Day 26--We Don't Need No Stinkin' Campground!

Last night's camping ended up being free. No one came to ask us to pay, and there was no one in the office in the morning (not that we spent a lot of time looking). In hindsight, it's a good thing. Where we are tonight, near Falkenberg, the camping is very expensive. It costs 350 Kr (about 35€). But, that's not too bad, until you add the mandatory "camping card" that costs another 150 Kr. Apparently, that's the way it is in Sweden. All campgrounds require this camping card. Seems like a rip-off for cycle tourists. Anyway, we said, "No thanks." Had someone been in the office at last night's campground, we would have probably had the same issue.

Today's ride was mostly just heading north through Swedish countryside.

It was pretty, but there was really nothing that said, "Sweden". We could be anywhere. We avoided most of the bigger towns. Funny thing about using the Garmin. Every once in a while it takes us along strange ways. It most always comes out fine, but it's questionable. For example, today we were headed to Laholm. But instead of staying on the perfectly good road, it took us along a gravel/dirt road that went between farm fields. It wasn't too long, but it was weird. Then, when we were looking for a camping site, we followed the route it gave, but ended up with no camping site (Garmin says, arrive at...nothing).

We rode through Holmstad. It is a bigger town. We decided to get groceries since we didn't know if there were any bigger towns before Falkenberg. Again, we went to a Netto. I was thinking we would have pasta with soup tonight. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell if it's soup (it was a box, not a can), and how to fix it (it required adding...I think...water). I did find another one that is "Ost and Broccoli". Not sure what "Ost" is--maybe cheese??? We ended up with the safe choice of potatoes, and Swedish Meatballs again. 

And another funny thing. For lunch we stopped at this fast food place. They had burgers, kebabs, fish, and..."Chicky Bits". I tried to get Christian to order the Chicky Bits, but he wouldn't do it. Instead he asks for Fish and Chips (it's on the menu). The gal asks him if he wants fries, but she doesn't say it in English, of course (one of the few we have met that doesn't speak English), so Christian doesn't know what she is asking. Another customer translates, and Christian says yes, he wants fries. Then he looks at me and says, "Doesn't Fish and Chips mean fries?" I wonder what he would have gotten if he said no?

So...ride, ride, ride. Get near Falkenberg. Since we refused to pay so much for one night of camping, we decide to camp at the beach. We saw a sign yesterday that said, in Sweden, you can free camp (there are some rules, but in general, it's okay). We rode back to the street along the beach. We stopped at one of the toilet buildings (there are many). I saw some people sitting outside one of the trillions of little cabins. I also saw they had a grassy area. I asked them if we could set up our tents in their grassy area. They said it is not allowed, but we could go to the end of the road and camp there. So, that's what we have done. There are a couple of good size groups of people here having picnics, so we'll wait until later to set up our tents. There is a toilet building with water and flush toilets. It's a little windy for cooking, but sometimes the wind dies down as it gets later. If not, we can go behind the toilet building out of the wind.

From the rocks above.

Our vantage point for the sunset.

We were not disappointed (even though we had to wait until nearly 10:30 for the sun to set).

Today's miles: 67 (a few of those were from circling around looking for camping)