Meet Donald and Reggie

Our second day in Bohuslän. We skip the morning, too early. A late breakfast is served. Now we have to decide what to visit today. So much to see. Around noon, we leave to the islands close to Strömstad. Rosö is a small island that hosts a very beautiful nature reserve. Very ironically, Sweden is a very clean country, except nature reserves. One way or another, they all are plagued by considerable amounts of garbage. But anyway, we find an amazing and garbage-free spot to enjoy the sun.

On the other side of the shallow water, there is a rock/island. We take of our shoes and walk through the water. Freeezing cold. I think several world records were broken the last meters. But it was worth the effort. Donald and Reggie (two seagulls) are monitoring our movement. Soon, the whole seagull community is staring at us and observing our show.

- Reggie!

- Yes, Donald.

- Look!

- They are trying to hit a rock in the water over and over again...

imitating seals ...

messing with our food ...

- Crazy humans!

Reminds me of my earlier zoo-experiences: what side of the fence is the most interesting to watch? (This is NOT an invitation to lock me in a cage with some of my ancestors.)

The water is rising steadily. Maybe it's time to go back before we have to swim. We get up and return. Our seagull audience is slightly disappointed. Forward-looking humans, bah. I want my money back.

After a nice picknick, we drive to Tanum, famous for its bronzen age rock carvings. The first time I see rock carvings like this. Really interesting. Being lazy in the sun with a nice view on the valley, I can imagine worse.

A little later, we drive back. Barbecue this evening. Mmm. Grilled chicken and salmon, nicely marinaded, home made garlic bread, tasty salad, ... This is again a culinary height of my erasmus exchange.

As I mentioned before, there is a playground on the camping site. Imagine. We have been waiting two days already. High time to go there. Finishing the track is not without danger and demands the uttermost concentration. After this exhausting action, I need to relax. Phh. Being a child is quite challenging. The nice thing is, when you are grown up and still childish, you can combine the best of both worlds: dangling on a rope and having a good glass of wine. Perfect, isn't it?

Another great day. :-)

DJ Hiazzz and the Werewolves

Here we go. First destination of our expedition is Tjörn, a small island north of Göteborg. We leave the highway to dive into the beautiful landscape. A few nice bridges connect the islands to the mainland. The road trip mood is entering the minibus. Swedish hits and static take turns, carefully operated by DJ Hiazzz featuring Derrrr-on-the-middle-sitzzz (Walter, 2007). Ambiance guaranteed with DJ Hiazzz. Wiiiiiiiiiihaaa.

Lunch time. Tjörn offers us the perfect place for a picknick. Time to take out the day-after-Jan's-birthday cake.

Fully satisfied, the journey continues. Orust is our next target, on the way to Strömstad, destination of our tour. Two short ferrys bring us to the Gullmansfjorden, the only "real" fjord in Sweden. In Fiskebäckskil, a nice small village on the south side of the fjord, we start our quest for coffee. After all, it's four a clock and time to wake up. Jan, driver of service and in a decisive mood, puts the car in the rear gear, floors the gas pedal and crashes into the kiosken (needed renovation anyway). Using the confusion of the moment, we sneak out the car, take a coffee and vanish into space again.

Now we have to find a way to cross the fjord. Some kilometers east of Fiskesbäckskil, a free ferry takes us to the other side, giving us a nice glance on the fjord. Time is flying fast, further stops are cancelled for today. Destination Strömstad, straightforward.

Around 8 we arrive in Däfto Feriecenter, a five star camping place. A bit later, we arrive at our Kapten Frodig cottage. A really great (and very affordable) fully equiped house. Perfect for us. We'll have a nice time here. And there's a playground!!

I'm getting hungry again. Time to prepare a nice dinner. Njammies.

