Kategorie: Blog: Summer Trip 2021

5 – 8 August 2021

I really liked staying at Mønstrandcamping. There were a few more foreigners there than I had been used to in Sweden. Most of the „tourists“ on Swedish campgrounds had been Swedes themselves. I only met v e r y few Norwegians, Danes, Germans and even fewer Dutch people. I once saw a Swiss car and trailer from Kanton Schwyz on the motorway from Stockholm going soutwards and we even said hello by hooting – so extraordinary a thing we both found this.

In Denmark there were astonishingly many French people (especially Kopenhagen), but also a lot of Dutch, German and Swiss mostly families or couples. Someone told me before I had left that being on my own would open up that wonderful opportunity to get to know a lot of people that you would not get to know when travelling in company. Yet, I have not met one single traveller so far, be it man or woman. Maybe they are all down in Portugal, Spain or Greece.

Nevertheless, there is always something to converse about, be it the furnishing of your van, the weather or the itinery, Covid or the glasses. There is one special type of glass that you see with many, many campers, I’ve noticed. I also have these glasses – so I suppose I am a true camper.

By the way „glas“ in Swedish or Danish means „ice-cream“, like Swiss-German „glace“.

For two days I had a wonderful first-row place. I parked the van so that I could look out onto unspoiled dune landscape and the open sky from my boot window when waking up. The weather was supposed to be windy – and it got! Yet, the sun shone more generously than predicted and once again beautiful sceneries were „painted“ onto the horizon.

My only excursion was to Klint Holm, the famous chalk cliffs, as you can find them in Dover (GB), Etretat (F) or Rügen (D). I walked along the edge to the north then down the steep staircase, along the pebbly beach to the main staircase and back up. It’s 128 meters that you have to get up, but the staircase is well-maintained and it’s not a big deal to get up again the 495 steps. It’s said to be Denmarks longest staircase. You can find fossils on the beach but I didn’t find any, not as years ago in Lyme Regis (GB), where we actually found a whole lot of them.

And then I didn’t find the exit from the the parking-ground …

Unfortunately my pitch had been booked by another camper, otherwise I might have stayed a night longer at Mønstrandcamping. I was kind of forced to leave.

On the map I had seen that you can drive from Møn to the isalnd of Falster, to Lolland and from there take a ferry to Langeland and get over another bridge to Fyn – instead of driving north again and over the Store Baelt (Grosser Belt) Bridge. The fare for the ferry was pretty much the same as the fee for the bridge, so I decided to try the ferry route as a change to the bridge, even though the bridge had been spectacular.

Before I set off I tried to find two prehistoric tombs on Møn and this time my search was more succesful. I was all alone at Kongs Asgers Hoj and Sprovedyssen. I was actually afraid of going into the more then 10 meter long passage of the grave. I’m always in awe when I visit these places that have been built so many millenials ago.

Then I set off. The weather changed to the worse, becoming very cloudy and drizzling at times. I arrived at the ferry just 15 minutes before it left. The procedure was extremly easy. You could buy a ticket sitting in your car from a vending machine, just by choosing the right category and paying by card. The ferry took 45 minutes to get over from Tårs to Sporsbjerg and it was a welcoming break from all the driving.

My plan was to get to Norre Lyngvig Campsite at Ringkøbing Fjord on Jylland’s North Sea coast. But I didn’t make it that night and found a very nice campsite in Middelfart, just before crossing the lille belt (Kleiner Belt). Middelfart had been my first stop in Denmark almost four weeks ago. Now I was back, but the weather was nothing compared to what it had been then. It was cold, it was windy, it was raining if not pouring. And the forecast was not very encouraging. The next two days would probably be like that, sunny spells with not only isolated showers but rather prolonged times of rain.

I thought was creeping up: I would have to get to France at the end of the week. Would it be wise to camp two days in the wet dunes and then burn up kilometres on the motorway when the sun would be shining again? Should I go for the kilometres while the weather was cool and stay two lovely more days in France? Should I really leave Scandinavia with its mask free life, the nice food, the dunes, the wind, the spirit of the north? Should I really end this part of my journey? Get back into crowded places, central, western Europa? Should I? Or shouldn’t I bother and go to that lovely campsite in the dunes with the Norre Lyngvig Lighthouse nearby, sit in the rain, write and play guitar and hit the (hot) road three days later?

I checked up weather apps for many different places, Lyngvig, Rømø Island, Sylt or Sankt Peter Ording, where my nephew uses to spend his holidays and then Brittany. The weather was bad for the next two days at any of these places and thenafter got better in any of these places. I needed consolidation, called my friend Ruth – and opted for leaving.

5 August 2021

There is a big campground Bellahoj in Kopenhagen but the pictures do not look inviting. It looks more like an impromptu campsite set up by freaks and hippies in the 80ties smoking weed, living free love and drinking far too much. I mean, there is also the „freetown of Christiania“, an almost 8 hectares big area in central Kopenhavn „occupied by international communes“, whatever this means. I think it is kind of what the „AJZ“ (autonomes Jugendzentrum) used to be in Zürich, just muuuuch bigger. Christiania was founded in 1971. There was a lot of controversy because of drug selling, also hard drugs and both in 2005 and later in 2016 there were shootings and even people murdered, obviously by competing drug gangs trying to control the market.

