Gräsmarkslägret campsite, Uddheden - Friday, 12 August

Geoff

Not a lot to say about today. An early morning walk in the forest was superb. I thought I was alone but, almost out of nowhere, came a man on a sporting pony trap going at quite a pace.

Before we left, three coach loads of Korean tourists called at the information centre. It must be on their route to somewhere or other.

Most of our driving today was on minor forested roads, not all properly maintained. We stopped for lunch by the church in the village of Gunnarskog, overlooking a lake. We are on a lovely campsite in a forest clearing. It isn't at all crowded and is very quiet. The forest tracks round about are delightful. I photographed some fungi.

Amanda

Three coach loads of Koreans arrived this morning, took photos, and departed before we left. It is clearly on the tourist route for them.

This was another stopover where it was difficult to drag ourselves away. But off we went late morning with light rain set in. More lovely lakes, forests and empty roads, and a late coffee stop and time to read the paper in a church car park with a lovely view. Which also became our lunch stop because we lingered so long. We reached our overnight destination, a nice wooded campsite at Uddheden mid afternoon and hunkered down for a while. It has turned quite chilly as well as damp. Warm jumpers were extracted from their hiding places. I am very glad to have my padded North Face slip-ons with me. They even manage to warm up cold feet. A hot shower was welcome. G donned full waterproofs and went out exploring and declared the surroundings lovely. Maybe tomorrow.....

After a good supper washed down with a glass of red wine he declared that he was feeling quite mellow - until the washing up needed doing!

Meanwhile, I had been busy trying to find a promising stop for tomorrow night. It would be a good three hours driving to reach the Lake Siljan area, and with plenty of time in hand we really aim to do only half that amount each day. But the area between here and there looks pretty empty on all the maps. Pocket Earth is not serving us so well in Sweden. There are more places marked on our road atlas than Pocket Earth has discovered. We plan to head for somewhere around halfway and see what turns up!

Looking forward to my bed!

Morokulien services, Norway/Sweden border - Thursday, 11 August

Geoff
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.

Finnskogleden

Morokulien

 Amanda

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.

Ekeberg Camping, Oslo, Norway - Wednesday, 10 August

Geoff
Today, we took the 34 bus from just outside the campsite to the Central Station. After visiting tourist information, we then took a 30 bus to the Kon-Tiki Museum. I'd bought 24 hour tickets last night at the campsite reception and this worked out very much cheaper than single tickets.

The museum was great. It told the life story of Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian zoologist, who, with five others, set sail in 1947 on a balsa wood raft from Callao near Lima, Peru across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia in an effort to prove that the then residents of the islands might be descended from peoples somewhere in South America. Hitherto, it had been assumed that their ancestors came from somewhere to the west of Polynesia. As the trade winds and currents enabled Kon-Tiki (which had no means of steering), to reach Polynesia after 101 days, the crew proved their theory in the face of earlier incredulity. We watched a 1951 Oscar-winning documentary narrated by Heyerdahl. The Kon-Tiki raft was on display, as was the Ra II, a papyrus reed boat, which undertook another perilous voyage some years later. The Ra II was on display as well.

I read Thor Heyerdahl's book, "The Kon-Tiki Expedition", maybe forty years ago and, I think, "Fatu-Hiva", also by him.

Thor Heyerdahl

Kon-Tiki

We had a superb lunch in the cafe of the adjacent Maritime Museum, rolls generously filled with the most amazingly fresh shrimps and, I think, something like pieces of we call crab sticks. They were lovely. Apart from that, we didn't spend much money. Norwegian prices are horrendous - although we bought a smallish piece of Brie for about £6.00 and a baguette. Both were very good.

Oslo from the Maritime Museum

We had talked about doing the Norway in a Nutshell trip by train out to the coast at Bergen, some seven hours. A journey through a fjord by boat could also be included and we had thought we might manage a night in a hotel in Bergen so as not to cram too much into one day. The price was frightening (although we knew that - it's what is known as spending the kids' inheritance) but, in the event, all trips over the next couple of days were fully booked so that made the decision for us. The thought of seven hours on a crowded train had little appeal anyway. We are now planning to head back into Sweden tomorrow.

Amanda

It rained all night, and at 2.30 the wind got up and G had to go outside and wind the awning in. He also retrieved his washing which had been hanging under the awning but was now lying on the sodden, muddy ground. Some vehicles had to be towed out of the mud this morning.. We shall trust that it will dry out a bit by the time we leave.

