come down hard again, so we drove the small country roads next to the trail. The trail will be there another day.
We could not check into our hostel until 5, so we did a little exploring of Jönköping. It is the home of two museums. The first is of John Bauer, which we had been to before. The second was the world’s only match museum. You see, the match is actually a Swedish invention. The major match making industry was based out of Jönköping. In fact, at one time, every match in the world was produced in this town. Of course not today, but one can still go to the museum and learn about the good old days. Only problem for us was, it is Monday. So the museum is closed on Mondays. So instead we took a look at the weather, still raining, and decided to do something super Swedish in this weather. We went to Ikea.
The hostel seems to be alright. The rooms are clean, and they even have cable TV. The lady working hates her job, no question about it. She just radiates that point. Compared to the hostel yesterday, this one is packed. It looks as though this is a “commuter” youth hostel. What I mean is that people who are just in town on business or students stay here. Not the coziest one we have ever stayed at, but it serves our purpose.
If we thought that we had crap weather yesterday, we were mistaken. Today we have beyond crap weather. We woke up to the rain and it continued to rain through out the day. The worse part is the packing of the car in the rain. Just going back and forth from the car to the room made me pretty wet. Yes I did bring waterproofs and yes I am too lazy to put them on. So I got wet, plus the car was under a tree that dropped brown water drops on me. So my shirt is now beige with brown spots.
In the end, the youth hostel was a good choice. The staff were friendly and it had everything that we needed. M and I were thinking that perhaps we should run a youth hostel when we retire (at age 53 and 50 respectively). Have one of the ones that are only open for the high season and the rest of the year we can travel or do what ever. That way we have an income coming in, but we also have a long holiday season. A friend of mine owns a hotel in Kandersteg, Switzerland. She works 18 to 20 hours per day in the summer. She always tells me that she works so hard in the summer so that she does not have to the rest of the year, makes sense.
Back to the trip, we went from the hostel through Motala to Gränna. Gränna is famous for three things. First is the peppermint sticks which every second building is making them. The second thing is a polar explorer. He died. The third thing that it is famous for is bears, no wait…pears. Our purpose of the visit is because of the, oh wait, we did not come for any of those reasons. We came for a hiking map for the John Bauer Trail. We tried to download it from the internet, but failed. So this was a required stop. The guy in the tourist office was very helpful. He even gave us the hiking map for free. N and I collect brochures, which I am sure we will never really look at.
John Bauer is a famous Swedish artist. He was born in 1882 in Jönköping and died in November 1918. He was an artist, painter and an illustrator. He is perhaps best known for his nature/troll paintings. His use of light is fabulous. I would highly recommend looking him up. He has his own museum in Jönköping that is worth a visit.
The guy in the tourist office said the trail was very well marked and that it would not be a problem at all. Well, it was a problem. We found the trail markers to the section that we wanted to start in. We followed it around in Röttle. It went by several water mills and very cool buildings. After we went for about 20 minutes, in a very slow pace, we were back to the exact space that we started at. Now M and I are pretty experienced hikers and do not usually get lost, but we just could not find our way, well away. So we then went to a different section of the trail. N had fallen asleep and the rain had started to come down hard again, so we drove the small country roads next to the trail. The trail will be there another day.
We could not check into our hostel until 5, so we did a little exploring of Jönköping. It is the home of two museums. The first is of John Bauer, which we had been to before. The second was the world’s only match museum. You see, the match is actually a Swedish invention. The major match making industry was based out of Jönköping. In fact, at one time, every match in the world was produced in this town. Of course not today, but one can still go to the museum and learn about the good old days. Only problem for us was, it is Monday. So the museum is closed on Mondays. So instead we took a look at the weather, still raining, and decided to do something super Swedish in this weather. We went to Ikea.
