Road trip to the Fjords in Norway.

Hej Hej!

Well, after some other long weeks without writing, finally I am going to explain how the trip to Norway was. This time I am writing from my house back in Tarragona, and I have to say that thinking about the fresh weather we experienced in Norway helps me deal with the warm and shiny sun we have here, by the Mediterranean Sea. So, after this brief introduction, let’s start!

 

On the 8^th of June, at 5 in the morning, 8 friends and I took a huge van direction to Norway. From the very beginning, we had the feeling that it was going to be an awesome trip, not only because of the company, but because of the amazing place we were about to see with our own eyes. I have to say that the pictures I couldn’t avoid seeing before, on Google Images, had nothing to do with what we really saw in there. Whatever, we headed to Norway early in the morning, as we had a really long journey of about 14 hours with some stops for basic things such as eating. After the compulsory stop in the border between Sweden and Norway, our direction was clear: VOSS (Thanks past Esther for writing down that awesome diary, so now you, Present Esther can remember every single place you visited). Once in Norway we could experience the coldness of this country, but it was compensated by the Fairy Tale views it has. All along the road there could be seen many waterfalls; and on the top of those mountains, there was mostly, snow. In those 14 hours of driving we had every different kind of experiences: we saw a moose, a little bird killed itself against one of our windows, I drove for some kilometers after basically 10 months without driving (and this time I drove a huge 9 places van!), one of the tires seemed to be a bit flat, my belly ached for a while and I even thought it could be appendicitis (but it wasn’t) and, of course, we got a 2900NOK fine for driving 11km/h faster than allowed (71km/h instead of 60km/h). As the same police officer said: -“Driving fast in Norway is expensive”.

Police officer while putting us the fine: -“This is Norway, not Mexico”.

Well, after these adventures we made it to our Camping (and it was just the beginning of the trip!). It was a wonderful place, with a huge waterfall inside the same facility. It can seem awesome at first sight, but after a while, the loud noise of it can be… let’s say, Interesting! Anyways, it was a really nice place, at the foot of a mountain, so there was quite fresh air thanks to the waterfall, but also quite humid because of the same reason.

 

On the 9^th of June we headed to Bergen. We were supposed to spend some hours in the city and afterwards go back to Voss and have some rest, but in the end it took us ages to get to Bergen, so we couldn’t visit much of it. On the way there we had the first problem: it was plenty of workers fixing the roads, and most of the time we had to wait for hours until they would let us keep driving. Finally, once in Bergen we had the second problem: we wouldn’t find a parking, as the van was taller than any subterranean parking allows. After a while driving around, asking pedestrians and getting a bit upset, we could find a place to park right in front of the University, but, of course, we had the third problem: we could only park for 2 hours, and some locals told us that the police usually check the tickets and if you stay longer than that, they put fines (We didn’t need nor want another fine. Thanks Norway…). So afterwards we just went to find something to eat, as it was late and we were starving. It took me ages to find a place to grab some food: in the first place they only accepted Norwegian credit cards, in the second one they wouldn’t have any vegetarian options more than cheese with bread, so finally I ended up in a fast food restaurant, eating a mini-hamburger (and it was the fish one >.<). Finally all the group met again, and we sight seen a bit, but we only had around 1 hour left, and, of course, the car was around half an hour away. After visiting the harbor in Bergen, some people still wanted to see the Funicular, so we split: some people went to the funicular thing, and others went to rescue our van so we wouldn’t get a fine. We could make it without the fine, but when we were leaving our parking place, we faced the last problem of the day: right behind the van there was parked a small sky-blue Vespa. The driver, obviously, couldn’t see it, so we hit the motorbike and it fell right against the floor. We have to say that the van was already full of scratches but well, we contributed on it too. After this busy day, we drove back to our camping (with an awesome waterfall) in Voss.