We caught the bus into the city and headed straight for a hole in the wall (it's hard work keeping all the different kroner in separate places and then remembering where they are) before catching another bus which gave us the opportunity to see quite a bit of Oslo on our way to the Kon-Tiki Museum on the other side of the harbour. G was very keen to go there having read Thor Heyerdahl's book about the expedition in his twenties. I read it in my early teens, as part of a Guide badge. I can't remember what the badge was, but I think I had to read a  non-fiction book involving exploration of some kind, and that was the available book on my parents' bookshelves. It was such a phenomenon that I think every home probably had one!

The exhibition was well worth a visit, and included the reconstructed original Kon-Tiki and Ra II. We also watched a showing of the original documentary made in 1951, only 4 years after the expedition. Our adventure pales into insignificance compared to the crew's 101 day achievement.
Our "make it up as we go along" philosophy has served us well so far, but hit a bit of a snag today. Fortunately we were already having second thoughts about the possible train trip to Bergen because of the weather when we discovered, on our return to the TIC for wifi access, that all seats were sold out for days ahead. It will have to wait for another time. The views are said to be absolutely spectacular but, even so, the thought of seven and a half hours in a packed train is a bit daunting. Out of high season might be a better bet!

So we are now making new plans for the next couple of weeks, and think we will take the opportunity to explore more of Sweden and cross to Stockholm via a loop north taking in the area around Lake Siljan.

Incidentally, I had a nice reply to my email to the Norwegian Toll people saying that the invoices usually take 4 to 6 months to come through, so no need to worry!

A group of lads in an ancient camper from The Netherlands just turned up and parked between us and the campsite roadway and far too close, blocking out our light and making a worrying amount of noise. And also blocking as well as churning up our least boggy exit route. Fortunately they have just moved because they couldn't reach the hookup. Phew!

Ekeberg Camping, Oslo, Norway - Tuesday, 9 August

Geoff
This morning after breakfast, we took the free park and ride bus into Strömstad. We liked the place very much. The weather helped, as it always does. It is a coastal town with a large marina and ferries to take visitors to neighbouring islands. These islands can be seen from the harbour side. While there, we went into a cafe/bar for coffee/hot chocolate and pastries.

We changed our original plan of maybe staying here for a second night. The minimal facilities encouraged us to move on. We decided to go straight to Oslo, about 80 miles away. There is a toll plaza at the border but this wasn't operating and an overhead sign told us not to stop. Instead, we were channelled off the E6 to an area where border officials were possibly carrying out random checks. We weren't stopped and rejoined the E6.

There are two camper stops in Oslo. One is free with no facilities at all. The other is at a marina with basic facilities and 250 spaces. We upgraded ourselves and are at Ekeberg Camping, a large camp site only a mile or so outside the city centre with some 800 spaces. Imagine something like that close to the middle of London! All the pitches we have seen are on grass, which has the potential for trouble, especially as it has been raining most of the time we have been here. We have booked for two nights. The loos, showers, etc. are excellent and haven't seemed over used at all, far from it.

Tomorrow, we catch the bus into the city to sort out the things we want to do here. There is Norway in a Nutshell and the Kon-Tiki Museum. In one of the galleries is the original of Edvard Munch's "The Scream". Apparently, in the cafe there, you can buy a pastry or cake based on it. Might give that a miss.

Amanda

Woke up feeling a bit subdued this morning for the first time. Maybe just having been away for three weeks, although I'm not conscious of feeling homesick. Definitely missing hot water! And there has been quite a lot of rain in between the sunny spells. The thought of one loo shared with 20 other campervans was not thrilling, either!

However the free bus arrived to take us into Strömstad and the sun, clear blue skies and even the strong wind lifted the spirits no end. The place is a rather smart and very attractive spa resort which apparently calls itself a city even though the population is about the same as Chipping Norton. We treated ourselves to hot chocolate and cakes at a harbour side cafe, inspected some fish stalls but didn't buy, and then in the last few minutes waiting for the bus back popped into a supermarket and were assailed by the smell of roasting chicken - just what I have been fancying for the last few days but have not found on the supermarket shelves. So, supper sorted.