I did not feel like going to Christiana even though it is a tourist attraction today and even though I was actually standing in front of the main entrance, as there is a graffiti painted wall around it. I did not go to Bellahoj campground either, but tried unsuccessfully to get a place at camping Charlottenlundfort. That campsite is very small and very beautifully located right at the sea front and next to a swimming place and thus it is very difficult to find a place there. Charlottenlund is a poch and probably rather wealthy area of Kopenhagen. You find wonderful villas there, with balconies, French windows, well-maintained gardens.

I consulted my app „park4night“ and there was a parking-place indicated very close to Charlottenlundfort campsite and near the Charlottenlund castle, at the edge of its parklike forest. When I arrived there was already an Austrian, a Spanish van and a French mobilhome. The French had just arrived and were – from La Rochelle. They were friendly and when I expressed my hesitating feelings they invited me to place myself next to them for the night. There was actually no other good option if I wanted to explore Kopenhagen the next day. So I decided to stay.

I wanted to have pizza as a change (being a bit fed up with the herring) and went to nearby pizza place that I had spotted on my map. But it was solely take-away and I could not take it away with me as I had not bicycle rack installed on my bike. So, I went to a bistro. The menu was only in Danish but I figured out „tomato soup“. The waitress didn’t bother when I was standing around asking myself how it would work here in Denmark. Do you have to wait until seated? Can you deliberately choose a seat? In the end I asked and she seemed to be a bit on edge, yet told me to show my certificate and then sit down whereever I wanted.

The soup was ok, not more, not less. Its price rather exorbitant, I found. Back on the road, or rather the bike-lane, I almost got run over by another biker who crossed my way at high speed. I found the lane system – bikes, pedestrians, cars – confusing – got used to it then the next day, though.

The night was ok, but I felt unconfortable in the morning. There were a lot of cars coming and going, people from the neighbourhoods, who wanted to walk their dog in the forest. I also went for a short walk in this forest and did my plank. Suddenly a golden retriever was curiously coming up to me, sniffing. I don’t particularly like dogs, but I am mostly not afraid of them. The owner shouted at the dog, furiously, called him several times to let go of me and come back. He was really pissed off with his dog. But the dog did not want any harm, he probably just wanted to play, so I said: „Don’t punish the dog, please,“ when the owner was brandishing its leash. The owner stopped sharp, turned to me, and looking at me grimmly growled „I do what I want.“ I was only able to eat humble pie: „Ok.“ I mean, it’s none of my business really, but still.

Somehow, Denmark did not welcome me the way Sweden had.

There was also a crèche opposite of where I was parking and parents in cars, on bikes and foot came with their children. So, I quickly geared up my bike and got going. At Charlottenlundcamping I had breakfast, a roll with poppy seeds, which I like a lot and a large Latte Macchiato. Then I set off to the city center.

It took me almost 40 minutes to get there. I drove through modern sea-front quarters, areas, where you can tow your yacht in front of your apartment. Then, the closer I came to the city the more old buildings took over, renaissance, actually classisistic buildings most of them.

I was looking for the „Little Mermaid“. I thought: „I have not seen Kopenhagen if I have not seen the mermaid.“ I drove about 4 times past the mermaid until I finally found her – and I was not the only one who was desperately looking for her. Two days later I did not find the exit of a parking-ground at Klint Holm – and again I was not the only one. People were driving in circles looking for the exit. That’s a minus, in Denmark things are badly sign-posted!

Yet, finally I had found the mermaid, took some pics and a little later I passed by the royal castle Amalienborg. There was a bigger crowd in the court and I asked someone what was going on. The changing of the guard that was due at midday. So, without even wanting it I witnessed this famous daily ritual.

Then I cycled further, without map, and found Kopenhagen’s famous coloured houses, drove over modern-stylish Knippelsbro-bridge over to Christianshavn and found the Vor Frelsers Kirke by accident. That church is special, because you can walk up its spire but the upper bit of the staircase winds itself around the outside of the actual spire. I get giddy very easily, so this was a challenge. Still, I wanted to enjoy the view from up there.

The Swedes are extremly practically-organised people. As I’ve mentioned before you can literally pay anything with your credit card or debit card. The Danes try to follow their example, yet, they have far from achieved the Swedes’s expertise. So, in order to get a ticket to the spire I had to download an app by the help of a QR-Code, then register, then buy the ticket. I got an email and there was a pdf attached and on that pdf was my ticket. So, luckily I am completely independent from any public wifi as I have a data flat rate and thus my own hotspot. It wasn’t a problem, but imagine I hadn’t had my data flat rate …

I went up and the view was nice. It was a bit awkward, as the staircase just suddenly ended just below the top. There was no platform, nothing. „No bar, no refreshment,“ the man who had followed me was joking. He looked like Bono Vox from U2 and I had always had a liking for Bono, even though he seems to have become such a self-important bighead. I had noticed „Bono“ before when waiting to be admitted to the spire. He and his wife or girlfriend were kind of unsure if wearing masks was appropriate – wearing masks has become so queer for me after almost four weaks in Sweden and Denmark. „Bono“ was really helpful, kept doors open for me when climbing down again, chatting along. When we left the tower I wanted to know where he was from. His English was cleary „foreign“ but rather fluent and I was unable to attribute it to a certain country. „Italy, Florence“, he said and I was truely surprised.

