Wednesday August 18, Molle

August 18, 2016

Wednesday August 18, Molle – Varberg


A full moon over the harbour, view from in front of Ruakiwi.

No rain today, but overcast and very windy and max of 18 degrees. But guess we are getting further north and to be expected.

Had a very peaceful night, and after breakfast we drove down to the harbour and found an almost empty carpark. Can imagine what it would be like on a sunny day, with the houses set on the hillside surrounding the harbour. There are two very large 19^th century hotels high above, making a very grand sight. We wrapped up in our coats and walked around the marina and had planned on taking the road out to the lighthouse on the point, but decided it was just too windy. Pia had also recommended we visit the nearby small beachside town of Arild, and what an absolute delight, so pleased we had some inside knowledge! We parked in a carpark above the harbour and meandered down through the little cobbled streets. Once again it had a small harbour, well protected by a large breakwater, with old fisherman’s cottages and other homes, some with thatch roofs with little gardens, very old apple trees and all so well maintained.

Got chatting to a chap who was fixing a winch on his boat on the marina. He was a recreational fisherman, and we were able to find out that you can fish anywhere in Sweden and Norway, and there is excellent shore fishing, and it is good time to catch salmon at the moment. You can imagine his nibs pricking his ears up…I think a fishing rod is on the shopping list!

As we walked back to the van we got chatting to Tina, a delightful lady who was mowing her lawns. She was on holiday in the cottage that she grew up in, and told us some history about the town. She even invited us in for coffee but sadly knew that we had to keep moving.

Back on the road and a stop in the town of Angelholm to get some more Swedish Kroners and call into the information centre. We saw parking on the road, and thought the instructions said we could park 2 hours free from 9 – 2, but luckily spoke to someone passing by who explained we needed to pay a 2kr per hour into a ticket machine. He took me to the machine and explained how it worked and we had an hour to wander around what was a rather nice little town. Picked up some maps and then popped down to the marina to have our lunch.

Decided to get back out on the motorway and head north as we really need to get some miles under our belts if we want to get to Norway, somehow we keep getting side tracked! Set Jilly for Varberg, it was 3.30 when we arrived, so thought we would check out somewhere to stay for the night. Drove down to the marina hoping to find a free site, spotted campers parked out by the water and headed in that direction, only to find that it was a pay site. Our new found resolutions went out the window, and we paid the 160 KR, but what a find it turned out to be. Fabulous spot looking across the water but the bonus was a free washing machine and drier, free high speed internet and a very friendly camp. So got straight in and stripped the bed and did the washing. Had quite a domestic afternoon as the fridge had iced up a bit, so while we had electricity, I defrosted that as well. Everyone in the camp is very friendly and they all speak pretty good English, no matter where they are from.

And after a very windy afternoon, it dropped this evening, a few showers, and a rainbow appeared over the castle, a perfect finish to another great day on the road.