Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Provinces: Värmland, Dalsland, Bohuslän
Municipalities: Sunne, Arvika, Eda, Årjäng, Bengtsfors, Dals-Ed, Tanum, Munkedal, Strömstad, Sotenäs
Friday 9th of July
08.02 We have awakened to our first and last Värmland morning on this journey. It is announced on the news that everyone in the plane crash in Örebro was killed. We have a quiet morning at Gylleby Hostel (https://www.gylleby.se) outside Sunne. Within 1½ to 2 hours, the calm morning is over. Then we move on. Today it will be a long car trip.
08.57 It is not often it happens but now we have actually had a balcony breakfast. It goes smoothly so far. I hope it goes on like that. Immediately after breakfast, we will pay for our stay here in the former mansion.
09.24 Well, I do not know if it goes that well. Someone with a gray car has parked so close to Christer's car that he can't get in through the driver's door. In any case, we have found the owner of Gylleby Hostel and paid for our visit here.
09.42 With not so little acrobatics, Christer eventually got into the car and was able to back out and move it. Now everything that should be inside the car is in place. We're on our way in good time.
09.49 We have left Sunne behind us. A girl came running when we swung off the E45 and now continues into Gräsmarksvägen.
10.02 We drive along the Lake Rottnen on the way to Gräsmark. There are many beautiful areas in this province.
10.32 Near Treens Natur & Fiske Camp Christer will have a late morning coffee and both of us an early eleven o'clock coffee. We have placed ourselves by a round stone table.
11.11 There are some plans made for the near future. Soon we will be back on the road. It has been a beautiful stop here by the lake.
11.31 In Bergatorp we swung west towards Charlottenberg. If we hadn't, we'd be in Arvika. We went there last year. That's enough.
15.30 Road 172 will take us out of Värmland. Soon we will see the small province Dalsland again.
20.01 Mother Nature tests us again. Tomorrow's planned excursion to the Koster islands will, according to the forecast, be rain-drenched. The plan to make Sunday's activities tomorrow and tomorrow's activities on Sunday will be difficult when we should be checked in between 14.00 and 18.00 on the next accommodation. To cool our skulls and bodies, we will go swimming in the lake.
Saturday 10th of July
We have composed our own breakfast at Gylleby Hostel.
A coffee break at the round table.
A boat on the lake Stor-Treen.
We have stopped in Charlottenberg.
The municipality house in Eda kommun.
Preparing lunch near Saxebyn.
Two travellers in Årjäng.
Storgatan, Årjäng.
Art on the walls of Årjäng.
Årjängstrollet.
We are stopping somewhere in Dalsland.
The railway station in Dals-Ed.
In Ed you can find the restaurant Local Idiot. If the name comes from its visitors is not known.
An old BP service station is standing inside Bullarebygdens Familjecamping.
We have arrived to our cottage.
You can swim here.
Christer is swimming before dinner.
Dinner in the cottage.
08.25 Tonight, for the first time in my life, I have slept in Bohuslän. It's been a good night in our camp site cottage. As predicted, however, there has been a change in the weather. Out there the rain is falling, just as promised and warned. The shower in the common space here at the campsite is nicely said lukewarm. What did I do wrong?
08.56 When Christer went to shower he discovered a small box with a slide for tokens. We have not received any of these from the reception, or any information that they are needed. I'm not even sure my shower had a box. Until the next shower visit we get to examine this more closely. 10.18 The rain is pouring down. The start of today's trip will have to be delayed. We had originally planned a visit to Strömstad and an excursion from there to the Koster islands but it is not possible to carry out in this weather. Instead, it becomes a concentrated and compressed day with other content. It is also important to remember to bring the umbrellas. 10.59 What should we do? Sit here and watch as it rains? Go somewhere to sit in the car and watch the rain? Planning the day and finding useful facts is tough. None of us have any internet connection. Whether with the local Wifi network or the regular network. Our phones always want to connect to the Norwegian network and it does not make it easier. 11.23 We now drive south on road 165 through a rainy Tanum municipality. The first destination today will be Fjällbacka. The car is now on the Blue-Green road which is a common stretch for the county roads 164 and 165. 11.53 Our trip south ended in the community of Hällevadsholm in Munkedal municipality. Here we head west and will soon cross the E6. Wondering if we're going to go under or over it?
