In 2019 I had a thread with a campervan trip around France. Last year I wasn't able to take a long holiday, but we had planned for a Benelux trip this year. Well, that won't happen.
So we decided to travel north instead, to discover what central Sweden has to offer. Why centeal you say? Well, Sweden is big, really big. Turned upside down northernSweden would end up in Lombardy or something like that. We inly have three weeks and do not want to spend that time driving.
Yesterday we took off. We live on the west coast, opposite Denmark so quite a way south in the country.
The first stop was Mårbacka, the mansion of the first woman to win a literary Nobel prize and still a celebrated author in Sweden, Selma Lagerlöf. Beautiful gardens and some nice bakeries made from a local specialty, roasted oat flour.
This morning we took a walk and ate breakfast overlooking the surrounding valley.
Not that big.
Look forward to reading this.
Quote from: Grey Fox on July 08, 2021, 08:42:58 AM
Not that big.
Look forward to reading this.
Agree on both accounts. :cool:
"The North Americans have entered the chat." :P
Also looking forward to this.
Well, not that big by New World standards of course. :lol:
For us to get to the top of Sweden we have to travel about 1850 km. The south point of our French trip was about 2100 km, but that time we had 8-10 weeks, not 2-3.
Nice. :)
Sounds good. I always wanted to see more of Sweden. Love the lakes with nary a soul in sight.
Trip sounds great and I agree with the plan to limit mileage.....but........what is the midge situation in central Sweden?
Today we continued northward, to the Siljan valley. A comet or something struck here once, creating a semi-circular fertile lake area. This is in the county of Dalarna and is more ornless the heart of Swedish-ness.
Traditional Swedish dress originated here, the Dala horse also. The red paint that we paint our houses with. Midsummer celebrations. The most traditional sausage, the Falu-sausage. And a lot more probably. A lot of what we Swedes see as uniquely Swedish is from this small part of Sweden.
We will stay in the area for a week or so, my brother-in-law and family is also here with their camper van.
Midge?
I will also be on my phone all the time, so no fancy links or images. You'll have to google.
Quote from: Threviel on July 08, 2021, 08:57:19 AM
Well, not that big by New World standards of course. :lol:
For us to get to the top of Sweden we have to travel about 1850 km. The south point of our French trip was about 2100 km, but that time we had 8-10 weeks, not 2-3.
Pshaw.
Two years ago we towed our trailer back to Yukon (and then back home). Edmonton to Dawson City, Yukon is 2500km. We did the trip in 2 weeks.
Midge as in mygga I think (or so google translate tells me).
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on July 08, 2021, 10:34:02 AM
Midge as in mygga I think (or so google translate tells me).
:lol:Yeah, i should have translated myself. Never ever heard midge in my life.
It will probably be horrible, we have installed a cheap midge net in the door, since a proper one wouldn't fit. Hopefully it's enough. The windows and roof hatches have proper nets.
I have dreadful memories of knotts in Småland. :bleeding:
Quote from: Syt on July 08, 2021, 10:43:34 AM
I have dreadful memories of knotts in Småland. :bleeding:
Yeah, that's around where I live. Up around Jamtland they have enclosed walkways to their garages to not expose themselves. Far far far far worse.
QuoteFalu-sausage
:XD: :shifty:
Quote from: Threviel on July 08, 2021, 10:17:01 AM
Today we continued northward, to the Siljan valley. A comet or something struck here once, creating a semi-circular fertile lake area. This is in the county of Dalarna and is more ornless the heart of Swedish-ness.
Traditional Swedish dress originated here, the Dala horse also. The red paint that we paint our houses with. Midsummer celebrations. The most traditional sausage, the Falu-sausage. And a lot more probably. A lot of what we Swedes see as uniquely Swedish is from this small part of Sweden.
A "meteor" strikes, and suddenly everyone starts to act all Swedish and stuff? I've seen this story before.
(https://c1.neweggimages.com/ProductImage/786936188363-03.jpg)
There's more to this area. Back in the 14th century the Kalmar union was created as a union between Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It worked ok for a few generations but eventually Sweden more or less broke free. De facto free, but still in the union. Sweden was ruled by stewards instead of a king. The king of Denmark constantly tried to re-impose his rule.
By 1517 the comic book level evil Danish king Christian II invaded and killed the Swedish steward. After entering Stockholm he gathered all of Swedish nobility under a flag of truce and had them beheaded at the city square and thus the Kalmar union was re-instated.
At the same time, more or less, a young Swedish noble returned from adventures abroad. He heard about the meeting in Stockholm, but he knew Christian so he didn't go. When he heard about the executions he fled to Dalarna, hoping to start a rebellion like Engelbrekt did decades earlier. He went to the biggest town, Mora, and held a rousing speech.