After dinner, we are attacked over and over again by relentless werewolves. Night after night, innocent people are slaughtered. Cunning plans, deceit and shameless lies, all possible tricks (such as the kill Walter first strategy :-)) are used to survive. As we are civilized people, the killing happens in a fully democratic way of course. We vote before we strike. Two o'clock, nearly midsummer, the sun is rising really early and the wolves have to fly. Game over.

Great day.

Friday the 13th

A shiver runs down my spine. Brrr. The frightening confrontation with the diabolic number gives me spontanuously chicken skin. Luckily, no butcher in the neighbourhood. Gloemp. On such days, you have to be extra cautious. A reckless confrontation with the mercy of fate. A shiver seizes me again. Maybe I should close my window.

Shortly before 10, we leave to get the Toyota minibus.

Evil plans and the car rental

Hej hej,


summer in Sweden!!! Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimagine. We're so lucky that we planned a trip this weekend.
Roadtrip to Strömstad. Even the best American movies will envy the story.

First task: find a car. A small delegation went, disguised as heavy criminals and carrying a first help car theft kit (a stone and a lawyer), on reconaissance. Seek and ye shall find, they say. Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, ... cars enough. But no minibus. Merde. Nice Porsche though. Problem-solving Walter smashed a window to look if we would fit all 9 inside. Quite a disappointment. An hour later, we arrive home empty-handed. Mission failed.

The non-criminal part (being the girls) of our company suggests to pay for a car rental. What an absurd idea. But our evil brains don't come up with a new cunning plan in time. In the end, we can agree to rent a wreck. At least it has some negative connotation. Great start. A blue Toyota Hiace minibus.

9 great friends, a minibus and summer weather, no Porsche. Nearly perfect.

Barbecue at the lake

The last day of March.

Very beautiful weather. The ideal moment for a barbecue. In Sweden, there is something as Allemansrätten, which means that you can use the nature. Making fire in the nature is allowed. What a great law.

We go to the small peninsula at the lake Stora Delsjön, loaded with a wide variety of food and drinks. At the very end, on the rocks, there is a perfect place for a fire. While we search a nice spot to sit, Jan, aka chief firemaker, makes a small fire.



Time for an Austrian speciality: baking bread on a wooden stick. A difficult struggle with the fire to decide who's going to eat it. Losses reported on both sides.



Someone had the wonderful idea to bring ice cream. Njammies. And cookies. Mmm. The barbecue hasn't started yet, and I'm already half full (approximately). After most of the flames have gone, we prepare the barbecue. Time to grill the meat/fish/vegetables/and other food I haven't mentioned yet. Tasty barbecue on an exclusive location. What an amazing experience, and this in March in Sweden.

Now we are all satisfied, we can build a larger fire. It is slowly getting dark and colder, so a real fire would be great. We gather some wood on the peninsula (which becomes more and more difficult to find as the evening continues), and throw it on the fire. The wood is really dry. The fire burns really fast, and we have to find a lot of wood to keep it going.

A few hours later, we extinguish the fire and collect our things before we go home. No street lights, but the moon is doing a great job. Thanks Janneke (for all non dutch-speaking readers: Janneke is the first name of the moon). After 40 minutes walking, we arrive home.

We have to do this more.

Skåne - day 3

Why did they have to steal an hour time exactly this night? Bad timing. Our last day in Skåne.

The following visits on the agenda: Helsingborg, Kullaberg and Arx & Nimis. We drive to Helsinborg, not knowing exactly what to expect. When we arrive, Helsinborg seems to be a pretty city. At the sea, with an old centre and a castle that gives us a nice overview on the surroundings.

We get in the car and leave to Kullaberg, another nature reserve in West Sweden. We decide to take the small roads instead of the highway. The road passes several enjoyable villages and gives us often a magnificent view on the sea.

We have to park the car and continue on foot. We arrive at a light house, on the top of a small peninsula, surrounded by sea. The perfect place to hang around for an hour, and take pictures of course :-).

