Saturday 3 September 2016

Öregrund - Friday, 2 September

Geoff
We took a walk this morning to a weir on Laxön. I'd been there earlier before breakfast. We were able to see how the island probably got its name (lax being Swedish for salmon). Water came tumbling through the weir or sluice and downstream of it salmon were leaping out of the water, some of them quite sizeable. It was an amazing sight.

I was given a haircut this morning. At the Clas Ohlson store the week before last, I bought a hair trimmer with all manner of attachments. Today it was used for the first time. Amanda did a pretty good job of giving me a 12mm all over cut.

We didn't have too far to drive today. We will have a leisurely meander down the coast over the next few days. The road today was almost deserted, with delightful forest on both sides. At one point, I ordered that the sky ahead be photographed. It was a clear blue and the small clouds looked as if they had been stuck on. It looked so unusual.

We are in Öregrund, a small town on the coast. There is space for just three campers  next to the water; we were first to arrive and bagged the best spot. The other two are now occupied. There is actually another place not far away with a further five spaces. I took a walk this afternoon, via the library to find out about wifi and then through woodland next to the coast. So much of this area is built on smooth rock and there was a rocky outcrop I went on which ended with metal steps down into the water for anyone brave enough to take a swim. The centre of the town is very attractive.

There is supposedly wifi on the harbour where we are but a code is needed from the tourist office. However, that closed for the year on 28 August!

From where we are, the island of Gräsö is maybe half a mile away. We can see the ferry going back and forth. It is yellow and, apparently, that indicates that there is no charge to use it (part of the transport infrastructure). We plan to go over to Gräsö tomorrow.

Amanda
This morning I was brave enough to trim Geoff's hair with the new hair trimmer - I refused to do it before we went on the cruise - and he is pleased with the results. We had a lovely walk before leaving through woods to a third weir/dam which also had salmon traps, and we watched the amazing sight of huge silvery salmon leaping fully out of the tumbling water, glinting in the sunlight as they swam downstream. The island, Laxön, takes its name from the salmon. We drove for just under an hour down the coast to the little seaside town of Oregrund, where we were early enough to snaffle the prime place of three designated free camper places on the little harbour. Sitting out is like having a private waterside balcony. A poster outside the Turist Byro (now closed at the end of the season) says "this charming little town from 1491 is one of Sweden's best preserved wooden settlements and is the only town on the east coast where one can watch the sun go down over the sea. In the 1870s, Oregrund became the east coast's most popular beach resort and spa town - a sparkling summer idyll which is alive throughout the year." We have indeed watched the sun go down over the sea, and the little yellow ferry going backwards and forwards across to the island of Gräsö opposite. And it is indeed all very charming. Now that the nights are drawing in, the DVD player has come out for the first time, and two episodes of Yes, Minister have been duly watched and enjoyed before bed. We have been much relieved to know that our grandson, Toby, is home after a night in hospital following a general anaesthetic and bronchoscopy to remove some peanuts he had inhaled. I don't expect he will be tempted to help himself to peanuts without permission again for a while, poor little chap!


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