Very few in the audience would have understood much of what the silly southerner was saying, dialects were not really mutually intelligible back then, so no-one cared. He put on some skis and took off towards Norway.
A day or so later the news of the Stockholm bloodbath reached Mora so they sent some young men to catch the noble, which they did some 90 km away, in Sälen. He became the leader of the rebellion and it succeeded, he was crowned king of Sweden in 1523 officially ending the Kalmar union.
King Gustav Vasa is more or less seen as the father of Sweden and Swedish history education more or less begins with him, often ignoring the previous 500 or so years.
And why am I talking about him? Tomorrow we'll go to Mora.
Quote from: Threviel on July 08, 2021, 08:57:19 AM
Well, not that big by New World standards of course. :lol:
For us to get to the top of Sweden we have to travel about 1850 km. The south point of our French trip was about 2100 km, but that time we had 8-10 weeks, not 2-3.
1850km? It's like a week-end vacation in Toronto then!
Quote from: viper37 on July 08, 2021, 01:39:38 PM
1850km? It's like a week-end vacation in Toronto then!
Who would drive a motorhome to Toronto?
Tell me about your campervan....
Quote from: grumbler on July 08, 2021, 12:39:10 PM
Quote from: Threviel on July 08, 2021, 10:17:01 AM
Today we continued northward, to the Siljan valley. A comet or something struck here once, creating a semi-circular fertile lake area. This is in the county of Dalarna and is more ornless the heart of Swedish-ness.
Traditional Swedish dress originated here, the Dala horse also. The red paint that we paint our houses with. Midsummer celebrations. The most traditional sausage, the Falu-sausage. And a lot more probably. A lot of what we Swedes see as uniquely Swedish is from this small part of Sweden.
A "meteor" strikes, and suddenly everyone starts to act all Swedish and stuff? I've seen this story before.
(https://c1.neweggimages.com/ProductImage/786936188363-03.jpg)
No, that one is thrilling.
Quote from: The Brain on July 08, 2021, 01:54:38 PM
Quote from: grumbler on July 08, 2021, 12:39:10 PM
Quote from: Threviel on July 08, 2021, 10:17:01 AM
Today we continued northward, to the Siljan valley. A comet or something struck here once, creating a semi-circular fertile lake area. This is in the county of Dalarna and is more ornless the heart of Swedish-ness.
Traditional Swedish dress originated here, the Dala horse also. The red paint that we paint our houses with. Midsummer celebrations. The most traditional sausage, the Falu-sausage. And a lot more probably. A lot of what we Swedes see as uniquely Swedish is from this small part of Sweden.
A "meteor" strikes, and suddenly everyone starts to act all Swedish and stuff? I've seen this story before.
(https://c1.neweggimages.com/ProductImage/786936188363-03.jpg)
No, that one is thrilling.
The "thrilling" is in scare quotes, so is being used ironically.
Apparently it was a meteorite and nothing else.
Today we went to a faerie-land. A quite large amusement park themed around Swedish folk lore. Lots of theater and shenanigans, the kids loved it. We've met up with BIL and family.
One of the most famous Swedish artists is Anders Zorn. He was a member of the romanticists/impressionists during the belle epoque. He lived a decade in Paris during the 1880's rubbing shoulders with the best artists gathered there. Zorn was an international celebrity, painting three American presidents, amongst them Teddy Roosevelt.
He was a large presence in the nationalistic romantic movement at the turn of the century. Back then a movement was about to try to define what Swedishness means and what it is. Lots of romantic paintings and songs were made, memorials erected and so on.
As a part of that movement the ski trip of old king Gustav Vasa was remembered. So in 1922 there was a race to try to re-create his trip today. And ever since then, on the fist Sunday in May about 20,000 skiers race in the "Vasalopp" (Vasa race) from Sälen to Mora. It's the worlds largest and most prestigious cross country ski race.
So today we went to see Zorn's viking inspired timbered mansion and the goal of the Vasalopp. Extra fun since my BIL has skied the 90 km race 29 times.
Zorn is awesome.
I only know Groppler Zorn.
(https://lh4.ggpht.com/-ygPihf03Bus/UJ3ldUtZJqI/AAAAAAAAD6I/t5tUryy-KNo/farpoint_hd_869_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg)
Something about the Faerie park. There was a lot of small shows following a red thread during the day. The troll king, living in the park, was attacked by another powerful evil troll and everyone had to help. All these shows had sing and dance numbers and there was anlot of interactions woth the kids in the park.
The Troll king wore a heavy metal outfit and sang hard rock looking like a Finnish heavy metal band.
Quote from: Threviel on July 10, 2021, 08:51:38 AM
Back then a movement was about to try to define what Swedishness means and what it is.