 

10^th of June, third day in Norway: THE REAL TRIP BEGINS. At 4 in the morning, the 9 of us were having breakfast and getting ready for the biggest challenge of the trip. At 7:30 in the morning we were already in the parking of TROLLTUNGA. After some last minute preparations, pictures with the signs that mark the kilometers and some encouraging speeches, at 8 we started the hiking. The first hour and a half was really hard: the path was really steep and full of huge stones.

Dmitri Hogenkamp: -“There is no elevator to success”

Afterwards, it got kind of better, but it was a party every time we saw that we had a kilometer less to reach the top (Don’t forget that it is 11 km up). Once we were higher we started to find snow on the path, what made us go slower as it was slippery, but the shiny and warm sun made it better. At around 12:40h we were at the top, we reached the Trolltunga stone. It was a really long journey, full of obstacles, but thanks to the work in team we could make it. Without each other’s support it would have been way more difficult and boring, of course. The views up there and also on the way were marvelous. I have never seen something like that before, as magic, pure and fresh as the mountains in Norway. I have to say that, for me, the Trolltunga stone itself was not as impressive as I thought. You really have to find the right angle to find its impressive view. We wanted to take pictures on the stone, and as it was quite full of tourists (more than what I expected due to the difficulty of the journey), we had to wait a bit. Sitting on the edge of the stone and looking down was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen and/or done. Down there it feels so empty, big and wild. After our pictures and while we were having lunch, it was so entertaining to see all those people taking pictures on the stone. Some people did risky things on the stone such as handstanding or jumping near the edge. I have to say that I was scared for their lives at some point.

The way down was as tiring as the way up. On the way there are plenty of small waterfalls and rivers that cross the way, so waterproof shoes are the key. A good point is that the way is really well marked (by stones with a red T on them), so it is quite difficult to get lost. The part I was most scared of was when we had to walk along a wall with mood on the floor that made it really slippery. A single mistake and I would have fallen down a deep hill, full of stones of the same mountain. Once we got around an hour and a half left we were at the most difficult part again (the same one that was hard to go up). The big stones, the fact that it was quite steep and this time was downhill, and the tiredness of the whole journey made it even more difficult to go down than to go up. My knee hurt so bad, what made it even more difficult and slow, but finally, we all made it!

We took it really easy, but others didn’t; a man told us that he did the way up running in only 2 hours (That’s insane!!!!). Afterwards we gave ourselves a yummy award: Watermelon for everyone! And once we felt a bit rested, we took the van again and we headed to Odda. We would spend the night in a nice house in Røldal. We had a really cozy dinner all together. As always, the girls cooked and the boys took care of the cleaning and tiding up afterwards. The house reminded us of when we were kids and we used to go on trips with the school. It was the best place compared to the days before.

Trolltunga

Our 4^th day was a “van day”; we spent the whole day driving in order to get closer to PREIKESTOLEN (our next hiking trip). What we had clear was that we would sleep in tents and in the van, so our mission was to find a nice spot to camp. It started to be late and we wouldn’t success to find a nice place, so we started to get a bit anxious. Finally we found a little harbor with a spot of grass, by the North Sea. Some nice neighbors let us camp there, so we set up our tents and we went to explore the surroundings. We ended up on a side of the harbor gazing at the sea and the nature around us. Finally it was dinner time, so we enjoyed a less cozy dinner than the last day, but with way better views. Finally we could see the sun setting in front of us, in the horizon, with the noise of the sea and the small insects and animals hidden in the nature. The night was a bit of a mess. 2 friends and I were sleeping in the van, and the other 6 were split in 2 tents. One of the guys in the van started feeling bad in the middle of the night, and he spent the whole night and the following day sick. (8 survivors + 1 fallen person).

