Harmanger – Sweden

14th May 2019 – 17th May 2019

We left Stockholm and headed North on the E4. The road hugs the east coast of the country which allows us to stop at some nice places en route. The first being Harmanger, now this is in the middle of nowhere but there were very good reviews to stop at this Motorhome parking and the offer of a free washing machine and tumble dryer did it for me ! We are greeted by Marianne who spoke perfect English and had lived in village for over 45 years, she said she couldn’t get her husband to leave ! She asked us if we would like fresh bread in the morning and I eagerly said yes, the nearest shop must of been 50 miles away. The next morning at 8.30am there was a little tap on the door and there was Marianne with a basket full of fresh and warm bread rolls. OMG they they were delicious. Marianne also mentioned to us, the fish shop up the road where it is open 24 hours a day, has no staff and you just help yourself to what is on offer and leave the cash ! So after breakfast we took a leisurely stroll to the fish shop. We followed the signs and basically it was a garden shed in someone’s garden, but in I went while David stayed outside with Chloe. There were 4 fridges filled with fresh and smoked fish and it looked absolutely delicious. In the 4th fridge, in the door, was all the cash. We chose a large chunk of smoked salmon, pickled herrings, some other smoked fish and some herrings in a lovely creamy sauce. There were pen, paper and calculator to work out what you owed as it was all priced and a bag to put it all in and then you left the cash in the fridge. We were completely and utterly amazed at the honestly of this experience and it warmed my heart that this could still exist in the world. The fish was absolutely delicious, I wish we had bought more, but David doesn’t like paying for fish. Where we were staying had a restaurant and gift shop with all local crafts but alas none were open. The season is Sweden is summer months only, from the end of June to the end of August. I saw David raise his eyes to the sky and say ‘thank you’ ! It was here that for the first time we got the fishing rod out. There was a small getty and we thought it would be a good idea to practise casting out for the first time. Now, you would think it is easy just to set up a rod and then cast it out, well let me tell you, it is not ! The first time David cast the line out it, the hook got stuck, I am jumping up and down saying ‘ have we got a fish, have we got a fish and David says, ‘ of course we bloody haven’t, it’s stuck on the bottom’. He was pulling and pulling and then said, go and get the scissors, I am going to have to cut the line ! I walked back to the van with Chloe saying, ‘oh dear, it’s not going well is it’. By the time we had come back the line was free and we had a little more success with the casting. I even had an attempt and was quite pleased with my distance of casting, my Dad would have been proud. He was a keen fly fisherman. We stayed for 3 days, exhausted the washing and drying machine, I bet they gave a sigh of relief when we drove out and started heading North again !