Off we set to Oslo, having decided to change our plan to try out the marine Camperstop which takes 250 campervans and make for a campsite instead. This site at Ekeberg is amazing. You can't book ahead and it has the feel of a festival site about it. This is possibly because of the mud - it is still raining now. The facilities are excellent, and after a hot shower I am definitely feeling more human.
There are views over Oslo from the site, and a bus runs into the city from just outside every 15 minutes from 6am to midnight. It is by far the most expensive site we have ever come across, but the location couldn't be more convenient.

We have discovered that automatic tolls operate in Norway. It seems that foreign vehicles are automatically photographed as they go through the toll points and we can expect to receive an invoice sometime to our home address. I have spent some time online this afternoon trying to find out more. The complications of registering to pay up front are a bit daunting when you have only limited internet access. We think we will just let it take its course and hope we don't end up with fines for belated payment. We will only be driving in the country on two days and over quite short distances.
It has now been raining solidly for several hours - it is 9 o'clock - and is feeling decidedly chilly. G has even put the heater on!  An early night is called for. 

Strömstad, northern Sweden - Monday, 8 August

Geoff

A really good walk this morning before breakfast. I followed the Bohusleden trail alongside the large fjord which is close to our service area. Part of it was wooded and really nice. Then it got right to the edge of the water before climbing up to a road. I followed the road for a while and then took a turning down a lane which led to a boatyard and car park. After that, it was pedestrians only to a bridge over to an island. I'm sure the island must have a name but none was given on the map. It was small, maybe 400 yards by 300. There was a cafe and some holiday chalets and, at the far end, I came across a wooden bandstand with marvellous across the fjord. Not wanting to double back, I followed a winding path through woodland which eventually brought me out just above the cafe. Then it was road walking back to the camper, about one and a half miles. I got back minutes before the heavens opened with gusting, torrential rain which lasted half an hour.

We drove to Uddevalla this morning, a sizeable town, in search of a gas stove. The first stop was a large out of town shopping area. Bauhaus didn't have one. We went over the road to a camping store but they didn't have what we wanted either. On then into Uddevalla to Lidl. In the car park there an elderly gent came over to admire our camper, saying it was the perfect size. We agreed with him. In fact, we are seeing very few campers the size of ours. They are nearly all bigger, some massively so. We got to talking about our gas problem and he suggested a large store called Biltema, which was at the shopping area where we had started. It was on our way back to the E6 road so it wasn't out of our way. They had a camping section and, whilst they didn't have the particular type of stove we wanted, we ended up buying a rather neat little single burner camping stove with three legs that fold out. It uses butane gas, the cylinders being the well known Camping Gaz blue colour but they were Biltema's own brand (blue is their colour). We bought two of the larger size gas cylinders and so I think we'll be OK now, once our Calor gas runs out, assuming it does, as we've agreed that we won't use gas to operate the fridge from now on, just using the hookup when available and the leisure battery when we are on the move.

I thought at first that the new stove was faulty as the gas wasn't coming through but Amanda was a bit more forceful in tightening the screw fitting on the cylinder than I was and it works fine.

We then headed up the E6. Not long after a lunch stop, I felt a little sleepy so we pulled off on to a rest area. There were loos but no other facilities. After a snooze for half an hour, I wandered off to explore. It appeared that we had stumbled upon a World Heritage area. Here, there was a display of the history of the surrounding countryside where Stone and Bronze Age relics and rock carvings had been found. From the display building, there was a wooden walkway maybe 200 yards long which ended at a platform which afforded panoramic views of the valley and forests ahead, with the odd farm house. We could so easily have missed this. When I returned to the camper, Amanda was chatting up a young Norwegian motor cyclist!

An hour or so later, we arrived at Strömstad, our stop for the night being a section of a park and ride car park with some basic facilities. There are around twenty camper vans here. We may stay a second night. There is a free park and ride bus into town from here and there is quite a bit to see. The town is famous for its seafood.

Amanda

G was out walking for 2 hours before breakfast. I was beginning to think that he had set off along the cross-Sweden long distance footpath which runs alongside the Rastplads and decided not to stop. The Rastplads was very pleasant for overnighting. We had been slightly concerned at the presence of several families camping in cars (two of which had no number plates and were clearly going nowhere) but they were quiet and no trouble. The others moved on this morning.

