Sunday morning dawned sunny and warm and many boat club members came down to launch and mast on their boats. It was quite busy on the wharf and the weather forecast has predicted rain for Monday (again!), so in an effort to make hay while the sun shines, we set off on the short 5nm hop across to the sleepy township of Berg, where the next stage of Göta Kanal begins, with the rather scary thought of the eight stepped Carl Johan’s lock system.

I was still feeling a little sore and miserable after yesterday's fall, so we thought it wiser to forgo a more thorough visit to the township of Linköping (especially as it lies a good three kilometres from the club). Instead, we decided to rest at the outer pier at the small hamlet of Berg, visit the area a little more on Monday and be ready to attack the locks on Tuesday. Lars-Göran assured me that this was a quiet, sleepy backwater and ideal for a day of peaceful rest and recovery. Now why did I believe him, I wonder?




I know it was a Sunday and it was a nice day, but I never expected to see such an enormous crowd of people. A quick flip through the Göta Kanal brochure provided the answer - it was Kanaldagen, plus a dedication of a new statue which you can see sitting out in the distance on the sea wall. My husband and his impeccable sense of timing strikes again.





The picture above was taken part of the way up the eight step lock, so we could get an idea of what it looked like. We were still amazed that so many people were here. Even higher still, the place was packed with families, there was an airshow with jets screaming overhead, a car show, demonstrations of sea rescue boats, water-skiing, pony riding, icecream sellers, a petting zoo.....




We left the boat at the guest harbour and wandered around a bit, then continued through the throng of people and along the canal a little way where we found our own little peaceful oasis.




We admired several of the lovely homes along canal and later visited nearby Vreta Kloster (Vreta Convent). This is Sweden's oldest convent, which was founded by King Inge and Queen Helena 1110 for the Benedictine order. Parts of the church date from even earlier - from around the year 1000. The church towers are very striking and as it is located on the top of a hill, it dominates the surrounding landscape. The church is one of the most interesting ones we have visited, with many medieval works of art. But it was the architecture that really made an impression on me.




By now, with the sun shining down it was becoming quite warm, especially for the more furry member of the family. Lars-Göran thinks I spoil her outrageously, but I suspect that if he had a fur coat, he'd appreciate the shelter of an umbrella and a nice bowl of water on a sunny day! Okay, I know she doesn't really need a cushion, but what can I do? She flatly refuses to sit on a bare wooden seat. She simply glances at the wood, then looks up at me as though to say "I hope you aren't seriously expecting me to slum it?" and continues to stand there staring at the seat until a suitable covering is provided for her delicate skin. She must have royal blood.




The countryside around the church and convent was beautiful - it consisted of rapeseed fields, flat, gentle landscapes and distant woods. It is somewhat of a contrast to the cliffy areas we saw in the previous stretch of countryside and we are looking forward to seeing more of this in the next few days.




A short distance from the church was a small, older area with pretty wooden homes set in lovely green gardens. I love walking down these little country lanes as you never know what surprises await you around the corner. The other advantage of taking a long walk was that by the time we came back to the harbour, the crowd was dispersing and peace and quiet was descending on the township.




The following day we watched an Irish boat come across the lake and promptly go aground just outside of the harbour area. They managed to get off ground and Lars-Göran helped guide them in and tie up. We introduced ourselves and invited them aboard for a drink and chat. They were a delightful couple, a little older than us and they were attempting to do the canal in four days. They had had some unfortunate luck with their boat engine on their journey down from their winter harbour at Södertälje and were running out of time to get their boat across to the west coast before they were due home. Lars-Göran contacted the canal office on their behalf and sorted out their timetable for them, so they will be joining us on the next stretch to Motala tomorrow. They will then do the next two stretches over consecutive days and leave the boat at Sjötorp, picking it up later in the summer. They were very grateful that we could help them sort out their dilemma and we spent a lovely evening chatting and laughing together.




Peace and quiet reigned on this our last evening in Berg. I love these long, warm summer evenings. The sky is clouding over in the west, which does not bode well for tomorrow. I really hope that it doesn’t rain as we have 28 locks and 10 bridges to negotiate. At least there are only the two boats, so it ought to be fast, but even so, we estimate that we will be at it for 9 hours. I know I’ll need a good night’s sleep when we finally get to Motala.

One of the most enduring sailing superstitions states that it is unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday. I always thought this was an old wives’ tale, but in light of Friday's events, I’m reconsidering my previous stance. The stretch from Söderköping to Norsholm, consisting of 12 locks, took us eight hours in continuous pissing rain. I've never been more tired, wet, cold and hungry in my entire life and all for a measly 11 nautical miles. What am I doing here?

It all started innocently enough - overcast for sure, but reasonably pleasant as we set off along the glittering waters of the canal west of Söderköping.




We still hadn't quite figured out the starting times of the lock keepers. The office told us 8.00am, but it wasn't until 10am that they arrived at our lock. It appears that the office meant that they begin at 8am at the beginning of the section (in Mem), picking up boats at various points as they continue to the end of the section. They were even later than expected as some of the boats were much larger than anticipated, needing the entire lock to themselves. This meant that there were three convoys instead of one and we were in for a wait at every lock. Added to that, the heavens opened and there was a heavy downpour even before we reached the first lock.




I can tell you from first hand experience that it is hard work jumping off the boat onto a slippery stone wall wearing thick clothes, waterproof raingear and rubber boots. I didn't slip over, but it was a close call a couple of times and the wet, cloudy conditions, coupled with wet, slimy ropes and trudging along muddy tracks between the shorter section dressed like Michelin Man was not my idea of a holiday. Still there were pretty rural scenes that we glimpsed between the showers and several groups of farm animals watched our progress (probably questioning our sanity as well!)




Each time we got to a lock, I had to hop off the boat and be ready to catch the ropes L-G threw up to me, then attach them to the rings and wait for the lock to fill, afterwards unhooking the ropes and hopping back aboard with them while we motored along to the next lock. Some of the locks were double ones, so I found it easier to throw the ropes back on board and walk along to the next section (usually between 200m and 600m away) rather than all this jumping on and off the boat. I tell you I was completely buggered after a whole day of it. I was almost too tired to appreciate the passing scenery, though the weather started to clear up in the late afternoon so we could enjoy our trip through the winding, narrow waterway.




