Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Provinces: Närke, Södermanland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Gästrikland, Hälsingland, Medelpad
Municipalities: Örebro, Kumla, Hallsberg, Vingåker, Katrineholm, Eskilstuna, Arboga, Kungsör, Köping, Hallstahammar, Surahammar, Fagersta, Norberg, Avesta, Hedemora, Hofors, Sandviken, Ockelbo, Söderhamn, Bollnäs, Ljusdal, Hudiksvall, Nordanstig, Sundsvall
Sunday 9th of August
08.20 We've woken up another new morning in a hotel room. This morning is spent at Good Morning Hotel in Örebro and will be one of the last on this trip. The WiFi remains out of order, far from good. It is not without that I wonder if yesterday took its toll on us in some way. There's not much stamina in us today. The fact that we reached day fifty on the trip also has some impact.
09.38 The end of our journey is about to be modified. As I mentioned yesterday, we consider ourselves worth more than a simple ending in a camping cottage in Fagersta. We'll see what we can do during the day about this.
10.10 First left turn, then straight ahead and through a park. This is how our first upcoming steps will be on this day here in the city. In addition to being the largest city in Närke province, Örebro also is Sweden's seventh largest urban area with 126,009 inhabitants at the latest count.
10.23 The greenery of Drottningparken surrounds us. In addition to greenery and trees, there is also an outdoor shower.
10.51 Imagine that black and white, heaven and hell can be so close to each other. Next door to our coffee oasis Espresso House on Våghustorget is the Special Educational School Authority. Today's coffee angel is called Maja. It's okay here. Not many people are like us/me and crave for coffee this early on Sunday.
11.25 We have done something good during the coffee session. We have arranged with the remaining accommodation. We've changed the last overnight stay from camping in Fagersta to a hotel in Hedemora. It feels good to have a solid accommodation with breakfast to aim for tomorrow.
11.34 We were visited by Maja from the counter. She wondered if we'd seen a woman walking around here. Apparently, she had taken something edible without paying for it.
11.44 A man walked by us while we were looking for possible restaurants for the upcoming lunch and dinner on our phones. He had opinions that we were not talking to each other, but just staring at the phones. People have too little to do.
13.15 Then we have come to the beautiful and picturesque Wadköping area in Central Örebro. It's a kind of open air museum, Örebro's answer to Skansen in Stockholm. It is traditional buildings that have been gathered together and created this neighbourhood. The name is taken from Hjalmar Bergman's novel "Markurells i Wadköping".
17.25 After a long sweaty walk back to the centre we are back by the castle and I sit on the biggest/tallest park bench I have sat on. The bench is a work of art by the French artist Lilian Bourgeois and is 2,5 times larger than a "normal" bench. It was not easy to get up on it.
Monday 10th of August
Our hotel, Good Morning Örebro.
Christer is sitting down in Drottningparken (Queen Park).
Newly installed art on Krämartorget.
The pump house on Våghustorget.
Nikolai church, Örebro.
Örebro City Hall
Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson is standing on Stortorget.
IFK Göteborg football team is visiting Örebro.
Örebro castle.
Svartån, Örebro.
Stadsparken is a lovely oasis in the middle of the city.
Bears in Stadsparken.
A beautiful sunflower in Stadsparken.
Wadköping, Örebro´s open air museum.
Cajsa Wargs Gränd in Wadköping.
Old traditional buildings on display in Wadköping.
Peter takes a break and writes down the latest observations.
A cold beer while waiting for the pizzas at Östers Krog.
Behrn Arena. The football stadium for Örebro SK (ÖSK).
Svampen (The mushroom), Örebro´s famous water tower.
Svampen seen from the ground.
The Olaus Petri church with the statue of the Reformer Olaus Petri in front of it.
The dwarf Peter is sitting on a bench.
Karl XIV Johan, the first king from the Bernadotte family.
08.16 Cool air and car sounds make their way through the open window of our small hotel room. Today begins a new week and as I see and feel it, the journey home.