"You fornicate diligently then commit suicide after paying too many taxes."
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 10, 2021, 02:07:36 PM
Quote from: Threviel on July 10, 2021, 08:51:38 AM
Back then a movement was about to try to define what Swedishness means and what it is.
"You fornicate diligently then commit suicide after paying too many taxes."
Are you saying that we are good lovers?
Quote from: Threviel on July 10, 2021, 02:48:59 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on July 10, 2021, 02:07:36 PM
Quote from: Threviel on July 10, 2021, 08:51:38 AM
Back then a movement was about to try to define what Swedishness means and what it is.
"You fornicate diligently then commit suicide after paying too many taxes."
Are you saying that we are good lovers?
No, but industrious and hardy.
Quote from: Threviel on July 10, 2021, 02:48:59 PM
Are you saying that we are good lovers?
I have no personal experience and can not advance any opinion.
I stole the line from some Swedish comedian or writer. The reason I found it funny (and why I've remembered it for 3 and a half decades) is it makes fucking sound like an obligation, a chore, a responsibility.
In 1937 there was a world fair in Paris. The fair is today mostly known for the the conflict between communism and nazism. In order to display how the one was superior to the other they both sent representation that built very similar modernistic concrete towers across the street from one other.
Sweden wanted to sen something typically Swedish, so they sent a painted wooden horse. In Dalarna they have been whittling horses for hundreds of years and in the early 19th century they started to combine the horses with "kurbits" painting. This was a colourful way of decorating houses and furniture used a lot in central Sweden, in Dalarna most famously used for large clocks bering built. The painted horses got more and more popular and in 1937 they were choses as a quaint nice little thing of Sweden to display. They took of and nowadays they are the premier symbol of Sweden adorning every kind of souvenir in every Swedish souvenir shop.
Yesterday we visited Nusnäs, the tiny village where most of them are made. The kids loves it and the girl got a pink one and the boy a silvery one. I bought myself a whittling knife and we bought a kitchen towel with Dala horse theme.
We also went to a local pottery and bought coffee cups for the motor home and one of those big bowls they use on cooking shows.
:cheers:
I'm enjoying this vicarious Swedish vacation :)
This is delightful!
I still want to know more about your motorhome!
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 08:55:15 AM
This is delightful!
I still want to know more about your motorhome!
Of course. It's this one https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/buyers-guide/motorhomes/details/t-6911-4/9212 (https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/buyers-guide/motorhomes/details/t-6911-4/9212)
We have the absolutely most basic version of that one. We had been talking about a motorhome for close to a decade until we found ourselves with the finances to afford one. We had just gotten kid #2 and we had a lot of parental leave to spend. We were looking for something in the 20-30,000$ bracket to fix up for ourselves. That would have bought us a 2005-2008 year quite basic car. And the this one was at the dealer for 40k. It had everything and was much newer than what we were shooting for. It is very basic, no electrical heater, no fancy lighting, everythin is analogue. We fell in love immediately.
The double bed back has a ladder in the forward (relative to the vehicle) half. I put in some stuff and a board and mattress so that we have one big bed. I sleep between the kids and the wife sleeps in the other half.
Left side forward of that we have the toilet and shower. The floor, which is one big plastic piece has just cracked due to UV weakening. I've taped it over but I will need to dismantle the entire toilet and fix it properly this winter. Will probably put glass fibre and epoxy ob the underside and put it all back together.
Forward of that is a small sofa where the kids sit and our dining table. We turn the front seat around when eating.
Forward on the right side is a small closet and the fridge and some drawers. Then door and then cooking place with drawers and sink.
Under the bed is a huuuuge garage where we have outdoor chairs, toys, bicycle wagon and stuff.
Part 2, technical details.
The truck that's used in about 80-90% of all European motorhomes is the Fiat Ducato, might be known as the Ram Promaster in the US. Ours is a Ducato. Smallest engine and manual gearbox, it doesn't have cruise control, it's that simple.
The home part is also very basic. No insulation at all, the floor is built directly on a wooden board on the chassi. It is very much not a winter car.
We can drive cars weighing up to 3500 kg with our driving licenses and the cars weighs some 3200 leaving 300 kg for cargo and passengers. Luckily the over weight rules are laxish, so we can go up quite a bit from that and only pay a fine. When we came home from France we were provably several hundred kg over weight. Did not get caught and the car did not get stuck on anything in the ferry.
The motorhome is built to handle 3850 kg, but due to license issues it's registered for 3500.
So why was it so cheap? Well, it's very basic and it's an import from Germany. Luckily for us.
I've since then also installed solar cells on it so we are self sufficient with electricity.
