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Av EvaLena Hallgren - 8 juli 2022 17:03

We slept in a parking lot just outside the terminal, and across the river is a huge red monster 


 

The ferry was leaving at 4.15 so the alarm went off at 3 am and Mom had planned to make coffee but decided to do that in the queue. Ha, there was no time, the trucks were getting off at one end of the ship as they were loading on new trucks at the other?  It didn't take long before we were safely parked inside the belly of the ship.

You're not allowed to stay in your car, so from experience, Mom knows how people hog the seats, and usually, there are only a few in the dog section so we got out quickly and "ran" up 5 flights of stairs The comfortable couches were already taken by people stretched out with pillows and blankets. How did they get up here so fast?

They didn't have dogs, so surely they'll be kicked out later ................but nooooo 

The ship is fueling ..................wonder how many liters?

 


We checked out the lifeboats, hope we don't have to use them Mom said

WHAAAT I said, is that a possibility?.

Just kidding Mom answered..............stupid humor if you ask me


 


We found a seat by the window with a very wide windowsill for me to sit on. looks more like I mirror I thought. The trip was boring and uneventful so I fell asleep on my lead.


   



Oh, I did meet a giant Rumanian truck driver. He didn't speak one word we could understand, but he wanted to show Mom pictures of his dogs, and of course, pet me. I tried giving him a lot of kisses but after a few, he held me away.......what's up with that????

 


Now we are in Denmarks mainland Jutland, which  is a peninsula bounded by the North Sea  to the west, the Skagerrak to the north, the Kattegatt and  Baltic sea to the east, and Germany to the south

We're driving along the west side and our first stop is a town called Lokken

The town is renowned internationally for its beautiful broad sandy beaches where you’ll find the white bathing huts side by side like a string of pearls against a backdrop of grass-covered dunes.

    

 

On Løkken Beach you’ll still find fishing cutters being drawn up onto the beach after a trip out to sea.

 

 

 

We walked all the way out on the pier as the wind beat us up............cold wind too and I got sand blowing into my hair

 

 How many miles to America?

 

 

We could have driven Lucy down to the sand and park but Mom was afraid to get stuck and we would have had sand everywhere.

Motorcycle parking?

       

Lokken is a typical tourist place, with very sleepy tourists because it wasn't many people out at 9 am 

   

 

We went into a souvenir shop (Mom is looking for unusual wind chimes) and to our surprise, this was being sold in there

Granted it IS airguns, but do they have to look that scary?

 

 

 

As we were walking along we started to think that maybe some Americans founded this town? Or they are being copycats

 

   

 

This sign must have me in mind. I always get foam in my beard when I drink beer 

 

 

 

These streets are nice looking but not very comfortable to walk on. I found a dead fish ..........he's stoned hahaha 

 

 

 

Hollyhock grows everywhere in Denmark............even with almost no dirt.

 

 

 


Mom changed the plan to stay here for the night. Too many cars and no space, so we continued south along the coast.

We're both tired from lack of sleep so we can't drive all that long now.

Finally, we found a great place to camp by a bridge in Aggersund

 

We were wondering why such a nice rest stop here? and then we realized this place had a lot of history

 

 

The Danish state had begun construction of the bridge in August 1939, and the work continued during the occupation with the result that the bridge was officially opened on 18 June 1942.

The bridge had barely entered into use before German troops arrived in Aggersund to protect it. In August/September 1942, the German Air Force installed three 2 cm anti-aircraft guns to defend the bridge against aerial attack, and the German Army stationed an infantry company (approx. 50 men) at the bridge around the same time.

Work was begun to fortify the area around the bridge in early 1943, with broad barbed-wire obstacles being laid out in semi-circular patterns around the bridgeheads. Trenches and firing positions were then dug behind the barbed-wire protection. The bridge defenses were subsequently reinforced between March and October 1943 by the laying of 3,209 anti-tank mines and 1,475 anti-personnel mines.

 

Construction of concrete bunkers commenced in August 1943; the first was completed in December of the same year, the last in October 1944. A total of 15 large bunkers with 2 meter-thick walls and ceilings were built, as well as five smaller ones with walls approximately 30 cm thick.

