Next town we stopped at named KIVIK  is known for the beauty of its cottages & for the abundant production of herring, apples and apple cider, but also for it's  fleemarket that used to have 100 000 visitors and 1000 sellers.

It's a yearly tradition and supposedly started in the 1800 with the trade of salted herring to buy and sell to Southeern Europe. 

It's a very quaint town, with a population about 960 permanent inhabitants, but during tourist season it becomes crowded with boaters, and here's a gorgeous well kept wooden boat

This town is also covered with cobblestones, and luckily I got to walk on my own istead of shaking in my wagon..........

As usual Mom admire all the flowers everywhere 

Fritiof Nilsson Piraten, born 1895 -1972..................according to Mom, there is not a Swede born who didn't read his books 

Educated as a lawyer he left a successful practice in 1932 to write, and that same year published his debut, "Bombi Bitt och jag" ("Bombi Bitt and me"), a  Tom Sawyer-like story of sorts. Bombi Bitt is what he is most remembered for, it was made into both a movie in 1936, and a TV-series 1968, the series starring Stellan Skarsgård of present Hollywood-fame in the lead role as Bombi Bitt, with Piraten himself as the narrator. Piraten went on to write two more books about Bombi Bitt, one in 1946 and one in 1974. Most of his books are collections of bucolic anecdotes about eccentric people in this province, such as his novel, Bock i örtagård ("Buck in herbal garden", 1933), about an illiterate horse-dealer and squire who bullies his way into a church-wardenship to win a bet. A movie was released 1958 based on this novel. A later novel, ("The book-dealer who ceased bathing", 1937) is a deeply tragic story, dotted with occasional comic situations, about a too-sensitive man falling in love with a woman and marrying her before he realizes who she really is, and the disasters that follow. 1969 a movie came out based on this novel. Most of his books are considered to fit well in the tall tale category.

He himself added "Piraten"to his name to  distinguish him from another Nilsson

I met this guy who's supposedly the same breed as me......................Mom couldn't stop looking at those socks tough ..............

this two houses connected with a greenhouse looked dreamy said Mom,but she wouldn't have chosen to paint it blue and yellow................

Not sure this  young kid knows what thee leaf on his hat is,  Mom thinks ..............for real ? really ???

A tourist from Germany was driving this Rolls Royce, and according to him this is 1 of only 4 of this model left ..........wow

The weather is still very unreliable, but luckily there has been enough sun so we could go for a long nice bikeride, in the town we're in now. 

We're parked between some real big guys, in a town called SIMRISHAMN. There's going to be a jazz festival here, so Mom said we can hang out here a little longer...............and that's fine with me

We have been driving a lot from North to South and Easst and West..............so just hanging in the same place for a while is Ok ............Denmark is still a possibility says Mom 

so far about 3265 miles..........

This town is also a port where a lot of  sailors, and we're parked close to the water, which means lots of these noisy birds. You should hear them walking on the roof of Lucy.................definitley no pussyfooting...........

This ship is in port and I'm wondering if it takes courage to have 602 sins ? or what it's supposed to mean ?

Now it's sunny again, and I've been waiting long enough for my walk,so we better hurry up to go outside before more rain...............

Leaving Karlskrona Mom went north for about 20 miles ? I really thought we were going south to look for the sun ??

Relax she says, just had to check out this town that a friend mentioned ...........Kristianopel.......sounds so international, a little Greek a little Danish...............and it is.

It's such a cute little town, well worth a visit........

Gorgeous homes and flowers, and of course there's the church in the middle

In the early 1600 southern Sweden useed to belong to Denmark, and
for centuries Denmark had regarded Sweden as their arch-enemy, and the town of Kristianopel was established in 1660 by King Christian IV of Denmark to strengthen his defense on the Swedish Danish border.
Kristianopel was the first town planned according to the architectural ideals of the Renaissance.
At its height the 100 men of the garrison were responsible for 60 cannons and the protection of the 600-700 inhabitants who lived within the walls.
In 1611the city was stormd by the Swedes and they torched the place, It was later reconstructed and restored, but in 1658 Denmark was forced to cede her provinces of Scania, Blekinge and Halland to Sweden, so the town ceased to be of strategic and commercial importance.
The Danes attempted to regain thier lost territory but without success. In 1678 the Swedes demolished all the fortifications surrounding the town.