As I mentioned, we had to wait at each lock. This was both for the boats ahead of us in the convoy as well as for boats on a convoy travelling in the opposite direction. At least it gave me time to walk between the locks, though we had no time to eat anything along the way. It was too wet to keep our usual supply of nibbles out in the cockpit with us, so I was starving by the time we reached Brådtom in the late afternoon. There were small cafés along the route, but none of them were open as this is considered "pre-season". On a brighter note, the weather was much better and you see the dark clouds were now behind us as we looked back over the small lake of Asplången. You can just see Lambi peeping out of her basket to catch the first rays of sunshine for the day.




We also discovered another disadvantage to taking the canal so early in the season when we got to Norsholm. There was not one place to moor at the guest harbour. We had also noticed this at Klevbrinken - all the available pier space was being used by local boats that were newly launched and waiting to mast on. This time is considered "pre-season" and they know that nobody from Göta Kanal was going to check the harbours and see who was there. This meant that there was actually nowhere we could stay, despite the fact that we had paid for our tickets and all of the facilities.

We weighed our options carefully. We could cross the 15 NM of lake Roxen over to Berg or Linköping, but I was so tired that I threatened divorce if we had to go another metre, so we tied up on the outside of the township on Lake Roxen. Norsholm is a very small, quiet town. Well, except for train line, that carried a rather startlingly high number of trains. I was in bed by 9.30pm and slept like a log, awakening to a beautiful warm, sunny day. Rain? What rain?




It seemed a perfect day to cross Roxen. We had a beautiful start to the journey with good weather, but then it clouded over, strong winds blew straight at us from the west, whipping up the surface. The lake is quite shallow at 5 m, but the waves are quite choppy and steep as there is nothing in the way to block them. And of course, the wind was right on the nose. On the shore, we saw typical countryside, with grazing cattle.




There were also large farmhouses, framed by the glittering water and sea grass, with ripening fields of bright yellow rapeseed contrasting perfectly with the traditional red farmhouses and green grass.




As we neared the western shores of the lake, we discussed where to go, deciding that as we had our next lock booked for Tuesday, that we could spend a day or two checking out the university town of Linköping while we were here, before heading along to Berg. According to the charts we had, there was an entrance from the lake along a river up to the local boat club and we decided to make for that part of the shore. Along the way, we saw some enthisiastic wind surfers out taking advantage of the windy conditions. They were certainly moving through the water at a blistering speed.




The others we saw here were the kite surfers. I have never seen these in Australia, but they seem to be popular here. We have one of the best surfing spots in Sweden just down the road from where we live, so I have seen a few of these guys out there catching the wind and skimming across the water. They use an inflatable kite that is tethered to a harness, with their feet attached to a small surfboard. The power of the wind propels them both through the air and the water. I'm sure it is a huge adrenaline rush - and they look impressive out on the water.




You can see that even though this is a small, shallow lake, the waves are Soon after, we were looking out for the markers that indicated the entrance to the river (Storån) that would take us to the local yacht club. It was quite invisible and we were a little worried as the wind was driving us forward at considerable speed towards the shore and we could only see reeds. At the last possible minute before total panic took over, we spotted the carefully hidden opening and made our way into the calm, sunny waters of the river flanked by pretty summer houses.




We discovered that we were not alone in the water. No, there were no other boats around, only the occasional bird watcher trying to get that extra close shot. Definitely a wtf? moment.




We moored at the local boat club and cycled through the park lining the river and into the town of Linköping itself. Linköping celebrated its 700 year anniversary in 1987 and is considered an important cultural town. It was the site of a battle between the Roman Catholic King Sigismund of Poland and Duke Charles of Södermanland (later Karl IX) in 1600. Charles won the battle, making Linköping part of Sweden rather than part of the Holy Roman Empire. Today, with its population of 95,000, it is better known for its university and high tech industry.

Dominating its skyline is the impressive 107m tower of Linköping Cathederal, visible from many miles away.




The building was begun in 1220 and it is one of the largest and best preserved Nordic medieval cathederals. Inside, it is a not always harmonious blend of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, but no-one can fail to be awed by the sheer size and the massive presence inside. The wooden crucifix you can see dates from the 1300s, which is amazing when you consider the number of fires that ravaged the building. Sweden's most celebrated saint (St Birgitta) claimed that Jesus spoke to her from this crucifix. I suspect she'd be locked up in a padded cell if she had made that statement today, but in the fourteenth century I think they were more inclined to believe her.




On the way back to the club, I had a nasty fall on some uneven ground and ended up with a bruised hip and shin plus a bent thumb. All of this is both extremely painful and restricts my movements. I hope that I can recover enough to continue the locks on Tuesday - but tonight I think it will be painkillers and an early night. I'll never begin a journey on a Friday again!

Well, how about that – we are STILL in Söderköping, waiting out bad winds and weather. You’d think that it was not really possible to be kept in harbour in a canal, but you’d be wrong. We woke up on Wednesday to rain and gale force westerly winds (and wouldn't you just know that we are heading WEST) that whipped up waves, making the thought of being out in the foul weather, plus negotiating 12 slippery locks totally unpalatable. We rang the canal company to cancel and they told us that the next convoy was due to head westwards on Friday, so we have an extra couple of days to wander around town. We have no rush and it is peaceful and enjoyable in the harbour anyway.

We were able to spend some time looking at another town church, Drothem yesterday. This is slightly smaller than the other church, but just as old and well preserved. The bell tower is a much later eighteenth century addition, but the church itself dates from the late 1200s, again built on the site of an older wooden church dating from 1000. The name Drothem is a corruption of the Old Swedish word “Drotin” which meant Lord or God.




The church has suffered over the years from damage caused by the wars of conquest that raged here in the sixteenth century and for several years it was even without a roof, having been burnt down by invading Danish forces. It can be difficult to take in the aggression of the time when you look on the pretty church in its water setting today.

Inside the church, the decorations are simple and reflect the coastal flavour of the town, with the nineteenth century votive ships hanging from the vaulted ceilings.




The altar backdrop is again more like an orthodox church piece of art, which is not so unusual when you consider how close we are to Russia. It is thought that it was constructed in the middle 1400s and contains a central figure representing the holy family, with fourteen saints on either side.




The pulpit is ornate as is the custom here and unlike the churches I am used to seeing in Australia, it is in the main body of the church, some distance away from the main altar. I also like the use of the votive ships - somwthing to remind one that this is a town that relies on shipping for its livelihood.