We have parked the car on the outskirts of Fjällbacka.
A view of Fjällbacka town.
Fjällbacka church.
Peter is taking photos in beautiful Bohuslän.
Galärbacken, Fjällbacka.
An old midsummer pole at Fjällbacka pier.
11.59 County road 163 passed under the E6. Now we begin to approach the coast and today's first stop, Fjällbacka.
12.07 We chose not to drive in the direction a sign saying Snökätting 5. Snökätting is Swedish for snow chain. Pretty soon we saw a scarecrow with a nice bike helmet. 12.16 We have parked on the outskirts of Fjällbacka. We are in a parking lot at Föreningsgatan. Fjällbacka has become best known by the fact that the crime novel author Camilla Läckberg's books take place here. She's from here herself, too. The urban area has 819 inhabitants but feels much larger now in the summer with all summer guests and tourists. 12.31 We are now in Fjällbacka urban area and at Fjällbacka church located on a cliff overlooking the community. Up here is also the artwork Pålarne. At the moment it is actually a pause in the raining. Maybe it'll be an acceptable day after all. There are plenty of visitors in motion. 12.45 In addition to Camilla Läckberg and her books, Fjällbacka has become known in some other contexts. Actress Ingrid Bergman often visited Fjällbacka and spent from 1958 many summers on Dannholmen in the archipelago west of Fjällbacka. After her death in 1982, her ashes were scattered in the sea around the island. A statue has been erected on the square. In honour of her memory, The Square was renamed Ingrid Bergman square. Some scenes from the film Ronia the Robber's daughter are recorded in the Kungsklyftan on Vetteberget here in the area. In the film, however, it is called Vargklämman. 13.04 After walking through Fjällbacka and photographing beautiful views and a bust of Ingrid Bergman, it is now time for lunch at the Thai restaurant Fjällbacka Chang Thai restaurant. It is located along Allégatan with Vetteberget behind it. 14.09 It was a good lunch. We went there for lack of other affordable options and it was a good choice. Along county road 163 we now drive out from Fjällbacka. We will now travel north along the coast here in Bohuslän. New views and hopefully some filled coffee cups wait for us.
Ingrid Bergman is remembered.
Ingrid Bergman´s time in Fjällbacka.
Lots of boats in Fjällbacka harbour.
Christer at Ingrid Bergmans torg.
Lunch at Chang Thai restaurant in Fjällbacka.
We have left the car at Infartsparkeringen in Grebbestad.
14.22 Now we stand still just outside Grebbestad. It's time to walk. We have left the centre again. This time we have placed the vehicle on the entrance parking (Infartsparkeringen). It is better to find such parking spaces using Google Maps than to get stuck in town centres without free parking spaces.
14.42 Our walk has taken us past the campsite Grebbefjorden and then down towards the harbour area along Strandvägen. Here there are many visitors on the move. Some seem to have come by boat. Here in Grebbestad there are 1,923 inhabitants but during the summer there will be much more here. 15.02 I have seriously seen the sea again. Now I'm standing by an odd statue of the composer/singer Evert Taube. He has no less than three arms or at least three hands. He has one around the neck of the lute, one on the strings and one that is stretched out. The bronze statue is made by Willy Gordon. Evert Taube lived in the summer of 1954 on Otterö outside Grebbestad. During his stay at Otterö, Taube wrote, some of his most famous songs 15.39 Our plans to get coffee in a café were unfortunately dashed. On the one hand, there were not that many cafes to choose from and on the other hand, there are incredibly many people in motion. We had read the nice reviews about Sjögrens i backen but others had planned the same before us. It was crowded and queues outdoors in the rain to get a seat. We do not want to queue in the rain and gave up the project. 16.29 Right now we give up this day trip. We can't find any coffee and it's raining a lot again. We sit disappointed in the car and note just that. It's time to go back to the cottage again. 16.36 In Anrås we met a roller skier who was out training, the rain to spite.
