We enjoy our last days in Sweden and start to plan our future after the bike tour. I guess it never gets boring...

This week, a good comedian taught us important vocabulary for the first few months in Sweden:
"Hej hej" (greeting), "Talar du engelska?" (Do you speak English?), "Nej Tak" (No thank you), "Hej da!" (Goodbye).

Saturday 23.09.

For us, it is sometimes a luxury to wake up to running water. For example, to brush our teeth or clean our cooking utensils. As we had more than enough time, we took it. We left the ski area well-rested and motivated.

We drove along many small roads. Up and down - again. The landscape was interesting, as there were always fields with small boulders on them to the right and left of us. At a parking lot, the sun and the picnic table invited us to take a little nap. This was then interrupted by a distant rumble in the sky and increasingly dark clouds. Time to set off again! But not without taking a closer look at the waterfall on our way!

The rumbling got louder and louder and between a golf course and a manor house we saw an open workshop door with hard-working people inside. Our last chance not to get wet. So Tilman went over and politely asked if we could take shelter for a moment. Just at that moment, the sky lit up with lightning and we got the OK. The bikes stayed where they were and we ran into the garage as fast as we could. Our "host" was a Polish guest worker who had worked in Germany before, but earned more in Sweden. We talked to him in German and were impressed by all the languages he spoke. He also explained to us how he renovated the windows of the neighboring manor house. Quite a science! He also recommended that we take a quick look inside the manor house/castle. We couldn't resist and quickly ran over. We were greeted by two suits of knight's armor, which undoubtedly scared off any unwanted intruders! The entire house was still very well preserved and we wandered through the old times and rooms.

We watched from inside as the rain slowly subsided and said a friendly goodbye to the nice Polish man, who wished us all the best for the rest of our journey. Due to the unexpectedly long rain shower, we didn't get as far as we had thought and slowly looked for an alternative place to spend the night. The good thing about Sweden is that you can stay almost anywhere for one night. However, people don't want to take advantage of this hospitality and prefer to follow a few unspoken rules. Like not too close to houses, not in fields, etc. However, as we were approaching the Jönköping conurbation, this turned out to be a little more difficult. In a suburb we found a place that was acceptable. A small bay, which is probably used for swimming in the summer, with a playground and parking lot in front of it. A few campers had already made themselves comfortable in the parking lot. However, we weren't really convinced that it was legal... A little closer to the water, there was a small spot that hid something from prying eyes. We asked a woman passing by with her daughter if they thought it would be ok for one night and she agreed. Her daughter was very brave, as she had made up her mind to jump into the cold water once a month.

So we made ourselves comfortable, cooked a snack and set the alarm for very early the next morning. We really didn't want any nasty surprises.

Sunday 24.09.

The alarm clock rang early in the morning - we wanted to avoid unwanted surprises in the early morning due to our rather unideal sleeping place.

As the saying goes: "The early bird catches the worm". When it comes to cycling, I would reinterpret it as: "The early cyclist has the road to himself".

We entered very relaxed into Jönköping. Surprisingly, this meant driving up and down hills. But at the top of the hills, we had a wonderful view of the large, endless lake and the city rising up behind it. Before heading into the nicer parts of the city, we stopped by the Lidl on the outskirts. Today, however, our much-loved custard-filled pancakes were an icy surprise... The entire filling was still frozen and made it rather less enjoyable.

We ate the rest of our breakfast on the Vättern beach shore. Firstly because the view was simply beautiful that morning, and secondly because there were public toilets marked along the beach promenade. Unfortunately, none of them were open. Instead, we watched a few brave Swedes plunge into the fresh expanse of the lake and hurry back out again. A couple of older ladies came up to us and started a conversation. Among other things, they were able to provide us with insider information about the local public toilets. To my relief. In the truest sense of the word...

When the long breakfast was finally finished, we had a look around. Among other things, Tilman visited at a church from the inside while I looked after the bikes outside. We soon set off again, as standing still in one place was really starting to make us feel cold inside...

On one of the longer "straight ahead sections", we came across another cyclist. She regularly rides kilometers for a charity organization (instagram: marijaaurell). She cycles an absurd number of kilometers per day! Our meeting with her was as short as her day was long, as she still had a lot to do.

On the way to our remote sleeping spot, we passed a few cute villages with really idyllic churches! This makes cycling fun!

When we arrived at our trusted lake, we realized that we weren't the only ones who thought it was a good spot... A group of German campers with tents were already there and had made themselves comfortable. Luckily, our tent isn't too big and we found a nice spot with a view! However, we ate our food in the tent again. Mosquitoes. You get the idea...

Monday 25.09.

We woke up to the sun in the tent in complete peace and quiet (except for the low rumble of the highway in the distance). We had cocoa for our first breakfast. Then we slowly took down the tent, flew the drone again and said goodbye to our beautiful campsite. Our first destination was Lidl, where we had 1 kg of quark and muesli for second breakfast - like real hobbits.

Today we did another dance around the E4. The nice thing about the region here is that there are lots of old ruins to visit. Today, for example, we found an old church ruin. We were also lucky with the weather. No sunshine, but at least no rain. In the evening, we found an open space where trees were probably once stored. At least judging by all the scraps of wood on the ground. Not the most perfect spot, as the E4 was quite close, but we had peace and quiet from uninvited guests :-)

Tuesday 26.09.