Five of the large bunkers were the property of the German Air Force and served to protect the bridge against aerial bombardment. These bunkers are positioned in the immediate vicinity of the ends of the bridges.

The other bunkers were operated by the German Army and are located in the outer areas of the fortified position.

Because the water table in this area is so high, most of the large bunkers were built above ground. To camouflage them as ordinary houses, they were clad in artificial brickwork and topped with false roofs.

In January 1945, the position was served by 174 soldiers.

you were allowed to go down inside, but Mom said no way it looked dark and scary, who knows what's down there?

 

 

As we were standing there a gang of older guys came riding their mopeds. Mom said they were reminiscing back to their teenage days. Looked like they had a lot of fun



Tomorrow is another day. I know something exciting is going to happen, not sure what yet, but Mom has been looking into this box for a long time making plans. Not that it means an awful lot because everything can change on a drop of a hat when it comes to Mom I just have to paw around 


LIFE IS GREAT

HENRY


 

 




Av EvaLena Hallgren - 7 juli 2022 21:42

 Saying goodbye to our gracious host and repairman we're now back on the road and Lucy is her good old self again.

We didn't drive very far because Mom decided we'll take the ferry from Gothenburg to the top of Denmark's mainland instead of going down to the bridge.

The next available ferry that'll allow dogs are embarking at 4.15 am so we'll have to set the alarm for 3 am.

Mom has been to Gotheburg many times before, but nothing looked like she remembered. Everywhere there's road building and cranes and highrises and ........


 

     


The trams are still running though


 



Mom kept saying the Fishchurch must still be here and yes she found it, but it was closed for repair

Feskekörka is an indoor fish market that got its name from the building's resemblance to a Neo-gothic church. It opened on 1 November 1874 and was drawn by the city architect Victor von Gegerfelt. Feskekörka is an institution in Gothenburg as well as a tourist magnet, housing one of the city's oldest trades, fishing.

Apart from a fish market, there is also a fish- and seafood restaurant in the building.


 

Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. It is situated by Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a population of approximately 590,000 in the city proper and about 1.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.


 The architecture is very interesting Mom thinks



   

 



 

Gothenburg was founded as a heavily fortified, primarily Dutch, trading colony, by royal charter in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus. In addition to the generous privileges (e.g. tax relaxation) given to his Dutch allies during the then-ongoing Thirty Years' War, the king also attracted significant numbers of his German and Scottish allies to populate his only town on the western coast. At a key strategic location at the mouth of the Göta älv, where Scandinavia's largest drainage basin enters the sea, the Port of Gothenburg is now the largest port in the Nordic countries.

Mom HAD to see the place she remembered so she dragged me along for 8.4miles  (according to the GPS) 


This was the view she was looking for.................the Museum of art

 


The square Götaplatsen was constructed for the World Fair in Gothenburg in 1923 and a fountain was placed in the same location as Poseidon before the statue was inaugurated nearly ten years later. The square is surrounded by beautiful buildings on three sides: the Concert hall, the City Theatre, and the Gothenburg Museum of Art.

 

Poseidon, the sea God, by Carl Milles is one of Gothenburg’s most famous landmarks, situated at the top of the main boulevard Avenyn at the square Götaplatsen. The statue was inaugurated in September 1931.


Mom thinks this Poseidon is ugly, he looks much better from the back


 

After a short break and some water we walked all the way back to Lucy


 

So many outdoor cafes and some had no people so I quickly checked for table scraps




 Some streets were no smoking streets, which of course Mom loved 

The sign says your butts end up in our fish, throw them here


   

FIKA is like a religion in Sweden, it's a coffee cake, a cinnamon bun. Usually it's something sweet


 

Gothenburg is home to many students, as the city includes the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927. The original parent Volvo Group and the now separate Volvo Car Corporation are still headquartered on the island of Hisingen in the city




 

This is the city library

   


Not sure what kind of vehicle this is 


 



Surprise surprise?????................the have ODD Fellows here too

 


These guys were coaches for a soccer team and asked the kids to collect cans to make money........good idea 


 


Almost back home Mom spotted this art on a wall.......................show that garbage can be art too

   



Back in Lucy, we will now get a few hours of rest before it's time to take the 3,5-hour ferry ride.............It's going to be fun I've never been on a ferry before.  I hope Mom don't get seasick


 


Wet kisses to ya all

Henry

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 5 juli 2022 08:53

Goodmorning we're still parked at the same place and still waiting for snail mail which is even slower than in the USA. Mail is only delivered twice or three times a week in some places and as far as we know there's no FedEx 

Oh well, it's not that we're uncomfortable we have everything we need and are being well-taken care of by our host.

