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Wednesday 18 May 2022

Landvetter - Köön: 69km (1 uur)

We leave home at 8.45 am and take the metro to Rotterdam Central. There we take the InterCity Direct train service to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Despite the fact that Schiphol speaks of normal crowd levels, there are long queues for the security check. Fortunately, we booked with KLM with Sky Priority and we can skip the line. Afterwards we drink a cup of coffee before we go to gate B34 (at the very back of the B-concourse) for the flight to Gothenburg. The flight takes an hour and a quarter. In Gothenburg a Suzuki Swace from Budget is waiting for us. We drive towards Marstrand via the Götatunnel in Gothenburg.

We arrive in Köön around half past three. In Koön we park the car and take the ferry to Marstrand, which is located on an island. Hotel Nautic is a 10-minute walk away. It is very quiet on Marstrand. Almost everything is closed and there are few people on the street. Hotel Nautic is neat, but simple. At the reception, the room keys are in a basket with a list on which you can see which key to take. In the afternoon we go for a walk in Marstrand, but almost everything is closed. Only the Grand Hotel's restaurant opens at 6 p.m. We'll have dinner there then. It's tasty, but not cheap. We part with 200 euros for a 3-course dinner with 1 glass of wine.

Weather: partly cloudy with some sunny periods. 20 degrees.

Thursday19 May 2022

We have breakfast at the hotel. There is a wide range of breads and spreads, fruit and yoghurt. After breakfast we do a walk through the nature reserve on the island. Nice walk and fairly good walkable paths and steps. We also pass two naturist beaches, one for each gender. Back in the village we drink coffee and eat a pastry at Bergs Konditori. Unfortunately, the castle is only open on weekends.

We therefore take the ferry to the mainland and go by car to Fiskebackskil. That is a picturesque fishing village about 68 km and 1.5 hours away. We arrive there around 1.15 pm. We walk through the village looking for a restaurant. There is only one, at the Gullmarstrand conference center. There we eat a delicious lunch with salmon and mashed potatoes. 25 euros including drink and coffee.
We walk through the village again and now take some more time. We also see the church, where the Swedish painter Carl Wilhelmson is buried. Then we drive back to Marstrand. In the meantime it has become a bit foggy and it is raining lightly.

In Marstrand we have dinner at Lasse Maja Krog in the evening. Fine food. Today the pizza oven is not in operation and we take beef fillet. Nice glass of wine.

Weather: morning sunny. 19 degrees. Afternoon foggy and drizzle, 13 degrees

Friday 20 May 2022

Köon - Pilane - Brodalen: 140km (2:10 hrs)

At breakfast it is a lot busier this morning than yesterday. There are especially many men, from both Sweden and Denmark. Then we walk with suitcases and all to the ferry. It departs just before get there. We have to wait fifteen minutes. Across the strait I go get the car and we drive to the bakery for coffee. From there we drive to the Pilane Skulptur park. It's about an hour's drive from Marstrand, on the next peninsula. Without navigation it would be difficult to find as there are hardly any signs leading there. About 20 modern sculptures have been erected in the park around a prehistoric grave field, which can be viewed via a 1.6 km long route. The most impressive is Anna by Jaume Plensa. A large female head with a remarkable perspective effect.

From Pilane we drive to Brastad, where we will stay in Villa Bro. Rock drawings Brastad Brastad, or better Brodalen, the hamlet a few kilometers outside, where the B&B is, is not much. We have lunch in a cheap restaurant and rest a bit. In the afternoon we take a walk along rock paintings from the Bronze Age. The church of Brastad is also worth a visit.

In the evening we drive to Lysekil for dinner at Publik bar & mat. Good food, a bit loud.

Weather: 15 degrees, slightly cloudy.

 

Saturday 21 May 2022

Brodalen - Smögen - Fjällbacka - Brodalen: 109km

Breakfast in Villa Bro is okay, but not very spectacular. After breakfast we drive to Smögen, which is a picturesque fishing village on an island. We are clearly too early and not yet in the season. That's why we drink coffee in Kungshamn on the other side of the bridge. Then we walk through Smögen. Beautiful waterfront with fishermen's houses, shops, restaurants and bars. Unfortunately, almost everything is closed. Very colorful and very Swedish. Then it starts to rain and we look for the car again.

