The long road to Krokom
Got an early start today to make the 6hr 45min drive from Stockholm to Krokom. We picked up our rental car at the airport so we didn’t have to pay the city congestion tax that’s charged to each vehicle driving in the city center. From what we read the fee is about $20USD so better to rent outside the city.
Weather today is rainy, still around 650. The forecast for Krokom is similar, rain and about the same temp. BTW- for those who don’t do the standard conversion for Centigrade to Fahrenheit, our niece taught us an easy way. Just take the Centigrade temp, double it and add 30, that gets you within a degree or two and you don’t have to multiply by 9/5, divide by 32, etc…… Thanks Jessie, you’re so smart!
Driving instructions are pretty simple, straight up the coast on E4, turn left after a few hundred kilometers on E14, should get you there. Somewhere along the route we’ll stop and buy groceries for the start of our home stays. And we’ll definitely hit up a Systembolaget (translation: liquor store)! The liquor stores in Sweden are all owned by the government and operated by a private company. We had heard that liquor prices are outrageous but so far, prices seem to be just a bit higher than the US. No big deal, if Collette needs to go back to work so we can have a drink or two, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make!
Our cruiser for this month’s adventure is a high-performance Toyota Yaris. You’ve no doubt seen these on TV mixed in with Formula 1 racers and dragsters. We splurged and went with the performance model; automatic, Hybrid, and seat heaters. Has 2 cup holders as well.
The drive isn’t as scenic as we anticipated, mostly trees, fields and a few small hills. The ocean is nowhere in sight even though the map has the road going along the coast. So far, the scenery reminds us of Minnesota, hills, trees, fields and lakes galore. If Minnesota has 11,842 lakes, Sweden has ten times that amount. There is a lake every 100’, no kidding. I’m not sure how they had enough land to build roads and houses, there’s water everywhere. If you’re into boating, fishing and lounging by a lakeside with a mint julep, this is your kind of place.
Won’t bore you with the blow-by-blow driving details. We made it to our cabin in Krokom, unpacked and now……enjoying a glass of wine. We were met by our hosts, Anders & Monica who were very welcoming and pleasant. They live on this beautiful lake next door to the rental cabin. They originally built the cabin for their kids to have a place to get away from Mom & Dad when they visited,but now they rent it out to vacationers. Perfect for us!
Here’s a few pics of the cabin and surrounding area-enjoy.
Roughly translated: Happiness is the man I’m sleeping with, dream on!
The National animal – the Moose
Cute little thing hanging over the bed
Long drive today but tomorrow we’ll do the same. Seems there’s this church that the Misses wants to see and it’s only 3hrs 45min away. Along the way we’ll stop and see the longest cable suspension bridge (back in 1956) and a red statue of a Wild Man. Got me, this is what I was told so this is what I do.
I morgon.