Today's major experience, an exploration of out of town shopping centres! The quest - a camping stove of some sort. At the first centre, just off the motorway, we managed to resist the temptation to visit IKEA and tried Bauhaus, where we were redirected to a camping shop across the way. Nothing doing there, but the girl told us she thought there was a place that might have one 30 miles in the wrong direction. So we gave up and headed towards Uddevalla for a Lidl. In the car park we were approached by an elderly Swedish man who admired the camper. 'It is perfect' he kept saying, which is exactly what we think, too! We chatted for quite a while. He told some stories of his youth, and how as a young boy he remembered seeing the German soldiers. He told us that we would be able to get a camping stove in a big camping shop called Biltema - back in the shopping centre we had just come from! So back we went, and it was indeed there, virtually next door to the one where the girl had been so 'helpful'. So we now have one small burner and two camping gas cylinders in reserve. Mission accomplished. G is now able to relax! Onwards.

We needn't have hesitated about driving on the E6, the motorway which runs up the west coast and into Norway. It is a stunning road. Not much traffic and wonderful views, although G didn't get the full benefit because he needed all his attention to keep the camper steady in the wind. We stopped at two Rastplads, one for lunch and the other for a snooze and leg stretch, and both were excellent. The second was actually in a World Heritage Site, with an information display about the history of the area. The smart Rastplads were explained. They were all part of improvements to the motorway and done sensitively to make up for the impact on the area. G went off for a few minutes, and was surprised to find me in conversation with a good looking Norwegian chap in leathers who was on his way back home from a holiday in Croatia on his motorbike. Just goes to show that I can occasionally chat to strangers, too!

Tonight we are in a designated Camper place adjacent to a small Park and Ride at Strömstad, quite near the Norwegian border. A free bus runs into the town, and we plan to make use of it tomorrow. The stopover takes 25 Campervans and is about half full. The individual parking places are clearly marked out and very spacious. They know how to look after Husbils (literally house cars) over here. We would love to see something similar at home.

Ljungskile motorway service area - Sunday, 7 August

Geoff

I went off for a walk before breakfast, not too far, but I explored a path at the end of a residential cul de sac, which looked on the map as if it might be interesting. The path went over some smooth rocky bits, in front of a couple of weekend retreat type houses in superb locations. I almost felt as if I was trespassing as the path skirted the open gardens. Then there were some steps set in to the rock and then a concreted path around a rock face, leading to a wooden walk way across an inlet and then around a couple more houses. Eventually, there were more smooth rocks to go over and I was at the edge of the island, with water lapping at my feet, looking out to a number of islets. It was a magical sight and I was sorry to have to leave it.

We planned to have a short driving day today, thinking that we really needed to get to the bottom of our gas issue. We brought with us two Calor gas cylinders. I had thought that these might just last the journey with careful use but this was/is not to be. The first cylinder ran out four days ago, two weeks into our trip. It is the fridge that is using the most gas. Boiling water for tea and coffee and minimal cooking doesn't use that much. I've already asked a couple of other camper an owners what they do about gas but didn't get very far. We went into Göteborg this morning to see if the tourist information office might help. The young lady there kindly 'phoned a large camp site to ask if they sold gas cylinders but they didn't.

Anyway, with the situation still unresolved, we went to find somewhere for lunch away from Göteborg. It was in our Parkings app as a simple overnight stop and very pleasant it was too. I'd unloaded one of our food boxes to make room in the back of the camper while lunch was prepared and we'd driven a couple of hundred of yards when Amanda asked about the box. Whoops!

We pulled off the motorway some time later, having seen a large motorhome dealership, thinking they might be able to advise about gas. They were closed till tomorrow (Monday). Our next stop, some fifteen miles on, was the motorway service area at Ljungskile, which has a peaceful grassy, tree-lined parking area and loos and is known as a camper stopover. There is very little traffic noise. We thought we might go back to the motorhome place in the morning. However, with the free wifi at the 7-11 shop here, I found much information online and it seems unlikely that we will be able to get the gas we need. Calor is the market leader in the UK, CampingGaz isn't available in Scandinavia and it is likely that local gas cylinders wouldn't fit in our gas compartment. So, our plan now is not to use gas for the fridge at all and use electrical hookups where we can. We shall buy a butane single burner stove from a camping shop or Bauhaus (a chain like our B&Q) and use this for heating water and simple cooking. Our meals will be planned around this and we may just have to buy milk a little more often. We shall survive! I wish I'd researched this more before we started but life was a bit hectic with finishing work, etc. If we get really desperate, I have with me a Pepsi can stove and a bottle of methylated spirits!

So, we are staying in our service area tonight. There are two other camper vans (or, rather, motorhomes) next to us. As a long distance walking trail, the Bohusleden, passes through here, I shall go off exploring in the morning.

