Blog 12 Trollhätte Canal, Sweden 2015 18 July - 2015 Vänersborg and Trollhättan to Göthenberg I promised to reserve a complete blog entry for the Trollhätte Canal alone. Although the entire journey took only two days - in fact there are people who do it in one - it is remarkable in so many ways that it deserves its own space. There is a misunderstanding that the other, and more well known Göta Canal, runs approximately from Stockholm to Göt...

Blog 11 Lake Vänern 17 July - 2015 Läckö Castle, Dalbergså, Vänersborg I am guilty - I underplayed Läckö Castle which in fact was a wow. Maybe I was in a funny mood but now I will make it up - entering through the massively thick castle wall into the inner courtyard I was swept away by a young Swedish a capela group singing a haunting unaccompanied piece from several centuries ago - such wonderful singing held me in a spell, I just had to st...

Blog 10 Lake Vänern 10th July - 2015 Sjötorp - Lake Vänern - Torso - Lidköping - Läckö Castle When I said in my last blog that Lake Vänern would occupy us for some time I had not imagine that we would be pinned down for the best part of a week by a course of high winds generously served with side orders of heavy showers. We had already left Sjötorp where the last lock opens out into the mighty lake and waved farewell to the last of the yellow ...

Blog 9 Lake Viken July - 2015 Forsvik - lake Viken - Tåtorp - Töreboda - Nörrkvarn - And so at Forsvik we reach a milestone in the journey. The final rising lock after which all locks fall eventually to the sea at Gothenberg. Very few settlements along the canal are of any size, usually no more than a handful of houses, a remote controlled road bridge and a lock or two. Forsvik is different having been an ancient centre of industry in one way or a...

Blog 8 Lake Vattern, 28 June - 2015 There is a tendency when writing travelogues such as this blog, to focus on what is beautiful, ideal or worthy of merit. It is somewhat of a coincidence that a number of unusual sights and experiences have been encountered in the last week so what better an opportunity than to remark on the remarkable and even bizarre. In this category falls the incessant Western and Country music, at lovely Motala, which was mercilessly ...