 

5^th day in Norway; 12^th of June. We woke up at around 7 and we started getting ready to drive to Preikestolen. To reach the top is only 4km so, as it was not as hard as the last hiking, it only took us around 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach the top even if we were not so fast, and as it was not exhausting neither except for some points, we could enjoy the landscape and the surroundings. Once there we found many people standing on the big rock. We took our group pictures and all the videos we wanted, we had lunch, and we went down. (I want to add that 2 German siblings reached the top faster than us in Trolltunga and in Preikestolen, but the race was not finished yet; it just started!!!)

The way up it was not so full of tourists, but the way down was HORRIBLE. We couldn’t go as fast as we wanted because there was this long queue of people going down and even a longer one of people going up. It was basically full of Spanish people, dogs, parents with babies on their backs, and kids running around. All those people were doing the hike in the afternoon, so we were glad we decided to do it in the morning. The way down was faster (overtaking people) and so fun because we had to follow the path made of stones (Heike H. told us that some Sherpas built them). On the way up and down was so warm! It was only on the top that it was cold and windy. Once back in the parking we took our van, once again, and we drove some miles in order to get closer to our last hiking spot. On the way we were supposed to find another nice spot to camp, and so did we. We camped by a small lake, what we thought was the perfect spot. We had some barbecue for dinner; some vegetables (for the vegan/vegetarian ones) and some hamburgers and sausages (for the meat eaters). We set up out tents again, and we went to sleep, as the following day was going to be hard again.

 

6:00am; 13^th of June; somewhere near a lake. I had a terrible night: I was freezing and had no more clothes to put, inside the van it was as being on a fridge, so I couldn’t imagine how the people in the tents were feeling. Someone nocked at the glass by my head, and I heard some chatting. As soon as I could recover I realized: all the things we left outside were FROZEN including bags, towels, the same tents… With the cold deep in our bones, we decided to pack our stuff back in the van and leave to KJERAG even if it was only 6 in the morning. Once there we realized we are the first people to arrive. We met the keeper of the place, who was a really nice guy and invited us for Coffee. Once we felt full of energy thanks to the coffee and ready to go, we started walking. As we read before starting the hike, to reach the Kjerag Bolten we had to face 3 steep mountains, each one harder than the last one. We left at 8 in the morning and at 9:50h we were already in the Bolten. I have to say that we didn’t stop many times, as we were feeling cool. Once on the top it was quite cold and windy, but the views made it worth it. One of the scariest things of this trip was to stand in that stone. It is so small and it seems that, if you make a false step you will fell down. Anyways, it was completely worth it and after the steep journey up there, it is a MUST to stand in that stone and take a nice picture. This was one of the places I liked the most, followed by Trolltunga. We had lunch up there, and rested a bit to face the difficult part of this hike: the way down. If going up was difficult, going down was even worse, as it felt that we were going to fell rolling down the mountain. When we had only 1 mountain left, one of us realized that we just visited the Kjerag Bolten, and not the Kjerag itself, and it made us feel disappointed. Even if we were not as tired as expected, we decided not to go up hill again and skip that part of the trip. On the way down we met our German friends and we celebrated that, for once, we had beaten them! (It was a personal achievement; we felt so proud). It was in that way down that we realized that many people already knew us, as we were a bit noisy and always in a good mood, despite the difficulties of the way. Once again in the parking lot, our friend the keeper prepared coffee for us. We spent some time there, just chilling and talking about our trip in general, and then we decided to go find a place to sleep. After some research we found a really nice and cheap hotel in Hovden. It seems that in winter it is for people that go skiing around the area. When we got there we couldn’t believe what we were seeing: 4 double rooms + a sofa; 2 living rooms with TV and one even with a PS4, 3 bathrooms (2 with shower and one of those with a sauna and a dryer), a full equipped kitchen, 2 balconies… For a moment we thought that the prize was per person, and not as a group, but after asking we could stay relaxed, as the prize was for the whole group! That night 2 more people felt sick (6 survivors + 3 fallen people). To their good luck, they slept in a nice comfy bed, so the following morning they were in perfect shape.

