Blogs from Västra Götaland County, Sweden, Europe

We are now over 6 weeks since we left home. Seems just like yesterday - not really. Had breakfast with Christer again and bade him farewell. We have had a great time with him and have learnt lots about Sweden and Karlstad as well. He has been a fantastic host and I think he enjoyed having company to look after. A few farewells, photos and finally away. We were heading to Gothenburg via a few places Christer had recommended. First stop was Fjallbacka which is on the coast across from Karlstad. Not sure what to expect but once we parked the car we walked down into the Centre of town. Lots of people, boats and dogs. Turns out that Ingrid Bergman (of acting royalty) decided this was to be her happy place. Even bought a house ... read more

I’ve always had a soft spot for Saab cars and so, as we are passing, have to visit the Saab Museum at Trollhatten. In the 60’s Saab built a great reputation as rally cars and then in the 70’s launched the Saab Turbo which quickly became my dream car. J sits this one out – which is probably sensible – as though I love the museum it’s not for everyone. I always wished my father had bought a Saab, though he did look at them. I think he came close once but the specific car he had he eye one (a Saab 99 EMS) then sold and I don’t think he ever came close again. I also remember a Saab connection with Newcastle that was then celebrating its 900th anniversary at the same time Saab introduced ... read more

We were back on the road and our next stop was Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden. I was prepared for cooler temperatures as we were heading closer to the northern latitudes. and but the weather here took me by surprise! I learned later that day from the tour-boat operator that this was due to the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream. The drive on E6 through Sweden resembled driving through south central Pennsylvania, with similar vegetation greeting our eyes. Along the highway that hugged the west coastline of Sweden; were signs for McDonalds and Burger King and surprisingly, none for local eateries. We stopped at a McDonalds for lunch and what was interesting and different about this was the way they recycled/disposed their waste. Once used, every item had its own dispose slot and ... read more

"She lived on the wrong side of the river, in a disused dairy store" Most non-Swedes who read this have probably never heard of the town Trollhättan. It is a medium sized city, population of about 60,000, in the southwest of Sweden. Trollhättan may not be famous or spectacular. But there are several things there that we found interesting and that's why we went there this summer. One of the things that draw us there was actually a dairy store that doesn't even exist anymore. We'll get back to that later on. First we will tell you about some more typical sightseeing we did in the city. The river Göta Älv runs through Trollhättan. Göta Älv has long been an important trade route for transporting goods from south central Sweden to the west coast. However, in ... read more

Spent the morning wandering around Copenhagen before a 1 hr train trip to Malmo. The line is a combined road/rail link via an 8 km Oresund Bridge that partly spans the strait separating Denmark and the Scandinavian Peninsula. The link then descends a further 4 km by tunnel to reach Sweden’s 3rd city. Unfortunately the spectacular above ground look of the bridge is completely unseen from the train deck below. After a brief wander around the cobbled Old Town streets of Malmo its was back to the train station & a 3 hr trip to Gothenburg & a 3 night stay at the Le Mat B&B. The bridge has spurred a tremendous revival of Malmo from an industrial economy to a service economy dominated by IT & education whilst Gothenburg has prospered by retaining its traditional ... read more