The hostel seems to be alright. The rooms are clean, and they even have cable TV. The lady working hates her job, no question about it. She just radiates that point. Compared to the hostel yesterday, this one is packed. It looks as though this is a “commuter” youth hostel. What I mean is that people who are just in town on business or students stay here. Not the coziest one we have ever stayed at, but it serves our purpose.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Sweden Road Trip 2006- Day One
We are finally on the road. Though this is not going to be the most exciting trip we have ever taken, it is going to be a good choice…I hope. The first time I came to Sweden, it was at the end of October and I swore that I would never come back to this country. I was traveling Europe for four months. I had every piece of clothing I had in my pack on and was still freezing my butt off. Love changed all that, but to be traveling Sweden in the late fall, is that really a good idea?
The one benefit to a trip like this, compared to the planned trip to Cuba, is that if anything goes wrong, we are not too far to back home. Of the 14 days we are going to be on the road, at the longest point away, it would take only 7 hours. Let’s be honest, that is nothing. So we are playing it safe. With N, that is always a good thing.
Our goal was to leave the house by 9 am. We knew that was not going to happen before we went to bed the night before, so we changed it till 10. At 10 after we were pulling out of the parking lot. Considering the fact it is pissing down with rain, I am happy with the result. We filled up with petrol and checked the tires (two separate petrol stations of course) and got on the road, only to realize that we left our hostel cards at home. Now most of the things that we packed I would argue we did not need (the stroller being the one thing that pops into my mind, though my only argument to not bringing it was that it is a pain in the butt to pack), but since we are staying in youth hostels almost every single night, we probably need it. So back to the apartment we went!
We take our first stop less then an hour away from the house in Västerås at the Ikea. Not that we needed anything there, but they have good place to heat up food and sit down. We did not even bring in any money, in case we did find something. My first question to M was, “Do you think that Ikea will become our new Wal-Mart?” When we traveled the states for three months in a pickup truck, we stayed the overwhelming majority of nights in the back of the pickup while parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot. For the record, I hate/hated Wal-Mart at that time. After our short little break, back on the road we went. M and I ate while driving, no rest for the wicked.
We got the Göta Canal Hiking Centre youth hostel at about 3 pm. They wanted us there before noon- yea right. So they hid the key out for us. We were to be the only guests tonight. The hostel sits on what seems like in island, but it is not. You drive onto the island and continue to drive until you reach the end of the road- the youth hostel. The buildings are old, but done nicely. The keys they left us went to everything. It is amazing how trusting people are. We had access to everything, thank goodness for them we are honest people. We have a double bed.
The hostel is located on the Göta Canal foot path. We followed the path, in a light rain, for about 3.5 kilometers and then turned around and returned to the hostel. We passed some beautiful houses, a water power plant, several bridges and an apple farm. No locks though. We also crossed over an aqueduct. When M went to school, she learned that Sweden only had one aqueduct, which is up north (we plan on stopping at that one on one of the last days). This one was built in 1993, not too strange that she did not learn about it in 1983 then.
The Göta Canal was opened on September 26th, 1832. The canal is 190.5km long. If one includes the other canals that are connected to it, then the canal system in Sweden is 390km long. If one was to travel the entire length of the canel, one would go through 58 different locks. 58,000 solders from 16 different regiments worked 7,000,000 working days building it. Today, it is one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions. You can take a small cruise boat the entire length of the canal.
We are finally on the road. Though this is not going to be the most exciting trip we have ever taken, it is going to be a good choice…I hope. The first time I came to Sweden, it was at the end of October and I swore that I would never come back to this country. I was traveling Europe for four months. I had every piece of clothing I had in my pack on and was still freezing my butt off. Love changed all that, but to be traveling Sweden in the late fall, is that really a good idea?
The one benefit to a trip like this, compared to the planned trip to Cuba, is that if anything goes wrong, we are not too far to back home. Of the 14 days we are going to be on the road, at the longest point away, it would take only 7 hours. Let’s be honest, that is nothing. So we are playing it safe. With N, that is always a good thing.
Our goal was to leave the house by 9 am. We knew that was not going to happen before we went to bed the night before, so we changed it till 10. At 10 after we were pulling out of the parking lot. Considering the fact it is pissing down with rain, I am happy with the result. We filled up with petrol and checked the tires (two separate petrol stations of course) and got on the road, only to realize that we left our hostel cards at home. Now most of the things that we packed I would argue we did not need (the stroller being the one thing that pops into my mind, though my only argument to not bringing it was that it is a pain in the butt to pack), but since we are staying in youth hostels almost every single night, we probably need it. So back to the apartment we went!