Leonardo and Hilary are from Florence, but they have a summer house in – Castiglione della Pescaia. That’s were I’ve spend my autumn holidays every year ever since my boys were born! What coincidence! We exchanged Facebook details and promised to meet up in autumn!

I was getting „filled up“ with images of this town and decided to slowly cycle back. It took me almost an hour to get back to the car. Even though Kopenhagen had not been as crowded as many places I have visited before it was more crowded than Stockholm and after having changed camp every single night ever since I left Stockholm I was really longing for a place where I could stay for a few nights, just stay, do laundry, get the van a bit more organised, read, catch up with my blog, etc.

I had happened to read an entry about a campsite on the Isle of Mön close to the cliffs. And when I had mentioned this to my friend Ruth she had sent me pics of herself when she was a child. She told me, that she had spent every summer on Mönstrandcamping in Ulvshale. So that was it – I called them, they had a place for me and off I drove to the island of Mön.

Again, when driving out of Kopenhagen on the „motorring“, the circular road around town, I got into dense traffic and hold-ups. Yes, after my Sweden S P A C E experience I was undoubtly back in normal western Europe, crowded, even though not yet as much as many places in Germany, France, Italy or Switzerland. This was yet to come.

4 August 2021

It had been a rather spontanous idea to go to Sweden, due to Corona travel restrictions to Great Britain. Apart from Ikea and ABBA I had almost had no idea of Sweden before I came. My Swedish friend had warned me of the dark forests and lonely places, of bears and wolves and lots of elks on the road. I have seen the „Elk crossing“ sign, but also a „Duck crossing“ sing and a „Boar (Wildschwein) crossing“ sign. But I have not seen a single duck, boar or elk crossing my route. I have only seen elks far away in an oat field. I saw several squirrels, three badgers (Dachs – I think that’s what they were), a young deer and some undefinable carcasses on the road. I was suprised how „few“ dead animal there were given the wilderness of the country and the sheer size of it. But, in Sweden you are merely allowed to drive 110 and most „motorways“ are only partially doubletracked, so there is not much overtaking.

Swedes are very patient when it comes to queuing, but there are not so patient when it comes to parking or crossing the road. I found it rather irritating when I crossed the road and mistook the distance of an approaching car by some fractions of seconds. The oncoming driver had probably to get off the gas for a sec or two. He certainly did not have to break to let me pass and yet, when passing me he showed me his clenched fist in anger – it was a white, very white hand by the way (no foreigner).

On the same day I experienced a similarly irriting incident: I was driving down the road when there was kind of a „puppet“ tied to a pole at the side of the road. The puppet was wearing a yellow warning-vest. When I came closer I realised it was just an empty pair of trousers, jacket with the warning-vest and cap. Yet, one sleeve of the jacket was holding a makeshift gun and this gun was pointing at the oncoming drivers as if too shoot them – bash bash bash. Is this how Swedish right wing extremism becomes apparant?

The Swedes are very polite. I found the campsites very clean and orderly, even these rather improvised ’stellpläts‘ on Öland or at Kaeseberga. But, you have to follow their rules. If you don’t, they unmistakenly tell you right away that you have to do otherwise. With Covid and also because of fire prevention regulations I often had to park my van in a certain direction on the campground, and there had to be a distance of 4 meters. So, no individuality there. When I had parked my van in Eksjö in the wrong corner I was told so by a neighbour right away and I had to park it on the other side of my slot, even though the distance to the next neighbour was about 12 metres. You have to park straight, often even facing your front to a certain direction and having only one slide door this means that maybe the whole campsite can look into your „living room“.

Yet, I feel sorry to leave Sweden!

Sweden is:

• someone taking out a towel and sunbathe on the lawn in front of the Riksdaghuset in Stockholm – the equivalent of the Bundeshaus.

• toy pram, tricyle or similar children’s toys standing at the edge of road – to make drivers slow down

• a wheelchair in the middle of nowhere in Smâland and also a wheeled walker (Rollator), maybe for the same purpose – I have not found out

• disabled and old people not hiding and probably being well respected in public

• those huge American cars, so many of them, so beautiful, crazy!

• you pay by card – even Bengt Andersson Jordgubbe for 49 Kroner, Fr. 4.90

• take the road out of town, past the church, into the woods, follow it for about 6km and there on an open field stands a – buddhist stupa! It even was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama himself!

• warm Kanelbulle !! (Zimtschnecken)!

• Löppis (privater Flohmarkt) at every street corner

• churches with a kid’s corner at the far end from the alter. That’s how the kids do not get bored and keep quiet during mass. How children friendly! How ingenious!

• S P A C E

4 August 2021

I slept very well close to such a special place like Alenar Stena, and … woke up without any alarm clock. It was 4h50 Should I make the effort or rather stay in cosy bed? No, I can have cosy bed every morning but Alenar Stena only now.

So, trying to be very, very quiet, I took the bike down the rack, quickly had a morning toilet and cycled to the hill and walked up.