09.27 After the last (?) self purchased and on our own arranged breakfast we will bring our household goods and depart from Good Morning Hotel and also from Örebro. 09.54 It went so and so to get us out of Örebro in the proper way and via the right streets. The guidance on Google Maps through the phone was not in sync with reality. It has the effect that the command to turn sometimes comes after crossing the crossing. Sometimes we've to turn deaf ears and rely on what we ourselves see through the car window. 09.59 Google Maps repaired its mistake and smoothly guided us out of the city via another alternate route through Sörby. 10.04 There has been a change of road, an enumeration. In a roundabout we left road 51 for road 52. A bit strange is that the village at the roundabout is also called Sörby, just like the district in Örebro we drove about in. 10.45 We've travelled along the southern shore of Lake Hjälmaren. It was this way we arrived last Saturday but then it was semi dark. Now we see everything significantly better. The time has come for a stop on a parking lot. We are very close to Julita and we've just switched from Närke to Södermanland. 10.59 We've passed the open air museum Julita Gård which is owned and operated by the Nordic Museum. The farm shows how a large estate worked during the early 20th century. The last private owner Arthur Bäckström, donated the estate to the Nordic Museum in 1941. The museum's work to preserve historical plant material is concentrated to this place and there are also clone archives for various plants, including apples, pears, hops and rhubarb.
We travel along Lake Hjälmaren's southern shore.
The Happy Arboga Philosopher , a sculpture outside ICA Supermarket.
Holy Trinity Church, Arboga.
For the second day in a row we meet Engelbrekt.
Idyllic Arboga.
Arbogaån and Kapellbron.
11.22 We just drove over Hjälmare canal. I wonder how many canals we have seen and passed this summer. Soon we will also be in Västmanland. The canal connects Hjälmaren with Arbogaån. Via Arbogaån the lake Mälaren can be reached. The canal was built in 1623-1639 with the aim of facilitating the transport of iron, grain and timber between Bergslagen and Stockholm/Baltic Sea. The canal is Sweden's oldest built waterway.
11.46 We've parked the car in another city, Arboga. Here we have seen another church, Heliga Trefaldighets kyrka. We are now sitting on yet another bench in yet another park. It's time for some planning. I'd love some coffee and a sandwich. The question is where it is served. The church has a statue of freedom hero Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. Yesterday we saw him in Örebro. 11.57 We've taken some photos down by Arbogaån. It is beautiful and idyllic here. Arboga, which has its name from "å-båge", a bend on the river, is a city that has a long history. The city was a fully developed city as early as the 1330s. Through Arbogaån, the city has had a connection with Bergslagen, and its main importance was initially as a transhipment and shipping port for iron. Today 10,800 inhabitants live here. 12.13 Now we've done some more thinking. Christer has pointed out that there was no real dinner yesterday. Sandwich only helps for the moment. Better then to eat real food in some form. 12.32 If we look a little aside, we will see how our lunches are created and developed. We're at Pizzeria Metropol (https://www.metropolarboga.se) on Nygatan. 13.08 The thing with food has its advantages. One of these is that you get less hungry. We've on the way back to a bench by Arbogaån, seen Lasse-Maja's memorial stone next to the church. Lasse-Maja was a Swedish criminal who undertook theft tours in the area of Stockholm-Örebro-Västerås. From 1809 he was nicknamed Lasse-Maja because he periodically lived as a woman. 13.38 It is warmer in the car than outside. After airing out a bit, the time has come to close the doors and start the journey to the next city here in Västmanland.
Real workers' monuments in Arboga.
Comfortable seats on Nygatan, Arboga.
Arboga.
Peter is having lunch at Pizzeria Metropol.
Lasse-Maja´s memorial stone.
Arboga meeting 1435 has been called Sweden's first parliament and in 1935
the Swedish parliament celebrated its 500th anniversary based on the meeting.
14.13 After that we, well, Christer, parked on a leaning parking lot near COOP Köping, we've walked into the city. Through Nygatsbron we've crossed another watercourse, Köpingsån. Let's have a bench break. I'm, surprise, surprise, longing for coffee! Köping, the city that became more famous through the film Tårtgeneralen, The cake general, is bigger than Arboga. It has a population of 18,711.
