We left late, having got some clothes washing done and treated ourselves to possibly the best ever Danish pastries from the site shop. We set the sat nav for Charlottenberg, just over the border into Sweden with the intention of refuelling there. Diesel (and everything else) is cheaper in Sweden. It turned out to be a very pleasant route across country, passing through very few villages. We stopped by a lake for lunch. There was so little traffic - maybe a vehicle passed us by every five minutes or so. It was a undulating winding route, through forest (Norwegian Wood?) most of the way, quite lovely. For maybe ten miles after our lunch stop, the road clearly had been metalled but at some point stopped being maintained, so was rough and potholed in places.
We had been intending to stay overnight at a site a few miles into Sweden but, on reaching the border at 5pm, we espied a camper stop so turned round and went to it. It is a gem of a place. There is an information centre where we took advantage of free wifi (and will do so again before we leave in the morning), loos and showers (daytime only) but a separate loo open 24 hours. One of the ladies in the information centre took a photo of us either side of the border (which passes through the building). The name, Morokulien, is a made up word. A notice board explains that the word "was formed in a Swedish/Norwegian radio entertainment programme called "Across all borders" in 1959, with the purpose of raising money for refugees in the world. The name is a word game composed of both the Norwegian and Swedish word for "fun" - "Moro + kul + ien" (fun + fun + into one)."
Nearby is a peace monument built in 1914 in gratitude for 100 years of peace between Sweden and Norway. It precisely straddles the border.
This point also marks the start of the Finnskogleden, a 240km trail through "a varied terrain of forests, marshlands and waters". I think they mean lakes as there are a number along the route. It seems quite a remote route which I've already added to my mental list of walks to do.
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| Finnskogleden |
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| Morokulien |
As we didn't have to be off the site until 2pm, we
spent a useful morning catching up on washing and getting it all dry
in the brilliant sunshine! What a change in the weather! This site
really is very impressive. It is only open during the summer, but
certainly has a great feel to it, especially when the sun is shining.
We would definitely recommend it. The small shop even had freshly
baked Danish pastries, which we enjoyed with our coffee.
Our cross country route to the border was lovely, and just how I imagined Norway. Vistas of blue-green wooded hills as far as the eye could see. We went down some very rough unmetalled roads through forests and past lakes and found an idyllic lunch stop. We came across very little traffic. At one point we turned off to go into a small town and found an excellent supermarket where we spent our remaining Norwegian kroner on some treats.
It was about 5 by the time we reached the border at Morokulien, a made up name which I'm sure G will mention and explain further in his blog. We noticed a few campervans in a large lovely wooded car park so quickly turned off the road to investigate. It is another free Camperstop. There is a great information centre which actually straddles the border, with loos, free wifi and comfortable settees
open from 9 to 6, with showers as well for a small charge. And a loo outside the building open all night. It is also the beginning of a 150 mile trail. I think G was seriously wondering whether it might be possible to set off on it right now. Hmm! There are lovely walks in both directions, so he can explore further in the morning. There is also a Peace Statue here, straddling the border and erected in 1914 to mark 100 years of peace between Norway and Sweden, and a pagoda and bell given by South Korea in 2010. An amazing place altogether, and quite unexpected.
Our cross country route to the border was lovely, and just how I imagined Norway. Vistas of blue-green wooded hills as far as the eye could see. We went down some very rough unmetalled roads through forests and past lakes and found an idyllic lunch stop. We came across very little traffic. At one point we turned off to go into a small town and found an excellent supermarket where we spent our remaining Norwegian kroner on some treats.
It was about 5 by the time we reached the border at Morokulien, a made up name which I'm sure G will mention and explain further in his blog. We noticed a few campervans in a large lovely wooded car park so quickly turned off the road to investigate. It is another free Camperstop. There is a great information centre which actually straddles the border, with loos, free wifi and comfortable settees
open from 9 to 6, with showers as well for a small charge. And a loo outside the building open all night. It is also the beginning of a 150 mile trail. I think G was seriously wondering whether it might be possible to set off on it right now. Hmm! There are lovely walks in both directions, so he can explore further in the morning. There is also a Peace Statue here, straddling the border and erected in 1914 to mark 100 years of peace between Norway and Sweden, and a pagoda and bell given by South Korea in 2010. An amazing place altogether, and quite unexpected.
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