Kinnekulle

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After a dodgy night's sleep to say the least and a breakfast made up of a mishmash of hotel fare and my own additions (there was no soya milk despite my request), I dragged myself off to the train to Kinnekulle. At the crowded Pressbyrå newsagents, I bought a travelcard for my adventures. The train was pristine and the helpful onboard staff helped me work out the card validation system. I got off at the tiny station at Råbäck, and after ambling by mistake into a private garden and being ticked off by the owner (in my defence, there was no sign about private property and she did live in the former station building), I found my way onto one of the many hiking trails. My destination was the lookout tower at the top of the hill, so the only way was up.

Don't get me wrong, I love nature and hiking but with my foot injury still an issue, I had to make sure I didn't get lost because I knew that my foot only had capacity for an unknown number of kilometres. And my poor sense of direction is legendary. So it was a bit more stressful than I would have liked, constantly checking the map and the GPS. Tried to stick to roads as much as possible rather than footpaths as they were easier to walk on and to navigate. This meant quite a bit of what I term "ditch diving" but I managed pretty well. Saw the spectacular limestone quarry that forms an artificial lake (presumably not fit for swimming in judging by the colour of the water) and I think I heard a woodpecker somewhere near the summit. The woodland part of my route was very restful, with its various species and greenery.

Refreshed after a fortifying picnic close to the lookout tower, it was time to enjoy the view properly. But naturally the tower only took cash or Swish, and I only had 18 kronor on me and no Swish. A visit to the tower costs 20 kronor. A problem clearly needed to be solved. So I did what I always do on such occasions: I played the quintessentially British tourist. I put the coins I had on the counter and asked the guy to help me because I didn't know how much I had (partly true considering how I rarely use cash and we've just changed coins here in Sweden). He counted it out and told me that I needed two kronor. At that point a nice old lady stepped in and gave me the missing coin. I felt very disingenuous but grateful because now I was going up the tower. (I promise to pay this forward when I get the chance.) And the view was impressive, with the whole of Lake Vänern laid out before us and a great view of the quarry. Definitely worth the hike.

Feeling a tad guilty for my duplicity, I made my way back down the hill. Found an alternative route which led to the village of Hällekis. To spare my foot, I took my time and took a lot of breaks. Saw a couple of birds of prey hunting above the fields on the way. Hällekis itself is a pretty place, with a cute station building that houses a craft shop, and across the road is the Falkängen handicrafts street, with a large number of boutiques selling locally made wares. A nice place to while away the time while waiting for the last train to Lidköping.

I have to say I'm impressed with the willingness of Lidköping restaurants to embrace the vegan wave. Another perfectly good meal, this time at Cyrano: vegan pizza with marinated fake meat. Sat afterwards for a while listening to the music at Solbryggan, the Lidköping equivalent of Malmö's Västra Hamnen complete with wooden deck. Then a quick sauna to cleanse myself of the day's dirt and back to my room. Unfortunately, the dunk-dunk of the nightclub ensured it was to be another late night - or rather early morning. But more on that in the next entry.

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