14.31 It is better to wait with coffee until later today. It is a higher priority to see the city and to have ice cream. Coffee is available in the car in case of emergency. It does not apply to ice cream and Köping. 14.46 It's time to rest for a while on a new bench in a new park. We have followed Storgatan to its end. The basic energy from the morning fades away. 15.11 The main square in Köping is no big deal. What is around it is significantly better. There is the beautiful town hall, Köping church, Carl Milles statue of the chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele and the exhibition Fika. In the exhibition there are coffee pots, coffee cups and coffee saucers. The latter is in the Scheele Park. That didn't ease the crave for coffee 15.33 We've strolled some along Köpingsån and then go towards a small attraction. We are at the pastry shop Bivur who had a leading role in the Swedish film The cake general. Here the world's longest smörgåstårta, sandwich cake, was made 1985. The background to the film is what happened in Köping 1984-1985. While IKEA shut down (for the first time in the world ever) in the city, Jan Guillou in the TV show Rekordmagazinet said that Köping is Sweden's most boring city. While a whole country laughs and a whole district is crippled, a personality in Köping, Hasse Pettersson, also called Hasse P, decides to refute everyone by baking the world's longest smörgåstårta/sandwich cake, and thus enter Köping in the Guinness Book of records. It was successful. 15.51 After buying ice cream and soda for Christer and just soda for me at Knallegodis we will now get ready for what comes next, a departure from Köping.
Köpingsån.
Nygatan is decorated with flowers.
Hökartorget, Köping.
Köping Town Hall.
The exhibition Fika on Stora Torget.
Forum, a beautiful building in Köping
16.15 We've made our way on smaller roads to avoid boring and well-trafficked E18. We've passed Kolbäck, Hallstahammar and Surahammar without actually seeing any of the resorts.
16.25 Now we are on road 66 heading north. More exciting experiences are coming. 16.47 Our, well Christer's car now stands completely still in a parking lot somewhere between Surahammar and Fagersta. We've been looking for shade and it's worked like that. It is time for a break consisting of juice, coffee and planning for the stay in the next locality. 17.07 During the break came a road line painting vehicle from the other direction. There had been a long queue of cars behind it. Suddenly it became two-lane and the queue were dissolved. We fear that the line painter has gone to turn so we've quickly left again before we get stuck behind it. 17.26 Rättarbacken by Rune Lindström's väg is the place where we now stand parked. Nearby we've Fagersta Västanfors folk museum. Soon we walk towards Fagersta to see what this place has to offer. Fagersta has a history as a utility society and industrial city. Today there are 11,780 inhabitants. 17.45 The park is small, the bench is white and the leaves we look at are green, large and heart shaped. However, I do not know what plant it is. We're at Lövparksvägen. 17.58 We've passed a part of Strömsholm Canal connecting the lakes Kratten and Stora Aspen. Here is Västanfors church and a bunch of young people who with a cheerful mood dive and jump into the water. On the bridge there are also various information signs about known bird species. 18.19 We hear a splashing sound from the fountain, there is a slight wind and in the distance the merry melody from an ice cream truck can be heard. We are benched in front of the railway station in Fagersta.
The chemist and pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered oxygen in the 18th century.
Konditori Bivur, known from the movie Tårtgeneralen.
A stop along road 66.
A comfortable seat by Strömsholm's canal in Fagersta.
Västanfors church.
Fagersta central station.
18.54 After walking in quiet neighbourhoods and green areas we've now come to a bench suitable for evening hours reading. We'll take it easy here for a while before we hit the road again.
