The day arrived - Wednesday 14th August 2024. Following the delay in getting holiday booked, we had missed the opportunity to get a ferry on the Thursday overnight, so we opted for the Thursday daytime ferry instead.
The night before, we drove up to Harwich - following dinner with good friends - and joined the numerous campers at the queue up for check in - our first overnight stop. It wasn't especially exciting, but waking in the morning to immediately join the queue was more relaxing than a 5am wake up call,
After boarding we found our seats in the VIP lounge, and enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Full English GF for Cam and the complimentary pastries for me.
It was a relaxing day - we read a lot, had a nice lunch, I wandered the Duty free and decided I didn't need an enormous bag of M&Ms, then had a nap just before arriving at Hoek Van Holland.
Our original plan was to hit the supermarket in town, then head to our first continental overnight, however, the traffic directed us out of town, and rather than try to navigate anywhere else we just hit the road.
As it goes there was a store in our first destination, and while we didn't get on time on Thursday evening, we had food and drink for the night in the van (not much of the former, as we had to leave a number of our staples behind due to customs restrictions). The stop - in a small German town - was basically a car park, with free hook up, water and waste water disposal (not chemical loo waste). A free stop, it didn't offer much more than the facilities and peace and quiet, but for our first night it was perfect.
The following day was a long day to take us the remainder of the trip into Sweden. we set off early, starting our day at the supermarket to restock, then hitting the road.
The first leg was to Puttgarden for the ferry into Denmark - a rest for Cam and lunch for me.
After the ferry, was a short drive across Denmark to the Oresund Bridge, followed by another short drive around Malmo to our first Sweden overnight - a lovely little site with a private beach outside Lomma.
Having made arrangements to visit the family the following Saturday, we realised we had more time than expected and opted to stay at the Lomma site for two nights. It was a beautiful site, with all facilities (although we didn't use the hook up, it was available), local cycling routes and the beach of course. We cycled into Lomma twice, to go to the shop our first evening, and on the second day to find the Systembolaget. The Swedish laws of alcohol purchase mean that only alcohol with a percentage lower than 3.5% can be purchased in most shops. A government run system of off licenses (called Systembolaget or the system) sell all stronger beers, ciders, spirits and wines.
Being centrally run, means that there is no pricing competing, but rather than raise prices, drinks can be found at very reasonable prices (my favourite was a Swedish craft lager priced at 66p per 330ml can. Another win for us, was that all beers (that qualify) are labelled as Gluten free, vegan etc. With clearly visible shelf labels making it easy to find drinks for Cam.
From Lomma we drove cross country to Mariestad, a stopover in a Golf Club car park which was located on the banks of Lake Vannern. The drive was incredible - beautiful views, exceptionally flat, and devoid of traffic.
The roads were so empty we had to check we hadn't diverted onto a closed road!
When we arrived we checked in and had a drink at the bar before setting up properly.
The stopover - booked in advance, was not a free one, but was exceedingly cheap and again, hook up was included. We again stayed two nights, using the rest day to go for a morning swim from the rocky beach near the van site, and to take a ride to a beach north of the town. A lovely ride to a beautiful view.
Unfortunately, our trip was just after the end of the season and facilities at the beach were closed, so we didn't stop long, after our ride back we took a slow ramble through the woods to discover a gorgeous beach an easy walk from the van. We had a relaxing evening with a few drinks, and enjoying the calm and got up early to swim at the pretty beach before driving to our next stop.
A poorer choice, Tuesday night's stop was at a nature reserve. The water wasn't swimmable sadly, but we did have a short cycle ride around the local park run route. I was eaten alive in the short moments it took to get the bikes back on the rack so we sequestered ourselves in the van for the rest of the evening and I only got out long enough in the morning, to get in the front, leaving poor Cam to get the van of the ramps and put them away.
On Wednesday we drove to a campsite on a peninsula half way up the lake we had been on the banks of at the nature reserve. A much more acceptable end - the site was very reasonable and we took one night with hook up and a slot for the laundry facilities; we did manage a swim but no cycle ride due to the size of the site.
At this point we had swum every day since arriving in Sweden and cycled almost every day since arriving on mainland Europe. One week into the trip and we were having an amazing time - lots of miles, lots of swimming and lots of beer. We found everyone we spoke to to be friendly and welcoming.
After the one night, as there was little to do, we made our way to a new stopover. Just south of Uppsala on the edge of another lake, was another free stop. We arrived mid afternoon and set up, first finding the nearest System and planning to cycle over there for our restock the next morning; we were out of the beers having spent the two previous nights in rural areas, so our only option for evening drinks was to get the ice machine going and Cam made some espresso mocha martinis after we walked down (a very steep hill) to the lake, and checked out the swimming possibilities.
It was a yes, but too late on Thursday to swim. So we saved the swim for Friday, along with another ride around some wooded cycling routes possibly for Saturday morning. and another evening relaxing outside the van while our swimming kit dried.
On Saturday, we were heading to the family, so first driving up to Uppsala to see the sights - and stop for lunch if possible, we took in the beautiful historic town, but couldn't find an appropriate stop for the van and instead decided to head on south to Tungelsta, via Stockholm - we were aware of possible tolls en route, but seem to have made it without - seeing as it is now three months after our visit and we have received no invoice.
It was interesting to see the architecture in Stockholm, but were not worried about missing it - city breaks are for a different trip. In the mid afternoon we arrived at Cam's cousin's home and had a very pleasant ~24 hours getting to know them (better in my case for Cam's cousin, and at all for both of us and the rest of the family) Having been made to feel extremely welcome, and aware of their not being on holiday, Cam and I left on the Sunday and made our way across country to a campsite on Lake Vattern. Unaware at the time, I had navigated us to a campsite marketed and adapted to those with disabilities and senior citizens - all the facilities had ramps and handles and seats. None of which was a bad thing for either of us. We were again lucky about the end of the season, as the owner was only still there for his own holiday but was happy for us to stay two nights. We were able to cycle again - into the town to a supermarket, and on the second night, a restaurant - our first meal out of the trip. We also swam in the lake - about 50 metres from the campsite.
By this point we had surmised that all open water (the lakes and the Oresund) have a long shallow shelf, and a long walk to swimmable depths, which explained the many bathing piers we saw during our tour. In all locations, the water was pleasantly warm as well. by the second swim I wasn't bothering with my neoprene half the time, although the cosy changing robes were handy for getting to and from swimming. Most locals we spoke to seemed to think it was too cold to swim! Compared to a summer spent swimming off Thorpe Bay, it was tropical.
Our restaurant visit - in a transport museum - was delicious and our waiter a very friendly young man keen to practice his English and very understanding of dietary requirements. We felt this would be our last chance to have a meal out on the trip and wanted to treat ourselves.
It was a wobbly after dark ride back to the van - with curious detours.
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