This is the "dhoodad" that needed to be fixed and it looked very complicated for both of us. Good thing there are people who know how to


 


Yesterday we went for another sightseeing tour of the island and we stopped at a farm with all kinds of weird animals.


 

For a couple of bucks, you can ride on these tall guys and Mom got an offer to but declined which I'm glad she did.

I tried my best not to look at them because I heard the owner talking about how they barf on you if you upset them.

This guy reminds me of you, Mom said

WHAT!!!! I'm not that ugly.........must be the underbite?

 


Talk about giving me the evil eye as I walked by...........I wanted to tell this thing off by barking at it, but Mom didn't let me


 



The donkeys were ok in my opinion they didn't do much of a fuzz. I decided to ignore them too despite them being quite interested in me and wanting to snuggle..........no Thank You I said 


      



I have no idea why these two were so angry and hissed at me? All I did was walk by and sniffed the grass on my side of the fence and all hell broke loose.


 



This is another kind of spitting animal so I decided to stay far away here too, Mom thought they were cute. She said it inspired her to get the knitting needles out to make a sweater.............I think it'll make a smelly sweater 


 



Mom tried real hard to pet the babies with no fear of a spitball ...............Either she was brave or she had forgotten about the risk...........from what I know about Mom, I think she forgot


   


This little guy was more to my taste he seemed gentle and was quiet so we said hello


 



On the way out I saw a guy who had his head in the toilet ? or has he passed out from over exertion?  weird I thought, but then again a lot of stuff was weird to me here,

 


Leaving the farm we took a short ferry ride to a town called Stenungsund, which holds the largest chemical cluster of its kind in Sweden, producing plastic in primary forms and basic chemicals, it was once only idyllic bathing and vacation location on the Swedish west coast and home to several industries and business, with a total of 2000 registered businesses.

 
The power plant in Stenungsund was commissioned in 1959 and was for decades an important part of Sweden's electricity supply. A petrochemical facility was erected around the plant which currently employs around 3,000 people

 



this factory stuff is not one iota interesting for either me or Mom, but to you, that is, here's a website explaining this stuff.............https://history.vattenfall.com/stories/stenungsunds-power-plant


Continuing on to the waterfront harbor looking at boats 

here's a yacht from Turkey.........maybe an oligarch? ............haha

 

 


The island of Orust and the archipelago has many interesting and beautiful places to explore and shipbuilding has been

the essence of this region can be traced as far back as 1253.

 

 

Back at our Lucy we went for a walk and these cows came charging happily to see me.

Mom is smiling and I can see how this is reminding her of her puppy time when life was slow with no worries 

Life has been pretty slow for a week now I reminded her................not that I'm complaining 

 

 


Life is great

wet kisses to ya all Henry

 

 





Av EvaLena Hallgren - 3 juli 2022 08:00

Mom and I must be the luckiest people in the world. The repair man (Ralph) came to fix the battery problem and invited us to move Lucy to his house so he had easy access to all the tools needed to ensure everything was working well.

He really tried to educate Mom on how Lusys electrical stuff works, but I don't think Mom got it

The battery store wasn't open so in the evening Ralph cooked and we had an impromptu crawfish party.

He also invited Lasse who had helped Mom pull out the battery the previous night.

