Monday 22 June 2009

 

Breakfast is taken in the basement of the Youth Hostel. Everything is there, no worries about that. We drive North to Docksta. There we will board a boat at 10.15am run by Höga Kusten Båtarna which will take us to the island of Ulvön. We have booked and paid the trip yesterday on line, but as we had no printer with us, we do not have a ticket with us. One phone call to the head office solves that. Docksta is on the High Coast. The coast is part of  a mountain range. Signs and brochures keep reminding us of this unique natural feature. Ulvön is one of the islands off the High Coast. It has been inhabited since the 16th century, first by fishermen from Gävle. We arrive in Ulvahamn, a small and charming village with only one street, lined with red and white painted cottages and a boat houses attached. It is very quiet and there virtually no car traffic. We walk down the street that, once outside the village turns into a beach promanade. We walk until the beginning of the inlet separating the two halves of Ulvön. Ulvön is actually two islands. We hardly meet any people on our walk. The views over the inlet are nice and from time to time we pass through dense forest. At the end of the path we reach a picknick site on rock promontory with sea views.  After a short stop we return and at the tourist office we turn left uphill towards Lotsberget, the viewing point. From there I have a great view of the island and the inlet. There is also kiosk selling drinks and snacks. Back down again we have a drink at an open air café near the quay. It has been excellent weather for most part of the day, but by this time the wind has picked up speed and it becomes a bit chilly. 

The boat journey back is a bit rockier because of the wind. We get near the coast things quiet down considerably. We do some shopping at the local ICA supermarket and drive back to  Härnösand. In the evening we eat a pizzeria. The swish pizzeria Östbanken in the old part of town si closed tonight because of renovations. That's why we have to settle for the simple  Pinochio, where we have two pizzas, salad and soft drinks for only 120 kronor (€11).

We wind the day up with coffee at  Wayne’s Coffee on Storgatan.

Weather: sunny, 21ºC / 70ºF

Tuesday 23 June 2009

  Harnösand - Gävle: 263km (164mi)

We drive south along the E4 following the coast line. . We get to Sundsvall at 9am. We park the car and walk into the city centre. We buy postcards and stamps and look for a place for coffee. We find one on Storgatan in the historic centre of this major town , the “capital of Norrland”. Sundsvall looks prominent and this is due to the presence of many grand looking stone building in the old centre along wide avenues. On a day after midsummer 1888 the city burned to the ground. The fire was caused by a spark from a steamship setting nearby beer brewery on fire. 9,000 people lost their homes. Within 10 years the city was rebuilt.  The result is a showcase of turn of the century architecture by the same architects who designed the newly rebuilt residential areas of Stockholm. The streets were made extra wide in order to prevent a rapid spread of fire again. This gave the town a distinctive look and an air of space. On the large square Stortorget we see a vegetable and fruit market. Strong and tough men are busy with the build up of a big stage for some festival. We walk to the Gustaf II Adolf church, but it is still closed. We take a second coffee at Wayne’s also on Storgatan. We walk along Storgatan to the Esplanaden, the other thoroughfare. From the we reach the  Kulturmagasinet. This is a cultural centre cum public library, museum and café in and between a number of former warehouses near the docks. It looks great and the area between the warehouse is covered with a glass roof. 

We take the car for a drive up the Norra Berget (the North mountain) to the lookout tower next to the (customary) open air museum. From the tower we have a nice view over the city, bay and around. From up there it is plain to see how planned the city is, wedged between three mountains and the sea. On the other side of town is the Sodra Berget with a down hill skiing slope.

We carry on southwards and in Hudiksvall we break for lunch at a Thai restaurant. This very popular buffet lunch gets us going again for the final bit to Gävle, where we arrive around 2.30pm. We stay in a simple hotel Aveny, ten minutes walk from the town centre. We go out for coffee and a stroll around Boulognerskog. That is the main park of Gävle, aptly named after the famous Bois de Boulogne in Paris. It is very warm today: no less than 26 degrees. In the park we find an outdoor café, where we have a drink. We go back to the hotel. At night we go to  Helt Enkelt  - meaning  "quite simple" -  for dinner. Fine food and service. I order Roban's heta Fräsare, which means as much as Robbie's hot milling cutter. It turns out to be a spicy beef fillet. It is very popular place to eat, with some outside seating, which is in great demand. Later that evening we have a drink at the Inn called Soderhjelmska Värdshuset , with its great beer garden. On our way back to the hotel we notice that everyone is watching the football match of Serbia against Sweden's under 21 team. The Swedes have a 3-1 lead. 

Back in the hotel we watch the game to the end, but the score does not change.  

Weer: sunny, max. 26ºC / 79ºF.

 

Wednesday 24 June 2009

 Breakfast is simple but adequate. WE walk to Wayne's for coffee. Then we set out to explore Gamla Geffle the old part of town. It is very warm again today. This old part of town escaped the great fire of 1869 and is now the historic district. It is not a very large area, but the cobble stone street and the brightly painted houses is a nice sight to see. When we have seen in it all, we decide to go to the National Railway Museum. 

This museum is a bit out of town and is quite a nice way of passing an hour or two. It gives a good overview of the development of railways in Sweden and its effect on society. The museums treasures are a couple of royal coaches from 1859, who belonged to King Karl XV (1826-72).  There is  also a simulator in which can dream to be the driver of an X2000 train - the Swedish version of a High Speed Train.  

After the museum we head for the coast. We have to look for it to find it. We first wind up in Skutskär which no beach to speak of and it is very boring. We do have some lunch there. We carry on and as it happens we do find the beach of Rullsand. There are lots of people sunbathing. The water of the Baltic Sea is still cold, but children have no problem with that. After enjoying an hour or so in the sun and the sand we drive back into town and have a look at the  Helige Trefaldihetskyrka. A nice church with great baroque altar and pulpit. We have beer at  Soderhjelmska and later in the evening we eat at Brända Bocken on Stortorget. The outside tables of this trendy restaurant smack in the middle of the central square is very popular and we a right in time to get us a table for two. Both food and service are excellent and we finish the evening with cocktails at Söderhjelmska. The evening is cooling off fast, but blankets are available to fight off the cold. 

Back in the hotel we wacht a semifinal of the Confederations cup, in which Spain surprisingly looses to USA, thus ending a record winning streak of 15 matches in a row. 

Weather: sunny, 21 ºC / 70ºF. graden