We later wandered around the medieval quarter which is built around this church. The old houses in this area (known as Drothemskvarteren) look quiet and peaceful today, but they had an important role in Sweden in medieval times.




In the 1200s and 1300s, this town was the political centre of Sweden. The simplest and safest route in Sweden followed the coastline and because of its strategic placement close to the castle at stegeborg, Söderköping weilded a great deal of power over the sea route and trade. These years were also those of a powerful alliance between the church and the monarchy. If you put it in today's perspective, it was equivalent to Stockholm or even Brussels! Church and royal officials were frequent visitors here.




Today it can be hard to understand just how vital this place was back then. When you look at these quiet, sleepy streets you can hardly believe that the powerbrokers of economy and the government elite held important meetings here.




Today, these tiny little, doll-like houses fetch a handsome price and are favoured by those who work in the big towns like Linköping or Norrköping, but who can afford a quiet and beautiful place to live.




When we arrived back at the boat, we noticed another of those gracious river steamers coming up the lock - This time "Diana". I hope they are not rainclouds she is bringing with her! This reminded me of when I went to Swedish classes and we were learning about the seasons. The teacher had pictures and we had to assign a season to them (yes, the classes are really like kindergarten, sometimes!). There was a picture of a couple sitting at a picnic table at a local park, dressed in jeans, runners and a thick jumper. They were huddled under an umbrella and you could see others walking through the green, wet grass under brollies or dressed in raincoats. I assigned "Winter" to that picture, but it turned out to be SUMMER! I said to the teacher "Please tell me that you are joking" - I had only been in Sweden for four months of winter at that stage and was rather hoping that summer meant sunshine! Silly me!





Today it is our 4th wedding anniversary! I'd tell you all how we intend to celebrate it, but this is a family site, so I'll leave it up to your imagination. I'm sure you'll do me proud. We are still as happy together as the day we walked down the aisle in Nynäshamn church. It's not all smooth sailing and we've put a couple of our vows to the test, notably the "in sickness and in health" part and the "for richer or poorer" bit. But, we've laughed and cried and giggled and compromised, and we've shared a million mundane moments that have brought us closer together than I ever imagined possible.

Every day we have had something new to learn, something interesting to talk about. Well, it's mostly me who does the talking, but you get the idea.....

We have rung the canal company and will leave here in the morning to head to the next stop at Norsholm. It’s been a great few days here and we have walked around a great deal and learned as much as we could about the town. We feel ready to move on.

Today I had a rather strange encounter in the laundry. A boat came in earlier and tied up near “Fiona”. The owner came over to chat and told Lars-Göran that he and his family were headed over to Scotland and the British Isles and enquired if we were also headed that way (while looking at the Australian flag on the port stays!) I refuse to answer that question anymore.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to use the laundry to wash and dry a few clothes in readiness for the morning. When I went into the guest harbour facilities, I heard voices and realised that the family who had come in earlier were having showers in the bathrooms. I filled the machine in the laundry and was measuring out the detergent when the door opened and the husband was standing there, still damp and stark naked with a bag of laundry, while his wife called out washing instructions from the ladies’ showers.

Now, I am used to nudity living here in Sweden where they take a much more low key approach to it than we do in Australia. It was just that I was not expecting to see someone strutting about nude in a public place as though this was his own home. And I felt a little trapped as I was standing at the inner of the two machines, in a narrow, cell like room with no windows and no way to get out without squeezing between Mr Nudie and the wall. He had no clue how to use the machines either, so he peppered me with questions as though all of this was perfectly normal. I can tell you that I couldn’t get out of there fast enough! At least Lars-Göran was amused when I told him!

Apart from checking out streakers in the laundry, we walked to a different area of town where we saw an old mill.



This is more a Dutch style mill rather than the more common post mills that you see in Sweden and is a relic from the days when this was an important grain growing region. Nearby was an example of an old wooden barn and the unusual diagonal branched fences that one sees out on country roads here. It looks so much better than the barbed wire fences we use in Australia, but I also understand that lack of timber and the increased bush fire risk would make them impracticable in the outback. They do seem to be an integral part of the rural landscape here in Sweden.




Also in the same cluster of buildings at Korskullen, there was a weatherd, unpainted crofter cottage, with the traditional torv roof – something that always brings a smile to my face, though again I can see the practical applications of it.




On the way back from this area, we passed what used to be the main town hotel, which stands proudly in the sunshine on the banks of the river.




We also headed into the main town square to visit the other icecream shop - Konfekthörnan, which advertises that it makes proper Italian style gelati. This I have to try as I know from several trips to Italy over the years that Italians know how to make fabulous icecream. I came out with a generous double cone for each of us. Mine included the wonderful lemon gelato (a tangy, sorbet style) that I have not tasted since I left Adelaide. What wonderful memories that brought back.




We ate our cones by the herb garden, Örtagården If you’re interested in old herbs, spices or medicinal plants, a visit here to this little oasis is a must. Located on Skönbergagatan close to the centre of town, this beautiful, colourful and fragrant garden is perfect for peaceful strolls or a short meditation on one of the benches.




Then we went on to see the church of S:t Laurentii, a large structure built of red Baltic bricks in the gothic style and gradually extended over the centuries. Next to it is an intricate wooden bell tower, built in 1583.




The church was commemorated in 1296, though it is now believed that a wooden church was already on the site much earlier than that. The Franciscian order of monks had an abbey nearby and provided priests for the church until the winds of change in the form of the Reformation drove them out of Sweden in the sixteenth century. The vaulting that you can see in the next picture were probably built in the fifteenth century and they are impressive and very solid.




One of the most valuable pieces in the church is the pulpit you can see in the next picture. It was built by a master craftsman (Johan Belätesskärare, literally, John the Idol Carver) in 1671. The organ dates from the late nineteenth century and the medieval brass chandeliers, considered to be the oldest ones in Sweden are dated 1588 – a full two hundred years before European settlement in Australia! It certainly alters your perspective of history to see these historic churches and realise that what we consider old in Australia is relatively recent by Swedish standards.