Amanda

The wind certainly did rock the camper all night but in a pleasant way. It brought back memories of windy nights in our caravan on the Norfolk coast.

Today was designated a day for sorting out a plan about the Calor gas situation. So after a last stroll around the stunning little harbour, and showers only discovered this morning, we set off back via the ferry into Göteborg. We did discover a lovely part of the city which we shall hope to revisit at the end of our canal cruise, but got no further towards a solution, so headed on up the motorway hoping inspiration might strike. A pretty coastal lunch stop and a few more motorway miles later and we are now stopped in a convenient and quite attractive rest area by the motorway, in the rain, and will stay here for the night. To cut a long story short, there doesn't seem to be any very satisfactory solution. We plan to be as economical as possible with cooking, see if we can buy a small supplementary freestanding gas ring, and only use the fridge when we have an electric hook up. So we have a plan!

Hälsö, near Göteborg - Saturday, 6 August

Geoff

Last night was fine in the car park, apart from some oick doing two circuits of it on a motor bike around 1am. Still, it was nothing compared to the place we left.

I went off walking around 7am. Seeing the area in daylight, across the road was a cafe and visitor centre. I walked up the road a bit and went down a long flight of wooden stairs to the shore of Skårsjön, a very large inland lake, if lake it was - I'm not sure if there is a maximum size for a lake before it becomes an inland sea. Or might it be a fjord, although I think maybe a fjord has an outlet to the sea.

Nearby, I explored the nearby area of heathland. It is a protected area. I hadn't known that heathlands as restricted to Western Europe (including the UK, of course). One small part of it had a large tombstone rising up from it with many much smaller stones, apparently the result of a cholera outbreak in 1834 when 48 local people died. There is also a Bronze Age burial site here. The views from here were far reaching.

We drove to Göteborg, our destination being the Volvo Museum. It is housed in a large modern building in an industrial area. We learned of the beginnings of the company in the 1920s. There were many vehicles on display, including early cars, buses and lorries, together with cars of the 1930s right through to the present day, including concept cars. We enjoyed it very much.

Our planned stop for the night wasn't far although we drove on to a ferry to get to it. The ferry was free and largely unmanned, boarding and leaving being controlled by traffic lights. The ferry took us on a short journey to the island of Öckerö. From there, we crossed by bridge to Hälsö, where we are parked on the shore looking out to various islands. It is a marvellous outlook. I have walked around much of the island this afternoon, clambering up to the island's highest point, Stuvö vale, with panoramic views from the top across the sea to various islands nearby.

The whole area here is rocky, rising above the lower parts of the island. I was guided to the top and down the other side by someone who had walked the route with a yellow paint aerosol, leaving spots of yellow paint every now and then. Desecration maybe but it saved a lot of time. I also found my way to a tiny cove with a tiny beach, accessed via a path shown on my Pocket Earth map but not signposted on the ground. There was even a patch of grass where I could have pitched my tarp had I been here without the camper van. It was quite magical.

More American cars here!

Amanda

We enjoyed a quiet night, with the exception of a visit from a motorbike whose rider found it amusing to race around the parking area revving up beside each of the four campervans at 1.30 am. Fortunately he or she quickly tired of the joke. G went off for an early morning walk and discovered lots of interesting things, not least a Visitor Centre in the car park on the other side of the lane. We whiled away some time there after breakfast and walked around the adjoining area enjoying the views, nature and history.

Our plan was to explore the Göteborg archipelago, where we had located a Camperstop on the island of Hälsö. G was excited to discover that the Volvo Museum was on our route, on the outskirts of Göteborg, and we duly stopped off there. Very worthwhile and all well presented, with enough old Volvos and Volvo history to satisfy even him. (A brief aside - we have enjoyed the numerous classic American cars which are driven around over here, something we don't see too often at home.)

Onwards to the Archipelago by way of a free ferry which wove its way between the islands. It is a bit other-worldly, all rocky outcrops smoothed and rounded presumably by the sea and the wind; a little bleak but fascinating and rather beautiful. It's as if we've been dropped into the setting of "the Shipping News". It is quite windy here on the quayside on Hälsö, although the setting sun is creating a beautiful light over the water, the white timber houses and the sailing boats which are whizzing past. A most impressive large white one with lots of people on and "SAILING FOR JESUS" written along the side has just sailed across the sound in front of us.

I think we shall be rocked to sleep tonight by the wind!