Tuesday 26th May
Today marks the start of the Tour, but first we have to drive to a campsite at Klein Ronnau, just south of Kiel to meet up with the Tour leaders and the other participants. There are to be 21 units, plus the tour leaders so quite a large group.
We arrived at the site at about Midday and were directed to the reserved area. About half of the group were already there and the remainder arrived by about 5:00pm. Our leaders Codi and Jackie had arranged for a group get together at 5:30pm and then an evening meal at a nearby restaurant for 7:00pm.
During the afternoon each unit met with Codi and Jackie, just to ensure that all documentation was in order and general housekeeping such as our emergency contact details.
At the evening meal we were each given the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the rest of the group. I shall never remember all those names, I struggle with faces let alone names. The meal was excellent, three courses with wine and coffee. Not certain what it was, but it was all very good and nobody left any. After the meal we were all shattered and retired for the night.
Wednesday 27th May
We had decided on an early start as this was the first stage of the tour and would take us into Denmark. We were ready to leave at 9:00am, but noticed that Sue, a member of the group who was travelling on her own, was having trouble with her campervan. The step has stuck in the out position and no manner of persuasion would move it. The only option was to contact the manufacturer for advice. Sue phoned the manufacturer in the UK and with thanks to one of their engineers I managed to remove the cover behind the switch and reset the control relay.
Now we were on our way. First stop was the ferry from Puttgarden in Germany to Rodby in Denmark. There are three crossings per hour and we had open tickets. As we arrived at the port at Puttgarden we were directed to the queue for the ferry. We thought that we would be embarking quickly and on our way. Wrong, the first ferry was full and we had to wait for the next one. Once on board, we had a relaxing 45 minute crossing and a chance for a cup of coffee.
Once into Denmark it was motorway all the way to the site. The site at Stroby was good and clean with many rules: you must pitch like this, garbage can be distributed in the recycling bins between 09:00 and 10:00 only etc. The funniest rule was that dogs could be walked, but “must not shit”. The group arrived during the mid afternoon and were buzzing with the stories of their first day. It was good to see the group gel together so quickly. The beach was a short walk from the site, which gave us a chance to stretch our legs.
On a clear day you could see the new bridge from Copenhagen to Malmo.
Thursday 28th May and Friday 29th May
A new day means a new country, today it is Sweden but first we have to take another ferry. This time it was from Helsingor in Denmark to Helsingborg in Sweden. This was a very short crossing, no sooner had we got on board and sat down with a coffee and cake than we were getting off. In fact, it was so quick that Val had to take her coffee back down to the car deck.
The first site in Sweden was at a small lakeside town called Granna. When I say lakeside, this particular lake is over 100 miles long and 20 miles wide. This really is a fantastic site, spotlessly clean with excellent shower blocks and good wifi. Granna is a town famed for it’s peppermint rock, which was originally made by a heartbroken spinster as a dedication to her lost lover; certainly the flavour would win any heart. There are many shops selling the rock and in many you can view the manufacturing process. In the town is a museum dedicated to a failed expedition to cross the Arctic Icecap by hydrogen baloon, it is very interesting. Above the town at the top of a cliff face is an open-air museum with reclaimed houses of yore. There is also a cafe with excellent views across the town and the lake. The cafe is a necessary stop after the over 250 steps up to the museum.
Just outside the campsite is the ferry terminal to the island in the middle of the lake. Legend has it that this was once the land of the giants; one particular giant was worried that his wife had hurt herself and could no longer cross the lake with one step. To make it easier for her, he threw a rock into the lake so that she had a stepping stone. This rock is 6 miles long.
The days are getting longer, at night it is still daylight past 10:00pm and in the morning it is light at 03:00am.
30th May to 1st June
Saturday the 30th May saw us make the journey from Granna to the site at Bredang, just outside of Stockholm. The weather was atrocious for the whole journey and we were glad to have reached our destination. As we pulled into Bredang we took the opportunity to get our necessary shopping; it’s weekend so beer must figure on the list. In Sweden the strongest beer has a strength of only 3.5% alcohol, almost a soft drink. There is also a deposit of 1 SEK on each can, which you can claim back as a credit when you return the empty.
