We had a peaceful night sleeping by the Blomsholm Stone Ship, although we were joined by two other vans before bedtime. In the morning there was a loud bird noise coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded a bit like a swan – I immediately thought cranes. I went for a quick reconnoitre while my birding lens got excited by the prospect. I was right they were cranes, but in a field in the far distance. It’s the fourth time we’ve seen these magnificent large birds since we entered Finland, over 7 weeks ago, but on each occasion they have been too far away for a good photograph. I am running out of opportunities.
Long term readers will remember that in Spring we were spending time on campsites in the ACSI scheme. This is a Europe wide programme under which caravans and motorhomes can stay on certain campsites out of season, for a fixed rate varying between €11 and €19 depending on the site. Peak time starts, and thus the ACSI offer finishes, on most sites at the end of June and restarts on about 1st September. However much to our excitement my ACSI app showed that in Sweden and Denmark many sites start to become available from mid August. I identified such a site on the shore of Sweden’s largest lake, Vanern, and so that was our target for the day.
First things first, though. Tomorrow is “Scandinavian Grog Day” in Basil (along with Saturday and Sunday) and Basil’s fridge was empty of an essential ingredient – beer. It was therefore time to visit the Systembolaget in Stromstad. The Systembolaget is the shop in every Swedish town, controlled by the Swedish government, where every Swede has to go if they want to buy alcohol of more than about 3.5% strength. Given that anything below 3.5% barely warrants the name alcohol – that is where we needed to go.
Stromstad is unusual in having two Systembolaget’s, one in the town centre and a huge one on the town outskirts. This is not because the town are raving alcoholics, although they might be for all I know, but because of its proximity to Norway. When the town only had the one outlet in the centre, the whole borough would frequently be brought to a standstill by rampaging Norwegians desperate to get their hands on a can of beer without having to remortgage their pretty red wooden house. So a second Systembolaget was built to relieve the pressure. This too has, apparently, to be closed on Norwegian high days and holidays to avoid anarchy.
So we squeezed Basil into a space amongst dozens of Norwegian cars, all for three cans of beer! Much to my surprise beer in Sweden is almost cheap. €1.15 for a 500 ml can. We’ve re-entered civilisation at last!
I had just climbed up into the driver’s seat with my precious bounty when a man poked his head through the window and asked if I was British. It turned out that he was a retired jockey, originally from Liverpool, who had been sent to Norway by a trainer, 50 years ago. On his third outing he had won a major Norwegian race and had never looked back. He had been Champion Jockey in Norway, I think, four or five times, and now lived in happy retirement in Norway. We had an interesting chat about his career, family and life in Scandinavia.
Fjallbacka
At the Tourist Information office yesterday we were told about a pretty little coastal village called Fjallbacka, which is on all Swedes “tick list”. It meant a small diversion along the coastal road, but what else do we have got to do these days. The countryside in this part of Sweden is very reminiscent of Finland. Plenty of forests and a few hills. The coastline is dotted with attractive little skerries just off the mainland and so we had a pleasant drive.
Fjallbacka Marina
Fjallbacka is really quite small, so we took some time to find somewhere big enough to accommodate Basil’s capacious body. Fjallbacka’s major claim to fame, according to Wikipedia, is that it was Ingrid Bergman’s favourite holiday destination. We wandered through the town and along the marina, where many of the twee wooden cottages seemed to have small notices pinned to them detailing famous Swedes who had owned or rented said cottage. Try as we might we never saw Ingrid’s name, although if we had been really interested I’m sure someone would have pointed us in the right direction.
Fjallbacka
On our way back to Basil we were diverted by the smell of Fish and Chips. They were 120 SEK (€12.70) each, but it is months since we last ate this comfort food and so we were caught, hook, line and sinker. The food was acceptable, but self evidently not a patch on Cleethorpes, but we were happy bunnies nonetheless.
Fjallbacka – I just cannot get enough of these Scandinavian buildings
We finally arrived at our site for the next two nights, Ursands Resort & Camping. Initially reception said that the dates in the ACSI book were last year’s and so there was a discussion about whether we could get the €19 rate, including electricity. Eventually they decided we could, which is good because otherwise we would have left in high dudgeon!
It is a much bigger site than we have been used to, with a restaurant (now closed except at weekends), a beach on the lake, a heated swimming pool and even a little animal petting area. There are some good looking walks in the area, which we will explore tomorrow depending on the weather and the continued improvement of my back.