We take our first stop less then an hour away from the house in Västerås at the Ikea. Not that we needed anything there, but they have good place to heat up food and sit down. We did not even bring in any money, in case we did find something. My first question to M was, “Do you think that Ikea will become our new Wal-Mart?” When we traveled the states for three months in a pickup truck, we stayed the overwhelming majority of nights in the back of the pickup while parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot. For the record, I hate/hated Wal-Mart at that time. After our short little break, back on the road we went. M and I ate while driving, no rest for the wicked.
We got the Göta Canal Hiking Centre youth hostel at about 3 pm. They wanted us there before noon- yea right. So they hid the key out for us. We were to be the only guests tonight. The hostel sits on what seems like in island, but it is not. You drive onto the island and continue to drive until you reach the end of the road- the youth hostel. The buildings are old, but done nicely. The keys they left us went to everything. It is amazing how trusting people are. We had access to everything, thank goodness for them we are honest people. We have a double bed.
The hostel is located on the Göta Canal foot path. We followed the path, in a light rain, for about 3.5 kilometers and then turned around and returned to the hostel. We passed some beautiful houses, a water power plant, several bridges and an apple farm. No locks though. We also crossed over an aqueduct. When M went to school, she learned that Sweden only had one aqueduct, which is up north (we plan on stopping at that one on one of the last days). This one was built in 1993, not too strange that she did not learn about it in 1983 then.
The Göta Canal was opened on September 26th, 1832. The canal is 190.5km long. If one includes the other canals that are connected to it, then the canal system in Sweden is 390km long. If one was to travel the entire length of the canel, one would go through 58 different locks. 58,000 solders from 16 different regiments worked 7,000,000 working days building it. Today, it is one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions. You can take a small cruise boat the entire length of the canal.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Where to go on holiday?
The question that is going through this household this week is, “Where should we go on holiday this year?” That question is easier said then answered, let me walk you through the history…
We have a little over three weeks, basically four weeks, for holidays. We had decided that we would go to Cuba for our holidays. An important thing to note is that we are not beach people. We would rather prefer to go in the mountains or at the very least the forest, but Cuba has its appeal. So the plan was to fly into Mexico and enjoy a short holiday in Cancun. My parents talked about flying in for the weekend to see the granddaughter. Then we would fly into Cuba for about 10 days. Finally flying back into either Mexico or into Belize for the final couple of days. It sounded like a great holiday. We found tickets that we could live with, though not trilled with. All we had to do was buy them. The problem is, the day before we were buy them, Castro handed power over to his brother. This is the first time that Castro has released power the whole time that he has been the leader of the country. So we decided to wait and see what happens. If it was just M and I, we would have probably just gone, but we have N to think about. As we now know, nothing changed what so ever. So when we did look at getting tickets, the cost of them were 25,000:-, or $3,400 a person. We could buy around the world tickets for that price. So, as much as I would love to go to Cuba, it is not happening.
So on to Plan B. The thought was to go to Italy and tour around the country. Skipping the major cities and just going to the smaller towns that are visited less often by tourists. This trip would involve a lot of eating and drinking. We had plenty of time, so we decided to drive down and stop in Switzerland on the way (that is where M and I met). It was looking as a nice plan for a holiday. The problem came when my holidays look like they will be shortened, thus making it impossible to drive down there and not worth flying down and renting a car for a trip that neither of us were jumping up and down excited about.
So then it came to a time of indecision. What to do, what to do? Not an easy question. Both M and I are fairly well traveled. Plus, if we are not able to take an exciting, new adventure, then we do not want to lay out the cash for it. Not that we wouldn’t if something “spoke” to us, the problem was that nothing spoke to us. We went through all of our travel magazines- National Geographic Traveler, När and Fjärran, Turist, and we searched the web. Nothing screamed out at us. So we had nothing.