Now we head to Arx & Nimis. A bit of a strange story. A Swedish artist collected wood at the sea during several years, and knocked this together in a weird construction. The Swedish state did not allow him to build this, so he declared independence for Ladonia, the nearly inaccessible 1 km² country that surrounds the sculptures. Never recognized by Sweden of course. You must be really crazy to build this. Before we start our walk, we take a fast picknick in the pleasant sun.

It is very difficult to find Ladonia: no road signs, not mentioned in the tourist guide, ... We needed instructions from local inhabitants to reach the place. But it was worth the effort. The wooden construction on the rocks, in a small bay, forms a fascinating scene.

After this unique visit, we continue to Angelholm, where we have dinner. Food is very welcome and I enjoy the meal every bit. Our tourist trip is over :-(. Destination Göteborg by highway. I really liked this trip. Nice company and a beautiful region, perfect.

Skåne day 2

If I want to have a really good and healthy breakfast, I have to travel. My Austrian friends are taking good care of me. Mama can rest easy: I am in good hands. Now I have a lot of energy. Ready to go. Destination Lund, this time in daylight.

Lund is a real student city. You can feel the atmosphere. The old city centre is beautiful, Danish style.

Apparently, there is something big going on. A lot of people here. And we didn't announce our visit. It must be something else. A world celebration of the Lutheran church for example. People from all over the world are gathered in the city centre. We enter the domkyrkan (kathedral) where we can find an astronomical clock. The weather is amazing. Sun everywhere (not the brand but the yellow fire ball on the sky). And less wind than yesterday. It feels like summer. The hottest March in Sweden since the 18th century, you can say we are a little lucky.

Next destinations is Malmö. The main city in Skåne. Malmö is surprisingly beautiful. Especially the new city at the sea is very pleasant. Relaxing near the water, enjoying the Swedish sun, what could you want more?

Maybe a nice building such as the Twisted Torso?

As the darkness is falling, we decide to move a bit closer to the Öresund bridge. It must be nice to see the bridge against the red colored sky ... And it really is.

Definitely worth a visit.

Our trip to Skåne - day 1

- Do you speak english?

- Nej. Geofehfogh. Depfhembolf fheofgow?

All of a sudden, without any warning, I needed Swedish. I have to say it would have been easy if I had known this before I dialed the number. Anyway, I tried to speak swedishish and (this is the suprising part) managed to book a room for two nights. If you want to experience the need for swedish, just dial +46 40-41 41 94. A kind old man will be happy to hear from you.

After I booked accomodation for två nights and fem persons, everything is ready for launch. Saturday morning, I pack my bags (a light and sugarfree version of my kiruna bags) and leave to Helmutsrogatan, where the taxi is waiting. Walter is our taxi driver, and he's also going to Malmö, what is kind of convenient. Thanks Walter :-).

First stop is Morups Tånge, a nature reserve at the westcoast of Sweden, south of Göteborg. A really nice place to walk. And sit, or lie down. Sea, birds, swamps (no ogres), grass, and nature of course.

Second stop, after a nice drive along the coastline, is Danska fall. A 36 meter high waterfall in a forest with threes. After 1,2 km walking, we find the waterfall. Nice of course. But maybe not so spectacular as I expected. 36 meter long, I think. Since we are adventure-minded and only a bit afraid of the big bad wolf, we leave the marked track and go off road, straight into the wilderness of Skåne. We were lost. Pathfinder Jan searched for the perfect road out, without success. After we analyzed the star constellations and the exact position of the sun, we unanimously decided to return the same way, through the Swedish wilderness, passing the aggressive ant again.

Where to go now? Let's go straight to Lomma camping. Two hours later, we arrive at the camping site. After a short non-verbal conversation, we find our new home. Cottage 14, Middle of Nowhere, Sweden. It looks nice and cosy. And very cheap. Luckily for us, the middle of nowhere is a really beautiful place. At a lake, near the sea. Very nice views.

And a beautiful sunset ...