Great Sweden Adventure of 2016 - Part 2

After leaving Hamburg, we set out for our cabin in Kolding, Denmark. Booking.com said check in by 6 on Saturday. When we arrived at 5pm, there was no one there, but our key was available through a drop box. Had we known that it didn’t actually matter when we arrived, we wouldn’t have rushed to get there. We had reservations at a mobile home at the camp site.  The mobile home was unavailable for some reason, so they gave us 2 cabins. They emailed us to tell us, but they emailed us on Friday, and we had left already. We were however able to fit in one cabin. It was cozy and intimate but great and we loved it. It had a little loft where two kids slept, a small bedroom where Jon and I slept, and a fold out couch for two kids. A nice small kitchen area as well. The campsite had 4 trampolines and a sandbox that the kids loved.

Our youngest in the loft area of the cabin.

Sunday morning we went to the one Mass at the one Catholic Church in Kolding. This church was attached to a school and was super small. It was sad that this was the only mass within 30 minutes and it was so small.

We stopped at a grocery store on the way back to the campsite which we were surprised to find all stores open on Sunday (unlike in Germany where everything is closed on Sundays). We got some marshmallow yummies as a treat. Then we spent the afternoon playing on trampolines at the camp site, teaching the kids Yahtzee, and just relaxing. The shower in our cabin only had 30 liters of hot water, so we took the kids to the shower house. There was a kids’ shower room, with small showers and a bathtub. They loved getting to shower in there, and it was very convenient.

The next morning we packed up and left, driving to Simlångsdalen, Sweden . We crossed two long bridges which had tolls to cross- €34 and €54. The Oresund Bridge. The one from Copenhagen to Sweden was part tunnel, part bridge. We were suppose to stop in Copenhagen but skipped it because of cold and rain and no warm clothing. We actually had passports checked in to Sweden. This has never happened to us when crossing a border. Some were getting them checked when we were driving in to Denmark, but we did not. When entering at the border, first impressions of Sweden left us skeptical of what the rest of the country would look like. Thankfully, these images were short lived and we began to see Sweden in all of its beauty after we got out of the city.  My husband says it reminds him of Wisconsin farmland.

The bridge we drove over.

We arrived at the cabin in Vinnalt. We stayed in the 3 bedroom cottage. The lodging company sent directions on how to get there and it’s very easy to find with those directions. However, they sent them in Nov, and we had forgotten about them, which created some confusion for us. However, we figured it out with the help of some wonderful people in the village. The cabin was actually two cabins, one slept 4, then a small one that slept 2. It was a very woodsy cabin, with nothing nearby, and 14 small deer heads hanging on the wall. It was fully furnished with plenty of dishes. We ate eggy burritos when we arrived because it was so late, then Aimee and H went in to Halmstad for groceries (25 minute drive). This cabin was the only place with internet. Not having internet most of the time was actually nice in many ways.

The Vinnalt cabin, with the small cabin where the girls slept to the left.

Helping daddy with smores.

Boys cooking. This cabin had a washing machine, so we were able to do laundry mid-trip.

On Tuesday we set up the tent in the yard because it was nice out, and we needed to spray the seams. Then we went in search of duck tape and sweatshirts. Somewhere along the way, Zach lost his sweatshirt and Beka left hers at our friends’. We found H&M and some warmer clothes. Then we went hiking. We ate a picnic in the car on our way to hiking.

As we parked the car, we saw a picture of a guy stealing things out of a car, and it said “Tom… some Swedish words we don’t know.” So Jon told us it said “Tom will steal your shit.” This became hilarious and “Tom will steal your ship” became part of the motto of our trip.

We walked the .8 km to Danska Falls. The hike was so gorgeous, and the waterfall was beyond beautiful. We all had a lot of fun climbing on the rocks in the stream and eating goldfish (from the bag, not the river!). We wanted to swim, but it was way too cold. When we walked in from the car, it said Danska Falls .8 one way, or 1.2 the other with orange and blue dots to mark the trail, so we knew it circled back around. When we left the falls, we continued to follow the orange route (Orange dots on several trees marking the way). After a while, we knew we were not going the right way, as we’d definitely walked more than. 1.2 km. We went to inquire on the map, and realized the ‘map’ beka had was a brochure and not the map! So we felt the trail had to eventually get us back, because we saw it when we first came in.

Our youngest can't take a picture without her tongue sticking out. 

After about an hour of walking, we were out of water. One of the kids had been wearing the water backpack and been drinking it the whole time, while no one else had any! I finally offered up a prayer for a miracle and looked inside the back pack. There was the map. And we were FAR from our car and the orange trail did NOT circle back at all. We were out of water and the kids were exhausted and whining like crazy. We figured out that if we went back a short way, there was a road that would eventually get back to the car. Jon volunteered to run back to the car and come and pick us up. Our wonderful hero ran about 7 km (4.2 miles) in jeans after hiking for 4 hours. It took approximately an hour for him to come back and rescue us while we played in a small field and got eaten by gnats. It was definitely an adventure and one to write home about, but not one I’d like to repeat.

We got a nice 8 pack of thick pork chops for less than $5 and Jon grilled them that night. They were delicious. I made rice and carrots to go with it, then we grilled smores. The next morning, everyone pitched in to take the tent down, pack the van, and clean the cabin.

Extra things I packed that proved very useful- a box of small garbage bags- most places provide one small bag which just lasts through one meal for us. We also packed several wash clothes and handtowels and a few rags. All of which came in very handy. Clorox wipes as well, which we used mostly to wash out the potty chair that was used at random times when the toddler had to go. Tons of snacks/food, many that didn't need ot be refrigerated. We did have to go to the grocery stores, but I had plenty of staples. I don't like spending my vacation grocery shopping. ;-) We also ate out 4x, three of which were McDonalds, only because they had wifi! 

Fun things- Opening my wallet to find dollar, euro, Danish krona, and Swedish Krona. Also, make sure you update your GPS before going. We haven't updated in since 2014 and roads have definitely changed. There are speed cameras all over Sweden. Many times they warn you they're coming, but do be aware.

If you missed it, here's part 1 and part 3.