Which brings us to Plan C. This is not the most exciting trip in the world, nor is it one of our dream trips, but it is a solid plan. We are going to take a road trip around southern Sweden. We have 14 days to play with. The thought is that we will start in Uppsala and work our way south stopping at several national parks along the way. One of the national parks that we plan to visit is known as the Grand Canyon of Sweden. Also, we have found a trail along Vättern that is dedicated to John Bauer (very cool Swedish author and artist). We have found a couple cool hotels and youth hostels to stay in. Then we will finish our holidays with All Saints Day in Örebro.
If you think that this does not sound overly exciting, it is because it isn’t really. That does not mean that we are not looking forward to the trip. The opposite is probably true. Several years ago we took two trips in less then a year. We drove around the states in a truck for three months and then we traveled South America for over 4 months. The States trip was a “just because” and South America was the big trip. Ironically, looking back on those trips today, it is usually the “just because” trip that we reminisce on more often. Does that mean that the same will be with our trip around southern Sweden? I don’t know, but I could imagine that that will be the case.
We will let you know how it goes!
The question that is going through this household this week is, “Where should we go on holiday this year?” That question is easier said then answered, let me walk you through the history…
We have a little over three weeks, basically four weeks, for holidays. We had decided that we would go to Cuba for our holidays. An important thing to note is that we are not beach people. We would rather prefer to go in the mountains or at the very least the forest, but Cuba has its appeal. So the plan was to fly into Mexico and enjoy a short holiday in Cancun. My parents talked about flying in for the weekend to see the granddaughter. Then we would fly into Cuba for about 10 days. Finally flying back into either Mexico or into Belize for the final couple of days. It sounded like a great holiday. We found tickets that we could live with, though not trilled with. All we had to do was buy them. The problem is, the day before we were buy them, Castro handed power over to his brother. This is the first time that Castro has released power the whole time that he has been the leader of the country. So we decided to wait and see what happens. If it was just M and I, we would have probably just gone, but we have N to think about. As we now know, nothing changed what so ever. So when we did look at getting tickets, the cost of them were 25,000:-, or $3,400 a person. We could buy around the world tickets for that price. So, as much as I would love to go to Cuba, it is not happening.
So on to Plan B. The thought was to go to Italy and tour around the country. Skipping the major cities and just going to the smaller towns that are visited less often by tourists. This trip would involve a lot of eating and drinking. We had plenty of time, so we decided to drive down and stop in Switzerland on the way (that is where M and I met). It was looking as a nice plan for a holiday. The problem came when my holidays look like they will be shortened, thus making it impossible to drive down there and not worth flying down and renting a car for a trip that neither of us were jumping up and down excited about.
So then it came to a time of indecision. What to do, what to do? Not an easy question. Both M and I are fairly well traveled. Plus, if we are not able to take an exciting, new adventure, then we do not want to lay out the cash for it. Not that we wouldn’t if something “spoke” to us, the problem was that nothing spoke to us. We went through all of our travel magazines- National Geographic Traveler, När and Fjärran, Turist, and we searched the web. Nothing screamed out at us. So we had nothing.
Which brings us to Plan C. This is not the most exciting trip in the world, nor is it one of our dream trips, but it is a solid plan. We are going to take a road trip around southern Sweden. We have 14 days to play with. The thought is that we will start in Uppsala and work our way south stopping at several national parks along the way. One of the national parks that we plan to visit is known as the Grand Canyon of Sweden. Also, we have found a trail along Vättern that is dedicated to John Bauer (very cool Swedish author and artist). We have found a couple cool hotels and youth hostels to stay in. Then we will finish our holidays with All Saints Day in Örebro.
If you think that this does not sound overly exciting, it is because it isn’t really. That does not mean that we are not looking forward to the trip. The opposite is probably true. Several years ago we took two trips in less then a year. We drove around the states in a truck for three months and then we traveled South America for over 4 months. The States trip was a “just because” and South America was the big trip. Ironically, looking back on those trips today, it is usually the “just because” trip that we reminisce on more often. Does that mean that the same will be with our trip around southern Sweden? I don’t know, but I could imagine that that will be the case.
We will let you know how it goes!
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