Corona has upped its value a fair bit, we would provably get our money and some back if we sold it now.
Thanks! I've been thinking about getting a small motor home. Basically something for me and my dog to tool around in during the winter when I cannot sail.
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 01:29:56 PM
Thanks! I've been thinking about getting a small motor home. Basically something for me and my dog to tool around in during the winter when I cannot sail.
Get a small trailer instead. Much, much cheaper (plus you don't need separate insurance), plus when you arrive at wherever you are going you can just unhook your trailer then use your vehicle to drive around. Plus servicing your vehicle is much simpler than trying to get someone to service your motorhome.
Some of the little pop-up trailers are so light then can be towed by basically anything.
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 01:29:56 PM
Thanks! I've been thinking about getting a small motor home. Basically something for me and my dog to tool around in during the winter when I cannot sail.
We're actually thinking of going smaller. The car is 7.3 m long, which is long. But the main problem is width. It's 30-40 cm too wide to get into parking spots. Also the rear is too long and low behind the rear wheel.
We would want to get a camper van instead, but family ones are rare and even used ones are too expensive. So we're considering building our own instead on a used work car. We'll see wht happens, it won't happen for a few years yet.
Go check out van life videos, some are really nice and well built, sone are built on the cheap.
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2021, 01:37:06 PM
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 01:29:56 PM
Thanks! I've been thinking about getting a small motor home. Basically something for me and my dog to tool around in during the winter when I cannot sail.
Get a small trailer instead. Much, much cheaper (plus you don't need separate insurance), plus when you arrive at wherever you are going you can just unhook your trailer then use your vehicle to drive around. Plus servicing your vehicle is much simpler than trying to get someone to service your motorhome.
Some of the little pop-up trailers are so light then can be towed by basically anything.
That was what I was thinking, and I actually bought my last car pretty much specifically with that idea - it was just about the only small sized SUV that had a tow rating. But I've been looking, and even the smallest tow behinds seem to exceed my vehicles tow rating of 1500lbs.
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 03:27:41 PM
That was what I was thinking, and I actually bought my last car pretty much specifically with that idea - it was just about the only small sized SUV that had a tow rating. But I've been looking, and even the smallest tow behinds seem to exceed my vehicles tow rating of 1500lbs.
Check this out: https://droplet-trailer.com/thetrailer/
There may be other reasons for you not to get it, but it apparently weighs less than 1000lbs, so should be good for your vehicle.
Quote from: Threviel on July 12, 2021, 09:47:15 AM
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 08:55:15 AM
This is delightful!
I still want to know more about your motorhome!
Of course. It's this one https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/buyers-guide/motorhomes/details/t-6911-4/9212 (https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/buyers-guide/motorhomes/details/t-6911-4/9212)
Oh. I thought that the title referred to some place called "Motorhoming," located in central Sweden.
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 03:27:41 PM
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2021, 01:37:06 PM
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 01:29:56 PM
Thanks! I've been thinking about getting a small motor home. Basically something for me and my dog to tool around in during the winter when I cannot sail.
Get a small trailer instead. Much, much cheaper (plus you don't need separate insurance), plus when you arrive at wherever you are going you can just unhook your trailer then use your vehicle to drive around. Plus servicing your vehicle is much simpler than trying to get someone to service your motorhome.
Some of the little pop-up trailers are so light then can be towed by basically anything.
That was what I was thinking, and I actually bought my last car pretty much specifically with that idea - it was just about the only small sized SUV that had a tow rating. But I've been looking, and even the smallest tow behinds seem to exceed my vehicles tow rating of 1500lbs.
So...
There's actually quite a premium on very light trailers on the used market. We sold ours within 24 hours when we put it up for sale (we had just bought a slightly larger trailer). But yeah - 1500lb is very very light. We have a 2011 V6 RAV4 with a max tow capacity of 3500lb, and it's not exactly a big SUV.
But yeah if you are willing to look for new there are some of those ultralight popups (such as the one Jacob linked to) they do exist.
Ironically (at least in Alberta) it's much easier to find much larger trailers for sale - precisely because they're so much more heavier to tow.
The other thing - you can exceed your tow capacity as well. I'm pretty sure we exceed the capacity of our RAV4. But then we're quite range limited. We don't go more than an hour or two from home (and wouldn't ever risk going in the mountains). Which is fine for a family of 5, but probably not what you'd want a trailer for.
When I ate my herring and potatoes for dinner I tried to think of a way to get that into the narrative but I failed.
Today we were in Falun. Famous for its copper mine that once supplied 2/3 of the worlds copper. It started out as a bog about 1000 years ago. In 1288 the worlds oldest remaining share based company "Stora kobbarbergs gruvlag" was founded. Today Stora is one half of Stora Enso, one of the worlds largest forest and paper companies.
