| 7-Münster, DE | 8-Aabenraa, DK | 9-Borby | 10-Eksjö | 11-Stenberga | 12-Stenberga - Reunion Day! |
| 13-Brevik | 14-Brevik | 15-Ljungskile | 16-Ljungskile | 17-Gothenburg | 18-Gothenburg |
| 19-Gothenburg | 20-Stena (Kiel)-Home |
Monday, July 13th
Brevik
map link
The reunion had gradually come to an end, with various relatives disappearing back to their daily lives, or for those of us who traveled across borders, continuing with our own holidays. Dan and I hopped in the van and headed northwest. Dan had found a couple of cool museums (Husqvarna and The Match Museum) that would be near where we were going to camp for the night.
Or so we thought.
We drove passed the town with the Husqvarna museum, and then through Jönköping where the Match Museum was, thinking that we’d set up camp and then zip on back with the motorcycles to check them out. I had greatly underestimated the distance that we had to travel to get to the campground and by the time we got there, we agreed that we weren’t up for the hour-long ride back along the lake to visit either museum. While the hour itself wasn’t a problem, the road we’d have to take was: it was a fast road with very few passing places, and our little 300s wouldn’t be very comfortable at the speeds expected. It wouldn’t have been impossible, but it would have been uncomfortable – and this trip was all about comfort. After all, have you seen the size our tent?
A short break on the drive along Lake Vättern for a bite to eat from the cooler
We arrived at Breviks Camping and prepared for two nights’ camping. It is always nice to know that you can fully unpack your stuff and take time to organize it if needed. And yes, we still needed to get organized. We were the only ones to pull into the “tenting” area, as everyone else had a camper, or a van, or something with solid walls that they could actually sleep in.
Yes, we even brought a canopy in case there was too much sun or rain – we do have a VAN, after all!
We unpacked everything, including the motorcycles, and then checked out the sandy beach that the campground offered a short walk away. I didn’t go in the water (Dan did, though) but it was a nice 18°C and was very shallow for a long way out. It is a deep lake though if you go out far enough, with a maximum depth of 128 meters. We stayed close to shore.
With the campsite set up we relaxed with our Kindles under the shade of the canopy. The weather on the trip so far had been perfect: the highs during the day in the low 20s, and the lows at night as cool as 15°C. There was usually a nice breeze, and often interesting clouds. I felt fortunate to be here and not back in Basel with the continuing heatwave (36°C!) there.
Eventually we decided on a post-dinner walk. There were some trails nearby that looked interesting and just short enough for to get us back to camp before sunset.
We’d be following the blue line
Hehehe – beware the robot mower!
The trail followed the original road through the area, now by-passed by main route we took to get here
Original mile marker along the old road
And deeper into the forest (leaving behind any semblance of a true road)
I am in love with Swedish forests
The subtle blue trail marker
We saw a couple of elk in the fields, and one deer. I wasn’t fast enough to capture them with the camera, but it was exciting to see the larger wildlife of the area! We also saw a lot of evidence of wild boar, something that has become a bit of a problem since their re-introduction in the 70s and 80s. Fortunately, hunting has stablized the population and reduced agricultural damage.
The sun was getting low on the horizon when we returned to the campground and it was pretty quiet. Most people had already settled in for the evening, sitting quietly in their campers or outside. I had noticed that this campground was predominately “local” tourists, and I had only heard English spoken once here. I felt like had found an “off the beaten track” location and was pleased with it.
Collecting a late-hour snack from the shoreline
We prepped for bed, with plans in place for tomorrow.