The altar decorations owe a lot to the older, eastern style of art than the churches we see in southern Europe. The wall is dominated by a triptych dating from around 1500, the central, gilded section which shows Christ after his death, surrounded by his friends. On either side there are twenty four Old Testament figures. The enormous, dark painting you can see on the left has the motif of the bith of Jesus and was painted by Per Hömberg in 1802. It was intended to be used behind the altar, but was moved to its present position in 1886.




So much history here in just one building. I wish we had time to visit the other chuch in the older part of the town, but the weather has not co-operated and we are leaving early in the morning. Somehow I don’t think this will be the last time we are coming here.

Westward ho tomorrow!

Growing old is no fun sometimes, especially when a burst of physical exercise is required. Today was tough and a good reminder to me that I’m absolutely on the wrong side of forty whether I like it or not. While the sun shone in the early morning, we decided to climb up Ramunderberget hill, which rises 76 m straight up behind the canal. There is a local legend that the giant Ramunder lived here, but we didn’t see any sign of him, only a handful of ravens who mocked my pathetic climbing efforts and constant rest breaks. The reward for a climb up the steep stairs is a wonderful view over the town and the surrounding countryside. It is no wonder that this was used in former times as a sentry point and lookout. The town looked lovely spread out below us.




Söderköping has long been an important part of Swedish history. Numerous archaeological excavations through many metres of cultural remains have revealed traces of more than a thousand years of human activity on the site where the town stands today. The oldest area, dating back to medieval times, can be seen in the winding streets of the Drothem blocks and in the St. Laurentii and Drothem churches built in the 1200s. You can see the church bell towers to the right of the picture below.




You can also see “Fiona” tied up to her pier in the bottom left hand corner and towards the middle, right on the banks of the canal is a recently completed apartment block, converted from the old silos which have stood here for hundreds of years. I was very taken with these apartments and really happy to see that they didn’t face the wrecker’s ball, but instead were preserved as part of the town’s history. They make an interesting focal point and an important addition to the town’s skyscape. So often you see short sighted decisions made by local authorities and town planners to destroy important heritage structures like this, so it was heartening to see that someone had the vision and imagination to make use of them. Along with the beautiful turn of the century villas, the well preserved medieval buildings, the tiny, thriving specialised shops and cafés, the low buildings and the air of caring and conservation, it all enhances my positive view of Söderköping – a town I would move to in a flash!

Of course, the town was not always so peaceful. In the middle ages it was an important trading centre and the site of several battles between warring nations for sovereignty over Sweden. Much of the city was reduced to ashes in different wars in the late 1500s, meaning that the oldest wooden houses still standing today date from the 1700s and 1800s. There are several older stone cellar houses preserved, including Braskens house where Bishop Brask is thought to have run one of Sweden’s first printshops in the 1520s.




The handsome building you can see here, topped by a clock tower is Rådhuset (the town hall). There is no doubt that the it is the most prominent building in Söderköping. Built in 1777, it is the third town hall built on the same site and it housed the entire city administration until 1973. On the second storey there is a well-preserved hall that is still used for municipal representation and meetings as well as a lovely antechamber which is used for weddings. The square in front of the building is a meeting point and has a cobbled stone surface and pretty rose gardens on one side that must look wonderful in late summer. We enjoyed looking out across the whole town as far as it stretched.




Then it was time to move on. The hill is crisscrossed by superb forest paths lined with masses of blueberry bushes and one path leads down to exercise tracks and soccer pitches. During the winter there are even ski trails and a sledding hill. We wended our way back down to the bank of the canal and walked a couple of kilometres to Klevbrinken dry docks and then crossed over the canal and walked back to town.

The river running through the town seems to be a popular place for fishing, judging by the number of anglers we saw trying out their luck along the bank. The man you see pictured was pulling out a fish as we passed by, right in the heart of the town. The other thing we noticed was the rather severe tree trimming program they had here. I’m not sure of the rationale behind this, but those poor trees do not look happy and it rather detracts from what could have been a soft, leafy canopy to contrast with the straight angles of the buildings.




I was really sore and tired after all of that exercise, so I slept soundly for an hour or so and then set about making dinner. After we had eaten and I was washing up, I looked out of the window and saw one of the gracious old steamboats making its way towards the lock. Juno is one of the three boats that offer two day journeys from Söderköping to Motala, or four and six day trips from Stockholm to Gothenburg (and vice versa) during the summer. It is a lovely way to see Sweden, though it is not cheap.




The six day cruise costs around $4,000 per person. While that includes all meals as well as the bed onboard, it is still somewhat steep, though it seems there are no shortage of customers to try it out. This cruise, which began in Gothenburg seemed to be made up mostly of German tourists. It was a tight squeeze getting the boat into the lock.




On the way in, one of the logs that they use as fenders broke in two as it was crushed against the side of the lock wall. A peep through the windows showed that the boat was beautiful inside, with mahogany and brass featuring heavily. She is a rather elegant, stately boat and a reminder of a lost era of travel. I could imagine Hercule Poirot stalking around the decks and some rich pre-depression socialite opening her travelling steamer trunk to select an evening dress for dinner.




After the boat had descended to the lower level, she continued on her way to Stockholm. If you look at the picture, you can see a couple of ducks swimming next to the boat. These ducks really crack me up as they swim into the lock and get a free ride up and down the water. I’ve watched them for a couple of days now and they are always quick to swim in and join in with the boats, even though they could simply fly up to the next level. I wonder if they have to pay the lock charges?

Please spare me from stupid people! So far today, I’ve been asked the following questions:

”Are you on your way to England?” (while pointing at the Australian flag on the port stays)
”Have you just arrived from New Zealand?” (while pointing at the Australian flag on the port stays)
Do they speak Swedish in Australia?” (after I explain in Swedish that the flag is a crew flag, because I come from Australia!)

About the only sensible questions I answered were from another foreigner – the captain of the sailing boat you can see moored next to “Fiona”. This 50’ boat had come in from the west coast, headed east and bore the British ensign. When we spoke to the owner, a cheerful Irishman, we found out that he had just bought this 40 year old, beautifully maintained yacht in Germany and he and his crew were “sailing her home to Northern Ireland”. I laughed at this and told him that he was going the wrong way if he was headed to Ireland from Germany. Perhaps, I suggested, he ought to ask for directions. He only smiled and admitted that the Irish had their own unique way of doing things.