 

The last day of our trip in the morning, the 14^th of June, another person was feeling sick (5 survivors + 4 fallen people); and for his bad luck, we were going to spend the whole day in the van driving back to Falun. We took it easy, as we were not in a rush because we didn’t have a time fixed to be back home. We also headed back home because one of the tires was still losing air and we were a bit concerned that it could provoke an accident or something like that.

Finally we made it home, all safe and with the pockets full of memories. This was the most awesome trip I have ever done, with friends from Austria, Italy, China, Poland, the Netherlands, France and Sweden. We had our ups and downs, as 7 days with a group of friends can be really challenging, but it also made us feel closer to each other and be more patient. We are all different; different backgrounds with different habits and thoughts, but in this trip we had the same target, so we helped each other to achieve it successfully.

This will be a trip to remember, and thanks to Mardu Z. we have a video to show the world and support the little stories we tell about the trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDR5Rtxo-N4

 

I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did remembering this awesome trip.

Hej då!

Road trip to the South of Sweden

Tjena!

Finally my days in Falun are back to “normality”. After two road trips with awesome friends from all over the world, I am going to write about the first one: SOUTH SWEDEN & COPENHAGEN.

On the 18^th of May we drove directly from Falun until Lund. We went to a friend’s house, and as it was late at night we went directly to sleep. Early in the morning of the 19^th, we took the car again direction to Malmö as we had to take the train that would bring us to Copenhagen. We had no problems at all to take the train; no passport controls, the train was just on time, and there was even Wi-Fi. Once in the city, we enjoyed the beautiful buildings and the awesome roads full of bikes but also of cars. The river that crosses the city makes it have a special beauty, and, of course, the harbor. We visited the statue of the little mermaid, what ended up being surrounded by more than 30 tourists that wanted to take a picture with her. We basically walked across the city, making sure we saw the most famous spots of it. During the night we stayed in a really awesome hostel called CPH DOWNTOWN. It was really full of young people from all over the world. The rooms were new and clean, there also was a big bar with special prices for guests, and the employees were so nice and international. On the 20^th in the morning we went to visit the well-known Christiania. I have to say that, even if I liked it, it was a bit weird. We spoke with some guys that live there and we could understand a bit more their philosophy and their way of living, but at the same time it is a bit, let’s say strange. Being in there felt as if we were in a complete different place, alien from Copenhagen; maybe that’s why people living there are fighting hard to keep it as it has been since 1971. After another long walk through Christiania, finally we left to the train station to go back to Malmö and pick our car. The train station was a mess itself; it was full of people lost, going from one platform to another, trying to catch a train that was delayed several times. Finally we could pick a train, even if it was full of people from one side to the other (angry people because of the delays). Once in Malmö we got surprised by a couple of fines in our car that, finally, we could solve and not pay. (TIP ONE: If you leave the car in the QPark in Malmö’s Centralstation, make sure you leave the ticket in the car. The fine was up to 800kr for two days just because we took the ticket with us, instead of leaving it on the windscreen.) I have to say we were quite tired so we didn’t see much of the city center. We walked along the river until the harbor to see the tower that is rotating all the time called Vridande Bålen (Turning Torso). Afterwards we went to the harbor and we had fika there. We also went to a huge park where we found a nice wooden windmill. Finally, we went back to Lund to sleep, once again, in our friend’s apartment.

