RV Roadtrip – Sweden Part 3

After the Lofotens we were headed south for an appointment with a ferry to take us over to Poland and the rest of Europe. It was going to be a lot of driving over just a few days, fortunately the highways in Sweden are wide and in great shape.

Our first stop was my favorite marina in Lulea. The facilities are top notch and there is a massive store for re-supplying the van. I wanted to visit some of the other marinas that we had previously gone to, but Shani nixed that plan as they were too far out of the way.

One of the neat places we did camp was at a national park and the camping/aire was called Skuleberget Havscamping. We would have liked to stay a couple of days and check the place out a bit but time wasn’t on our side.

After seeing all of the reindeer, our other big wildlife bucket list item was a moose. All along the highway they have tall fences to try and keep the big beasts off the road. Also, a lot of the cars and trucks are outfitted with extra sets of headlights and light racks for driving at night and moose avoidance. I can imagine the damage one of them could do!

The whole drive we kept our eyes peeled, especially when a moose sign was posted on the road. Once, Shani thought she saw two big male moose and we did a u-turn to confirm but if they were there, they were long gone by the time we got back.

Finally though, it did happen! Out of the corner of my eye I was sure I saw a moose. We doubled back and she was still standing there and staring at us. We also thought there might be a calf but couldn’t confirm that. After a few moments the moose had had enough of us and it quickly disappeared into the forest. Our pictures aren’t great but we did get our moose!  I think if we ever go back to Sweden we would do one of the wildlife evening tours that look for moose.

The second big highlight on our road trip south was our visit to the IKEA museum. And it’s not just a museum! There is also an IKEA hotel and restaurant. I, of course, had to have the Swedish meatballs and a lovely glass of Malbec.  And they even had something gluten free for Shani to eat. 

In our life overseas IKEA has been our go to for almost everything. Regardless of the country, IKEA stuff is always the same, it’s a familiar known quantity and quality and there is something to be said for that, whether outfitting an apartment in Abu Dhabi or a camping car in Europe.

At any rate, we really enjoyed our visit. The museum is really well done and you can even pose for an IKEA catalog cover shot. Sebastian wasn’t allowed inside and had to guard the fort which he was a bit unhappy about.

Did I mention the Swedish love of American muscle cars? We must have driven past a half a dozen car rallies, complete with 50’s era clothing and greased back hair.  There was definitely plenty of Rockabilly music and vibe going around.  

Our final destination in Sweden was Malmo, right at the southern coast. We had decided not to take the bridge across to Denmark as it was cost prohibitive for the camping car and the other road tolls were going to be pretty steep as well. Doing the math, it was better for us to leave the RV in the marina and take the train over to Copenhagen. Stay tuned for our day in Copenhagen post.

The marina camping in Malmo was super easy and million dollar views. We should have stayed longer! But, truth be told, the Nordics were starting to get a little too chilly for our taste and we had some other interesting things we wanted to see in Europe before we put the van away for the coldest months.

After our visit to Copenhagen all that was left for our roadtrip in the Nordics was a final ferry across to Poland. These boats are just massive.

Stay tuned as we hang out in Poland, visit Berlin, Dresden and Prague and get back to the Istrian Peninsula in Croatia to re-set our Schengen visa time.