He had picked up the boat three weeks before and sailed her from Germany to the Netherlands then spontaneously turned north and headed up to Norway before following the coastline down to Sweden. At Gothenburg he decided to take the inland Göta Canal and sail around the Baltic before heading home. He asked me if it was worthwhile to sail up to Stockholm and I assured him that the capital was something not to be missed, especially the view from a boat.

He couldn’t place my accent and when I told him that I was Australian, he told me that he had a famous relative with an Aussie connection. I wondered if it might be Ned Kelly, but it turned out that his uncle was James King, who took part in the famous, though ill-fated 1860-61 Burke and Wills expedition. Hmmm.... Robert O'Hara Burke.... that was another Irishman who took the long route wherever possible! We bid them farewell and fair winds as they continued eastwards and we went for a short walk in the showery conditions to have a quick look at the town itself.




The houses in the main section are separated by a river (Storån) which used to be part of the Baltic Sea. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, Söderköping was one of this country’s foremost ports for both domestic and foreign trade. The ships of the mighty Hansa League took their valuable cargo up the Storån river all the way to the town square. Today when you walk on Åpromenaden and walk alongside the peaceful rivulet it’s hard to imagine that some of the largest ships of the time passed here when the stream was over 30 metres wide. Today it is a shallow stream, though at 1.85m deep, we can actually sail up to here from Mem without the need to lock through the canal. That is a piece of information that is worth knowing for the future. Because of rising land levels, Söderköping is no longer a coastal town and is in fact many kilometres inland. On the northern side of the river is the canal, framed by the granite hill of Ramundberget which we will climb up tomorrow if the rain eases. I imagine that the view is worth the steep climb.




The mood in the town is relaxed and friendly with people out walking and enjoying themselves. The town itself is well maintained and spotless. There was no rubbish to be seen anywhere and no graffiti – both things that sadly plague Nynäshamn. Nearly everyone we saw walking along either side of the canal was eating an icecream and we immediately thought “When in Rome....” and headed over to Smultronstället. This is the largest ice-cream restaurant in Sweden, where you can choose from over 60 flavours of icecream and a dizzying array of concoctions to enjoy.




The serving girls were enchanted with Lambi (the little con artist!) and they asked if she would like an icecream of her own and proceeded to pick out a pretty paper cup and add a small portion of soft serve – I thought that was really sweet. We sat by the canal and enjoyed our double cones until the clouds moved in again and we retired to the boat.

The evening was beautiful, with the sun landing on the water, lighting it from nowhere like a great golden bird spreading its wings over the whole area. After dinner it was still very light so we took a long walk down the canal and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the late spring evening.




The wind had also died down, the water was still and the sky and the buildings were reflected in the mirror-like surface of the water. This pathway led past the well-known spa resort of Söderköpings Brunn, which was founded in the early 1700s. King Gustav III granted the spa its charter in 1774 and visited it himself the following year. When Dr. Lagberg’s cold water treatment was introduced in 1842, the spa’s popularity grew and the society life flourished as the well-heeled rushed to “take the waters” here. The spa setting is still mostly intact though today it serves as a restaurant and conference hotel.




The pathway was full of people out walking and taking advantage of the gentle summer sun and we walked a lot further than we intended. The trees were raining pollen and the only sounds were the rustle of leaves and the pretty calls of the forest birds. Several little robins (rödhakesångare) hopped out on the path in front of us and raked through the leaf litter before flying back to the trees. Just past the guest harbour we came upon a cute statue.




This is Eva Fornå’s “Rabbit Crossing” which was commissioned last year by the Göta Canal company to decorate the harbour. I think they are a charming addition to the canal and they are on both sides of the bank, clambering up the walls and helping each other out. I hope that the rest of the town is as welcoming and relaxed as the harbour area has proved to be. I have a really good feeling about this town.

The lock keeper arrived just before 8am to start us on our journey up the canal. Two motor boats had arrived on Friday afternoon and lay outside in the wavy outer harbour. They were jealous that we’d managed to get here in time to be raised to the calmer upper harbour. As they had to do the lock we had already done yesterday, we decided to head off before them and go along to the next lock by ourselves. The scenery along this Östgötaland section of the canal is beautiful.




It was sunny, with almost no wind and we went gliding along peacefully, looking at the pretty red farmhouses on the hills with their backdrop of high cliffs and dark woods. The local cows were ambling and grazing along the bank and looked up as we went by. It was quite pastoral and serene. Shortly we arrived at Tegelbruket Lock where we waited for the other boats to appear.




There was a lock keeper already here waiting. They are often young, cheerful and enthusiastic people and we chatted to him for the 10 minutes or so that it took for the others to arrive. Apparently the first lock had not gone well as the big motor boat was a brand new purchase and the owner had not only never passed through a lock before, he had no idea of how the twin engines on his boat worked and he could not manoeuvre it into the lock properly. I can tell you that this made me nervous. I was also worried because he had no fenders out on the side of his boat facing us. If “Fiona” swung out for any reason, the bow anchor we have up front would rip a hole in his new boat.




The company that runs the locks prefers that we go through in convoys (thus the fact that I spent the first bit of the trip singing that awful “Convoy” song from the old Kris Kristoffoson movie - much to Lars-Göran’s disgust). So we will always be in a lock with other boats from now onwards. There was a tense moment when I attached the fore rope to the pier and looked back at Lars-Göran to see him talking to the lock keeper rather than winching the rope taunt. While he was talking, “Fiona” was swinging, threatening to smack into the unfendered boat next to us. Fortunately I caught his attention and he swiftly rectified the problem so that my heart could start beating again. By the time we got to the next lock, I noticed that they had also put fenders out on that side of the boat.




This lock was safely passed and we all moved along the short distance to the town of Söderköping. Today’s total trip has only been a few nautical miles, but we have decided to stop here as we both want a closer look at this pretty town. The view in from the canal is very enticing.




It’s rather a funny feeling to see the houses from above like this. The other reason we wanted to stay was that we saw a large sailing boat go by on the river next to the canal (Storån) and we were curious about how deep this was and how far the river extended. But first there was Söderköping’s lock to negotiate.




Despite the large audience of onlookers we attracted, the lock went smoothly and I feel like I have the hang of it now, which is just as well as the next leg up to the town of Norsholm had 12 locks! It was a cool but sunny late morning when we tied up to the pier at the guest harbour. Fortunately at this time of the year it is very quiet here, so we can tie up alongside the pier right by the amenities and in the middle of town.




