New cities and old friends

We left Malmö the next day and drove inland to the Söderasen National Park.

This park is Swedens most southerly wilderness, established in 2001, and has a large number of hiking trails, cycling paths and bridle ways.

My human decided, not surprisingly, to link all the hiking trails together and was gone for hours.
Starting from a picturesque little lake, you can follow the feeding river through a lush ravine for a few kilometers. 
The forest here is very diverse and healthy. It is largely left to its own devices, trees live a normal lifespan and are left where they fall after they die. 
Only the pathways are kept impeccably - some are even good for strollers or wheelchairs.




There are a few viewpoints, but all you will see is more green all around, beautiful.

Although the car park was rather full, the paths were not crowded, most people stayed down by the lake or just ventured up the river a little.


We drove around to the other side of the park to another lake in the evening, where we could spend the night surrounded by trees with only one other camper.

There were a couple of shorter trails to be trodden over on this side, after which we moved up north and back to the coast to visit the Kullaberg lighthouse.

The lighthouse sits at the tip of a nature reserve covering a small peninsula. From a car park in Mölle, it is a pleasant walk through a varied landscape; from steep cliffs to broad-leaved woodlands, sandy beaches and open pasture.

The variety of habitats means that many different plants grow here, a staggering two-thirds of Swedens species! 

What a great little sauna with a magnificent view!





Constructions like this were used before lighthouses were built

In the morning, we went to see the Danske Falls, a small waterfall in another nature reserve.
The water here is rich in iron and therefore has a distinctly red tinge to it. 
The metal used to be mined in this area from 1727 until 1749

The waterfall itself is rather small, but it is surrounded by another beautifully lush forest where the fresh sprigs on all the conifers are still soft and bright green.




From here we drove to Helmstadt, a reasonably sized city on the way to Göteborg.

The Prins Bertils Stig starts and ends here and leads you along the coast for 18km, sometimes behind the dunes, then right along the water or through healthy forest.
Once in a while you get a glimpse of how the other half lives, in their stately homes right by the sea.

The trail is named after Prins Bertil, surprisingly enough, a very popular member of the Swedish royalty, who spent a few summers here with Princess Lilian in the past century.




Apparently the car to the very left is worth around 1.5 million


Could just as well be the Sahara

Pam and David would be so envious!

So Swedish

My human decided to walk this one from the far end so she wouldn`t have to adhere to a bus time table to bring her back. After a 25min ride from the city, she started out on this is a truly special hiking trail. Every kilometer is different, with spectacular views, a cute little harbor, hardly any people (until you get closer to Helmstadt again) and always wind in your face.


Quite the setting for a wake board park


During the past three days, my human clocked over 100.000 steps, and she calls this a holiday!

90 minutes down the road, we arrived in Swedens second largest city, Göteborg. 1.1 million people live in the metropolitan area, a large number of them students, since the cities main university is one of the best and largest in Scandinavia.

King Gustavus Adolpus founded Gothenburg by royal charter in 1621, then a primarily Dutch trading colony. 
Nowadays, the port here is the largest in all the Nordic countries.
Volvo was founded here in 1927 and still has its headquarters in the city.
Another company seated here is one you probably never heard of before 2019, AstraZeneca.


Saluhallen, built in 1888, it´s been running ever since


Possibly the ugliest face on a statue ever sighted

The Haga district; not the oldest part of town, but with the most old buildings still standing

And famous for the giant cinnamon rolls

Skansen Kronan

I have no words


Karlatornet, 247m high, 74 floors, the highest building in Scandinavia

Feskekorka, the Fish Church; a bit disappointing when you expect a fish market and what you get is...

...a rather posh oyster slurping lunch spot



Domkyrkan, the Cathedral

Gustav Adolph, the founding father

The Opera House


Lilla Bommen, commonly referred to as "Lipstick"



The city is a forerunner in all aspects of environmental friendlyness. Much of the public transport system is electric, there are bike lanes everywhere, many parks and gardens provide fresh air and shade, houses are built to the newest ecological standarts.

Slottsskogen

This is a very clean Rhododendron


The Botanical Garden



Part of a rather weird art exhibition; the only thing worth taking a photo of


A great part of traveling is obviously that you get to meet so many interesting people. Some come and go, others stay for a while, some for years.

Now we were on our way to catch up with one person of the last category.
My human met Annika when they worked together in Australia, 15 years ago. They had been in contact since only sporadically, but still, they never lost touch completely.

Annika is from Sweden and has since, after traveling extensively, settled down in her home country and started a family.
Nowadays she lives on the family farm with her husband and their three children.

The farm isn´t very far from the border to Norway and surrounded by beautiful nature, a rough coastline and interesting rock formations.

On the island Fykan



I was at a work shop during the first day, getting new brake pads. This was my inadequate substitute.

Art by the sea


Fascinating





Not a bad lunch spot



Dinner at the boat house, a visit to the sauna, bike rides and hikes - time went by double quick. 

After three days with Annika and her family, a pancake breakfast, a traditional dinner of Köttbullar (which you actually pronounce "Schöttbullar"), a few swims in the sea, a very unsatisfying Champions League Finale and equipped with new breaks, we were on our way again.

A huge shout out to an old colleague and a found-again friend - thanks for taking us in like family and showing us a great time!
Let´s not wait another 15 years till we see each other again!



A public sauna...

...with a pretty good view!




















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