Walls still there and we walked all around on top of them

Two little ladies having a smoke and a chat..........must be Danish

fantastik roses climbing the walls everywhere...........so much nicer it would have been if it was sunny and warm.

looks like the Danes forgot a couple of their cannons 

This must be a kind of light house from that era ?  they light a fire in the basket 

 more of the wall ......

after this stroll we continued a little further south to a town called Ronneby.

We parked at a place made for RVs for free in a remote area close to a golf course, and we soon had a family of deers visiting.

So we didn't drive much today, weather still stinks even tough it didn't rain much, Mom got a new rubber thingy on Lucys wiper............... it's chilly and gloomy..........one more week of this crap and it's supposed to get better ? ...............I know I've heard that before..................we'll see

In any event we'll continue south first thing in te morning..................good night all

The club that arranged  the Swedish FIM Speedway Grand Prix did an exceptionally job to make sure the event could go on, despite horrible rainstorm most of the day.

They covered the entire track with tarps around noon, and luckily the rain stopped in the evening, so the races could start with only one hour delay........what a giant job..........

The top 15 riders in the world compete, including world champion Greg Hancock plus Sweden’s Andreas Jonsson. Mom bought an American flag to cheer the US driver on.

That didn't help him tough,...............................maybe it's this guys fault................;-)

Here he is in the lead, and I think he won this heat, but it wasn't enough for a medal place 

after the races it was fireworks, and Mom made it back to me and Lucy in time before it started. Good thing it was short and not very noisy.....

Sadly, in the morning we parted ways with Ove and Elvy, they went back north and we're continuing south, still looking for the sun and warmer weather..........

We didn't drive very far, only about 120 miles, and ended up in a town called Karlskrona. It's a town that was founded in 1680 when Karl XI decided to establish the country's new naval base here. More than 300 years later the naval base is still here. It’s impressive and well –preserved architecture and town plan, gained the town World Heritage status in 1998. 

We parked at the harbour, with lots of other RV's, and took a nap..................Mom is finally learning to nap with me during the day...............awesome.

It's not raining aymore, but windy as hell, so we were rocked to sleep

this is my wiev now...........

after the nap we went for a very long walk exploring the entire town, strating at the X where Lucy is parked............lucky me was riding in my wagon..

beautiful park, and tents are being put up every where preparing for some kind of festival...............this girl don't look all that happy about it tough, maybe she can use a different hat ? one that doesn't shit on her ...............

The statue of Karl XI gazes out over the grand paved square. There's two impressive churches that are immediately eye catching as you enter, and here too there's preparation for a festival.

I don't know history that well, ( and neither does Mom ) but this guy KarlXI must have done something real bad, for getting a black eye like that

This is The Admiralty Clock Tower From 1699, and it was built as a clock for the dockyard workers. In 1909 it began to be used as a bell tower for the Admiralty church.

This gorgoues boy made me think of Harry ..............RIP 

Reading this sign form a distance, we were thinking "What ? and How? it wasn't an car sales shop...............getting closer we realize it was a driving school..............hahaha 

This is a tough tree growing through the concrete

In front of the Admirality Church, stands the popular wooden figure of Old Man Rosenbom. He has been standing there since the mid 18th century. In 1956 the original was replaced by a copy and put in a safer place inside the church. The life-size figure is actually a poor box, which means, if you lift its hat, you can insert a coin for the poor.The figure holds a placard in one hand which states in a slightly old-fashioned Swedish:

I humbly beg of you,

even though my voice may be weak,

come and put a penny in

but first lift my hat.

Blessed are those that care for the poor

       

Holy smokes !! I'm inside a church !!! this is my first time, and that's because Mom ignored the "no Dogs allowed" sign........I'm pretty sure God will get over it she says.......actually not a big deal ..............I think

Oh please Mom, so childish of you to take picture of sign that says no pictures allowed ................this is navy secret stuff I guess...............

The Enclosing Wall was erected in the eighteenth century both as a defensive measure and to prevent unauthorized persons from being able to see into the naval base and dockyard.

pretty flowers growing on the wall now

another no photos allowed sign..............................stop it, we'll get arrested I say.............nope, we don't understand Swedish, she says....................oooh that's even worse I think............we'll be arrested and tortured as spies ..................but on the other hand, if they don't want us to see their stuff, why will they leave it out ?

 Admiral Chapman’s residence This was first the official residence of the Admiral Superintendents of the Navy yard and later for the Commandant of the Naval base...............not too shabby huh ?

OK Mom, it's not that I don't appreciate thee ride, but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD these cobble stones........ my teeth is rattling and will soon fall out. ...........and what do you think my doc will say than ? I have a dentist appointment when we get back home ...remember ?