The mine grew in importance and during the Swedish empire, in the late 17th century it supplied 2/3 of the worlds copper and 1/3 of the states income.
The mine collapsed in 1688 but mining continued. In the late 19th century copper lost its importance and sulphur was primarily mined instead. Stora celebrated 700 years as a company in 1988 and in 1992 the mine closed.
Today it's a world heritage site and used for guided tours. We got to go down to 67 m depth, of the 440 total. It was awesome, the kids loved it.
Besides this the mine is famous for three things.
In 1677 Strong-Mats was the last man in a shaft in the mine. He lit some fires and prepared to go home when the tunnel collapsed trapping him. He suffocated there and died. That part of the mine was left as is because collapsed tunnels are dangerous.
Forty years later the tunnel was, by chance, opened from another direction and Mats was found. Due to the preservative salts in the water in the mine he was perfectly preserved as if he was still alive. His old fiancée recognised him from her youth and he was identified. This was seen as interesting and he was put in a room in the mines hq and displayed to visitors. After a few decades he started to rot and was buried. In his day he was quite the celebrity and Wagner even made an opera inspired by him.
The second thing is a byproduct from the mine. Apparently one of the byproducts is the red sludge used to make the red paint that many houses in Sweden is painted with. Up here most houses are red.
The third thing is the Falu sausage. Sweden has negotiated an exception with the EU allowing it to be called a sausage. The mine demanded huge amounts of leather for different uses and this led to a lot of cattle killed, so the workers were partially payed in beef. This was turned into a sausage and thus the Falu sausage was created. Excellent as a base for a Stroganoff.
After Falun we departed from BIL and family and steered north, into the void.
Final comment on Dalarna.
One thing I do not think I've mentioned is the knives. The Mora knife is the standard work knife in Sweden. My father, a fisherman, had one. My father in law, a farmer, had one. Or rather, all of us have several. I use mine daily when doing stuff at home.
So they have a shop in Mora. I went with my 7-year old boy there and bought him his first knife. One happy, happy, proud boy.
Cool. :)
Quote from: grumbler on July 12, 2021, 08:30:19 PM
Quote from: Threviel on July 12, 2021, 09:47:15 AM
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 08:55:15 AM
This is delightful!
I still want to know more about your motorhome!
Of course. It's this one https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/buyers-guide/motorhomes/details/t-6911-4/9212 (https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/buyers-guide/motorhomes/details/t-6911-4/9212)
Oh. I thought that the title referred to some place called "Motorhoming," located in central Sweden.
^_^
The Jarl of Motorhoming is raiding our shores again!
The void proved to be quite nice. We arrived in a small town called Alfta in the county of Hälsingland. Here another world heritage site waits for us, the decorated farmhouses. Huge farms, almost like mansions, that are painted in the local style.
Back in the old days of the estates general there were generally three states, clergy, nobles and commoners. Sweden had four estates, clergy, nobles, burghers and farmers. The farmers in Sweden had a uniquely strong position. For example there was no serfdom in the proper Swedish regions. Due to treaties protecting local laws there was serfdom in the baltic states and in my home region, Skåneland, when it was conquered from Denmark. Heavy handed Swedish enforcement of Swedish law is probably a big part of why the rebellious Skåne of 1675 was turned into loyal Skåne of 1700.
This is very clear in these poorer, less populated parts of Sweden. There wasn't much of a nobility so wealthy farmers built large luxurious houses in large numbers in a scale that's quite rare in the southern parts of the country. Many of these houses are very old, but the decorating thing seems to be from the 17th-18th century.
We visited the biggest one, Jon-Lars, and it was closed. Well, it looked nice on the outside at least. The main house was built in the 1850s, but some buildings were from the 1600's.
In the evening we bathed in some pools between rapids in a stream by the camping ground. It was the best non-ocean bathing time that I've ever had. There was even an abandoned timber building right next to the pool. Ridiculously scenic.
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2021, 08:41:22 PM
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 03:27:41 PM
Quote from: Barrister on July 12, 2021, 01:37:06 PM
Quote from: Berkut on July 12, 2021, 01:29:56 PM
Thanks! I've been thinking about getting a small motor home. Basically something for me and my dog to tool around in during the winter when I cannot sail.
Get a small trailer instead. Much, much cheaper (plus you don't need separate insurance), plus when you arrive at wherever you are going you can just unhook your trailer then use your vehicle to drive around. Plus servicing your vehicle is much simpler than trying to get someone to service your motorhome.
Some of the little pop-up trailers are so light then can be towed by basically anything.
