The evening and night turned out to become overcast so I cancelled the photo shoot of the river under the milky way.
Instead, we got an early breakfast under a hungry Bear ...
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| Bjørn |
... and a sleepy Moose (named Svend).
Today, the bike trail has followed the banks of the river Mörrum as it rushes towards the Baltic Sea.
Just south of the village of Fridafors we crossed the border between Småland and Blekinge.
Until 26th February 1658, this used to be the border between the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Sweden.
Therefore, we are entering old Danish territory and, accordingly, the landscape began looking sort of Danish: More beech forests, more open fields and much fewer rocks and stonewalls.
Even the Mörrum river lost most of its energy and moved lazily towards its final destination.
We continued on the trail that used to be a railway line.
A few remaining hardware artifacts are still to be seen.
But, nowadays, the main focus is on the salmon fishing in the Mörrum that runs along the railway traché.
Apparently, Mörrum offers the very best salmon fishing opportunities in all of Sweden.
In the town of Svängsta we tried to visit the local ABU museum (Since 1921, ABU has been the world's leading manufacturer of fishing tackle and lures). However, it was closed. Instead, we spotted two vintage examples of Swedens's industrial heritage: 4/5 of a Volvo 544 and a complete SAAB 96. (Those of you who've read "A man called Ove" will know which of the above vehicles Ove would never touch).
South of Svängsta we came across this huge wild bore that poked its ugly front out of the woods.
By early afternoon we biked through the old part of Karlshamn ...
... and soon reached the shoreline of the Baltic Sea.
We stopped by the monument commemorating the massive exodus from Karlshamn harbour of Swedes from Småland and Blekinge towards Minnesota and other places in America 100+ years ago. Here are Karl Oskar and his wife Kristina, the main characters in the famous novel by Vilhelm Moberg, getting ready to embark of the voyage of their lives. A copy of the monument stands also in the town Lindstrom in Minnesota, USA.
Before heading towards our hotel for a well-deserved break we noticed this public bicycle pump with free air. What a splendid service!
No visit to Sweden is complete without some Astrid Lindgren. Therefore, "Pippi Longstocking in the South Seas" is the main show in town.
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Tomorrow will see us on the trail again, heading west and south with Sölvesborg as our next destination.