Christer is heading towards the central parts of Grebbestad.
Grebbestad church can be seen behind the boats.
Evert Taube has three arms.
Här samsas vi (Here we join together).
A sculpture of the fisherman "Malkolm".
A bike on a boat.
17.42 After stopping to refuel at Qstar at Tanum church we came back home to our camping site in Bullarebygden. We first arranged with shower tokens from the reception and then with the long-awaited coffee. The latter we fixed ourselves inside the cottage.
19.24 We unwind and take it easy. At the moment, on television, a man sits and plays "House of the rising sun" on the accordion. I've never heard or seen that before. It is for better or for worse a wide range on Swedish television. 19.48 Further in the TV program/documentary we have heard about a band that under threat of being beaten played "The lion sleeps tonight" in tango beat. This happened in northern Finland. In addition, we have learned that hamburgers have been banned in Sweden. They were sold as flat meatballs in round loaves. The program we see is called "Rising sun blues". The time has come for us to go and have dinner. 20.12 There is plenty of waiting time to get the food at Nellies Place. It is the restaurant adjacent to the campsite. In addition, the beer pump has terminated with immediate effect. What a day! The interior breathes American 50s. It's not as cool as Empes in Kiruna which we went to last year but still quite OK. 20.36 While waiting for the food we observe other guests, examine the interior and note that singer Nick Borgen is going here to entertain for a few evenings later in July. 21.31 Our burgers finally came. It was good but nothing extra. The most important thing was that we fought back the hunger and we have no other eateries in the remote area. 22.38 We are back in our cabin. The soft light of the ceiling lamp facilitates our reading of the crime novels. It's our second night at the cottage and the last camping night of the stay is underway
We have filled up with new fuel at Tanum church.
A nostalgic Esso-man in the window.
Nellies Place, Vassbotten.
Finally our hamburgers arrived.
Sunday 11th of July
07.47 Imagine what a small token makes life or at least the morning shower more glorious. There is a difference to shower hot and today it worked. Today we will visit some more of northern Bohuslän and western Sweden. Unfortunately, however, we will not be able to catch up with the Koster islands. We focus on what we have time to see instead of what we miss.
09.08 It is, after a breakfast in our camping cottage, time to clean it. We will leave the cottage in the condition we found it. Who knows, maybe we manage to get it in an even better condition? 09.58 The sun is smiling at us again. We have also started earlier than expected. On the radio, right now "Time after time" with Cyndi Lauper is being played. We have checked out from the campsite in Bullarebygden and are now heading towards Strömstad. There is a lot of forest in northern Bohuslän. 10.48 The green car is now parked in the parking lot by Strömsvattnet next to a car with Norwegian license plates. We ourselves sit on a green bench with black armrests with a knob on each. It is windy and we are on foot heading towards the centre of the country's westernmost city, Strömstad. It has a population of 7,466. 11.08 Near the centre we crossed Hjälpebron bridge and arrived at the place where Strömstad Rowing Club is located. The bridge goes across Strömsån. A man dressed is gray has successfully hunted and caught an escaped/dropped white plastic bag. Another gentleman in white walked up to the bridge and then sprinted over it and then returned to the strolling. 11.16 Once in the central parts of the city, we saw the town hall, which was built between 1912 and 1917. There is a lot of uphill here in the centre. The city hall is at the end of such. 11.31 We just were at the westernmost church of the Swedish mainland, Strömstad church. Now we are on the outdoor seats at Kaffedoppet (https://www.kaffedoppet.se). It will be late eleven o´clock coffees, early lunch or something like that. In any case, it will be coffee with sandwiches.
The two Sweden-travellers have arrived to Strömstad.
Strömsån reaches the sea in central Strömstad.