It is at this point where the second part of the trip starts. On the 21^st in the morning we visited a bit Lund. We went to the University building, to the main streets and squares, and then we drove to Ystad. It is a little tiny town in which, afterwards we acknowledged the Swedish singer of Eurovision, Frans was born and still lives in there. We also went there because one of our friends wanted to see the places that one of her favorite writers got inspired from, for one of her books. Afterwards we kept driving south, and went to Skåne. There we saw the Ales stenar  (Ale’s Stones). Being there made me feel I was in another age, surrounded by those big stones and also having those amazing views of the Baltic Sea with a beach made out of round stones. The good part of this visit was that the place was not so full of people so we could enjoy it even more. That day we slept in an island called Öland that is joined to Kalmar by a nice bridge. That camping called Talludens was being remoderated or constructed. It has some bungalows by the sea, and it seems an awesome place to spend the summer. The bungalow had all the facilities we needed: a kitchen, a living room, 2 double bedrooms and a bathroom with shower. The following day, on the 22^nd in the morning, we drove across the island to visit some Slotts (Castles). The first one we visited was the one called Borgholms Slott,  and the other one I can not remember the name, but we couldn’t even see the outside of this one because it had a fence hiding it. For our bad luck, we had to pay 100kr to get in, so we decided to skip the inside. On the road we found many different windmills, some of them really old and abandoned, and other small ones just in the backyard of houses. Afterwards we went to the Långe Jan Lampa (Lighthouse) in Ottenby. We went up in the tower so we could see the island from the high. Despite the wind, it was an amazing experience and there were awesome views. When the night was closer we drove to what would be out home for two nights. It was a camping called Klåster Gard in Hultsfred. We had a bungalow for 5 people with a small fridge, and then there was a huge living room with a full-equipped kitchen and bathrooms with showers. The camping was in the middle of nowhere and we were the only hosts, what made it a bit creepy at night but beautiful during the day. The 23^rd in the morning we drove to Vimmerby. It took us ages to get there because there were doing some constructions on the road. We even had to wait for another car with a “Lots följ mig” (Follow me) written on it, to guide us until the end of the road they were repairing. Whatever, it made us loose some time, but we could made it on time to start our bikes tour. We rented some bikes in Vimmerby and we started a 69km tour. I have to say that it was the most challenging part of the trip. We were all the time on road where, at some points, there were quite a lot of cars and trucks. It was kind of scary but, the main thing was that it was really hard. All the 5 of us agreed that only around the 6% of the route was downhill, the rest of it was uphill, and quite steep at some points. We stopped around three times; once in a place I can not remember the name, I just know it was where a series for kids was filmed, another time in Mariannelund, and the last time in Bullerbü. The good part of the bikes tour was the views. South Sweden has really green landscapes, full of nature and free (and happy) cows grazing around. I can say that here in Sweden I have seen the happiest cows ever. After the exhausting tour we went back to Hultsfred to our camping, and rested a lot to face the last day of our road trip. On the 24^th in the morning we started driving up north again. On the way we stopped in Västervik where we just visited the seaside and the main church, and afterwards we stopped in Norrköping. I loved that city; it has an awesome river crossing across it, even with a waterfall that silences the noise of the city. We also stopped in Avesta, where the biggest Dalahäst  (Dala horse) is. And finally, at night, we got back in Falun.

During those 6 days I spent with friends from Austria, The Netherlands and France, we discovered the sunny and warm part of Sweden. The south, in the seaside, with all the beaches and beautiful landscapes makes it a bit different from the lakes and dry weather we are used to here in Falun. For me, being a seaside person, that weather made me feel home again; the noise of the waves breaking against stones, the humidity and the salty smell in the air.

It was, for sure, an unforgettable road trip that I will always keep with humor and positive vibes. And yes, I encourage people to do this kind of road trip, to get to know more places of the country that is hosting you for some days, weeks, months, years, or forever.

This is all for today. Soon a new update with the road trip to Norway.

Hej då!

 

 

---

Tjena!

Finalmente mis días en Falun han vuelto a la “normalidad”. Después de dos viajes con amigos geniales de todo el mundo, voy a escribir sobre el primero: Sur de Suecia y Copenhague.