19.38 The time has come for another change of urban area. Further new adventures are waiting for us. It will be a journey on highway 68. 19.55 We update ourselves about what is happening in the world of sports through the sport on radio. 4,59,71, that is the new Swedish record of 2000 meters running. The record holder is Kalle Berglund. The former record holder was Anders Gärderud. Gärderud's time 5,02,09 have stood the test since the 4th of July 1975. 20.11 We are now on the outskirts of Avesta where road 68 meets road 70. Here stands the world's largest dalahorse. So we're back in Dalarna again. The bench I'm sitting on seems to have a solar panel. A sign compares the Dala horse height with Armand Duplanti's world record in pole jumping. 20.29 We've parked outside ICA Kvantum supermarket in the centre of Avesta and will now see some of the city and try to find somewhere to have dinner. Avesta in southern Dalarna, which has 16,278 inhabitants, is primarily known for its iron and steel industry, but has also had copper industry and mints. The world's largest coin, a 19.7 kg ten daler coin, is made in Avesta and can be seen at the local museum of coins. 20.36 In Stadshusparken we've just looked at and photographed various artistic creations. Here is the metal artwork Droppen and Lars Andersson's steel sculpture of a wisent (bison). The background to this sculpture is Avesta Wisent Park, a breeding place for wisents. 20.50 "The walk of life" with Dire Straits is played at Burning Duck, a pub and restaurant in Avesta. We just ordered our dinners. In fact, it will not be pizza this time. 21.30 It was great to have dinner. We ate our food (pasta and meat) at the outdoor serving of the restaurant. It was a bit chilly but nice. Now it's time to say thank you and pay for us. After that, we'll go shopping.
The world's largest Dala horse stands outside Avesta.
It is moderate with people on the move in Avesta.
Stadshusparken, Avesta
The steel bison, a famous sculpture in Avesta.
Peter is having dinner at Burning Duck in Avesta.
Finally arrived in our room at Hedemora Stadshotell.
21.50 A few gentlemen with several large garbage bags with deposit-refunds at ICA Kvantum sent us on to nearby COOP. COOP, however, was not open and we had to return to ICA. There we traded without having deposit our bottles. When we were done, the gentlemen stood with their garbage bags still depositing. About COOP, I don't think it was just closed for the day. The store seems to have closed for good.
22.35 Road 70 took us back to the familiar town Hedemora that we visited about a month ago. Now we are at the city hotel here. The promised 24-hour staffing at Hedemora Stadshotell does not match, but we are in any case checked in and in room 17. Some former guest has smoked in the room. Earlier during the trip we saw the hotel from the outside during a rain shower and now we are here. 23.56 Some zapping between the TV channels has let us see Manchester United beat FC Copenhagen after extension as well as some other things. As a result of the explosion and the protests that followed, the government of Lebanon has chosen to resign. We're going to sleep.Tuesday 11th of August
08.03 It seems to be yet another sunny day during our trip to the northern home areas of the country. Soon we will learn what breakfast means at Hedemora Stadshotell.
08.54 Today we were offered a classic hotel/buffet breakfast. Nothing was wrapped in plastic. Good! Now we are waiting for the clock to strike nine. That's when a call will be made and based on it, a reservation will be made. 09.27 Mitthem in Sundsvall is contacted and everything is ready with the handover of Christer's new apartment keys tomorrow. SJ is contacted by me and a train ticket from Sundsvall is bought. I was looking for the phone that I held in my hand while booking. All of a sudden when it came to being paid, I had forgotten that I was holding the phone. 10.09 There was a bit of trouble at the check-out at the reception. Christer did what it said on a note there. He used the phone at the reception to get in touch with someone. A man appeared and once more referred to the phone. A new call was made. This time a woman came to the reception and we could pay. We're on our way again. 10.36 We are basically alone on the curvy road 270 north from Hedemora. Here, as before, there is a lot of forest. 10.44 Road 270 ended and changed to E16, a road that just received new asphalt. Something that is missing, however, are lines. Good thing it's daylight. On the local radio, some reported about anglers who booked a fishing trip to Norway are interviewed. They are unable go on that trip due to Norway's constant amendment of Covid19 rules. 10.53 We passed Hofors and just saw Hofors bruk.
Hedemora Stadshotell.
We're on our way again. We say goodbye to Dalarna.
Peter has a sandwich at Konditori Marangoni in Sandviken.
A Tuesday in Sandviken.
Sandviken looks a little bit like some cities in Eastern Europe.
Kulturcentrum Sandviken with typical architecture.
11.44 The car was parked by Christer at ICA MAXI Supermarket in Sandviken. Slowly we then searched for the centre and we are seated on a bench for further planning. At Konditori Marangoni (http://www.konditorimarangoni.com) we found chairs, tables, coffee and cheese and ham sandwiches. There was also a Corona sign that was misspelled.