Strömstad City Hall.
In this intersection Norra Klevgatan becomes Östra Klevgatan.
Strömstad church.
Christer is entering the café Kaffedoppet.
11.57 We are satisfied with what we got. Others who were satisfied were some small birds. A woman who had placed her orders, coffee and a piece of cake on a table in order to get it in her car. This pleased the feathered that happily treated themselves some of it since the woman took incredibly long time to get things done. Now we are in a park in front of the House of Culture Skagerrak. Here is a bust of the author Emilie Aviator Carlén.
12.05 We have moved down towards the port and the sea. Christer visited Strömstad with his father in 1986 but he does not recognize anything from that time. Have the memories faded or has the city changed? At the Oscar Square, a small square here nearby, we have seen a sculpture created in memory of the men behind the famous melody Kostervalsen. It was written for a music competition in 1907 by David Hellström (music) and Göran Svenning (text). It was published in 1913. 12.18 The city's name, Strömstad, is written in statue form with white letters on a grass area at Strömstad guest harbour. The letters attracted two children to climb up to have fun. Less fun was going down. One only dared after being assisted by his mother. 12.40 The wind blows at us here on the bench by the sea. A person in a red T-shirt jogs past. Four days ago we drank coffee in Orsa Finnmark wilderness and now we are here among all the tourists and boat people. 12.57 We have passed the boat to the Koster islands that we never had time to go with. Now we see the last of Strömstad. There is more to be done today. 13.18 Two classic things happened during the walk back to the car on the south side of Strömsvattnet. First we got to see a girl in a wedding dress. She posed for a photographer on a wooden bridge in a park. At the end of the walk we saw a raspberry bush. It was freed from some of its berries. Soon it's time to move further south.
Peter is visiting Kaffedoppet in Strömstad.
A nice car close to our café table.
You can play chess in Stadsparken.
Skagerack Strand, culture house and restaurant.
Strömstad in large letters.
Strömstad guest harbour.
14.01 A mixture of luck and skill took us to the parking lot at Vitlycke Museum (https://www.vitlyckemuseum.se). Google Maps was to say the least unclear in the instructions when we left Strömstad but we have somehow ended up right anyway and have followed county road 176 down here. Vitlycke is located a few kilometres south of Tanumshede. Now we're going on a little excursion. Oh, now the German shepherd dog Boss greeted Christer. Boss just got here to the parking lot with another car.
14.18 We have stopped for a while. We don't take a bench break, it is more a log break. We are at the UNESCO-listed rock carvings area in Vitlycke, Tanum. Here are petroglyphs from the Bronze Age that we will soon see. It will be this trip's second place with petroglyphs. We have also seen such in Nämforsen, Ångermanland. 14.35 We are at Vitlyckehällen. It has been carved on throughout the period 1700-500 B.C. It was during the so-called Bronze Age when both climate and coastal line was different compared to today. Just as at Nämforsen there are both images you understand and others you cannot interpret at all. 14.57 We and some others listen to a guided tour, lecture, review about the rock carvings. A skilled girl from the museum lectures and we learn a lot. Thank God we came here on this occasion. Free guidance and information is never wrong. One thing we learned is that the pictures were knocked in. Actually, it should be called rock knocks, not rock carvings. 15.15 To the left of me is a great grave mound from the Bronze Age. Right in front of me is a nice view and as support for these notes it is an information sign about the mound and the people probably buried there. We have gone up the mountain behind Vitlyckehällen to see these graves and a nice view of the immediate area here in Tanum. 15.42 We finish our stay here in Vitlycke with sandwiches, bananas and beverages at Café Bronze inside the Vitlycke Museum's main building. It seems to be summer workers who staff this cafe. The locally baked bread is heavenly delicious. 16.01 We are very pleased with what we were served at Café Bronze. Soon the museum closes and we need to travel further. Ruth in Google Maps just told us to go west. We're heading towards our new hostel. In the final of the Wimbledon tennis, Serb Novak Djokovic leads over the Italian Matteo Berretini with 5-3 in the first set.