I was not alone. There were two young Indian or Sri Lankan couples. They seemed to have a liking for each other and were making fun. There was even a radio playing some Indian music – how inappropriate at such a place as Alenar Stena. Indians do not seem to care. I left them quickly and went over to the far end of the „ship“ where I was alone and did not hear any music.

It was not as spectaculous as I had expected but it was nice all the same to see the sun rise behind the nearby hills and spell her warm light onto the standing stones. Down in the dales mist, emerged from the cold humidity of the night, lingering over the fields. It was a very peaceful view and reminded me of my first journeys to Engand (I was hardly 18 when I drove to England with my friend Christoph on my motorbike. We made it down to Cornwall and we even went into central London, a thing I would never dare again. But, youth is fearless and sometimes also a bit too careless. Well, it all went well, but still.)

A little later a woman had joined my end of the „ship“. I don’t know why but I addressed her in German. I thought I had heard her speaking German, but actually she was on her own. It turned out that she was German but had been married to a Swede for 25 years and lived near Stockholm. We took pictures of each other standing in the oval of the stones. Then I left this special place and headed for breakfast. It’s nice to be able to visit such places here in Sweden without having to pay a huge entrance fee. The artefact itself demands your awe.

An hour later or so I was in Ystad. I wanted to have a look at this town because it was the centre of Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander who-did-it stories. I have only read, or rather heard as an audio, one of his detective stories but I want to read or hear more of them and it is always nice to see the place where stories get inspired from.

Again, it was pretty easy to find a parking slot even for my long vehicle I’m always very scared of going into town centres because Swiss places are always so crowded and it is so difficult to find a place to park. The lady at the tourist office was really helpful and showed me the best way to get most of the little town in only little time.

Apart from Wallander Ystad is known for its beautiful half-timbered houses (Fachwerkhäuser). I bought my last cardbox of Jodegubbar at a market stall and then had actually difficulty finding the Ystad Studios, where 44 Wallander films have been made since 2004. In the exebition at the Studios you see Wallander’s fake office and living room. There are also some props of the Bron/Brön/Bridge Netflix series, for example Saga Noren’s famous green coat. I’ve actually seen the series and liked the autistic woman detective as well as her Danish counterpart, even though I thought some murders were pretty brutal. This was actually also the reason why I stil wanted to have a real good view on the Öresundbridge.

Leaving Ystad I tried again to follow the coastline. I passed Trellenborg where the ferry from Germany arrives. At one time, I just headed down the road and found a nice ‚glas‘ (ice-cream) stall, sat in the dunes for a while and looked out onto the Baltic sea.

I had thought that the view from Skanör onto the bridge would have been great, but it was too far away. On Tripadvisor I found an entry that there is a viewing spot right next to the bridge in the outskirts of Malmö in Limhamn. And the view IS very nice from there!

And then I drive over the bridge …

2 – 3 August 2021

The weather has become very changable and generally cooler. It starts drizzling again when I make off along the western coast of the island slowly back to Färjestaden where the bridge will lead me back to mainland Sweden. It is extremly windy, even for my taste. I like Öland though. I have read about some more prehistoric places here and having always been fascinated by dolmen and so on I suddenly spot a few people walking in what seems a field. There is also a windmill nearby once again. The stones are set in the form of a ship. Gettlinge Gravfält is said to be one of the biggest graveyards of its kind on the island. There are more than 200 graves and it was used from around A.D. till the viking times.

I also pass a prehistoric table and there are certainly many more interesting places waiting to be visited, but the weather becomes ghastly and so I do not feel like getting out of the car and into the wind and rain. I drive on.

I’m on the road to Karlskrona, which is supposed to be an interisting naval town. And once again, upon arrival, the sun peeks out again.

But even the sun cannot do anything about the view that opens up to me when I arrive at Karlskrona’s campsite. It is sooo big, and there are such biiiig mobil-homes, and so incredible many of them. I just can’t, I can’t. So, I drive to the ‚Stellpläts‘ at the harbour seafront – all taken, not very cosy. I have learnt to trust and not panic, not to put up with it if my first attempt at finding a place for the night is not a big hit. Does Karlskrona look inviting enough to go for a stroll? No. I drive out of town and a little further south I find a family campsite right at the waterfront in the archipelago. I there also start chatting to Martin and Annette from Tegernsee, Bavaria. They had just arrived in Sweden and were happy to listen to some of my advice. We had a long chat!

The archipelago – yes, it IS beautiful. But after a while it is really repetitive. I’m happy to go for a morning walk, do my plank on one of the rock out there. Then I leave again. I realise that I’m slowly satisfied with nice pictures, experiences and memories and I kind of do not want to overdo the thing. On top, things to see and visit are far apart in Sweden. So, is it really worth to drive a detour of maybe 40kms to go and have a look at another glassbowing workshop? I’ve already seen two and for sure I will be tempted again and buy some nice glass. So, no. I’m longing for a change, something really different, no forest, no archipelago, something different.

But there are two more things that I want to see before leaving Sweden: Ystad and have a good look at the Öresundbridge. I try to drive on the road close to the sea. But this seems to be tricky as my GPS always tries to lead me onto the fastest track and that’s normally not the one along the coast. As I have no-one to guide me I have to stop several times, turn around but finally I manage to drive a long the coast and it’s really nice.