El 18 de Mayo condujimos directamente des de Falun hasta Lund. Fuimos a casa de un amigo y como era de noche fuimos directamente a dormir. Pronto por la mañana del 19 cogimos el coche otra vez camino a Malmö ya que teníamos que coger el tren que nos llevaría a Copenhague. No tuvimos problemas para coger el tren; ningún control de pasaportes, el tren llegó a tiempo, y hasta había Wi-Fi. Una vez en la ciudad, disfrutamos de los bonitos edificios y las fantásticas calles llenas de bicicletas pero también coches. El rio que cruza la ciudad le hace tener una belleza peculiar y, por supuesto, el puerto. Visitamos la estatua de la sirenita, que acabó siendo rodeada por más de 30 turistas que querían sacarse una foto con ella. Básicamente cruzamos la ciudad, asegurándonos de que visitábamos los puntos más importantes. Durante la noche dormimos en un hostal llamado CPH DOWNTOWN. Estaba muy lleno de gente joven de todo el mundo. Las habitaciones eran nuevas y estaban limpias, también había un bar con precios especiales para los huéspedes, y los trabajadores eran simpáticos e internacionales. El día 20 por la mañana fuimos a la conocida Christiania. Tengo que decir que aunque me gustó, fue un poco raro. Hablamos con algunos chicos que viven ahí y pudimos entender un poco más su filosofía y su forma de vida, pero a la vez, digamos que es extraño. Estando ahí se sentía como si estuviésemos en un sitio completamente distinto, ajeno a Copenhague; quizás esa es la razón por la que llevan luchando para mantener el sitio desde 1971. Después de una larga caminata por Christiania, decidimos irnos a la estación de tren para volver a Malmö y recoger el coche. La estación de tren era un desastre; estaba llena de gente perdida, corriendo de una vía a otra, intentando coger un tren que había sido retrasado más de una vez. Finalmente pudimos coger un tren aunque estaba lleno de punta a punta (lleno de gente enfadada por los retrasos). Una vez en Malmö fuimos sorprendidos por dos multas en el coche que, finalmente, pudimos arreglar para no pagarlas. (CONSEJO UNO: Si dejáis el coche en el QPark de Malmö, aseguraos de que dejáis el ticket en el coche. La multa era de unos 800kr (más de 80€) por dos días, solamente porque nos llevamos el ticket con nosotros en vez de dejarlo en el parabrisas del coche.) Tengo que decir que estábamos bastante cansados así que no vimos mucho del centro de Malmö. Andamos a lo largo del rio hasta el puerto para ver una torre que gira todo el rato llamada Vridande Bålen  (Torso que Gira). Después fuimos a ver el puerto y tomamos fika allí. También fuimos a un parque enorme donde encontramos un molino de viento de madera. Finalmente, volvimos a Lund a dormir, otra vez, en casa de mi amigo.

