Our last day on the good ship, Diana. We left Vänersborg at 6.45am. Our first stop, after a couple of hours, was at Trollhättan Canal Museum. This was really fascinating as it told the story of the opening up of a route from Lake Vänern to the sea for commercial use. Outside, the evidence still remained in the shape of the original locks (with all lock gates and mechanism removed), which quickly became obsolete as larger boats than they could take began to be used, and also a later and larger set of locks, although these are no longer in use.
Our boat entered a staircase consisting of four locks, with a total drop of 32 meters. Of the three lock systems here this, the biggest one (from 1916), is the only one still in use. The rest of the day was spent on board, motoring at quite a speed along the Trollhättan Canal where we arrived in Göteborg late afternoon. Last photos were taken, farewells to fellow travellers and the crew of the boat, and we then walked the short distance to our hotel, which is very nice.
We ended the day by going out for pizza and then back to our hotel via the station to check how long we needed to allow for the walk to it in the morning. Göteborg is Sweden's second largest city. We like it very much and would like to make a return visit.
Amanda
Sadly, our last day on the Diana. The morning
visit was a fitting last one though. We moored at the top of the
Trollhättan locks and spent some time in the museum which told the
history, and exploring the area around the locks, before returning to
the boat for the descent. There have been three sets of locks, the
first two date from the 19th century, and the last one, the one still
in use, from the early 20th century. They are all hewn or blasted out
of the pre-existing rock, and the disused ones form gorgeous ravines.
A very beautiful site, shown off well by a return to decent weather.
A leisurely lunch, and an afternoon cruising the last leg and spent
mostly on deck despite a chilly breeze, and we arrived in Göteborg
just before 5pm. It has been a wonderful trip. Sad farewells, and
then we walked the short distance to the rather splendid Elite Plaza
Hotel. I was glad I asked, without much expectation of a positive
answer, whether any of the rooms had a bath, because the kind
receptionist managed to find us one. What bliss! Showers are all very
well, but I have missed the luxury of a bath. We went in search of pizza, wanting something simple after all the lovely meals we have
been enjoying, and after that, a bottle of wine and an indulgent
cookie dough ice cream between us, we felt quite mellow. A walk back
to the hotel via the station to suss it out for the morning, and
Geoff is already snoring!
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