Into Sweden: A Shop-Fest and Home of Nobel, Karlskoga

Zagan the motorhome is a little bit in love. His first stop for the night in Sweden is in a free aire with a great lake view. Not only that but it also has free – service point, loos, showers, wifi and electricity, if there wasn’t a 72 hour limit he may never move from Karlskoga (N59.32099,E14.53661).

We gave Zagan a good clean and tidy before we left the campsite in Oslo, with fresh laundry and showered occupants he was smelling great, for a change. Driving past reception I nipped in and handed back our card for the gate, then went and got rid of the last of our bottles and cans. With the pant (deposit) and our last coins I treated Jay to a final Norwegian beer – a snip at 23.20 Nok (about £2.30).

Gluten Free, Low Fat beer – it was all I could afford!

Before leaving Norway we wanted to top up on LPG as we believe it to be cheaper than in Sweden (but diesel more expensive, so no top up of that). A wild goose chase had us driving around Oslo using the database we have loaded in our satnav. Stations flashed up in what is now a housing estate and several on one street, but they were all gone. So, rather than drive around in circles collecting toll fees we made a break for the border. After whooping at 110kph motorway, we held our breath as we turned onto a ‘white’ road on our map. We needn’t have worried though as it was wider than nearly every road we’d driven in the north of the country, there was even room for a line down the middle.

Autumn is here

We wound our way through vast fields of crops, around forest-edged lakes and past an LPG station – what?! It wasn’t in our database, but a quick turn and we were in there filling up with heating, hot water, cooker and fridge-running loveliness.

Reaching the border we spotted a chap in a high vis jacket stood in the road on the other side; he waved at a transit and motioned for it to pull off the road – so it looks like Norway does have customs officials and they do sometimes check what contraband people are bringing in. We breathed a sigh of relief that we were leaving Norway as we were slightly over our wine limit on the way in…

We pulled into the rest area on the border at Morokulien (N59.93090,E12.23877) and joined a few other motorhomes parked up. Before I’d finished helping Jay reverse into a space one of our neighbours was over for a chat. He lived near Liverpool for several years while he worked on the Noregian ships and always says hello to Brit vans when he spots them. He and his wife live in Oslo, and were just heading over to Sweden to do a bit of shopping. Norway is so expensive it is worth the couple of hours drive to stock up on food, and especially booze. As they knew the exact opening times for the alcohol shop down the road, for each day, I suspect it was the latter they were here for. Needless to say they both looked surprised when I mentioned the customs official we had spotted.

The blue signs in the background are the border

The rest area is right on the border, there’s even a tourist information office which is half in Sweden and half in Norway with a line through the middle of it to mark which side you are in. Even the name of the place is a word game; Morokulien, moro means fun in Norwegian and kul means fun in Swedish, i.e. fun-fun-into-one. Across the road, in the Norwegian side, there is a radio station and a large campsite filled with permanent-looking touring caravans. On the Swedish side is a petrol station and shop. Between the two sits Fredsmonumentet, a peace memorial which was placed to mark 100 years of peace between the two countries in 1914. A Swede and a Norwegian stand at the top on each side of the border holding each other’s hands. On the back of the monument is written: “Henceforth shall war between Scandinavian brothers be impossible”. During the Second World War the monument and area around it were respected by the German soldiers and it was the only place a Norwegian and a Swede could be married.

A final Norwegian Troll

Left in Norway, Right in Sweden

Despite all the peace around us, neither of us slept well that night. Sure there was some noise from the road, but it wasn’t that which kept me awake, I guess it was a trepidation and excitement for a new country. As we lay in the dark we talked about what we knew about Sweden – Abba, the Swedish Chef from the Muppets, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, Ikea, meatballs and that was about it. It looks like we’ll have plenty to learn.

This morning we were up early and popped into the tourist office for some information about places to stay, as it covers both countries she asked if we wanted it for Sweden or Norway – I hope they get paid double in there. After a load of useful information we left armed with a directory of campsites and a map showing all the rest/picnic places (rastplatskarta) which we’ve used extensively in Norway and hope to do the same in Sweden. With that we rolled over the border, an actual border with customs channels and lorries being searched, and we were in Sweden, and back in the EU.

Just a few kilometres down the road we pulled into the huge shopping centre at Charlottenbergs. As it is disproportionately large for the town around it, and the car park was 90% Norwegian vehicles, we guessed this is where our neighbours had headed. Our suspicions were confirmed as we pulled into the dedicated motorhome parking area – oh yeah – and saw their van.

Dedicated motorhome parking at the shopping centre, just behind the spaces for the coaches!

Walking through the doors we were like giddy school children, then as we walked around the huge supermarket we were like aliens pointing at everything and staring in disbelief at the range of stuff you could buy. Pricing up the beers Jay managed to stop himself from doing a little dance, everything was half the price it was in Norway but the maximum alcohol content in supermarkets is 3.5%, so next stop was the Systembolaget (the system company), Sweden’s state-owned drinks store which has a monopoly on all other alcoholic drinks. Unsurprisingly this was the busiest shop in the centre and we spent a good while wandering around and it was only when we reached the till queue with five litres of wine on us did my brain kick in. The wine may be cheap compared to Norway, but we’ll be in Denmark soon and that will be even cheaper, so some went back on the shelf. I did hold onto a box of Casillero del Diablo though, as it was actually cheaper than it is to buy in the UK, it seems the rule that more expensive wine is better value in these state shops is right.

Happy Jay in the Systembolaget

Our tummies were now rumbling, so after a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up some of Charlie’s joint supplements (they don’t sell them in Norway) we succumbed to a McDonald’s – sorry folks, it’s not the best place to eat out for the first time in a country. Full stomachs is a good way to be when you arrive at Lidl, especially if you love Lidl like we do and haven’t seen one for about three months. The trolley filled up, the credit card got bashed and Zagan’s cupboards are once again fuller than a centipede’s sock drawer.

Sorry, we couldn’t resist

It may be over 1000 Sek, but it all felt so cheap

Two and a half hours later, and a fair few kilometres of single-carriageway motorway we arrived in Karlskoga. We knew nothing about the place other the review of the motorhome aire in our Park4Night database, but it turns out it was where Alfred Nobel (of the Nobel Peace Prize) worked in his later years so he could continue his work with cannons and explosives which got him kicked out of his homes in Paris and San Remo.

Charlie isn’t a fan of long driving days

Just need to work out how to say this and we’ll be fine for parking in Sweden

When the rain stopped we had a little walk around the place and spotted a potential restaurant for a meal out tomorrow night to celebrate our wedding anniversary, a late birthday celebration for me and the anniversary of Jay’s ‘retirement’. Looks like we might need those 72 hours of parking here!

Ju x

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