That was what I was thinking, and I actually bought my last car pretty much specifically with that idea - it was just about the only small sized SUV that had a tow rating. But I've been looking, and even the smallest tow behinds seem to exceed my vehicles tow rating of 1500lbs.
So...
There's actually quite a premium on very light trailers on the used market. We sold ours within 24 hours when we put it up for sale (we had just bought a slightly larger trailer). But yeah - 1500lb is very very light. We have a 2011 V6 RAV4 with a max tow capacity of 3500lb, and it's not exactly a big SUV.
But yeah if you are willing to look for new there are some of those ultralight popups (such as the one Jacob linked to) they do exist.
Ironically (at least in Alberta) it's much easier to find much larger trailers for sale - precisely because they're so much more heavier to tow.
The other thing - you can exceed your tow capacity as well. I'm pretty sure we exceed the capacity of our RAV4. But then we're quite range limited. We don't go more than an hour or two from home (and wouldn't ever risk going in the mountains). Which is fine for a family of 5, but probably not what you'd want a trailer for.
I did some research on this - why the same car has a significantly lower max tow rating in the US and Europe.
The basic, simple answer is that in most of the US, the laws are simple around towing. There isn't any detail about tongue weight, max speeds, etc., etc. So the law in most US states is simple "You cannot exceed the max tow weight - but as long as you do not, you can drive your car in the exact same way as if you are not towing anything". So that means the "max" is much lower.
In Europe, the max tow weight is with the assumption that you are not allowed to drive over a certain speed while towing, and there are some restrictions (IIRC) on things like max grade and such. So that means they can have a higher max wo weight because that includes pretty rational restrictions on what you do when towing.
Hälsingland is trying for a foodie profile. Lots of high quality food producers around. Today we visited a market for those kind of producers.
I got to taste an Ovanåkersmörgås. Hard bread with goat messmör (wimp butter) and a fire cheese, which in practice is unsalted and slightly softer Halloumi. Delicious.
Messmör is more or less dulce de leche, but salted and made from cow or sometimes goat milk. It's a savoury dish used as a spreading on sandwiches. Very peculiar in taste.
We bought some local flat bread and for evening meal we made a stew of onion and smoked reindeer that, together with potatoes, we made wraps with.
I also bought some local cheeses made from goat and cow, but I haven't tried them.
Otherwise we continue northward, soon we will leave Hälsingland and enter the real north of Sweden. We were planning the rest of the trip tonight and it seems we will just about cross over the mid line of Sweden and enter the northern half. But the traditional view is that Northern Sweden begin quite a bit below this line.
Food sounds awesome. :)
Quote from: Berkut on July 14, 2021, 11:10:46 AMI did some research on this - why the same car has a significantly lower max tow rating in the US and Europe.
The basic, simple answer is that in most of the US, the laws are simple around towing. There isn't any detail about tongue weight, max speeds, etc., etc. So the law in most US states is simple "You cannot exceed the max tow weight - but as long as you do not, you can drive your car in the exact same way as if you are not towing anything". So that means the "max" is much lower.
In Europe, the max tow weight is with the assumption that you are not allowed to drive over a certain speed while towing, and there are some restrictions (IIRC) on things like max grade and such. So that means they can have a higher max wo weight because that includes pretty rational restrictions on what you do when towing.
Interesting.
So Mrs B worked in a weigh scale when we first met. So big commercial trucks would have to come in to be weighed, and would be fined if overweight.
Recreational vehicles do not need to pull in to weigh scales. When they would do mobile enforcement they would not pull over recreational vehicles.
All of that means as long as you're comfortable towing your trailer, then you're fine.
I'm pretty sure once we load up our trailer with water, food etc. it's overweight for my RAV4. But I watch my speeds (usually 90-100 kph when the max is 100), and as mentioned I don't take it into the mountains.
My concern is not really about whether I might get a ticket - I would not even know how a police officer could possibly weigh my vehicle if they wanted to....
My concern would be over insurance.
Sweden is divided into a two administrative levels. At the bottom is the municipal commune, normally one per larger town, 300ish in the country. They handle local stuff, local roads, elder care, schools, building laws and stuff.
The next level is the region, 15ish or so, i can't be bothered to google it. They handle mostly health services, hospitals and the like. They were introduced by Gustavus Adolphus and A wl Oxenstierna in the constitution of 1634. They are mostly useless and should be done away with. In Swedish they are called Län, fiefs would be a direct translation.
And then we have landskap, what I have called counties, although that's not directly translatable. Sweden is hopelessly archaic and still cling to these medieval institutions. They are removed from all law and rule and are rarely used in official state communication. They are very old and their beginnings are to 24/25ths lost in the mists of time (Norrbotten was created in 1995).
