Wight Weirdos

The garage changed the fuel filter, suspecting a blocked filter was causing the fuel pressure problems leading to the van cutting out. The van was also showing an error code for the Mass Airflow Sensor but the mechanics didn’t think that would cause the problems we were having, and a new one would have to come from Stockholm which would mean Monday at the earliest. After a test-drive where everything seemed fine we paid up and carried on south. Everything was ok for ages then the van died again just coming out of a rest stop. We managed a restart after a few minutes sitting in the slip road filling a little vulnerable! We decided to carry on, keeping below 90kph in the inside lane as much as possible, and the van was mostly ok but died once more in a section with no hard shoulder. Again, managed to restart, limp up steep hill with hazards flashing and then managed to get going again. Slowly we made it to a stopover we’d identified as a possibility beforehand, and so we parked up just outside the Klitterhus (stop tittering, it means Dune House in Swedish). There was a fantastic sunset, some dramatic clouds and great light, and the sound and smell of the sea really helped revive the day for us.

Unusually I’m writing this in the middle of the day, as things have come to an abrupt halt and I have some time to kill. The van died on the E6 today. A return of the engine management light, but while we managed to restart we only got a few hundred metres each time. So we’ve just spent a couple of hours on the hard shoulder, been recovered by a lovely tow-truck driver and are sitting waiting to have the van fixed. It may happen today, we shall see. If not I think we might be spending the weekend in a Gothenburg hotel!

Our first stop today was the Tanum rock carvings. I’d fill in the details but I can’t remember, but they’re old, and carved in rock. It was an interesting visit even if the key facts haven’t stuck… Nice (free!) museum too, especially the display projected on the ceiling, with cushions underneath to lie on!

   

Then we drove into Fjällbacka, part of Susan’s Scandimurder tour (more on that later I suspect). It was a showery day but nonetheless a really nice visit. Very attractive seaside village backed by huge cliffs which you can walk up giving a fantastic view over the surrounding Islands. We bought ice creams in spite of the weather; well we were by the sea, it’s almost obligatory. 

We then dove on to our next overnight stop, another layby with a view! We took what we hoped was the scenic route, which had its moments but wasn’t quite as coastal as we had anticipated. Our journey included a FREE ferry, quite a novelty for people from the Isle of Wight. Loading and unloading all done using traffic lights, the only staff were on the bridge. Along the way the van lost all power and the engine management light came on. Managed to restart a few minutes later and we carried on hoping for he best, making it to our overnight stop with no further problems.

   

Obviously as I love murder mysteries and we are going to Sweden we will be going to Ystad as we travel around the west and s [Read more…]

We left Oslo behind and headed south into Sweden. As the weather was good we headed to a lake I’d identified as a possible good spot for a swim. We rolled up at Tåsteröds Stora Vatten (Tåsteröds Great Water) and pulled up in a little layby. There were a couple of people swimming in the lake, but by the time we had made lunch they were packing up. We ate lunch and then took the plunge!  The air temperature was pretty cool, with a moderate breeze making it cooler, but the water wasn’t too cold (much warmer than the Norwegian water we’d stuck our toes in!) and the swimming platform and rocks around it were in the sun. It was fabulous swimming there, with the lake entirely to ourselves. We then had a coffee and Norwegian cake/pastry/bread thingy that we bought with the last of our Norwegian Krone as we left the country, sat on the rocks listening to the lake lapping gently by our feet.

 

That’s been it for the day really. We left and headed to a nearby rest spot on the motorway. We’re in a picnic area slightly set back from the main stopping area, with only the distant hum of the motorway to remind us where we are. It’s a beautiful setting and even has some handy rocks which we’ve used to dry our wet gear on!