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Sweden

Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 6:14 pm
by greyhoundgriff
Now then. A long while since I've been on here but thought you lot would have a tip or two for a trip to Sweden. Looking to go Hull - Amsterdam then to Lubeck for ferry to Malmo. Have approx 4-5 days available for tour round Sweden. Gang of 4 prepared for a few unpaved roads too.
Any advise or suggestions of where to head for would be appreciated.
Cheers
Griff

Re: Sweden

Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 7:39 pm
by nordicbiker
Ok, here come the tips from the locals! ;-)

If you have only 4 to 5 days you should stay in the south of course. Småland, the area between Jönköping in the West and Västervik in the East specifically. If you do small roads, limit you day trips to not more than 300, 350km, mainly if you include gravel roads. Of those you can find thousands of kilometers here, most of them are public roads and perfectly legal to ride on. But be careful, there ARE other folks out in cars there! And lots of animals, recently saw three moose, six deer, a badger, a rabbit, a squirrel on or besides the road and all that on ONE day!

A typical little town to visit would be Eksjö, lots of nice wooden houses, sadly one of the oldest one's burned down recently. If you want a good place to eat and combine with a nice few get to Aboda Klint, a little hill south of Högsby , were you can have a nice lunch buffet and enjoy a great view. The area is hilly, but most of the hills are covered in forests. I find this one of the most beautiful areas of Sweden, if you want to see landscapes formed by generations of farmers. Småland is a nice mix of forest, hills, lakes and open farming landscape. And lots of stones - you will understand why so many Swedes tried to escape the hardships of farming in that area and went to North America.

There are also numerous moose parks in the area, in case you'd like to meet the "king of the forest".

In the area around Kosta / Orrefors you will find a lot of glass manufacturing and most companies let in visitors to watch the glass blowers from close by. Maybe something for the wifes/girlfriends?

It shouldn't be a problem to find a Bed&Breakfast in Småland, the area is very well developed for tourists. If you are a little bit more on a budget look at hostels, the biggest chain is www.stfturist.se, STF Svenska Turistföreningen. And if you like sleeping outdoors, you can set up your tent almost anywhere you want. All you need to know about the Scandinavian Allemansrätten:

http://www.naturvardsverket.se/Om-Natur ... 20-8522-3/

HOWEVER: you are not allowed to drive offroad = in terrain were there is no road/path specifically build for motor traffic!

Please also check my own homepage, which is mostly in German (I am living in Sweden for 15 years now) but there are some info chapters in English!

And let me know how you liked my home of choice. And by the way: I will be in England and Wales in June/July! :-)

www.nordicbiker.se

Re: Sweden

Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 7:45 pm
by greyhoundgriff
Cheers fella

Re: Sweden

Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 1:59 pm
by doctor
Sounds a great place yet not many bikers seem to visit Sweden, are there any negatives or should we stop faffing and get the ferry booked.

Re: Sweden

Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 8:34 pm
by nordicbiker
You are so welcome to try Sweden!
If I should rank the Scandinavian coutries:
-Norway: breathtaking and spectacular. But horribly expensive!
-Finnland: quite flat, full of people with great humor who like it hot (the sauna) and wet (beer and other stuff). Lots of lakes, but nothing higher than a hill. Europe's most expensive gas.
- Sweden: in between! Some mountains in the northwest, otherwise lots of woods and lakes. Nice helpful folks, who can be a bit reserved to strangers. Price level ok.
All three have one big advantage: Allemansrätten, the right of public access. If you find a nice spot near a lake in the woods and there is no house in direct sight, you are allowed to set up your tent for a night!
One disadvantage have all of them: at the wrong spot at the wrong time you will be eaten up alive by mosquitos, mostly in Sweden and Finland!