The weather did not improve, in fact at times it got heavier, then all of sudden in the evening there was a dry spell. We took the opportunity to take a walk to the beach, which was about 500 metres from the site. It certainly is a lovely spot with clean water and sand.
Sunday 31st May and we are up early for the coach trip into Stockholm. Our first port of call was the City Hall; a very modernistic building from the outside, but on the inside a very lavish and elaborate building. One room, the Golden Hall is totally mosaiced on the walls with over 19million stones, many of these are coated in 23 carat Gold. In fact the gold alone for this room weighs in excess of 17 kg. From there our tour took us to the Royal Palace and then into the Old Town where there is influence from all over Europe in the buildings.
Onwards into the Royal Hunting Island; where kings and nobility would hunt Reindeer and Elk to control the population, also to provide food for the long winter months.
Our final stop was at the Vasa Museum. This is a museum dedicated to the Vasa warship that sank after about 1000 metres on it’s maiden voyage in the 17th century. In the mid 20th century, the wreck was rediscovered and recovered from the sea just outside Stockholm. The story of the recovery spans many years, but the major achievement was the fact the following restoration and preservation, 98% of the original ship is intact. The ship is exhibited in a strictly environment controlled building and remains the largest wooden hulled ship ever to be restored and exhibited. It truly is a magnificent sight. The exhibition spans 7 floors and gives the visitor the opportunity to view every inch of the outside of the hull.
Monday is a day free to roam Stockholm on our own; just one issue, it was pouring with rain. Fortunately, after an early cup of coffee the rain stopped and we were able to get out. There is a Metro station about 700 metres from the campsite and from there is a regular service to the centre of the Capital. Once into the centre of Stockholm we made our way to the Cathedral. Although this is one of the oldest buildings in Stockholm, (some 600 years old), it looks very modern. This is possibly because the interior is mainly brick. The Cathedral houses the graves of all the Kings and Queens of Sweden. The graves are above ground as the Cathedral, like the rest of Stockholm is built atop a rocky outcrop; it is therefore not possible to dig graves. There are many magnificent and ornate sculptures, the most prominent of these is a fantastic Saint George slaying the Dragon. The Main altar is black marble with many ornate silver sculptures and features. Throughout the Cathedral there is copious use of gold leaf and gold paint. When compared to the massive cathedrals of other Countries, this one is surprisingly small.
Our next stop was the Royal Palace although we didn’t visit it. Unfortunately, much of the Palace was closed as preparations were being made for a Royal wedding later in the Month. This then gave us time to watch The Changing of the Guards. We were expecting all of the pomp and ceremony that can be seen at Buckingham Palace. How wrong you can be. Sweden is a Country with standards much more relaxed than others and this was to be seen in the troops that paraded. Some of the male soldiers had long hair that was kept in a pigtail, many had beards or stubble and the uniforms were certainly not pressed to our standards. In fact if this had been the UK, just about every one would have been on a charge.
Our final stop for the day was the Transport and Toy Museum, a very long walk from the nearest Metro station. It was worth the walk as the Transport Museum houses a massive collection of Trams, Trolleybuses, Buses, and other forms of public transport as used in Stockholm throughout history. Many of the exhibits are accessible to visitors. In the Toy Museum are cases upon cases of just about every toy that has been available to children from about the turn of the twentieth century. I would defy anyone to visit and not find several toys from their own youth. The Museum also has a good cafe with endless coffee.
As we left the Museum to head back to the Metro, we were approached by a lady who saw us consulting the map. She asked us where we were heading and suggested a route that she said would be more picturesque. She was right, her route took us past the only traditional Swedish houses still standing in Stockholm. On our way we were also able to view the Cruise Ships at berth in the harbour. An excellent, but very tiring day.
