June 11: Day 41, Kungsbacka-Vänersborg
Vänersborg is not too far away; this would be a 7h day but I'm keen to see Trollhatten's locks. There's a seriously high lift, built in the late 1700s and that's worth a look. Also, it has a great name.
The first part of the ride was on a rail trail. The railway was apparently originally put in for the King, to connect to one of his seaside retreats. It does take a very scenic route along the seaside, there were so many other people running or biking or walking that there were few moments when it was clear enough to take a photo...
The route passed a "Hemkop" supermarket (it's a chain) so I went in looking for isotonic drinks. And in an unexpected twist, they had some! I got two Powerade, and two of "Powerking" - if I'd read the label and realized it was a low-effort knockoff maybe I wouldn't have got them. Also, it's high time I got rid of the old 1.5L water bottles, so I picked up two replacements. And a single banana.
From left to right: shopping success. This is a screenshot of the self-service machine at the supermarket; it had an English mode but I didn’t think “blipping” was an actual word. The rail trail. A seaside hut. What are they for - fishing? Bathing? Sauna?
The next part of the ride was through Gothenburg and it was all cyclepaths by roads and then cyclepaths without scenery and it's a bit dull so let's skip them.
From left to right: this is a real island! An overbridge. Another castle. Ski lift in summertime. Cyclepath by road, this was standard for the morning.
The route was parallel to the Trollhätte canal from the sea up to Vänern lake: this is the canal for which the Trollhättan locks were built. At a place called Lilla Edet it crossed over, and there was a 6m high lock which always makes things interesting. 6m is usually quite a lot, but today it's just the warmup act: there's 32m of locks waiting in in Trollhättan.
The locks are modern because the canal is actively used for freight - in addition to tourist boats, of course.
After that the route ran parallel to the canal but on the other side, and far enough away that the canal couldn't really be seen. For this bit there was no cyclepath, I was on the road, and there was a bit of climbing; but it wasn't bad enough to complain about.
From left to right: the replacement water bottle had carbonated water; still drank it. The lock at Lilla Edet. In the countryside it often felt like there was a sea of grassland, with hills like islands. It looks innocent, but this was the worst climb of the day.
The descent into Trollhättan had a great view of a dammed waterfall, and some massive 18th century stonework to contain the water. I followed the canal for a few kilometers to the locks, and they don't disappoint; there's old/retired ones and the new/working ones, and they are high - it's a 23m and a 9m lift here. Building the canal and locks through here back in the 1800s must have been an epic piece of engineering! One section has (presumably) removed the old lock gates and paraphernalia, just the excavated stone channel remains, and it's clear that a lot of stone had to get carved out.
From left to right: I guess this is the dammed up waterfall? Canal between church and road; on the other side of the road was a 10m cliff down to the original riverbed - wish I could have captured that in a picture. I presume this is an old set of locks, with only the excavated stone remaining. Retired lock gates. The new locks in use; I’m standing at the level the water rises to in the next lock.
Apparently the locks that are currently being used will reach the end of their design life in 2030, and there’s some political shenanigans making it difficult to settle on a plan for how to build/upgrade them.
The place I’m staying at tonight seems to be some sort of summer camp. It’s very nice, and was quite cheap, but it’s miles from anywhere. I’m in room 102, which suggests that not many people are staying right now! So it’s not a surprise that the restaurant is closed. The only nearby option is a pizza place with decidedly mixed reviews. I looked on Google Maps for restaurants that were open, and almost all the options were pizza, but there was a Thai place hiding in there, 20 minutes bike ride away. Google thought it was a restaurant but it turned out to be a window at the train station. I wasn’t in the mood to eat takeaways in a parking lot, so I went to the only other non-pizza option - an Italian restaurant, and ate a whole lot of pasta.
From left to right: The Google Maps search that almost only found pizza: I felt a screenshot was appropriate. Cyclepath on the ride back. Saw this owl sculpture along the way too.
Quite a successful day! Glad that I didn’t miss the locks in Trollhättan; they needed a bit of a diversion but they were all worth it.
What I’m listening to: More Julee Cruise!
Questions in a World of Blue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eWn3tByhYg&list=RD4eWn3tByhYg
Into the Night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsLJxUEbkG8&list=RD4eWn3tByhYg