Back in Lucy, it's time for a good night sleep, don't know where we will go tomorrow.....................just hoping it'll be a nice sunny day 

In the morning Mom did the final touches to the lady bugs, as I'm watching to make sure she spells my name correctly

And than the journey is continuing south, Mom driving behind Ove and Elvy

We stopped in a town where the old Husquarna factory is located, and while I was put on Lucy watch again, they went in to their museum 

Husqvarna has a long history that is rich in tradition. The first Husqvarna plant was established in 1689 as a weapons foundry. In the course of the centuries, Husqvarna has produced a large range of different products, including sewing machines, bicycles, motorcycles and kitchen equipment.............who knew ?????

When Electrolux acquired Husqvarna in 1978 the outdoor product range comprised mainly chainsaws. In the 1980s operation expanded strongly through acquisitions. In subsequent years, consistent organic growth gradually gave Husqvarna leading positions in the global market.

Since Ove now is retired, he doesn't get to use so much heavy equipment........................this little machine lets him at least listen to the noise, and he will not get hurt.

Mom says she used one of these when she was a puppy ????........................... how old is she really ??

this is a snowmobile......................hahaha............
....at least this was before Mom was born ................or was it ??

in this machine they make meat grinders................who knew HUsquarna made that too ??

this is Motor cycle that was made especially for export to USA

Mom soon came back to Lucy and I got a lot of praise for doing a great job watching Lucy................talk is cheap, give me a treat NOW

There was a nice little village next door where we went for "fika" , gorgeous roses, and lots of nice handmade stuff in the little shops.................Mom didn't buy anything ??? ..................which is hard to believe............she did take a few pictures for future inspirations tough

Next to the museum was this apartment building, great wiew and nice balconies

Next stop was at the speedway track, and here's hundreds of campers already................this was the sign to the entrance of the track, and it has pictures of stuff you aren't allowed to bring in...............one of the pictures is a dog, and this is what I thought about that .........

this means that once again I'll be put on Lucy watch.........Mom says it'll be way too much noise on the track so I'll be better off at home ......I'm getting real good at Lucy watching.......................and I don't really mind...............but there's a price ...........

Every evening is gametime...............this is a game called Sequence...

We are camping next to the best kept forest I ever seen. This will be very valuable in a few years when it grows out of the puppy stage............

keep your fingers crossed there will  be no rain this evening ........................according to the weather rapport it's going to be pouring cat's and dogs again ??? can't wait to see that ................

Second day without rain.................amazing, but now it's windy instead so it doesn't feel very warm................but inside Lucy all is well.

Yesterday Mom started early to paint more lady bugs after she found many perfect stones at the beach 

later in the day we went in to the small town where they cook candy canes, it was so crowded I was happy to sit in my wagon and watch everybody from a safe place. You should hear all the remarks from people in the streets, like they never seen a dog with their own wheels before.

I don't care I know they're only jealous.

According to Mom there is one problem with me in the wagon..............????? She says it has to stop, or else ...........

oooohhhhhh, I'm shaking in my hair .............what is it ? .............Every time we pass a large mean dog, I tell them off very loudly, and since most don't see me or know I'm there....................you should see the look on their faces...........it's hilarious to me ..............but Mom finds it annoying.....................OH well, can't please every body..........AND I was perfectly quiet in that restaurant you snuck me into............don't expect to get your way ALL the time......

I got threathen with another ferry if I don't behave..................I saw the ferry and backed down..............I HATE those rides. This ferry is very short and goes out to a small island in Swedens second biggest lake. Noone felt like doing it, so I lucked out this time.

The fishing boat looks real cool ...............

We didn't stay in town vry long, and on the way back Ove stopped to take pictures of this beautiful field with cornflowers...........growing in a field of rye

and Mom shot thistles

On the top of the hill is The ruins of Brahehus Castle. Due to 270 m height above sea level and 180 m above the lake, a fantastic wide panoramic view of lake Vättern and the island of Visingsö ( where the ferry goes) opens from the ruins. Built for Count Per Brahe in the 1640s, the castle soon was come in desolation in the 1680s and had suffered at fire in 1708. Now it is close to the highway and popular place for tourists and recreation.

Back with Lucy Mom contiued painting, and Elvy is showing pictures of some of her crafty things she made in her garden .........

