Day 1 Göta Canal - Töreboda to Sjötorp ret.

We have two nights at Töreboda.

After a nice breakfast, MF took delivery of his bike and Yvonne our host drove me to Sjötorp to catch the MS Bellevue boat which will sail back to Töreboda.

Yvonne and I managed to leave early enough for me to have a wander around Sjötorp and visit the maritime museum (lots of pictures of boats …also some great old posters that had been once used to promote the canal).

We were finally underway about 10 to 11 (scheduled 10:30 …). It’s a beautiful day after an overcast start. MF had already ridden from Töreboda in that time …

The Göta Canal was commissioned by builder, prime minister, naval officer and governor Baltzar von Platen after a meeting with the king in 1801. The canal was one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in Sweden. It stretches from Sjötorp on Lake Vänern to Mem on the east coast. It has a length of 190 kms and a total of 58 locks. Of this distance, 87 kilometres were dug by hand. Lake Vänern -

Check-in was somewhat shambolic; without wanting to be ageist, I’m not sure how old the captain is - he was doing the check-in assisted by a younger woman; he should have left it to her (later, on our journey, he actually crashed into one of the lock gates … drinks went flying, etc. I was actually adjacent to him just outside the ‘bridge’ and watched him adjusting the ‘stick’ and I was standing there thinking ‘he needs to move that stick or we are going to hit that wall … bang!)

As you can imagine, lots of canal photos:

Lunch onboard was included: I had a lovely piece of salmon, beans - and boiled potatoes.

I walked back from Riksberg along the canal path so today I have walked 8.8 kms (with the walking I did in Sjötorp in the morning). It was very picturesque and a different experience from the boat - which is a bit like watching paint dry … 19 locks in this section(!) - not that I counted them!

I loved these bird (?) boxes!

MF rode 43 kms Töreboda to Sjötorp return.