We plugged in the heating for Bruce and Sheila and are now prepared to spend a couple of days looking around and being real tourists in this historic town. There are also two ice cream parlours that Lars-Göran is keen to sample and I’ve seen many, many dogs passing by the boat, so it seems like there is something for everyone in the family. And that is what vacations are all about.

We did the first of the fifty eight Göta Canal locks today! It is a full day early, but we were lucky to notice that a couple of boats were coming downstream. We asked the lock keeper if we could go up to the next level, still in Mem, where the water was calmer and he happily agreed to let us pass through after the other boats had come down.

It went really smoothly, so I feel less apprehensive about my ability to help out with the ropes having had this practise run all by ourselves. We are going up in height above sea level, so there is a special technique that needs to be used to keep the boat level as the powerful currents flow in and fill the lock. We have studied the illustrations and Lars-Göran had prepared fenders, a block and two long mooring ropes with loops in the end to attach to the mooring rings. I waited by the pier and he eased the boat into the empty lock.




You can see how wavy it is outside of the lock for the boats who have just come through from the canal. The current was so strong that Lars-Göran didn’t even need to start the engine, merely steer the boat while the lock keeper drew her along with ropes, pushed by the strong current. He was very helpful after we told him that this was our first time!




The boat is secured to the pier with ropes in the fore and aft. These must be kept taunt as the water level rises, which is why it is easier on a sailing boat to install a block to thread the rope through and winch it in. If you allow the rope to become loose, the fore of the boat can swing out with the power of the water and become damaged. The lock gates are then closed behind the boat and the sluice gates are opened to let in the water.




This is an idea of the force of the water, even though it is quite a small lock and only raises us 3m above sea level. It would be easy to damage the boat on the rough stone walls if one wasn’t careful. Luckily, Lars-Göran has it all under control and a peep down shows him winching steadily to keep the ropes taunt, while Lambi looks on from her basket.




You can see how the water is swirling around the boat, so it can be a tense time for both those aboard and those on the shore watching. When the boat is at the new level, the crew member on shore (that would be me!) unhooks the mooring ropes, puts them onboard, climbs aboard and the boat sets off. In our case this was only a few metres to our night mooring in a lovely, calm, pond-like basin.



It’s idyllic here and we are feeling better about the whole locking process now. The tiny hamlet is so quiet that it can be hard to believe that this was where the canal was officially opened by the king (Karl XIV Johan) with a great deal of pomp and ceremony in September 1832. Apparently the “after party” was legendary in its length and excesses of food and alcohol. The over consumption of the latter causing more than a few people to fall into the canal on their homeward journey. Sounds a bit like the usual Midsommar party today – some things just never change!

It was another perfect day’s sailing in great winds to cover the last 25NM and arrive at the charming little hamlet of Mem a day before we were expecting to arrive. This gives us a full day to prepare the fenders and ropes ready for the locks ahead, to study the route and plan our stops and to rearrange things onboard.

We began early again. It’s funny that now we are out on the boat where time does not matter, we are still awake at 5am as usual and listening to the early morning weather report. For the third day in a row, the winds are strong and in a perfect direction. It’s cloudy again today and while it could be a few degrees warmer for our tastes, we aren’t complaining as we are close to our interim goal and that makes us really happy.

Leaving Arkösund, we set sail southwards along a buoyed route through the inner archipelago, which was beautiful with the exception of this strange island.





Every other island around here is covered with pine and birch forests, but the cormorants, so loathed by the local fishermen have chosen this one as a nesting island and it was stunning to see the amount of damage that they have inflicted on the landscape. I didn’t think that anything could kill a pine tree, but I was wrong. Perhaps I can better understand why people feel animosity towards them.

We travelled quickly through the start of the Saint Anna archipelago , then swung west, sailing up the long, deep bay of Slätbacken. The wind and waves were directly behind us, pushing us steadily along and giving us ample time to look around at the shore as we passed. It was a very pastoral scene, with lovely lush green grass dotted with cheerful yellow dandelions (maskrosor), pretty red cottages with white trim and the occasional cow resting in the meadow.




Not far from the start of the bay, we saw a small island with a chapel and clock tower on it. The conditions were not ideal to take a decent picture, but we snapped one as we passed by, fascinated to see that the rocks in front of the church were a breeding ground for nesting gulls, that looked like confetti sprinkled on the ground.




This is the famous Capella Ecumenica Chapel, which was built in 1965 on Västra Gärdesholmen island by ecumenical volunteers. It is a very popular church for wedding ceremonies and many couples have pledged their troth in this small chapel surrounded by the open sea. There is a service here on every Sunday during the summer, with a special church boat that takes visitors to the island from the mainland at Kungshällsudden in nearby Bottna.

Travelling further along this bay, we came to a narrow sound, defended by a massive fortress, which now lies in ruins but still looks imposing.




This is the remains of Stegeborg Castle, which was originally built to defend the important trading town of Söderköping, further upstream. It sits on a point in Slätbaken bay with the oldest sections built in the 1300s. The castle was at its height during the 1600s when kings Gustav Vasa and Johan III held court here. In 1590 the latter transformed it into one of Sweden´s loveliest Renaissance palaces, which he used as a summer home. During the 1800s it fell into disrepair but was restored to its current condition in the 1930s. Today it is a conference centre and there is also a restaurant, guest harbour and herb garden.

Just past the castle, sitting in the countryside is a beautiful old church overlooking the water.




Skällvik Church dates from the early 1400s, though it was during the 1600s that King Johan III gave the church its Renaissance appearance. It is always a surprise to me to see how many large and quite impressive churches there are in the Swedish countryside. Often these churches are surrounded only by small communities of tiny crofter cottages that are dwarfed by the scale of the structure. It demonstrates just how powerful the church was in Sweden during those times.

The shore passed by quickly in the fresh breeze and I enjoyed looking at the houses perched on the hills, with pastures running right down to the water.




What a lovely setting and so lush and green after the recent rains and the warm sunny days earlier this month. It’s hard to believe that this is the sea we are sailing on and that these are coastal fields. I think it makes a difference that the Baltic does not have tides and is not very salty – it is easier to farm here and soil erosion is not the problem it can be in tidal waters. Not everything was farmland, though. Along part of the shore were small clusters of summer cottages clinging to the cliffs and on the more level ground there were even some lovely large homes.




