This is another village further east along the Gota Canal. It was once a port with a fairly wealthy middle class but the bay receded over time leaving it far from the shore. We camped in the carpark of a school adjacent to the canal. Continue to be surprised by people who see the truck number plate and instantly say "Queensland". We spoke with another camper who approached us - his daughter (married to an Australian) and grandchildren were moving to Brisbane that very day.
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We had heard about the Gota Canal before we left home and planned to take a bicycle ride along part of the canal. We found our way to a small village called Borensberg on a cloudy afternoon with the usual showers threatening. On the day of our ride, yet again our luck was in and we had a fine day although with a headwind in the morning and one again in the afternoon. The canal is very busy at this time of year with people either boating through, walking, bicycling, or horse riding. As we cycled along the stretch from Borensberg to Berg and return (42km) we noted the shelters provided for the horses. We stayed at the marina campsite beside the canal which provides facilities for the boaties and motorhomes. The Canal is the backbone of a waterway that tracks 614 km - that is canal linking lakes - that provides a route from Goteborg on the west coast to Soderkoping on the east coast of Sweden (The Baltic Sea). The canal itself is 190 km long, varying width 7–14 m and a maximum depth of about 3 m. It has 58 locks and can accommodate vessels up to 32 m long. Göta Canal is a sister canal of the Caledonian Canal in Scotland which was also constructed by the same man. The canal is nicknamed the "divorce ditch." It earned this nickname from the troubles that couples have to endure while trying to navigate the many locks by themselves. This is the bit about divorce. The wives clamber off the boat and tie ropes while in each case hubby stands majestically at the stern steering and giving instructions!!! |
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