I stop in Simrishavn, which is supposed to be a nice, though touristy place. We are not in Smâland anymore, that’s for sure. This most southern part of Sweden had been Danish for some time and you can see right away. Red or other coloured brick stone houses, which you are also typical for northern Germany, have replaced the falun red timber houses.

Also the landscape has changed: A lot of open crop fields, farming land, cattle grazing. I like the more open landscape here after all the dark wood, though, I must say it is not as special, as Swedish as it was „up there“ in Smâland and beyond. And I really liked that typical Swedish ‚thing‘, especially in Fellingsbro!

Hennig Mankell, who I heard first of actually in realtion with Africa, long before I heard about the Kurt Wallander detective stories, because he often travelled to Mozambique and also Sénégal, said about the region of Skâne:

„I grew up among the forest of inner Norrland I think my spruce forest quota was more than filled at that time. Later, I soguht out open landscapes such as Skâne. This is also border country. This is where Sweden ends, or begins depending on where you are coming from There is a special dynamic to Österlen and the Ystad area that continues to atrract me.“ I found this description of the change that one can see coming to Skâne very appropriate.

Simrishavn is crowded. I see people wearing face masks again after such a long time, even shop-assistants. I realise that I’m not used to that anymore and fear the moment when I will cross the border to Germany again. Stay in Sweden and Denmark as long as you can, gives you the idea of „normality“. The atmosphere in the small town reminds me of English towns.

I try to pay in cash now as I am about to leave Sweden. I have almost not used any cash during these three weeks. It was only in the little country-side shop run by a friend of Maria’s where I woud have had to pay in cash as I have no „swish“ which is the Swedsh equivalent of our „twint“. Ironically, I did not have enough cash there to buy my white Gotland sheep skin and Maria had to lend me some.

Sweden wants to become cashless – I had changed some cash after my market experience in Denmark, where I only could pay in cash. In Sweden you can pay virtually everything, even an ice-cream at an odd stall, without cash. I even bought „Jordgubbe – strayberries“ from an old man at the market in Ystad and he was equipped to greet my debit card. I am very, very happy and lucky to have brought my multi-currency debit-card (WISE, sorry, have to promote it here as it is great!) It has worked perfectly both in Sweden and Denmark. The multi-currency debit card is great as you change money according to your needs and there is no expensive changing fee applied each time you change, the exchange rate is fair and you get an sms instantly after a purchase. You can also change only small amounts and once your Swedish kroner account is empty you will be debited automatically from one of your other accounts. So, unless you have no money at all, you are never out of money.

Martin and Annette from Bavaria had told me about Alenar Stena, the big standing stones near the village of Kaeseberga. They had been disappointed by the many tourists visiting the place. Yet, compared to Stonehenge it is a afternoon tea party that you meet at Alenar Stena. Annette had also mentioned that one is allowed to stay overnight on the parkground for a small fee. So, I arrived rather relaxed. I was fully equipped with fresh water, food and my emergency toilet at hand – nothing could happen to me. I was autark. So, I asked right away for a parking space to stay overnight (instead of staying in Ystad between railway and noisy main road). I had a look around. The places with electricity had already been taken. The spaces were huge. There was one sections for vans and mobilhome and one for cars. I reckoned that the cars would not stay overnight. So, if I parked my van close to that area I would not have any ugly Hymer or other huge ‚Husbil‘ in front of me. My plan would work out fine! To my surprise this ‚Stellpläts‘ was even equipped with toilets and showers and a simple sink to wash your dishes! Almost as good as a campsite – for 150 kroner.

So, late afternoon I went up to Alenar Stena. There were quite some people, but less than I had actually expected. And it is an impressive site, right up there on the hill. Just enjoy the pictures …

I also went down to the nearby harbour and found a fish smoke house where I equipped myself with all sorts of marinated and smoked herring. It would become a wonderful dinner! I still had some potatoes which I cooked on my tiny stove and ready was my meal.

At the harbour I – for the first time – really felt close to the sea. There was the smell of bladderwrack and other seaweed and tangle in the air. There were a few sailing boats towed to the shore and I was getting a taste of my sailing trip in Brittany in around two weeks‘ time. I was standing on the harbour mole for a long time. The archipelago had never looked like the „sea“. It looks like a lake all the time, yet beautiful it is as well.

When the sun set I was furious about mayself that I had not wited to go up to Alenar Stena now or gone up a second time. It was too late now, the sun already down.

The internet was crap, so after a long chat with the Dutch people next to me and a young German couple I went to sleep. I thought … shall I get up early, very early, to greet the new day up there at Alenar Stena …

1 August 2021

I have made it a habit, the two minutes‘ plank I’m doing every morning, ever since I went for morning walks with Maria in Fellingsbro. So, also here I go for a nice walk around the point of the peninsula with nice views onto the water and do my plank.

Before I will drive down to Kalmar and over the six kilometer long bridge to the island of Öland I pay a visit to Pataholm supposingly being a nice village. It is, alright, a handful of timber houses again situated at the sea, a gallery and a café. I have a nice piece of cake and a far too strong coffee which will cause mildly severe heart problems afterwards – ughh.

