Messin' about by the river - Trollhãtten and beyond.

For a medium sized town Trollhãtten has a big history, and yes, the name does mean 'headwear of a troll', though no one seems to know why. So famous things about Trollhãtten - It once was home to the headquarters of the Swedish car makers 'Saab', before they went bust in 2012. There is still a museum in the place dedicated to the brand. We are not car enthusiasts so we gave it a miss. Half of all recent Swedish feature films were shot in the studios here as well as a clutch of art house classics from the groundbreaking Danish director Lars von Triers. Sadly the 'Trollywood' aspect of the place was also a bit lost on us too. Our knowledge of the Scandinavian screen doesn't stretch beyond Nordic noir. Maybe I once saw something deep and meaningful by Ingmar Bergman in my youth.

The third thing Trollhãtten is famous for are very large 'slussen' - locks big enough for sea going ships to navigate. The city developed because of its strategic trading position on the Gota canal. This we were able to appreciate fully as the motorhome overnight parking spot is situated right next to them - the canal company looks after the place, emptying the bins and whatnot.

If this all sounds a bit grungy and industrial then that is to give the wrong impression. There are three sets of locks, the first built at the end of the 18th century, the second larger set fifty years later to accommodate steam powered barges, and finally, just over a century ago, the ones still used today, can take vessels up to 3000 tons. They are required because the river Gotha descends through a wooded rocky gorge a few kilometres south of Trollhãtten.

Late 18th Century locks

Mid 19th Century locks

Next to the locks there are pleasant walks through nearby parkland and paths that follow the river through the woods. It's all rather lovely, not grungy at all. The cafe by the locks had a great view and an inexpensive all-day menu. The waffles were delicious, but much to Gill's disappointment the place offered filtered coffee only.

delicious waffles

great view

Our morning walk was enlivened by the arrival of a huge bulk carrier coming upstream from Gothenburg. It only just squeezed into the locks with a foot or so to spare on each side. The skill of the crew was astonishing. I felt a bit embarrassed to think about my tendency to become a tad self congratulatory if I managed to reverse the motorhome into a parking space at the first attempt.

In the afternoon we decided to walk into the town centre, about a 3km stroll along the canal side path. It was more industrial, but interesting, passing the Saab factory site now converted into a number of museums and gallery spaces. A little sad really. The hydro-electric plant on the opposite bank was still fully functional which may explain one obvious difference between this part of Sweden and Denmark to the south - hereabouts wind turbines are conspicuous by their absence.

As ever some of the old industrial land has been redeveloped as swanky apartments, stylish - but hardly providing the employment the factories once did.

Finally we reached the town centre, it was somewhat further than we had anticipated. Aside from a handsome old town hall, architecturally Trollhãtten was functional rather than stylish. 

The broad, pedestrianised main street was pleasant enough, but had that weathered concrete look of a British new town - Skelmersdale or Harlow. However, whereas British sixties redevelopments have been allowed to crumble, Trollhãtten's bland concrete was meticulously maintained. I found myself wondering, is this what urban Britain might have looked like if Thatcherism had never happened?

We needed a few groceries. There was a small shopping mall off the high street. Google maps pinpointed an ICA supermarket at the back of it. They are very telling places as regards the culture of a place. This one's story said, so far as the food culture was concerned Sweden resembled the UK. more than Denmark and Germany to the south. Both these countries tend to have a narrower range of foodstuffs on offer than we are used to in the UK, some of the ingredients that Gill regards as standards - Creme Fraise, Spanish produced chorizo, Italian branded pasta - were hard to come by. In Sweden both the choice on the shelves and people on the street pointed to a more multi-cultural society. 

Another difference that was immediately noticeable between Denmark and Sweden was the style and demeanour of young people. In Denmark the teens and twenty somethings look stylish rather than overtly fashion conscious or 'trendy' to use a somewhat old school term. They look, as our daughter once observed about the youth style in the States, "like they've been turned out by a Gap factory" Young people in Sweden are less regular and dress more deliberately to assert cultural identity, all the usual suspects, urban grunge, nouveau Goth, tattooed Skandi death metal.... We felt at home.

The part of the town next to the river has a few older wooden buildings, a pleasant waterside cafe and a pretty lock-keepers cottage on the opposite bank. Before the mid-century redevelopment I imagine much of Trollhãtten looked like this. It's an intriguing question, why can't you have stylish utilitarianism - egalitarian panache? It should be perfectly possible, but neither of us, reflecting on all of our travels, could recall a single example.

Back at the van as evening approached conversation turned to the familiar topic, where next? Our plan had been to head north up the eastern shore of lake Vänern. The weather was looking more unsettled inland and sunnier by the sea. Perhaps we should find somewhere to stay on the Bohuslän coast, we wondered.

Our deliberations were interrupted by thunderous rumble drawing ever closer. We jumped out of the van to investigate. The ship approaching the locks from the direction of Vänern was enormous, the previous one had filled the width of the lock, this one would take up entire length; unladen, it towered above the lock gates dwarfing the small gaggle of onlookers that had gathered to watch. Cameras ready we joined them.

The excitement over, as the sun set, we returned to the van and resumed our deliberations. It looked as if tomorrow was going to be rainy wherever we went, but the day after on the coast north of Gothenburg promised to be brighter, if chilly. We found a couple of campsites near the island of Orust, and decided to head for there.