12.13 The day is a little more planned and the plans seem to hold. We are now benched in front of Sandviken City Hall, but not for long. Sandviken was founded in 1862 in connection with the construction of the Ironworks Sandvik AB. After a few attempts they finally was able to call themselves a town in 1943 Today, the city is best known for the company Sandvik and for the sport bandy. There are 25,344 inhabitants here. 12.22 In a small pine grove or is it a forest we have found a statue depicting St. Staffan made by Oskar Antonsson Högg. Here behind is also the city's church. It's a beautiful arrangement. But what kind of name is Högg, meaning Carved? 12.27 Update. It was Oskar Antonsson who carved the statue of Saint Staffan. Sometimes it is difficult to read. 12.48 We had barely left the parking lot at ICA as we ended up in a traffic jam. Whoever planned a large shopping centre in the middle of a city probably had not thought properly. Traffic is supposed to make it to ICA MAXI and other large stores on narrow streets. 13.00 We eventually came out of the traffic chaos and out of Sandviken. We are driving on road 272. Ockelbo is 31 kilometres away. Next, we will try to find a suitable and smooth rest area to stay at. 13.30 The hunt for a rest area continues. We just passed Ockelbo. I do not know what that village is famous for, beside snow mobiles and Prince Daniel of Sweden. 14.09 I'm starting to think that the parking places and rest areas are extinct. Should it be so difficult to offer a small stop for travellers?
It is beautiful outside Stadshotellet Princess.
Christer is on his way to Sandviken church.
Saint Staffan guards the forest.
Sandviken church.
We travel north through Gästrikland.
We are driving through Ockelbo.
14.15 In the middle of the parking lot darkness appeared so a parking lot. We are near Granbo just north of Kilafors. Gästrikland has become Hälsingland.
14.43 It was great to have coffee on the side of the road. Now we've made plans for the coming time. We must leave now to make our plans work 14.58 After that we parked the vehicle at McDonald's in southern Bollnäs we will now cope with some of the last missions for this round trip in the Fatherland. No, do not worry, McDonald's is not included in any of the missions. 15.06 It's time for a minor bench break. We are at Stadshustorget here in Bollnäs. This is yet another city that does not win any prizes in beautiful architecture. It's not as bad as Sandviken but many of the new buildings here are similar to the ones we saw in former communist Eastern Europe on our early train trips. There are 13,942 inhabitants in Bollnäs. 15.45 We've been to Systembolaget, the government owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden, and bought a thank you gift to our friend Magnus who let us use his house in Suijavaara. It feels like an eternity ago. I've also taken out some cash so that wallet missing Christer will be able to cope unless the new bank card had time to come by mail to his apartment. It's time for a moment of reading of literature down by the water before we have to travel on. The water I'm talking about is the lake Vågen. 16.27 We've started again and are stuck in a new traffic queue. It seems to come from the fact that it is red light now and then ahead of here. Some local genius is hysterically honking behind us to try to make the line of cars magically disappear. 16.38 Road 83 will take us north to the next little stop. Traffic is moderate. Now a cyclist appeared. 17.01 Radio News reports that Russia has developed a Corona vaccine. The scientific community is sceptical because all the steps, tests before have not been used. On the other hand, many in the so-called Western world are sceptical about everything that is Russian.
Bollnäs church.
Bollnäs Town Hall.
Långgatan, Bollnäs.
Brotorget, Bollnäs.
Bollnäs also has large benches.
The wood church, Bollnäs.
17.30 We've arrived at Storhagavägen in Storhaga just south of Ljusdal and visit Magnus Söderfalk, an old friend from our university years in Umeå. It was also he who we borrowed the house from earlier on the trip in Suijavaara, the village outside Karesuando that Magnus was raised in. Our gift is handed over and it is nice to make a home visit this Corona summer.