 

They were delicious and Ralph peeled several tails for me...........crayfish are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters (to which they are related). In some locations, they are also known as crawdaddies,,mudbugs,baybugs,yabbies, 



 

Only shells left after a few hours



 

 

This island where we are is called Orust. and thanks to the Gulf Stream, the summer waters along the coast are about the same temperature as those in Southern California, and Swedes make the most of the welcoming sea—Sweden has among the world’s highest per capita boat ownership, and most families have at least a little rowboat or kayak for getting to nearby uninhabited islands for picnic lunches, swimming, and sunbathing

Mom always stops to admire the wooden boats that she considers a work of art and great craftmanship 

     

After all, repairs were done Ralph drove us to Mollösund an old fishing village located on the southern tip of the island with 236 inhabitants in 2010

       

 the guest harbor has over one hundred moorings and along the quayside, there are cafes, restaurants, and piers with outdoor refreshments. Fish and seafood are always on the menus to be enjoyed at their best with views of the boat life in the bustling fairway

 

 


There Mom ordered a shrimp sandwich and Ralph had a bucket of mussels


 

 


   

To Ralphs's big surprise I ate three mussels ..............Mom wasn't surprised at all she knows I eat and drink everything offered to me.


 


The present harbor and guest harbor were built during the Second World War. Fishing declined more and more in the 1970s and these days the village is mainly known as a summer idyll, even though there are remains from the heydays of the herring era here and there.

     

 

Herring fishing started in Mollösund in the 16th century and within the following hundred years, the village grew into Bohuslän’s largest fishing center. Then came a period of harsh winters, poor fish stocks, and poverty. Not until the end of the 19th century did the herring fishing recover, and at the beginning of the twentieth century a road was built out to Mollösund

 

This is not a road for Lucy, she would get stuck on these narrow cobblestone streets. The cars must have been much smaller back then?

 

 

 

There were roses climbing on houses everywhere and I could hear Mom thinking of her own wilting garden in Florida

 

     

 

so many houses had a design of what Swedes call "carpenters joy" which is this ornamental woodwork around the windows and doors

 

   

 

I asked Mom if we could trade Lucy for a boat? never in a million years, Mom said but that doesn't mean we could go for an occasional ride. I do have a life jacket in Florida but haven't had an opportunity to use it yet.

Jack Russels seems to be the breed of choice here? wonder why?

 

 

 

Sailing schooners are also a work of art but look a little complicated to sail for a landlubber like Mom  

 

 

This church was built in 1920 and the architect Adrian Peterson hired for the assignment left a clear mark on the central church, which has the shape of a Greek cross and is partly inspired by longhouse churches. It is the only church he made of wood. From the beginning, there were also Old Norse features outside the church where dragon heads adorned the roof and tower. They were removed in 1929 because the wood was damaged.

There is no time to build like that anymore Mom says

,

 


we had a great day with lots of new views and this morning we woke up looking at a deer gracing outside Lucy

Life is great

wet kisses to ya all

Henry

 

 

 

 

     





 

 


Av EvaLena Hallgren - 1 juli 2022 06:31

Early morning as usual. 

We are now at a small boat marina for the second night waiting for the mail and repair of Lucy's power source.

On the drive here we stopped at a gorgeous rest stop overlooking the Westcoast cliffs 


    After oohing and aaahing we continued to the marina for the night.

We are in a small village called Henån and there are many RVs and great sailboats. Apparently, a very popular place that Mom never heard about before.

If t wasn't for the fact that the repair man lives here she still wouldn't know


    

A walk around town is done in 5 min so it's not very big but there are a lot of very nice people living here so what else does one need?


this log is painted in gold and placed here as art?

 

The name of this sailboat made Mom giggle, I don't know why?

 




I made friends with a guy with a huge RV that provided a lot of shade underneath and that is needed in this scorching heat. It has been in the 90ies for days but fortunately, the temperature drops down to the sixties at night so sleeping is no problem.

 


This looks like something real tasty so I decided to wait around and see what happens ......................yes I did get a taste


 



this is the cutest littlest car I've ever seen  ................Mom said it was not a car it was a moped? ??

Looks like a car in my size to me?

 


In the evening we went for a walk to the beach and I thought Mom was going for a swim, but nooooo it was too cold for her.

Still, a gorgeous sunset that takes place around 10.30 pm now when we are so far south.

