Söderköping
Our time in the Archipelago is over and we are on our way across Sweden from East to West via the Göta Canal. In most places it is about 3m deep in the middle, so we should be OK! There are 58 locks to climb and descend, bridges to pass under, and many that open to let us through. There ...
A Melodrama in the Göta Canal
'I'd like to try steering in a couple of these locks' announced an over-confident Karen one morning. Soon it had been decided (without consultation) that Karen would steer all day. Good experience, time served, motor memory, all were terms used to describe the experience ahead. Naturally, there was plenty of advice and guidance on hand as we had three other ...
The Swedish Vacuum Cleaner
We are all hooked on a delicious treat that is a Swedish tradition available everywhere. These little green rolls of rum truffle wrapped in green marzipan with both ends dipped in dark chocolate are to die for! The Swedish call them Dammsugare (literally dust suckers) after a 1930s Electrolux Vacuum Cleaner. Their other name is Punschruller due to the traditional ...
The Lakes
The Göta Canal stretches across rural Sweden, with long canal sections linked by natural lakes. At Motala, we spent a last evening with Janice and Steven chatting to our Swedish neighbours, Maíre and Håkan on board Isabelle, and listening to the crew of an old German sailing ship playing traditional folk songs on an accordion. Then we set off on ...
Locking Down
Ian and Mary have joined the crew and we are on our way west and down towards Göteborg. Having honed our skills in the locks going up, now it's all change as we sink down in the locks. We are novices again. Thankfully the experience of being in the lock as the water disappears is much calmer than being on ...
The Great Escape
Early morning and only a few locks to go to the end of our journey through the Göta Canal. The 10:25 train to Lyrestad was due to pass so we tied up to a wooden jetty to wait for the bridge to open. William had decided to reposition a fender - and there it was, drifting away from the boat ...
To Trollhättan
It took three days to cross Lake Vanern, one of the largest lakes in Europe. A stop at Mariestad to avoid a choppy headwind made for an interesting afternoon, eating crepes on the wharf and admiring Mina, the oldest sailing ship in Sweden. The next evening, we picked up a Swedish Cruising Club mooring in a beautiful remote anchorage and ...
The Göta Alv Bridge
The biggest challenge of the passage through the canals and lakes from Stockholm to Goteborg was always going to come right at the end. We knew that the main commuter bridge across Goteborg was 19.2m at its highest point, and that although it was possible to open a small section, they were not very happy to stop all the traffic ...