Swedes identify with their landskap, we are, as the best Swedish prime minister said Europeans, Swedes, Hallänningar (Due to him being from Halland).
Sweden has one landskap named Västerbotten (West bottom), Österbotten(East bottom) is in Finland, I think this is a thing in Norway and Denmark too.
Landskaps are also used by the royals, nowadays new kids are made dukes/duchesses of a landskap.
Sweden also has another, also very ancient level. There are three parts to Sweden, Svealand (Land of the Svear) Götaland (goths) and Norrland (Northern land). They are mostly used by metereologists nowadays.
Now, why am I rambling about this. Well, today we entered Västernorrlands län, Medelpads landskap in Norrland. We are officially in the official north.
Today we camp by a river in a very nice camping run by a German couple that does not speak Swedish. We rented a boat and we've bathed and failed to catch fish.
Quote from: Berkut on July 16, 2021, 10:10:55 AM
My concern is not really about whether I might get a ticket - I would not even know how a police officer could possibly weigh my vehicle if they wanted to....
My concern would be over insurance.
There are such a thing as mobile scales.
And yes - if you fuck up your vehicle by towing an overweight trailer you're not going to be able to claim insurance. But beyond that I don't see too much of an issue there.
Minor observation: The prevalence of Stockholm tourists can be deduced by the prevalence of gluten-free adverts.
In 1897 king Chulalongkorn (Rama V) visited Europe. During his trip he wanted to see, while visiting Sweden, how logging was done. King Oscar II of Sweden sent him to Ragunda, along the Indals river. He spent a day there and it was nice.
In the 1940's the Indals river was harnessed to create electrical power. The memory of the Siamese kings visit was still remembered, so one of the new small gravel roads built was named King Chulalongkorn road.
In the 90's a Thai dance troupe was passing through the area, saw the road sign and went: Wtf?
Clever Thai-Swedish entrepreneurs heard about it and got the idea to build a royal pavilion in Chulalongkorns memory. They got the commune, Ragunda, involved and also somehow the Royal Thai Court. And they got it built. The only Thai royal pavilion outside of Thailand is located in Bumfuck, Nowhere, northern Sweden.
It was quite surreal and also still a living developing place. There were perhaps 50 Thais and a few Swedes there and everyone seemed to take it seriously.
In the late 1700's logging took off in Sweden. The great rivers were used to transport the lumber to the coast and life got horrible in a different manner. One of the great rivers was the Indals river, but it hade one major problem. The great fall was a 20m waterfall that splintered the lumber.
No worries a merchant called Huss said, I will build a lumber canal going around the fall. He got to digging a side channel from the large Ragunda lake. Everything went ok until one night in 1797 when Swedens largest ecological disaster happened. The spring flood was great enough to break the banks of the new canal and the great Ragunda lake emptied into it in 4 hours. The Indal river changed course into the canal and the Great fall became the Dead fall, entirely devoid of water.
The legal process lasted into the 1970's, but by the the Dead fall had been a tourist attraction for a century or so. It was great, but the kids were tired and argued the whole time. :(
Quote from: Barrister on July 16, 2021, 01:43:04 PM
Quote from: Berkut on July 16, 2021, 10:10:55 AM
My concern is not really about whether I might get a ticket - I would not even know how a police officer could possibly weigh my vehicle if they wanted to....
My concern would be over insurance.
There are such a thing as mobile scales.
And yes - if you fuck up your vehicle by towing an overweight trailer you're not going to be able to claim insurance. But beyond that I don't see too much of an issue there.
No, I mean my concern would be that if I were in an accident, the fact that I was towing a vehicle over the legal weight limit would
1) Make it much harder to assign fault, and
2) Make it possible for my insurance to deny coverage for the accident.
Yesterday we were in Ådalen, site of the last time the Swedish military was used against protestors and five people died.
We camped at the Urkult festival site and visited some 6000 years old carvings in the rock on some rapids.
Then we continued on to the coast and also the north point of our trip, famous for its fermented herring. I wanted to try it, but the restaurant was a sleazy pizza place run by Syrians or something, so I did not feel like paying 40$ for a rotten herring sandwich.
We continued on and right now we're at a bath/camping outside of Örnsköldsvik. While here we also bought some clothes at the Fjällräven outlet.
Minor note: One thing I really really liked on our France trip was that most big supermarkets had a "Local products" aisle where they show cased the specialities of whatever region we were in. Made it easy and convenient to find some local stuff. Some rest stops even had shops especially for local specialities.
Not so in Sweden, not so at all. Up here they have some different stuff they eat and grow and I try to find as much of it as possible and it's never marked in any special way.
How are your motorhomies holding up?
We're all holding up great. Cellular coverage has been very bad up here in the void, so I started playing FM on the phone, time for diaries have decreased.
