At 11 past ten we left the cozy small Lilla Tullen (Lilla means small anyway) on the road for our first hostel experience.
I booked it through Booking.com, which sometimes has a bit of a shady rep, but I think that’s more because of the massive volume they handle globally, and yeah, you’re bound to get a bad apple now and then. And because they, along with Airbnb, pretty much monopolize the holiday rental market, they get to call the shots and decide how much a homeowner actually makes from renting their place.
Today we were again on a path parallel to Route 26, but this time it was really parallel via bike paths or parallel roads, so no risking our lives today.
It was sunny sometimes, so we were in good spirits and made good progress. At noon, we arrived in Sjötorp, a pretty touristy spot since it’s where the Göta Canal flows into Lake Vänern.
I haven’t mentioned yet that by now, all Swedes are on vacation. This also explains why the roads can be so very busy and filled with caravans and campers.
We found ourselves a nice spot to have lunch, and while doing so, I laid my eye on a curious looking stone table that stood close to the place where the canal flows into the lake.
In 1822, after the 13 new locks on the western part of the Göta Canal were done, that section of the canal was open for boats. On the evening of September 22nd, King Charles XIV came to Sjötorp to add some royal flair to the opening. He was greeted by parading soldiers and gun salutes, and the lower locks in Sjötorp were lit up with torches.
The opening ceremony was held the next day, after the king had enjoyed breakfast at this very stone table. At that moment, the Göta Canal connects Lake Vättern to Lake Vänern and the North Sea.
After speeches and a reception, the king boarded one of the Crown’s vessels and in seven hours he travelled through the nineteen locks from Sjötorp to the large Hajstorp basin.
After lunch, we followed the Göta Canal all the way to Töreboda to do some shopping and then to Tåtorp Vandrarhemmet, our destination.
While we were biking along the canal, we noticed some strange milestones along the way:
This is a so-called alnsten (ell measure stone) along the Swedish Göta Canal. These are historical distance markers made of hewn limestone that stand along the excavated sections of the canal. There is an exact distance of 1,000 alnar (Swedish ell) between each numbered stone, which corresponds to 594 meters.
The stones were placed in the 19th century as payment markers for the boat haulers (skjutskarlar). At that time, boats were pulled through the canal using oxen, horses, or even human manpower from the towpath. The haulers were paid per stone passed. At the beginning of the 1800s, for example, the rate was 8 öre per allnar. (There are 100 öre in a single Swedish kroner or SEK)
On this section there are 60 stones. Stone number 1 starts at Sjötorp and number 60 ends at the pier at Tåtorp (by Lake Viken) close to the hostel we are heading to. The numbering starts again at every new lake the canal crosses. If you look closely, you will see that every stone has a different date. That’s the date it was placed there.
Along the way we could also witness several boats that passed the locks. Traveling across the Göta Kanal by boat is a favorite vacation activity by many Swedes.
We also encountered a cozy duo toilet along the way, near a shelter where people can sleep, but I’ll spare you the details.
Töreboda is a small Swedish town and we propose that everyone who reads this blog will never visit it. According to Leen, it doesn’t have the right Swedish vibe.
The last kilometers to the hostel really kept dragging on. This has something to do with the repetitive effect of biking along a canal, even though it has some historic significance. It gets a bit boring to be honest.
But finally, at 17:00 we artive at the hostel. The man in charge shows us our room, the separate but private bathroom, the kitchen, the garden and the place where breakfast will be served in the morning. It’s a really wonderful place.
So we first warmed up our dinner. We had chosen for some easy frozen meals. And after dinner a quick shower and back to our room, to enjoy the rest of the evening. And before you start fantasising, its all about writing the daily blog and reading a bit for the time that’s left over.
Tomorrow we need to do some 60 kilometers but with a lot more climbs. I hope that Leen’s knee keeps going…
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