Sometimes the unspectacular sleeping areas are also very nice! We had a relaxed night and a relaxed morning. Nobody woke us up and we had all the time in the world to take down the tent. What more could you want in relaxing Sweden?

And our day was relaxed! Not so many kilometers, but lots of sunshine, many forests, few cars and the view of a nice campsite by a lake.

When we arrived at the lake, we even found a fire pit and a picnic table! A jetty led directly to the water, which was less inviting for a swim. We realized that this would be our last night of wild camping in Sweden. We were slightly melancholy, but we enjoyed being able to cook with the wood gas burner in peace once again. To be allowed to be here legally. We watched as the fog thickened over the lake and the world around us became darker. When there was no longer much to see, we retreated to our tent and drifted off into the land of dreams.

Wellaaa that could have been a very relaxing last night in Sweden. But as it is sometimes the case when traveling... Firstly, things always turn out differently, and secondly, things turn out differently than you think!

I woke up around 1:00 a.m. to the sound of someone walking past our tent with a flashlight. At first I assumed it was a late-night walker with a dog or something similar. However, the beam of light stayed there for a long time and was soon joined by a second one. The two men outside the tent spoke Swedish, left briefly and soon returned. I tapped Tilman and noticed that he was also listening intently. We weren't entirely comfortable with the situation. Sometimes your blood freezes in your veins and you're on alert. We heard one of them light a lighter and saw the glow of a fire illuminating our tent from outside. Seriously, who would think of making a fire there in the middle of the night? Especially as there are obviously people who want to sleep nearby. The fire got bigger and brighter and at some point Tilman's courage got the better of him and he went out to have a chat. I followed. Cell phone in hand so I could call for help if necessary. Fortunately, the two men were not aggressive and we were able to talk to them in English. However, they didn't seem to be completely sober... They took huge amounts of cardboard packaging out of their car, which was parked a few hundred meters away. Apparently they wanted to burn everything here... The cardboard was just igniting and the flames were getting higher and higher. We were not only afraid for the surrounding trees, but also that sparks could fall on our tent and politely asked them if they could stop because we would like to sleep. The first answer was that it wasn't that bad, they probably do it often and nothing has happened so far blah blah blah. When I politely asked them again if they could go away because we had to get up in the morning and drive on, they put out the fire and left. To our surprise, they started a fire in the (fortunately far away) parking space instead. After all, they were completely out of their minds. We stayed awake and tense until we heard the car drive away.

The Swedes are crazy.

Wednesday 27.09.

After this crazy night, we got up very early indeed. No need for any more unpleasant surprises! As a small compensation, we got a beautiful fog over the lake.

And indeed, today was an extremely relaxed day. We drove along fields on mostly small roads and passed manor houses and castles here and there.

One was more extreme than the other! We reached Lund in the early afternoon. And were more than impressed, at least with the cycling infrastructure! We only had to cross a major road once, otherwise cyclists were always guided car-free. A dream! We drove to our Warmshowers host David and started to prepare dinner and wash up again. After a while, David came home too. It was another one of those encounters where you understand each other from the very first second! Even when we moved into the living room, the topics of conversation weren't too close and probably won't be for a long time. If we move to Lund, we will definitely keep in touch with David.

Thursday 28.09.

When we woke up the next morning, David was already at work. In the morning we washed things again, hung up the tent to dry and did all the things that had piled up again. Around midday, we set off into town on the cargo bike. Once again, the strengths of Swedish urban planning became apparent. We only had to cross a small road once. Otherwise, we cycled along exclusive cycle paths. No noise, little movement outside, hardly any contact with cars. Cycling could hardly be safer! We did the typical tour program. Church, university buildings, park with labyrinth. And of course a detour to the games store in Lund - highly recommended!

In the evening, we met up again with David and some of his friends in the city. There we learned about the strange phenomenon of cultural acceptance in Sweden, which David had already talked about. Examples include "Taco Friday", "Africa Pizza" (bananas, peanuts and curry) and much more.

A friend of David's is also a physicist in Lund and it was very exciting to talk to her about our experiences. After we had a pizza, we went to a pub for a comedy event. Unfortunately, it was very crowded and we actually stood on the side the whole time. One comedian stood out. He was English and started his show with the first words and phrases he had first learned in Swedish. "Hej hej" (hello), "Talar du engelska?" (Do you speak English?), "Nej Tak" (No thank you), "Hej då!" (Goodbye). Very funny, because most Swedes speak English, of course. 5 funny minutes later he said goodbye to us with the same words: "Nej Tak, hej då!". And somehow these phrases became a running gag between us and David.

We then drove home together and once again went to bed far too late.

We really enjoyed the whole evening! Going out in civilization again and taking part in events like a comedy show was perhaps a little bit missing.

Friday 29.09.

So today was finally the reason why we were in Lund for so long in the first place - an informal interview at the university. Of course I was super excited, but a little motivational note from David on the kitchen table in the morning cheered me up! I became even more relaxed when Tilman dropped me off in front of the university on his cargo bike and I spent a few cool hours with the current PhD student. We hit it off straight away and I was really happy to have met her!

Afterwards, I met up with Tilman again in the city center and visited the botanical garden. We drove around a bit more and met up with David and his girlfriend in the apartment again in the evening. David conjured up a delicious quiche and prepared a Galician specialty: Pulpo (octopus). A really nice evening!