This one particularly appealed with its cheerful yellow colour, the interesting tower built on the side and the pretty setting with the masses of bird cherry blossoms (hägg) exploding on the trees in the garden, with all of this overlooking the glittering waters of the Baltic.

Soon after, we spied the approach to the tiny hamlet of Mem and the pier just before the first lock of Göta Canal!




As the wind was blowing directly into the harbour, it was a little wavy at the pier, but we are simply happy to be here and to have all day tomorrow to prepare the fenders, fender boards and ropes in readiness for the canal journey. It is so quiet here and our only neighbours are a flock of bleating sheep on the narrow tongue of land next to the pier.




A quick evening walk and a chat with the friendly locals has been productive in that we have already got our “Upplevelsekortet”, a swipeable key card that gives us access to the toilets, showers, laundries etc in all of the guest harbours. We have a day to prepare the boat, study the charts and instructions and then bright and early on Saturday we will pass through the first three locks and on to Söderköping. Lambi is delighted to be able to toddle around on firm land and we are all feeling relaxed, though a little nervous about the locking technique. I hope I don’t make a complete dog’s breakfast of the ropes!

Tuesday’s sailing was the best possible start we could have had. We have 75NM to travel in order to get to Mem, the starting point of Göta Canal and we have booked the first lock for Saturday morning. As this is officially pre-season, one must book the locks three days in advance. That means we must cover an average of 18 or so nautical miles every day to reach our goal by Friday evening. Today we did 25NM in cold but sunny conditions with a north east wind blowing 6-9m/s. This meant we sailed half wind down to Öja, then a fast downwind sail along the main southwards route. The water glittered in the sunshine and life felt good.




We happily passed our various planned night harbours and finally in the early afternoon we decided to stop at Västra Stendörren (literally the western stone door), a popular place in summer that we have passed many times before but never stopped at due to the large numbers of boats moored there.




Today, we were lucky to have the bay to ourselves and to tie up to the Swedish Cruising Club (SXK) buoy in Aspöfladen – it was wonderful to have dinner in the sunshine, listening to the birds around us and happy at being a third of the way to Mem already!

This name, Stendörren, has been used since the thirteenth century and was described in the 1270 Danish nautical reference, Navigato Danico, as a narrow passage along the main eastern sea-route, forming a doorway to and from sheltered waters. Apparently there used to be an inn here where seamen could wait out unfavourable weather and winds (a stay that could last as long as a week or more). There were also small land holdings here and there and the people eked out a living from a combination of farming, transport and fishing. There is a nature centre now at the old fishing camp which houses displays in the summer months relating to the plants, animals, geology, human history and environment of this pretty archipelago area. But today, all we had for company were the nesting sea birds – arctic terns, eider ducks, herring gulls, oyster catchers and three beautiful osprey soaring in the sky. Oh yes, and the canada geese!




Wednesday dawned with sunshine and promised to be as beautiful a day as yesterday, but it soon clouded over and we made sure to dress really warmly for the chilly conditions. Again the forecast was for favourable winds, so we planned several harbours along the route, but hoped that with luck we would make Arkösund which would put us two thirds of the way there.

Yesterday we saw several boats, mostly German sailing boats headed north, but today we saw only the one boat, but it was memorable.




It was a Finnish boat, that literally had everything but the kitchen sink on board. They even had a car on the foredeck! I joked to Lars-Göran that they had probably rung the car hire firms in Sweden and got a shock at the prices so decided to bring their own car. I wonder what the salt spray will do to the motor? It amused us anyway.

We also quickly passed by the industrial town of Oxelösund and it didn’t look any better today than it has on previous trips. Somehow I can’t imagine that I’ll ever be stopping there.



It’s hard to believe that until the beginning of the twentieth century that this was a sleepy little backwater, with a few fishermen and a tiny population. Then a railway line was built from the iron ore mines inland down to this point because it had a deep harbour. The town expanded along with the ore shipping industry and later in the 1920s the iron smelting works were established and they are still here today turning out industrial steel plates that are used on ships, buildings and bridges all over the world. I still think it’s ugly.

It was really cold by now, so while we crossed the broad bay of Bråviken, I made up some chicken broth with carrots and pasta that we ate up quickly to keep ourselves warm. In the early afternoon, after five hours sailing, we pulled into Arkösund having done another 25NM. We had thought about taking another SXK buoy, but this one was in a very exposed position, so we opted to continue around a small island instead and lie by anchor in a protected bay, with an island full of terns and swans for company.

It was glorious! We’ve all adapted back to living aboard easily and our old routines have fallen into place. It’s one of those times when everything seems to be coming together and we feel a remarkable affinity with the boat and with our surroundings. The wind and water have been really kind to us these last two days, though I never curse the sea, no matter what she throws at us. You have to show her the utmost respect because you know that she has the power to swallow ships the size of Titanic. But I am grateful for the sterling start to the trip.

Today I can relax and enjoy looking out at night and seeing the stars reflected in the water. From the deck I can smell land – a sweet breeze full of wet earth, pine needles, wood smoke and leaves. I read somewhere that of all the senses, it is smell that is the most potent because the signals go straight to the brain. This is why aroma can conjure up such a vivid image of childhood or a particular place or person. For me today, it smells of country living far away from the city – something that I love and cherish.

I really felt like Mother Hubbard when Lambi looked longingly at me on Monday morning waiting for a treat. I opened the pantry cupboards at home and they were indeed bare as was the fridge – not one single item in any of them. I have managed to use up anything we had (and believe me there were some weird meal combinations this last week) so that there was no food wasted. Unfortunately for Lambi, the dog treats were already packed aboard the boat so she had to wait until we got to the harbour.

Onboard, I set about unpacking and stowing the last few bags of food, clothing and books that we had brought down with us. It felt really good to have all of us there, though I managed to give myself a heart attack early on in the piece. Lars-Göran had set up the birds in the cage and given them water while I got out their seed and filled their food bowls. I then set about filling the pantry and turned around to see Bruce strutting along the navigation table, nibbling at our VHF chart. I smiled at him and said Are you having fun, Brucie? before it dawned on me that he should not be outside of his cage! There was a split second of utter panic when I worried he’d fly out of the open hatch, but I acted quickly and grabbed him and put him back inside with Sheila. At home I never shut the cage door, so it will take me a day or so to remember that we aren’t at home anymore. I tell you, I sat down shaking at the thought that we could have lost him because of my carelessness.