Later we drove up on the hill to look at the wiev......................it was spectacular

Mom and Elvy is discussing if it's barley or rye ears  on this field........................hahaha, Mom has been living in the city too long.........there's 4 kinds, rye, wheat, barley and oats...............take a pick ....hihihi

Sweden use wind power for electricity 5% in 2012 and 2% in 2010. (couldn't find any numbers for 2015). Sweden consumes about 150 terawatt hours of electricity per year of which about 6 TW·hours is generated from domestic wind power  resources. Many more projects are on the way and you see these all over the place..................here's a link to more facts about this clean energy

http://www.thewindpower.net/country_en_17_sweden.php  

Some people are against it, but since we don't know enough of all this stuff, we have no opinion

finally a picture of the sun going down about 9.30 PM.............here in the south it does get dark at night......and time flies............it's the end of July, so it'll be winter soon again...............................2 more months at least Mom says, but by than we'll be back in sunny Florida.............................

 First thing in the morning, after coffee andd morning pee, Mom went into the RVshop asking for help with the fridge..................noooo time..........but there wasa second place a few miles down he road.

We went there with no hope of them having the time either...............Mom said, if begging don't help, she'll try crying....................At this place they were so nice,they opened big doors for Lucy and we drove right in..........A guy looked in the back of the fridge and said it's very sooty on a "dudad", and got a blowtool and blew the "dudad" clean. The fridge started up in a second....................fixed, and at no charge..........

Great guys  ..............

The city we were going to was Gränna................(.remember that place that makes candy canes ) there was a zoo of tourists, more crowded than ever, and the campsite was almost full.....................we continued another 9 Km. and there we met up with our friends. 

I was sound asleep in my front chair, when I heard a sound I recognised................it was the sound of my buddy's car, .........you know the buddy I can manipulate so easily to empty the fridge............... so I flew out do greet him........Mom running behind me scared I'll get run over.......

That was the brighttest thing happening all day, because the weather stunk, even tough there was a few blue holes on the black sky...

They ate very good, and yes I managed to hypnotize my buddy into dropping a few pieces my way................

Ove helped changing Lucy's position lamp that Mom broke in Trondheim............. .she got to close to a light pole...............shhhhhh..............don't tell I squealed

Later he tried his luck fishing in the lake..................wish he would fish for steak instead...............

Ove and Elvy have the kind of camper you pull behind the car, and the parked besides each other so I have a nice courtyard to play.......... while Mom collects dishes.............................Mom is having a laundry day, and she can be soooooo embarrassing sometimes...

 I'll be back tomorrow, on a  hopefully sunny day

We spent he night in a RV repairshop parking lot. Now there's a problem with the fridge, and of course that had to happen just after Mom went food shopping. Good thing it's so cold out that hopefully nothing will spoil.

We left the town of Gävle and the goat and kept going south. After a pretty long drive we finally stopped at the Gryt archipelago. That was a new place for Mom but she had read great things about the place...........it was nice, but not worth the money..............( well known places always charge an arm and a leg )..............don't understand what Mom is complaining about, she still have all her limbs ?

Look Lotta, Mom is eating grass again.....................

Here's a bumble bee busy working. Mom told me she learned they don't like to be petted, when she was five years old....................huh !!! 

Following day we went back to Lottas house, and I was very happy to be back there. Unfortunatley Morris didn't feel the same as me. He's still hissing and growling when I get real close............he even swatted at me once...............and all I want is to make friends.............I miss Lilly

I don't understand ? he's bigger than I am, and his claws are sharp as needles, I mean no harm to him........just a few humps would do .....

A lot of people showed up, and they ate good food and stayed up very late telling stories about their puppy lives....................Humans do that a lot don't they ?  

Anyway I went to sleep, and in the morning we all went to see Lotta's new house in the country where she's moving next month.

It's a real cute house in the country with lots of meatball factories all around, but I think I told this story before ? 

Anyway, this time all the flowers are in bloom, and it looks great

and of course there was "fika" , Lotta had baked cinnamon buns especially for Mom 

after "fika" I went for a nap in Lucy, and Mom went to play boules for the first time ever.

some people are really dedicated to thier sport...........who plays boules with an umbrella ?