We then drive from Fjällbacken, about 35 km away on the coast. This is the birthplace of the writer Camilla Läckberg, of the Fjällbacka murders. A beautiful fishing village, which clearly benefits from tourism. It is pleasantly busy and the harbor is pleasantly developed. There is also a chasm through which you can walk, but I don't go further than the end of the stairs leading to it. We have lunch at the harbour. Then we drive back Vineyard to Villa Bro.

After a rest we drive to Lysekil. Here we view the church (which is closed on Saturdays) and the Kallbadhuset, where you can swim naked in the sea behind a fence. The water is now 12.5 degrees warm. We drink a cocktail with a view of the sea and then walk a bit in Lysekil, before eating at The Olde Inn Steakhouse. Fine dining at the diner level, but the prices don't lie. We go home a hundred euros poorer.

Weather: 12 degrees and periods of rain. Clearing up with sun later in the day

Sunday 22 May 2022

Brodalen - Trollhättan - Brodalen:     148km

After breakfast we first drive to the supermarket for sandwiches, which we want to use for lunch. We immediately refuel at the  self-service petrol station and then head for Trollhättan. There is the Saab car museum. We arrive at the museum at 10 am, but that is an hour early. Enough time to take a look at the waterfalls and locks of Trollhättan. The 1916 locks allow shipping traffic between the Vänern and the Kattegat bypassing the waterfalls in the Göta River. There are three lock systems, dating from 1800, 1844 and 1916. The latter are still in use. Apparently the water is not that high, because the falls are dry. The falls are only used at very high tide in the Vänern or on special occasions. There is enough water in the locks, which are closed very slowly. Also included in the system are two hydropower turbines for the generation of electricity. The drop in Trollhattan is 32 meters.

After this technical ingenuity, it's time for the Saab Museum. Here are cars from this illustrious car brand, which went out of business in 2011. It's a bit disappointing. There are many cars, but little is said about the history of the factory. Nothing is said at all about the relationship with the aircraft factory.

We drive back to Uddevalla, an unobtrusive town, and then to our B&B.

Weather: initially cool, 12 degrees, and cloudy. A little drizzle in the afternoon, but in the afternoon it will be sunny and the temperature will rise to 17 degrees

Monday 23 May 2022

Brodalen - Håverud - Ed: 142km

We drink coffee at the bakery in Brastad, after which we leave for Håverud. Mostly the same road as to Trollhättan, but a bit further. We now leave the Bohuslän region. In Håverud, in the Dalsland region, there is a hydraulic masterpiece. It is an aqueduct that spans a waterfall, allowing shipping traffic between two lakes, which are part of an inland waterway route, the Dalsland Canal. This all dates back to the early 1800s. It's an impressive sight. We eat our sandwich on a picnic bench with a view over the aqueduct. Then we look at the lower reaches, but a visit to the Canal Museum is not possible, because only open from Wednesday to Sunday.

We drive on to Dals-Ed, where our Airbnb cabin is located. We can't get in until 4 pm, so we first go shopping at ICA supermarket and have coffee on the market square. Then we'll just try it at half past three. The cleaner has already left and we can get in. Beautiful cottage, well furnished and comfortable. Quietly situated on grounds with two more cottages.
We watch Roland Garros (Nadal wins first round) and Erik cooks a simple, yet tasty dinner.

Weather: sunny. 12 to 17 degrees.

Tuesday 24 May 2022

After breakfast in our cottage we go by car to the starting point of a walk around Ed. As rain has been forcasted, we have chosen this route, so that we can quickly look for a dry spot when it starts raining. We follow the blue signs on lampposts, traffic signs and cones and read the description in our Dutch guidebook Wandelen in Dalsland. We start in the town of Ed, walk past the church and then we arrive at the Elk Park. Unfortunately, it can only be visited by appointment at this time of year. The first option is on Friday. We continue on trails through forests, hills and along the shores of Lilla Le, the lake Ed is built around. After more than two hours we are done. We go back to the cottage when it starts to rain. It doesn't stop raining until the early evening. We'll just stay indoors then, because there are no indoor activities in the area on Tuesdays at this time of year. We watch the Giro d'Italia on Eurosport. In the evening Erik prepares delicious food again and afterwards we watch the Swedish TV news and some Dutch TV on the laptop. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow.

Weather: partly cloudy in the morning and some sun. 15 degrees. Rain from noon onwards.

 

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