Sweden part 12 - from the MannaMinne museum to Bönhamn harbor

Melli und Finja auf den Felsen

The Bastion Hemsö and the mountain with its view of the Baltic Sea was very impressive. If you think about how much effort was put into the construction and then it was not needed, that's awesome. And all just to scare off the Russians. That was another highlight MannaMinne Museum and the tourist route. Let's see if we can find another way further north. The nice thing about it is that you don't drive on the autobahn, which here in the country is mostly a German federal highway.

MannaMinne museum in Häggvik and mountain views from Stortorget

Of the Höga Kusten suspension bridge was it about that Tourist street continue after Nordingra. The guide told us that there was a small ruin to see. It was a ruined church, where only the foundation walls and a very small part of the "cellar" stood. In the "basement" there were still ancient stone slabs that survived the destruction of whatever kind. A little further towards the lake there were still old fishermen's huts lined up. In Sweden stones are ubiquitous and are used for everything. So here, too, to balance the huts.

Fischerhütten in Nordingra
Typical fishing huts in Nordingra

It went on to MannaMinne Museum. It is an open-air museum with many buildings that you can also visit. An artist couple put all things together and built them up. There is everything from old buildings to small things like typewriters to a ship. The things come from all over the world and they wanted to bring a touch of the wide world to this church. You can really spend a lot of time in this small, created world.

In between there was an ascent to Storaberget. When we stood in front of it, we only saw the steep climb. I was still wondering whether I should do this to myself, but Basti then convinced me. So 150 m over a length of 500m. That was sporty! Once at the top out of breath, it was still worth it. The view was simply breathtaking! You could see as far as the Baltic Sea and the sun was there too. After a break, we went back down. Since it was quite rocky from the halfway point onwards, Basti carried our mouse so that it didn't have to jump so much.

Blick über Häggvik
View over Häggvik

It was an exhausting afternoon and we only drove to the next point, where we wanted to spend the night.

You can find more information about the museum here:

https://www.hogakusten.com/de/mannaminne

Rotsidan - nature reserve with a stony coast

One of the recommended tips from the guide was this Rotsidan coast. So we drove to the Rotsidan nature reserve, which is too Höga Kustens world natural heritage heard, and parked us in the parking lot. It was very funny that at the beginning of the street where you drive to the nature reserve there was a sign with a car and a trailer. It was said that caravan drivers should “leave their house behind” and there was also a parking lot to park the caravan. It was the first time that we saw a sign like this.

When we arrived at the parking lot, we were pretty exhausted and tired from the lunch tour. We then decided to drink coffee first, eat and wash up later and only then go to the coast. On the one hand it may be emptier because the parking lot was well filled and on the other hand it is light for a long time anyway or it is no longer dark. No sooner said than done and when we were reasonably awake again, we went to the coast with a blanket, camera and drone. There are also several benches and fire places for those who do not want to sit on the stones.

Picknick an der Küste von Rotsidan
Picnic on the coast of Rotsidan

There were actually only a few people around and so we looked for a nice place to sit on the stones. These were really well heated by the sun. The coast consists of diabase rock, which is really smooth and rounded by the sea. Since there was little going on, Basti could also let the drone fly.

Küste Rotsidan
The Rotsidan coast
Die Felsenküste von Rotsidan

We enjoyed it, but the sun went down behind the trees. Back at the bus, we fell straight to bed. I even slept in the next morning, which seldom happens to me because I was so exhausted from climbing the mountain the day before.

Meat still had to be cooked for Finja. I usually do this in the evening, but since we still wanted to wash our hair, I could also rinse after cooking. Around noon we drove to our next point.

Bönhamn - a small original harbor

Of Bonhamn The guide told us that this place with a port is a must. Indeed, it was incredibly beautiful to see. It is at the end of a street in a cul-de-sac and still has a lot of originality. You can also see that everything is cherished and looked after. Around the tip of the small fjord, the fishermen's houses and houses are built into the water on stilts. Of course, almost everyone on the water has a terrace and a boat.

Hafen Bönhamn
Bönhamn harbor

In addition, there are seats for visitors or guest boats on "water terraces". You can spend the night here with your boat, whether small or large, and then have to pay a fee. For this they have set up boxes where you can put your money in.

Fischtrocknung in Bönhamn
Fish drying in Bönhamn

They also have numerous wooden poles with hooks in the garden or open areas to dry fish. At this point there was no fish on it and Basti couldn't ask a local which fish they are drying here. This place seems to be a tourist magnet. When we were on the way back to the bus, we had the feeling that a tour bus had stopped. That was not the case, but the parking lot was well filled. It was also lunchtime and many went straight to the restaurant at the harbor.

Speaking of the restaurant. Many may ask why we don't write something about a meal in a restaurant, so typical of the country. So far, we have had FastFood twice because we had hunger pangs, it had to be done quickly and we didn't want to cook. Otherwise we were advised not to visit a restaurant. Unless you get a really good tip. But here in Sweden it is more common to pack food, drive to a nice place and have a picnic. Eating out doesn't happen that often and the restaurants don't stay open long either. Those who told us have been to Germany several times and love the food there, especially because it is served hot …….

Still made the route - we want to go north

On the further way there was a gardens shop that we should have a look at. There are local things to buy for young and old. What they had a lot there were self-made things like jam, coffee liqueurs and clay things. However, there was nothing for us and so we thought about what to do next on the bus. Since the weather promised rain and we had no other point in the area at first, we decided to make the route. We also had to fill up with fresh water and return to the main route anyway.

Our next overnight place that we chose was 150 km away, so let's go. While driving ourselves we were lucky with the rain, it wasn't quite as heavy as we feared. When we arrived in Umea at the small boat harbor, it rained a little more. First we stood in the first row so that we could look out over the river.

But then the rain got really heavy and when I wanted to get out, I stepped into a puddle. So we put ourselves in the 2nd row to the other motorhomes and got out of the car with dry feet. Since it was late when we arrived, we didn't do much longer either and then went to bed relatively early. The next morning the weather looked much better, but our 1st parking space was actually flooded.

Stellplatz Umea
The floor of the parking lot was extremely washed up by the rain ... 🙂

You can find more pictures in the Sweden photo gallery.