Then I drive over to Öland. As everybody, so I was told, goes to the northern beaches, I’m heading to the south of the island. Öland is about one 147 kms long but only 16 kms wide. The scenery has changed considerably. I have got used to thick mixed forests here in Smâland, spruce (Fichte), aspen (Esche), alder (Erle) and birch (Birke). Here forest patches alternate with wide open crop fields. The landscape reminds me of those in England, Brittany or parts of Ireland – and I instantly feel at home. There are windmills scattered along the road and a strong wind is rattling at my van.

There are also prehistoric alignements, little Stonehenge or rather Carnac, but far less impressive as those of Carnac in Brittany. The nice thing being that you can still walk between them and there is exactly one tourist – me!

In Carnac you are only allowed to walk past some of the standing stones. It was not vandalism but the sheer vabriation of marching steps caused by the thousands of visitors that made some of the stones fall. So, authorities inhibited free walking in most places.

I drive to the far southern end of Öland, Södra Udde, and as I have always a liking of lighthouses, the guardian of the sea, I have to cast an eye on Lange Jan, or Long John, what it would be in English.

Then I turn round and drive a few kilometers back to a private ‚Stellpläts‘ at the village of Össby, near the windmill of Drottning Öda that I’ve seen on the way. It’s a harvested field, the shed converted into a service room, toilet, shower, even cooking facilities, simple but everything neatly organised and clean – Swedish! There are only a few more campers and I feel much better here then I would have on the crowded campsite further south.

Again, there is space. And I need it. I need these vast skies, the wind, the serenity of it, to allow my thoughts to fly, flow, reshape, gyre, plumet, being discarded.

I cycle down the road to the small hamlet of Össby and to the tiny harbour. There is a table and two chairs waiting to be sit on and I do, looking onto the vast void of the Baltic sea.

In spite of the rough wind it is cosy behind and in my van. The sunset is gorgeous again. I talk to a friend in Switzerland and then, when I go to the service house once more just before sleeping, night and quietness have fallen onto this strech of land. I am at peace.

I’ve been working on Jon Krakauer’s „Into the Wild“, the story of 24 year old Chris McCandless, who was so much looking for solitude, kind of finding an inner dialogue with himself, being exposed to minimalised living standards in nature in Alaska. He was not headless nor stupid, even though you may call him naïve. This book was the appropriate lecture for the vast and empty forests of Sweden’s midlands. When Chris McCandless had come to terms with himself – which he actually did at one time, because HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED and decided to return back to civilisation, he found the route he had taken a few weeks before cut off by a now fast running torrent. The water of the melting glaciers had made the river impassable. Instead of looking for a different way out of the wilderness McCandless wanted to stay in the wilderness until the river would have become passable again. It was then, when he, looking for food, ate some poisonous berries and starved.

Sweden is certainly not a country to be visited for lonely hearts but rather loners. It was good to be exposed to the serenity and placidity of this country. Yet, now I’m slowly longing for more companionship. MacCandless‘ quote also recalls the famous saying by Albert Schweitzer for me: „Happiness is the only thing that is doubled when shared.“ I’d like to thank Martin and Annette, Denise, Mikael, Leonardo and Hilary, the family from La Rochelle, and all the others for talking to me. Solitude is nice, but companionship is nicer.

There it is – the hare greeting the morning.

At this stage I have to apologise to my readers for not having published anything for a couple of days. First, I did not have decent internet access even though I do not depend on campsites‘ servers. Secondly, due to some bugs I had major problems with publishing e.g. this post, which I mistakenly thought to be already online but had to rewrite today (7th August 2021).

31 July 2021

Before I headed south I wanted to go hiking, or rather cycling for a short while in the archipelago. There was a hike described in my guide book but the time I should have spent, had been 4.5 hours, which I did not want and did not have. Thus, I decided to cycle some of the way. First I had to get to Östra Ed. My GPS led me there on gravel roads – 30 kilometers.

The road was not that bad, though, no potholes. In Östra Ed I had to turn into the woods again for another 16 kilometers till I got the the one and almost only parking space. I’m glad I’ve bought the Thule bike rack. It’s so easy for me now to get the bike up and down. I decided to take my normal bike, not the e-bike, in order to be a bit sporty – and off I went.

The archipelago is beautiful, alright, but after a while it gets somehow repetitive, especially if you cycle, walk, drive through the arboreus parts of the peninsulas. It took me about half an hour to get to Torrö. Here again I found an appealing large variety of different trees, surrounded by an ever so rich variety of moss and lichen – many shades of green.

Then suddenly, a bridge and the sea. This is the archipelago. Hidden views on stony islands.

Once back at my van I took the road southward. I was listening to The Cure’s „A forest“, quite adequate after such an outing, cruised down the E22. Rainy clouds were lingering once again, the sky very overcast. Then first, heavy drops, followed by rather heavy rain. It looked as if it was getting night – or Swedish wintry afternoon. I stopped at a café because I was getting tired, needed a coffee. Unfortunately the „apple cake“ tempted me as I had not eaten anything for quite a while and I made the big mistake to order it – mistake, as I have never ever eaten such a horrible, crumbling dry, pathetic rubbery apple cake. The boy who served me did his best to please, heated it – but it was all but in vain. Imagine a mouthful of sand with a sticky ruberband in it and then you are quite near to what it felt eating it.