Es en este punto es cuando empieza la segunda parte del viaje. El día 21 por la mañana visitamos un poco de Lund. Fuimos al edificio de la Universidad, a las calles y plazas principales, y después condujimos a Ystad. Es un pequeño pueblo en el que después descubrimos que el cantante Sueco de Eurovision, Frans, nació y vive ahí. También fuimos porque una de nuestras amigas quería ver los sitios en el que su escritora favorita se inspiró para uno de sus libros. Después seguimos conduciendo dirección sur, y fuimos a Skåne. Allí vimos las  Ales stenar  (Piedras de Ale). Estar ahí me hizo sentir como que estaba en otra época, rodeada por esas piedras gigantes y también por las geniales vistas del Mar Báltico con una playa formada a base de piedras redondeadas. La mejor parte de esta visita es que no estaba muy lleno de gente así que pudimos disfrutarlo aún más. Ese día dormimos en una isla llamada Öland que está unida a Kalmar con un puente. Ese camping llamado Talludens estaba siendo remodelado o construido. Tiene algunos bungalows junto al mar,  y parece un sitio perfecto para el verano. El bungalow tenía todas las facilidades necesarias: una cocina, 2 camas dobles, y un baño con ducha. Al día siguiente, el 22 por la mañana, condujimos a lo largo de la isla para visitar algunos Slotts (Castillos). El primero que visitamos fue uno llamado Borgholms Slott, y del otro no recuerdo el nombre, pero no pudimos ver ni siquiera la fachada ya que había un muro tapándolo. Para nuestra mala suerte, valía 100kr (más de 10€) entrar a cada uno de los castillos, así que decidimos no entrar. Por la carretera vimos muchos molinos de viento distintos, algunos muy viejos y abandonados, pero otros más pequeños incluso en el jardín de las casas. Después fuimos al Långe Jan Lampa  (Faro) en Ottenby. Subimos a la torre para poder ver la isla desde las alturas. A pesar del viento, fue genial la experiencia de estar ahí arriba, con esas vistas. Cuando la noche estuvo cerca, condujimos al sitio que sería nuestra casa durante dos noches. Era un camping llamado Klåster Gard en Hultsfred. Teníamos un bungalow para 5 personas con una nevera pequeña, y después había un comedor-cocina gigante completamente equipados y baños con duchas. El camping estaba en medio de la nada y éramos los únicos huéspedes, lo que hacía que por la noche diese un poco de miedo pero fuese precioso por el día. El 23 por la mañana condujimos a Vimmerby. Tardamos una eternidad porque  había obras en la carretera. Hasta tuvimos que esperar a que un coche con un cartel que ponía «Lots följ mig” (Sígueme), viniese a por nosotros y nos guiara hasta el final de las obras. Fuese lo que fuese, nos hizo perder tiempo pero pudimos llegar bastante pronto para empezar nuestra ruta en bicis. Alquilamos algunas bicicletas en Vimmerby y empezamos nuestra ruta de 69km. Tengo que decir que fue la parte más desafiante del viaje. Fuimos todo el rato por carretera, por lo que en algunos tramos había bastantes coches y camiones. Daba un poco de miedo, pero lo principal fue que era bastante duro. Los 5 coincidimos en que solamente el 6% de la ruta era cuesta abajo, lo demás era todo cuesta arriba y bastante empinado. Paramos unas 3 veces; la primera no recuerdo el nombre, solo sé que era un pueblecito en el que se rodó una serie para niños, otra de las veces fue en Mariannelund, y la ultima en Bullerbü. La mejor parte del tour con bicis fueron las vistas. El sur de Suecia tiene paisajes muy verdes, llenos de natura y vacas libres (y felices). Puedo decir que aquí en Suecia he visto las vacas más felices del mundo. Después de la excursión volvimos a Hultsfred a nuestro camping, y descansamos bastante para afrontar el último día de nuestro viaje. El 24 por la mañana empezamos a conducir dirección norte otra vez. Por el camino paramos en Västervick donde solamente visitamos el mar y la iglesia principal, y después paramos en Norrköping. Me encantó esa ciudad; tiene un rio precioso que atraviesa la ciudad, incluso hay una cascada que ensordece el ruido de la ciudad. También paramos en Avesta, donde está el Dalahäst (Caballo de Dalarna) más grande del mundo. Y finalmente, por la noche estábamos de vuelta en Falun.

Durante esos 6 días que pasé con amigos de Austria, Holanda y Francia, descubrimos el sol y la parte más cálida de Suecia. El sur, con el mar y todas esas playas y paisajes preciosos es un poco diferente de los lagos y el tiempo seco al que estamos acostumbradas en Falun. Yo, siendo una persona criada cerca del mar, me sentí como en casa otra vez; el ruido de las olas rompiendo en las rocas, la humedad y el olor salado en el viento.

Fue, seguro, un viaje inolvidable que siempre guardaré con humor y buenos recuerdos. Y sí, animo a gente a hacer este tipo de viajes para conocer más lugares del país que nos hospeda por algunos días, semanas, meses, años, o para siempre.

Y esto es todo por hoy. Pronto, otra entrada sobre el viaje a Noruega.

Hej då!