Strömstad open air-bath.
The boats to the Koster islands leave from Norra hamnen in Strömstad.
We have stopped at the rock carving area in Vitlycke, Tanum.
Vitlyckehällen from the Bronze age.
Graves on the hill at Vitlycke.
A view of Vitlycke with surroundings.
16.17 We are about to drive six kilometres on county road 163. In the Wimbledon tennis it is 6-6 and tiebreak.
16.38 It was an Italian set win and we are already in Hunnebostrand. There is a lot of traffic and the road is narrow. 17.05 Our merry host at Kungshamns Vandrarhem (https://kungshamnsvandrarhem.se) greeted us and showed us around the house/hostel. Our hostess then checked us in and announced that everything was already paid. It had been withdrawn from Christer's card. The hostel is located where the road divides. If you take the left, you end up in Kungshamn and if you go to the right, you end up in Smögen. 17.48 We are not sure about when and how we will see Kungshamn. We also wonder how we can see tonight's European Championship final in football. It is broadcast on TV4 and cannot be viewed for free via the internet. Hey, the door to our little room just opened. There's no one on the other side, are there ghosts? In London it is 1-1 in sets and 5-3 to Novak Djokovic in the third set. Kungshamn was named Gravarne before 1965 and is today central area in Sotenäs municipality. It is reportedly home to 3,456 inhabitants. 18.45 Christer and I are now on foot on the way to more central parts of Kungshamn. On the way here we have seen a cross flag with blue bottom and red cross. It is according to internet the flag of Bohuslän. Last year we saw Skåne's flag and this spring, Österlen's flag. Furthermore, the internet says that Novak Djokovic won his total twentieth grand slam title, shared place as world best. In addition, he has taken three out of three grand slam titles this year. Has it happened since Rod Laver in 1969? 19.12 A visit down at the harbour has given us something to photograph and a place for breakfast tomorrow. Now we wait for our dinner at Kungshamn Kebab & Pizzeria. It sure takes time to get the pizzas. Do they make one pizza at a time? Both in the room and outside there are more and more people waiting. 20.36 After a lot of waiting we finally got our pizzas. Now we have come home after first having bought breakfast at ICA Skeppet supermarket. The next mission will be to find the common room here at the hostel. This is where we hope to see the European Championship final. For me it will be the first big football final I watch on Swedish soil in over 20 years. 21.03 In the second minute of the match, England scores 1-0 through Luke Shaw. Is there going to be a second Italian loss today? It is also the fastest goal in European Championship final history. 21.33 Those that cover the match, we and four more guests, sit and watch the match in the living room upstairs. Outside, darkness begins to fall over Bohuslän. 21.56 At halftime there is talk of tactics. We also got coffee.
Kungshamns Vandrarhem (Kungshamn (Hostel).
The flag of Bohuslän.
Smögen bridge can be seen behind the houses in Kungshamn.
Welcome to Kungshamn!
Kungshamn guest harbour.
Kungshamn Kebab & Pizzeria. Order here if you have plenty of time.
22.01 For us here in the hostel there has been a substitute. A young boy has walked out of the TV room. A gentleman has entered.
22.27 It now says 1-1 in the match. Italy equalized on a corner. Leonardo Bonucci scored the goal. 22.57 OK. It's time for another extra time. Too bad this important game isn't settled in a normal way. 23.19 There has been a no goal first quarter of this final's extra time. 23.40 It will, for the second time in the European Championship final story, be a penalty shootout. Last time it happened and the first time was in 1976. 23.55 There were five missed penalties and it ended with Italy being European champions. Not very tactical by the English captain to let the young newly substitute players to kick the decisive penalties. It could only end in one way. Now the tournament is over. Tomorrow is a new week and then our journey continues. It's far from over. It's not even halftime.
You can see 47 photos from July 9 in this photoalbum.
You can see 72 photos from July 10 in this photoalbum.
You can see 131 photos from July 11 in this photoalbum.