Then, when I arrived at Mönsteräs, on the island of Oknö to be precise, the clouds had magically vanished and warm rays of sunlight lit my next camp – close to the water and a beach.

The guy at the reception was really nice!!

30 July 2021

How many islands are there in Sweden? The Stockholm Archipelago (Schärgarten; Skärgard) is only one of Swedens archipelagos.

I’ve left Stockholm for good. Stockholm had been my turnaround point. I will not drive farther north nor east, but head southwards again. My first stop is Söderköping, a marketplace around an hour’s drive from Stockholm. Again I find nicely coloured timber houses, a brook running through the town’s centre and the nearby Göta Canal with its locks. One lock is situated at Söderköping and again and again I find it fascinating how ships can be lifted with the help of locks.

Probably the biggest attraction is the ice-cream, though. People come from far and wide to get the famous Smultronstället ice-cream. And the Swedes, if it comes to fabulous ice-cream, are patient to queue up for a long time to get the delicacy.

From Söderköping it is only half an hour’s drive to get into the achipelago. When driving you do not notice until you get to the far end of one of the peninsulas. Fyrudden is such a place. The nearby campsite is too crowded for my taste and I turn round. All the town’s parking spaces for mobilhomes are already taken and the atmosphere there is not of my liking at all. Retired couples, TV, dog, biiiiigggg mobil-homes. The bigger the better.

In the end I’m fed up with looking for a place and turn to Grännäs Campsite, just outside of the small town of Valdemarsvik. And there I find it, my pitch, first row, unspoiled view onto the Valdemarsviken fjord. It starts raining for about the tenth time today, drizzling, but I manage to get installed before it gets really wet. And after 30 minutes or so the sun peeks out behind the still thick, heavy rainclouds again, displaying her arc of a rainbow onto the landscape. Nice.

Waking up in such a place – marvellous. Boundless beauty. Yet, I do feel a little lonely here. My Danish neighbours are kind, my Dutch neighbours as well (driving a Tesla and camping). The view reminds me of New Zealand’s far north South Island Marlborough Sounds. Yes, it would be grand sailing here. But I cannot. So I decide to leave my every so nice but a little bit boring place and head down further south. I don’t like not knowing where to stay when I’m driving on my own. So, I call a campsite near Monsterås on the island Ökna and the guy on the phone is really kind, tries to find the best place left for me.

I’m looking forward to this day, all relaxed, may it rain or shine.

A personal note: I’m writing this blog as a daily task to practice my English in times of Corona. Sometimes, the programme does not do what I want it to. So, for example I’ve just noticed that a rather large entry on the Vasa ship has not been updated nor saved, so I had to rewrite it from scratch.

As I am on my own I would also enjoy any encouraging comments or feedback (also in German of course) – which I will not publish as long as you do not give me permission to do so.

25 – 30 July 2021

Stockholm surprises: Compared to for example Zurich there is pretty little traffic in Stockholm. As anywhere in Sweden there is space. This is also due to the fact that Stockholm is built on 14 islands – so there is water-space in between these islands.

The old quarter Gamla Stan, where you find the Royal Palace and the Academy of Sweden (Nobelprize) is built on a rather small island and streets are narrow. And still, you never get the feeling of being cornered, because just a few steps ahead the narrow lanes open up to wide water space and the eye can relax.

Stockholm is a truly historical city. Most building are Renaissance or Barock buildings. It all could perfectly serve as the background to any historical feature film. You even find the all so typical, colourful Swedish timber houses in some places in Stockholm.

Djurgarden, the former royal hunting grounds, have become an spacious nearby recreation area. Some of the most important museums are located at the end closest to the city on the same island.

I enjoy Stockholm riding my bike. Luckily I have brought my e-bike as some quarters of Stockholm like Södermalm are pretty hilly. It is great fun to ride a bike in Stockholm as there are special lanes almost everywhere, it’s pretty well sign-posted for bikes and generelly the city is not as cramped as Swiss cities. I know, I have said it before, but it makes me happy again and again: There is space! I also take the ferry-boat twice, more for fun and to enjoy the view on the historical city centre from a different angle, and once, because it started to rain. Yes, now I have my first drops of rain. I spend those showerly hours in museums and ride home more or less without rain. It’s a relief more than a pain, in fact, as it was too hot and too humid: clothes sticking to your skin, beads of sweat running down your back.

The story behind The Vasa: The Vasa is a Swedish war ship built in the seventeenth century. At her time, she was the most powerfully armed vessel in Europe. Unfortunately, King Gustavus Adolphus, who had ordered her, also approved of ambitious construction plans – the lower part of the hull was to small and the vessel became unstable. When it was about to leave Stockholm harbour on 10th August 1628 it only sailed for about 1400 meters and listed (krängen, in Schieflage kommen) so much that water came in through the canon holes and thus it foundered. It was lying at the bottom of Stockhom harbour for more than three centuries before it was found, salvaged, lifted, restored and put into the Vasa museum. As tragical as this sounds it is only due to the fact of its foundering that we now are able to look at such a vessel in a museum. I assure you, it’s huge!

Apart from seeing The Vasa, you also learn a lot about life on board such a ship in the 17th century, as well as about conversation methods, in the Vasa Muset.

