Berry wonderland

The wind conditions were so good that we sped at 6-8 (!!!) knots almost the entire way to Karlskrona. Where wind is, there are also waves… And these were pretty big when we traveled further away from the shore. They hit us from the side and made our mono hull wobble a little too much ;o)

In the marina of Karlskrona, an older Swedish couple helped us back in. (I believe, I can already generalise: As for most Swedish,) They spoke English so well that we soon ended up in a long chitchat about Swedish history and Corona :o)

A little blond girl opened the door to the marina facilities for us. I accidentally said „Danke“ and we were surprised to get a „Bitte“ back, thinking ‚Wow, Swedish kids are really smart!‘ Well, when the girl was talking to her parents, I actually found out that she was German ;oP

We went on a small city sightseeing tour and enjoyed „blåbär“ and watermelon on ‚The Great Square‘.

With some help by the tourist info, we were happy to find a whole playground landscape in walking distance. Very well fitting to a harbour city, there were 3 (!!!) different boat frames integrated in the playgrounds: one to hide in with a crow‘s nest, one to climb on and slide from with a steering wheel, and one to rock on with a tiller (just like the boat on Neckarwiese ;o)

The marina here in Karlskrona was very nice: Each toilet cabin had its own sink, 4 (!!!) hooks; in addition, there were „open“ sinks; shower cabins, open showers, 4 skinks for doing dishes, 3 laundry machines and dryers – and the most luxury of it all: a sauna! Thinking back, it seems ridiculous how long we had to wait for an available shower or fighting for the laundry machine in other marinas ;oP The only thing that was a little bothersome was that the parking spots were not very well shielded. Waves from bypassing boats or gusts moved our boat heavily rather frequently.

The next day, we went on a bike tour to the nearby peninsula Knösö. On the way, we did not only pick all kinds of colourful flowers but also wild raspberries and cherries *yummy *

We had almost reached the peninsula when Magda and Alan with Wilma fell, going down hill *shock* After a snack break, there was no more crying and soon Magda even climbed rocks again *tough* Luckily, the injuries were „merely“ bruises, bumps, and scrapes. They made our girls look terrible but would hopefully heal soon *oje*

In the little forest, Magda and Erna picked and nibbled wild blueberries enthusiastically. Magda:“ These fruits will heal my injuries.“ *sweet poor girl* Erna: „And they will make me grow bigger.“ ;oP

Swedish are really brave: Already, in the morning, we saw some kids jumping into the harbour water when we were still happy to warm our bodies with jackets. Moreover, despite cold wind, Swedish wear summer dresses. And on the peninsula, some guys jumped off the rather high cliffs into the cold water *oh man*

It took us some exploration time but finally we found them – pretty black sheep, even lambs, with silver curls.

In the end, we biked 20(!!!) km. After a small nap on a meadow (and a tub of blueberry ice-cream ;o), Erna even rejected my offer to push her up the hill: “No help, I can do that alone! I just make some noise and then I’m already up the hill – uuuhhhaaahhh!” *hilarious*

Swedish car drivers appear very considerate. They stop when we’re approaching the zebra line; they wait patiently when we take a little longer to cross the street; they slow down when they passed us on the road *nice*

We ended the long, tiring day with a nice grill-out above deck.

Erna and Magda were still lying in bed when Erna sang ‘Happy birthday big sister’ *sweet* We celebrated with a fruit buffet (7 kinds!) for breakfast, plus yogurt drink and according to Magda „just, yet delicious bread“ ;oP

When Magda looked into the mirror last evening to view her injuries, she moaned: „I look stupid!“ This morning, she almost sounded happy: „My chin has turned purple!“ Good that she takes her misery with some humour!

Today, we visited the marine museum to see so many (model) boats and learn about Karlskrona‘s role as a naval base in the past and presence.

Another special birthday event was the girls’ first visit of a sauna. The two enjoyed being warmed on this wet and windy day. They even came up with a new use of the “human oven”: drying ourselves after the shower *clever*

The next morning, Erna got dressed and walked above deck right away. „It‘s ok Mama, I don‘t need a jacket.“ ;oP We were all very happy about the warm and sunny day!

Thanks to our top food guards, we enjoyed our breakfast without being attacked by seagulls or ravens. We definitely don’t want to share our dream bread. This ‚cereal bread‘ contains everything we could wish for: seeds, nuts, dried fruits *yummy*

Our last day in Karlskrona was full of kids’ activities: The ‚Blekinge museum’ showed exhibitions on the history of the region around Karlskrona and was a paradise for our girls.

They were happily busy crafting with fabric pieces and buttons, dressing up in ancient costumes, selling groceries, riding on seahorses, and in a carriage… We even went on a treasure hunt in a Baroque garden.

We ended this exciting day with another nice playground in the city centre. We were not the only German family there ;oP