18.35 We've been invited to dinner in the form of potatoes, meatballs and vegetables. We even drank homemade red currant lemonade, very tasty. 19.43 It has been a nice time and we could have stayed longer with Magnus if we did not have the key waiting tomorrow morning in Sundsvall. We are talking about a little bit of everything. Some loose plans to visit Skuleberget mountain together have been discussed. We will see if this can become a reality before autumn reaches us. 20.06 Now we are again back in our reality again. We sit again in the green VW Golf to roll further. It has come time for final, the last car trip on this long summer tour. 20.36 After staying in Ljusdal and shopping at ICA Supermarket Matpunkten we will now travel ready. We will arrive in the dark but we travel through well-known areas. Especially Christer who lived in Hudiksvall for three years and often visited Magnus in Ljusdal has good track of these areas. 21.04 Everything is not as simple as you think. We stand still east of Delsbo due to a bridge being repaired. It is one-way and traffic is released on from one direction at a time. 21.25 We've reached the outskirts of Hudiksvall and Road 84 is switched to E4. We're looking for a petrol station. The car needs to drink a little before it can rest in Sundsvall.
Vågen is the name of the lake south of Bollnäs center.
Two travelers at the end of a long journey.
Magnus and Peter are having dinner outdoors.
Two Sweden travelers are invited to dinner.
Also in Sundsvall we will spend the night at a Good Morning Hotel.
21.39 We stopped to refuel at Circle K at the northern exit in Hudiksvall. A final journey through the darkness remains before comfortable beds and well-deserved rest waits.
21.50 It is getting darker. At the beginning of the journey we had the Midnight Sun. Now other things apply. 22.27 Things can't of course not run smoothly. In the middle of late summer darkness, someone has been decided to lay new asphalt on the E4 road. Some unclear calls in the form of green light together with the sign "await pilots" made it all somewhat difficult to interpret, especially for all foreign truck drivers who do not understand Swedish but know what green light means. We and the trucks drove on but met a piloted car caravan from the other way. It got crowded. Did we do right or wrong, who knows? At least we got through it all. 23.19 Now we are in the 23rd province of the trip, Medelpad. We have this summer just missed travelling through Uppland and Gotland. There was some trouble coming into Sundsvall. There were flashing lights and a person with warning triangles. In the parking lot of the Inner Harbour was no less cluttered. The last accommodation will be another Good Morning Hotel, Good Morning Sundsvall City, and Room 213. This hotel is decorated in a boat here in Sundsvall. We are forced to live here because Christer has not had time to get their apartment keys yet but, truth be told, it's a bit fun to stay on this boat too. By the way, Joe Biden has appointed Kamala Harris as vice president. Kamala is apparently the third female vice president candidate in history.
Wednesday 12th of August
08.17 We've, technically, more or less reached the end of this trip. Sundsvall was supposed to be the end of this long car journey. I guess it's just the lap of honour that's left. However, I also intend to document this concluding morning and day.
08.48 The trips last breakfast consisted of our in Ljusdal purchased groceries. We continue to ignore the expensive breakfast at Good Morning Hotels. 09.36 Christer is loading his packing into the car. The car where the meter says we've travelled around 8130 kilometres since we left Sundsvall on the 21st of June. I have brought with me the essentials of my packing. Christer will deliver my camping chair later in the autumn. Now I'm heading towards the train station and Christer is going to call Mitthem to ask for the apartment keys. 10.08 I do not know how things have gone for Christer with the keys but assume that everything went well. I know, however, that I am on board a train on my way back to my home area.
Our view from the room at Good Morning Sundsvall City.
Peter has checked out of the last hotel of this trip.
The Sundsvall Bridge can be seen on the horizon.
Norra Kajen with its new and expensive apartments.
Peter takes symbolic steps away from the vehicle that took us around Sweden.
10.53 It is time to say goodbye to a rain drenched Härnösand. It's just one of infinitely many villages, cities seen and passed this summer. I am getting ready for homecoming with coffee from the bistro. The time has come to wrap up this long journey. It is one of the longest we've ever done in number of days even though we have not left Sweden at all.
11.27 In half an hour I'm in a car on the way home to Bjästa. The time has come to sum up all what initially felt like a boring emergency solution and backup plan but which turned out to be a fantastic adventure. We've been in almost all Swedish regions, about half of the municipalities, experienced more than I remember but especially had an interesting and fun summer trip. Do I want to do it again? Of course, but above all, I hope for the opportunity to travel again in distant countries.
You can see 84 photos from August 9 in this photoalbum.
You can see 95 photos from August 10 in this photoalbum.
You can see 52 photos from August 11 in this photoalbum.
You can see 6 photos from August 12 in this photoalbum.