 


 Sweden’s west coast stretches from the amazing Gothenburg, through to the Norwegian border. Though the concept of thousands of granite islands might be difficult to imagine at first, the western archipelago of Sweden is a truly phenomenal place.

     



Roses on this house made Mom stop and admire..


Girls driving the ambulance came down to the boardwalk for an icecream break 

 


Lucky me that also had special icecream with meat flavor............a very nice treat in the heat 


 


The seagulls are making noise all the time, but suddenly they were screeching louder than usual and that's because one of their babies must have fallen out of the nest. He couldn't fly and looked very distressed. We wanted to help him but didn't know how, and no one else seemed willing to do anything either, sure hope he'll be ok and learn to fly soon.


 


When we got back to Lucy and as soon as Mom opened the door she smelled gas..................In a panic, she called our friend Lasse who came by and said it isn't gas it was the battery.

At first, Mom felt relief because propane scares her, but when the repair guy called to let Mom know about the dangerous gases that emit from the battery she started to feel panic again. Luckily, Lasse in the big RV had tools and came to help Mom take the battery out and we opened all the doors and windows to air Lucy out.

We are so lucky there are so many nice and helpful people and later today the repairman who's an expert on this kind of stuff is coming by to heal Lucy. After all this, we're keeping our fingers crossed that nothing else can go wrong so we can start our trip south on new adventures.

 


All is well, and lif is good

Henry




Av EvaLena Hallgren - 29 juni 2022 08:44

 Once again Mom changed our rut, on our way to Gothenburg she saw the sign to Ulricehamn and thought she had never been there, and let's take a look. It turned out to be a beautiful little town by a lake and we found a great parking place to stay for the night.

 


Ulricehamn has been populated at least since the Middle Ages. The town has had city privileges since the 15th century. There are still several old buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries and the picturesque main street Storgatan has existed in its present form for centuries. Among other historical structures, there is the city hall located at the market square, a yellow rococo building from 1789

 

Mom appreciates towns that keep and restore the old buildings, not as they do in her puppy town

This is the train station The railroad was built in 1874. The last train took its route in 1985. Today the railroad is a popular, car-free bicycle- and walking track. The distance between Ulricehamn and Tranemo is a part of the 150 km long bicycle track Sjuhäradsrundan

 

 

 

we went for a very long walk along the river and Mom marveled over the gorgeous willow trees along the way. I took an interest in their trunks 

 

 

Walking up a steep hill we were at the main street and I met a man that had something in his pocket that smelled delicious..................it was chicken and he was kind to share

 

 

 

This giant mural made Mom smile, it's Rosie the riveter in a Swedish version 

 

Here's a strawberry stand, and they're selling .................strawberries. This is the season for them

 

 

Never in a million years would my Mom leave me tied up outside the store, she would be scared someone steals me. but I suppose in a small town like this ................well who knows

 


This guy seems frozen in time, He represents the time when men went to peoples houses to sell their goods or selling their services like a Ferrier or maybe sharpening knives for example

 

Along the river is the construction of the Winter sanatorium, which was finished in 1910.  The rumor about the hotel spread across the country making tourists from all corners of Sweden come visit Ulricehamn. The guests were transported by horse and carriage from the train station. A rail for a tram was tested in 1911 but the brakes could not handle the large differences in height which made the tram to derail. It was never tested again.

Today there's a fancy restaurant and a cold bath house. It's very warm now but Mom is still not tempted to go for a swim, the water looks cold she says, but I would like to know how she knows if she doesn't get in it?

  

A newer restaurant and an ice cream shop where they had put out matrasses to rest on in the shade

 


All in all, this is a great place for a short stay, nice and quiet. Mom slept until 8 am????? I can't remember if that has ever happened before.

I think Gothenburg is the next stop, but you never know, things can change very quickly which is fine with me as long as I get my walks and treats.

ALl is well Henry

.