So we are all ready to set off tomorrow. We’ll stay at the boat club tonight because this is the last Monday night of launching. We have notified Göta Canal that we are arriving at the first lock on Saturday, so it all feels real now. I’m so glad to be back on the boat in our own world again. Lars-Göran really comes alive at sea. Although on land he enjoys good company and good conversation, he is somewhat of a loner. It’s more a state of mind rather than something that is obvious to others. While he happily fits into a group, he loves the challenge of handling his boat single-handed where success or failure rests squarely on his shoulders. There is a tremendous thrill at being out in open water, exposed to the sun, wind and rain with just this simple construction of fiberglass, rope and sails with which to try and conquer it. When you are onboard, with the prospect of several weeks at sea, the boat becomes your whole life. The outside world ceases to have any meaning for you and your mind turns inwards, occupied with yourself, each other, the pets, the boat and the weather. Even the time of the day and the day of the week lose significance, as the only times that matter are the weather reports on the VHF.

It’s now early morning and it has dawned a glorious sunny day in Fagerviken.




The last boat is launched after a marathon effort last night and we are ready to cast off early. We’ve been up since 5am anyway and the winds are favourable for our journey south westwards. We are hoping to make the island group of Lacka, around 18NM away, but we have contingency plans to pull in at a couple of other places earlier if conditions worsen.

And so our summer journey begins!

Today we are setting off for our summer sailing. It's beautiful weather, but cold and rain is forecast for the next couple of days - wouldn't you know it? I refuse to let it bother me and we are looking forward to several months out on the water. I'm anticipating the delights of sitting quietly on deck late in the evening, in the open air and enjoying the soft silvery light of the stars and the bright rays of the moon followed by long, lazy days of sailing and exploring. It is always a time of tranquil happiness for us. Even though we do get tired during the day, it is an agreeable fatigue and by evening we are soothed by the peacefulness and beauty of the natural world that surrounds us. It leaves us quite content to do absolutely nothing and to rest satisfied with the mere pleasure of existence. There is no better life!




To answer those of you who have asked, yes we do have a laptop with wireless internet connection on board and we are hoping to link in to so-called "hotspots" along the route and update the blog and read emails, but I can't promise that I'll answer letters promptly and you may get two weeks worth of updates at once then nothing for another two weeks. We'll have to see how it goes.

To those of you living along our route, I have your numbers and we'll be in touch as we get nearer - I am SO looking forward to meeting up with all of you!

Now my husband is looking impatient and I still haven't cleaned the fridge out, so it really is time to go.

Take care everyone and I'll be in touch.

We took a break from all of the boat preparations in order to have a spring stroll in Stockholm today - and what a wonderful day we chose for it. Brilliant sunshine, cobalt blue skies, glittering water and Japanese cherry blossoms exploding everywhere along Kungsträdgården.






It was quite a surprise really as we live only fifty kilometres south of Stockholm and yet for us, spring is still in it's very early stages, with trees just starting to think about producing leaves and no sign of blossom. Perhaps it is the cooler air coming in from the sea in Nynäshamn keeping things at a slower pace. Whatever the explanation, Stockholm's spring is far more advanced.




A day like this makes you feel excited, stimulated, innervated and so glad to be alive. We had to meet up with someone at Slussen just before lunchtime and then Lars-Göran had a dinner to attend in Gamla Stan in the evening, so we had the whole day to stroll around and soak up the glory that is the Venice of the north bathed in her springtime glory.

As I said, we began at Slussen, a lock in central Stockholm that separates the freshwater of Lake Mälaren from the brackish waters of the Baltic Sea. The winds were blowing strongly, whipping up the water and causing it to splash up over the walkways. The view across the water to the old town (Gamla Stan) was beautiful and the sunshine brought out all of subtle colours in the gracious old buildings.




Don't those pigeons look happy and content sitting on the rail overlooking the water. I swear that Stockholm has the fattest pigeons that I've ever seen and they seem to be perfectly happy to be around people.

The party Lars-Göran was to attend was at the home of an old school friend who is fortunate enough to live in this very old, exclusive area just off Skeppsbron, a place so full of narrow alleys and an atmosphere of a past era. What a brilliant location - I think I could get used to this!




I really love the warm colours they use in these buildings. The view from the end of his street overlooks one of the prettiest islands in Stockholm - Skeppsholmen (or the ship's island). You can see a glimpse of the water and the island beyond it if you peep from his balcony on the top floor. Wow! I wouldn't mind looking at that while sunning myself.




Positioned strategically at the Baltic Sea entrance to Stockholm, Skeppsholmen has traditionally been a place dominated by gracious military buildings. Nowadays the military presence has been replaced by creative, artistic places, with the Museum of Modern Art, the architecture museum and the East-Asian museum dominating. Can you imagine waking up to see this every morning. The old sailing ship you see moored there is the af Chapman, first launched in 1888 and these days used as one of Stockholm's most popular youth hostels.




There are some amazing buildings lining the street. I was really struck by this one, at number 18 Skeppsbron, which looked so much like a ship - perect when you consider the location overlooking the glorious harbour area. I believe that it was originally built for one of the banks.




Along past the palace and we were just in time for the daily changing of the guard and so we stood in the sunshine and watched the pomp and ceremony as the mounted guards and brass bands passed by across the road on their way up to the palace gates.




We wandered along, crossing bridges and sticking close to the water admiring the surroundings. We bought a double cone icecream each in Berzelii Park and sat down to eat it on a waterfront park bench along Strandvägen. While sitting there, I was asked by a passing man if I spoke Swedish and when I answered in the affirmative, he thrust a leaflet into my hand. It was a lot of ultra right wing propaganda about keeping Sweden for the Swedes and throwing out all of the immigrants! Little did he realise the irony of handing it to me. It was swiftly relegated into the nearest rubbish bin.

We checked if Anders and Beth were onboard Matilda, but they weren't, so we crossed over the bridge into Djurgården, a large, beautiful park-like island full of fabulous gardens, walkways, museums, galleries, cafés and of course, the glittering water. You are always close to water in Stockholm, which makes it so much more beautiful. I have read that the city is made up of one third water, one third green space and one third buildings - a perfect balance. On Djurgården, there were family groups having picnics, others lying in the sun relaxing, riding around on hired bikes,