Of course I also have to pay a visit to the ABBA museum. It was my first ESC when they won it with ‚Waterloo‘ in 1973. I was eight years old then and henceforth a true and faithful ABBA fan, even playing some of their songs on the piano. I find it worth while visiting. It’s just nice to remember those days and their famous songs and read about them, remember the posters that you had stuck on bedroom walls – stupid as I am I have given away all my vinyl only a few years ago. Now I’ve bought some again in a second hand record shop – just because …

I also go to the Skansen Museum, which is what we know as Ballenberg in Switzerland. Houses from all over Sweden have been rebuilt here and you learn about daily life, tradtion and customs in Sweden. Unfortunately, some of the workshops are closed again, probably due to the pandemic. Still, I enjoy my time here and watch the glasblowers doing their job. What strikes me is that the two men have to work in close colaboration. It’s a give and take job and each of the two has to be ready for the next step at the exact moment.

There’s also a zoo part in Skansen. So, I get to see an elk from ’not so far away‘ and also reindeer.

On my last day I just ride around and have a look again at this beautiful city, for example the Stadhuset – Stadthaus.

I’ve spent four varied, interesting days here in Stockholm and I hope it will not be last time that I’ve visited this city – the same is true for the country itself. I keep growing to like it.

By the way, yesterday GB announced that they would allow inoculated people to enter Great Britain without quarantine from coming Monday onwards. Scotland will follow the example. Yet, it’s too late for me as for many other people. I’ve alreay spent two rich weeks here in Sweden and also used my English quite a bit. It’s a pity that I have not been able to travel to Scotland, but I went to Sweden without any expectations and am surprised at the beauty and the richness of this country. So, in the end, it might have been a good thing. The weather has turned ‚Scottish‘ today – windy, rainy, overcast … bye Stockholm. I’m on the road again.

25 July 2021

It is rather hard for me to leave Maria and Per – these have been wonderful, peaceful days and I was able to practice a lot of English, as for once I had someone to chat with for hours. I truly enjoyed my stay in Tåje a lot.

Yet, I hit the road again. Before I turn to Stockholm, my next destination, I pay a visit to Kvarntorphögen, a steep hill south of Örebro. Scattered on the hill there are a lot of modern sculptures. It’s hot and I don’t want to walk up the steep hill, yet, my van amost doesn’t make it, so steep is the gravel road.

I like the rusty key tree, the church and the human being climbing up the pole. There are other sculptures which I don’t like so much. But I find it an interesting idea to place such sculpture in the middle of nowhere, or actually just onto this hill. Apart from the sculpture there’s a ski-lift, which reminds me that Sweden is a snowy and cold country – at least in winter time. With almost 30 degrees and no shade it’s rather difficult to imagine kids practicing skiing on that slopy hill.

My next stop is Julita Manor nicely situated right at Öljären lake. Somehow the Manor is open and yet not open, as the normal entrance is closed, yet, you are admitted. I don’t quite figure it all out as my Swedish is definitively not good enough to understand longer instructions. So, I don’t pay the parking fee, because I first need to download an app and it’s all too complicated and hope that they will turn a blind eye to a Swiss tourist. I wander around for half an hour or so. It’s a very beautiful manor, alright, but somehow there would have been workshops, where you should have been able to learn something about everyday life on such a big manor. However, those workshops are all closed – maybe due to the pandemic.

Finally, around 17h00 in the afternoon I arrive at Långholmen, Stockholm’s former prison island (the prison is now converted into a hotel) at the caravan site, which is really located perfectly for exploring Stockholm by bike or pubic transport. Långholmen itself is a nice recreational island in the middle of Stockholm, with lawns to sunbathe and relax. There is even a small beach, you can rent kayaks, sups or have „fika“ in nice cafés at its shores.

The caravan site – and it’s really a caravan site! – is located just below a huge bridge connecting the islands of Södermalm, Långholmen and Kungsholmen (Stockholm is built on 14 islands.) So, there is quite a bit of noise, topped with the noise from planes in the air corridor about to land at Stockholm’s Bromma airport. So, I decide to sleep „downstairs“ in my van. That’s a bit quieter.

I had booked my pitch at Långholmen Husbils („Hausauto“=Wohnmobil) Camping in advance and I asked for a pitch near the water – which I got. And in the morning I was even able to change it to the one and only with no-one next to – so I literally got the best place on the site!!! And here I sit writing this now. A duck family has just visited me, there was a squirrel in the morning and – well, I’ve also spotted a rat. I was not so pleased about the last one, took all my garbage into the car at night. I also had a chat with a Swiss couple from Sankt Gallen who told me that there was medication to prevent a Covid infection (Chlor-d …f…? – dioxyde) and they knew exactly they wouldn’t get it, even without being vacinated. Well, I don’t know. Anyhow, I have to admit, life without face masks is wonderful here in Sweden.

By the way, I see a picture in the online Guardian newspaper of emptied shelves in supermarkets in England obviously due to self-imposed isolation and quarantine or so … I’m glad I decided to go to Sweden instead of GB and Ireland – I also had a look at the covid positive rates in Europe, and Sweden is still far less affected than either Ireland or GB.