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 28 juni 2022 06:16

Mom's cold is gone and we're back on the road, this time we're heading south to one of Mom's puppy friends

Before we got there Mom just HAD to stop at this place and order her favorite potato pancake despite it wasn't suppertime. It came with yummy thick bacon which I got to taste. Mom said she always stop here for as long as she can remember

 

Mom's friend lives in an old school that was built in the eighteen hundreds and past her house is a narrow-gauge railway. At 71 km long, (44miles)it is only 891 mm. (35inches) broad; it stretches from the forests of Småland in the west, past lakes, through small communities and agricultural areas out to the archipelago in the east. Along this line, trains have been running ever since 1879, despite many attempts to close it. Now, thanks to the determined efforts of residents and enthusiasts alike, the line is saved and is today regarded as one of Sweden’s top-10 industrial heritage artifacts. No train came by during our stay because it only runs for tourists now but this is how it looked at 5 am

 

Mom loves early mornings and I'm a good sport and go along to keep her company. This morning we saw 4 elks grazing on the field but they ran so fast when they heard me so Mom couldn't get a picture

 

   

It's a beautiful place but Mom is getting restless and very anxious to get the converter for Lucy's power fixed, so in the afternoon we were back on the road now heading west towards Gothenburg.

The temperature is in the eighties and it's sunny with blue skies, in other words, it's a gorgeous day.

We stopped to look at the horses at the stud farm, the foals were happy skipping around

 

This one particular foal was running without chasing a ball?

I would have liked to run alongside, but Mom said my legs are too short so I couldn't keep up............... I really wanted to prove her differently but she wouldn't let me out of Lucy

These foals are supposed to grow up to run on an oval track to make money for their owners? 

there's a lot of money involved and if any of them would get hurt because of me Mom said she would be in big trouble with the farmer.



 

We didn't get very far before Mom got sleepy (getting up at 5 am is the reason I think) so we found a great little campsite by a lake where Mom got to do her laundry.

Many people were swimming and I would have too if it wasn't for that "no dogs allowed" sign .............

 

it's now 7 am and it just stopped raining so I'll go for my tinkle walk and then we'll pack up and continue on to the repair guy.

Life is great, Henry

 

 

 

 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 25 juni 2022 14:42

The day after Midsummer celebrations are lazy do nothing but relax on the sunny days. It's 85 F and that's too hot for many Swedes so it's sitting in the shade and twiddle your thumbs day 


 

On Thursday Mom and I went for a bike ride to pick wild flowers by the road, 

 


When we got back Mom made wreaths for herself and me. I didn't want to wear mine and only had it on for a photo opportunity 

   


In the evening we went to a very local Maypole rising 

   

It was small enough so Mom thought I could be loose to say hello and I did make my rounds from table to table and ate a lot of goodies...............good thing I'm cute everybody wanted to share

 



Well, maybe Helge wasn't so much into sharing but I helped myself anyway

 


On the way home I noticed the neighbor's cat was outside, so I quickly ran in to her house and ate her food. People around here don't bother to close their doors many keep them open for all their pets? 

I don't mind, I think it's a great idea, and I will suggest we'll do that in Florida too



Friday we went to a more significant celebration but this place didn't BBQ so I don't understand why I was kept on a lead here?  Mom was afraid I would get lost with so many people and I agreed to sit with Elvy while Mom was running around taking pictures.

 

The festivities started with a band marching in playing fiddles and carrying flags


 

Many people were wearing traditional costumes and if you know your stuff you can tell what village they came from just but looking at their clothes.

   


MOm loved the little kids and their clothes


   


Little girls are my favorite, but these girls had nothing good to eat, they just wanted to pet me


 

after some speeches, it was time to dance around the maypole, I didn't since no one invited me to but it looked like a lot of fun.

   

After all this, we went home and ate a traditional Midsummer meal herring, potatoes, with sour cream and scallion. I did eat a sill chunk that Mom teased me with thinking there's no way I would eat that.

I've been with Mom for almost 3 years now, and she doesn't know I eat everything that's offered on a fork...

For dessert, Elvy had made a strawberry cake which also is a tradition.

It was delicious

 


For 2 days in a row, the temperature has been in the eighties, and Swedes are calling it a heatwave and are having a very difficult time with it..............Me and Mom are loving it


 

For some reason, uploading videos are broken so hopefully, I can add them later

which I just did


Goodnight kisses Henry


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