3 June 2017
It was a public holiday on 6 June 2017, due to Sweden's National Day. Hence, he has taken a Monday off. It was our first weekend getaway. We were going to Gothenburg but along the way, we will stop and Halleberg (pronounced as 'Halle-buh-ry'. I pronounced it as Halle Berry) and Trollhattans. We left on Friday evening itself to avoid the traffic in Stockholm on Saturday morning.
He has driven until 1am Saturday morning whereas I have fallen asleep. He has the stamina to drive long hours because he says he enjoys driving. I, on the other hand, am not a fan of driving. I am used to his long driving hours as he has done in our previous trips to Pyrenees and Romania. So, he has driven till he reached a rest area.
It was a gloomy rainy Saturday morning when I woke up. The restroom was dirty and I told him we need to go to a petrol station to clean myself up. In most petrol stations in Europe and Scandinavia, their toilets are locked. We need to approach the cashier inside the station for the key. I asked him why is this? He said to prevent drug addicts from entering inside the toilet and committing suicide inside. Sometimes, I am not sure if he is joking or telling the facts.
After 30 minutes drive, we reached the area of Halleberg.
Halleberg is a table mountain by lake Vänern in Vänersborg Municipality, Västergötland, Sweden. Halleberg, part of which protrudes into Lake Vänern is separated in the south by about 500 m (1,600 ft) wide valley from the adjacent Hunneberg (although this is a table mountain). The northern part of Halleberg called Hallesnipen. Hallberg has an average height of about 90 m (300 ft) above lake Vänern, or 134 ft (41 m) above sea level; the highest point is 155 m (509 ft) above sea level. Source from Wikipedia.
The first place we stopped by is Byklesfallet. He parked by the roadside and we had a short 30 minute walk around the waterfall. The rocks were slippery because it has rained that evening. He was confident in his steps but I was not.
We walked up to the top of the small waterfall. On top, I saw a pool of trapped foam swirling around itself. We did a short walk inside one of its trails and found ourselves by the roadside.
The drive continues on to a nearby Restaurant that he tells me serve Moose Sandwich. The place is call Spiskupan. I would like to try that. The parking lot was about 200meters from the restaurant. It was a nice walk towards the restaurant.
We asked the staff and she tells that Moose Sandwich is not in season yet. The hunting season begins in August and we can get moose then. In the meantime, it is a buffet lunch which costs SEK175 = RM87.50 on weekends. Gulp. As I am broke and he can't bear to pay for 2, we had waffles instead which cost SEK40 each. It comes with jam and cream.
We opt to have our waffles outside as the cool weather was not killing me yet. We licked our plates clean because it was the most expensive waffle I have ever had.
He wanted to drive to see the opening of a dam in Trollhattans, the next town. I asked him is this all of Halleberg we are going to see? No trails to go in? Then, he detoured to a Nature Reserve which is the northern part of Halleberg where we can walk to see Lake Vanern - Sweden's biggest lake. It was about a 30 minute walk to see the biggest lake. We reached at 2pm. As we were rushing for time to see the dam (at this point, I did not understand the specialty of this dam but he described that he wanted to see the dam opened where the water will be released), we did not sit long to look at the lake. I saw a mother and son eating a sandwich while watching the view. Well, if I was not pressing for time, I won't have stayed long either because the lake and trees looked the same after 5 minutes. Sorry, I have a short attention span.
It took us 20 minutes to walk back from the lake to the car. I walked as fast as I can as the dam is scheduled to open at 3pm. Thankfully, the Nature Reserve is close to this dam. It is call Trollhattan Waterfall. We reached at 2.50pm and the place (everyone was waiting at the bridge) was packed with visitors. He found a parking space further up and we had to run to the attraction. Luckily, it was a downhill run and it was not tiring. I just noticed from the website that the waters are only released on Saturdays in June. Thankfully, it was a Saturday when we were here. There was a lady who gave an introduction of this waterfall in both Swedish and English that boomed through a loudspeaker prior to the release of the waters.
The beautiful waterfalls in Trollhättan are unique and has been the focal point for tourists, artists and innovators since the 18th Century. Today the water does not flow freely as it once did but at specific times during May - September the floodgates open. When the floodgates are open the river goes back to its original wild nature and 300,000 liters of water per second plunge and roar along the riverbed. When you visit Trollhättan then the waterfalls are a must. However due to the water being used by the water power plants the Swedish power company Vattenfall only opens the floodgates at specific times. But when they do you can again feel the raw force and atmosphere that has attracted visitors to Trollhättan for centuries. A magnificent and spectacular show! The water is released - May, June & September Saturdays at 15.00 (3 p.m.); July & August Daily at 15.00 (3 p.m.). Source from Vast Sverige.
It is amazing, yes? Now, I see why he was so keen on seeing it. Now, we go to Trollhattans town to buy food. We saw some cool murals on their walls. I like the black skull mural.
We went to Kopparklinten (The Copper Cliffs) at Trollhattans. It was a short uphill walk to see the view of Trollhattans.
The Copper Cliffs have magnificent views over most of the falls and lock system as well as the City of Trollhättan. Trollhättan´s Church is to the north, behind which the city center sprawls majestically. Straight ahead is the granite building, Olidan hydro-electric plant. Source from Vast Sverige.
Our next place - Garden of Gothenburg, the reason of the trip. Because it summer in Sweden, there is 19 hours of daylight and we could enjoy the sightseeing till about 10pm. I had a culture shock from that.
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