They played by an old train station which had been converted to a cafe ( more fika ) not much going on there now tough. It is Scandinavia's longest narrow-gauge railway and  is 70 km long, but only 891 mm. broad. It stretches from the forests in the west, past lakes, through small communities and agricultural areas out to the archipelago in the east. Along this line, trains have run ever since 1879, despite many attempts to close it. Now, thanks to the determined efforts of residents and enthusiasts, the line is now saved, and today is regarded as one of Sweden’s top-10 industrial and constructional memorials.  During summer the railbus runs 3 times a day. You can even rent your own steam train with crew and have a party on the way, have a chef come in and prepare food in the station house, and sleep over in a caboose........

not many people traveled this time, but the engineer stopped at the station and all passenger happily waived

Mom really admired this lace curtain 

Weather still stinks, and there's still a couple of hours before this place opens. After we're done here Mom says we're going to a place I have been to twice before ..............where where.....................a surprise a surprise.......

keeping my paws crossed it'll be a place I like...............a little sunshine wouldn't hurt either

all is well

Buttons

After one day of beautiful sunshine, it's raining AGAIN..............good thing Mom finally found a book that captured her interest.............but what about me ? what can I do beside napping ? .............good thing I do like to nap.

Before Mom went to sleep last night, she kept thinking about that modem she bought, and thought it strange that it'll stop working at the same time as surftime was up, and decided to try the old one first thing in the morning...............and it worked..............again bad advice from unprofessional sales people.

The other thing she noticed ( with help from another camper) was that the propane bottle she got at the last place is the wrong size..............no wonder she had to fight to get it to fit .............shit..............every day is a learning day.

the modem is returned, money back and the propane tank is next when it's empty.

The ladies cruising day started with beautiful blue skies and finally a sun that warmed us.

Unfortunatley it wasn't very organized, and it was difficult to follow what was going on, so after a long wait we finally left late afternoon.

These ladies was by far Moms favorites, a Fiat something....... have no clue, but it looked like a lady bug

Hippies ??? with a muscle car ?? they are too young to know.............oh that's a song, right ?  he's too young ............lalala

these ladies cracked me up, looks like their wigs are too small for their heads............is that a song too ?? it should be

if I was the judge these girls would win..............

Moms dad had both these cars ..................once upon a time...........another song ?? 

there wasn't many really really nice cars, you know the kind we see at home, but not too bad for this part of the woods.............but the girls was very pretty....

Looks like that cowboy guy we saw yesterday has a restaurant in town also ? 

Like I said, we left in the afternoon and continued south. This time we stopped in Gavle, and this is my wiev from my window now.

Now we are in Gävle, which became a city in 1446, and is the oldest city in Northern Sweden In recent years, the city has received a lot of international attention due to its large Yule goat figure made of straw . The goat is erected in December each year and is subsequently, more often than not, subject to vandalisation by someone setting it on fire. The goat has now become a symbol for the city and is being used for various marketing purposes.

The history of the goat began in 1966. Stig Gavlén came up with the idea of placing a giant version of the traditional Swedish Christmas goat of straw in Slottstorget (Castle Square) in central Gävle. On 1 December the 13-metre tall, 7-metre long, 3 tonne goat was erected on the square. At midnight on New years eve, the goat went up in flames. The goat has since had a history of being burnt almost every year, 2005 being the 22nd time it was burnt. Burning the goat is an illegal act and not welcomed by most citizens of Gävle, but undoubtedly this is what has made the goat famous. In 2006 the goat was covered in a flame-resistant coating to prevent arson, enabling the goat to remain standing throughout that winter...........but it gave the goat an ugly look. On December 21, 2013, the goat was burnt for the 27th time.

One year an American tourist was visiting around Christmas. Sitting in a bar he was told the story, and due to bad translation, he took it as a tradition that you weere SUPPOSED to do it, so he did and got arrested .............

Every year people bet on how long he'll survive, and last year Mom lost, because strangley enough he survived....................here's a link to the goat story..............

http://www.thelocal.se/20141228/swedens-christmas-goat-survives-holidays

 Gävle is  alsoknown for being the birthplace of the Gevalia coffee brand, which is produced by Krafts general foods of Scandinavia and exported around the globe. Gevalia is particularly popular in America and produces dozens of unique flavored coffees for US,A that are not available to its customers in Europe. .... (Gevalia is the Latin name for Gävle).We are parked just across the canal from the factory, and in the past you could smell the coffee..................but not now ? 

During the 16th century, Gävle was one of the most important port and merchant towns with many shipping companies and shipyards.

In 1787 Gävle was awarded "free and unrestricted sailing rights" to and from foreign ports. This led to an increase in trade, which in turn lead to an increase in buildings, industrial developments, trade and shipping.

Today there are only few shipping companies or shipyards left, but an important port remains. It has over 1000 ships calling per year and is among the top ten common ports in Sweden.

Well, there's a lot of interesting places to visit here, but since it's raining cats and dogs again...........Mom will continue her book, and I'll continue my napping.............

to be continued................miss ya all