The high coast proved to be something of an expensive tourist trap. We toured a national park where the kids impressed me by walking 13 demanding kilometers of arboreal forest.
Unintuitivelly Sweden has ver very little natural forest remaining. Almost everything is planted for the timber/paper industries. Miles upon miles of spruces in straight line. I've very rarely been into unindustrialised forests, but this was one of those. Wonderful.
Today we've travelled south to Gävle. This town is famous for two things. One is Gevalia coffee, rumoured to even be selling in the US. The other thing is that Joe Hill was born there. We visited the house, which is now a museum. Unfortunately US socialist history isn't the hottest thing around so the museum is only open Saturdays.
We're travelling towards home now.
Gävle is most famous for annual goat burning no? Always meant to go one year but the trains were too expensive.
You didn't go to the Far North? Makes sense I suppose.
Yeah, but I thought Brainie could expand on the goat thing.
We were far north enough thank you very much. This is a tale of travels in central Sweden.
The continuing adventures continues towards home. Last night we stopped by a small private camping by the lake Hjälmaren. By chance I started to talk about forestry with a camper there and one thing led to whiskey and gin tonic and today I have a headache. It was glorious. And the kids could swim in a perfect swimming place.
They invited us to stay today for a party of crayfish and fermented herring, but unfortunately we felt that we should continue homeward.
Today we're at another lake, Tåkern. The Swedish princess Estelle, future queen and present duchess of Östergötland was gifted an adventure path here that we're just about to go on.
We're back home now, tired and recuperating from the rigours of travel. It's quite a chore to travel with a 7 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. Sometimes they've been screaming their lungs out in the back and all we want now is some quiet.
Unfortunately the camper broke down and I've been repairing it since we came home. The shower floor has over the last few years slowly gained some hair line cracks, which I should have fixed, but I haven't. This year the cracks became bigger and during the trip the shower became unusable. Normally not a problem, we rarely use it and shower at the campsite showers instead, but it's still a problem. It has to be able to be used, it's one of the main points of the camper to have a mobile shower.
The plastic piece that cracked is unfortunately the whole floor of the toilet/shower. Everything is one big piece of plastic. And the thing to remember with campers is that the manufacturers put on the outside walls last, everything else is installed before the walls are installed, so the removal of a big snug fitting piece of plastic inside a room inside a small camper is a chore, to say the least.
But at least I got it up from the floor and upside down inside the toilet, to get it out I would have to tear down the walls of the toilet and I do not want to do that. I sealed the cracks with super glue and put on a sealing tape on top of that. When I put it back and tested the water tightness it leaked, so now I have to lift the floor back up again. Which is not a minor thing since it's sealed to the floor with some sticky asphalt like residue.
Why did it break? Well, the cheap ass manufacturer only put support on three sides on the wooden board that the floor rests on, not a problem with new plastic, but as the plastic got more and more UV damaged it started to give. I've put in support on three more places under the board.
Quote from: Threviel on July 27, 2021, 06:23:07 AM
We're back home now, tired and recuperating from the rigours of travel. It's quite a chore to travel with a 7 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. Sometimes they've been screaming their lungs out in the back and all we want now is some quiet.
....
Threviel, thanks for the excellent AAR, interesting reading even the on-going repair issues!
Quote from: mongers on July 27, 2021, 08:20:57 AM
Quote from: Threviel on July 27, 2021, 06:23:07 AM
We're back home now, tired and recuperating from the rigours of travel. It's quite a chore to travel with a 7 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. Sometimes they've been screaming their lungs out in the back and all we want now is some quiet.
....
Threviel, thanks for the excellent AAR, interesting reading even the on-going repair issues!
Thanks, nice to hear it being appreciated. It's quite fun when sightseeing to think of a way to tell about it to an unknowing audience.
I put the floor back after my initial attempt and tested water tightness with soap water. It leaked so I've taken it apart and bought some aquarium silicon to try again tomorrow.
Great job Threviel!
We took our boys on a month long trek in Germany, Italy and France when they were 5 and 7. It certainly changes they way you need to plan your day. :D
But the benefits of getting them out and about were well worth it.
I was not able to make the shower completely water tight, it still leaks when I completely fill it up with soap water. I guess it will have to do for now since we won't shower any more this year and then we can consider buying a replacement floor or living with being careful with it. A replacement floor is €1500-1800 so it's not something I want to buy.
I guess this concludes this years adventure.
Quote from: crazy canuck on July 27, 2021, 02:24:18 PM
We took our boys on a month long trek in Germany, Italy and France when they were 5 and 7. It certainly changes they way you need to plan your day. :D
Awesome! Do they remember it?
Great AAR, thanks for sharing :cool: