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.