On Tuesday morning, we left Gothenburg and headed about an hour and a half south to Varberg. On the way we stopped at a 19th century English style manor. While we weren’t able to tour the house, we were able to enjoy the amazing flower and vegetable gardens. They were so impressive, especially with the use of natural materials, such as branches and twine, to border and support growing plants. There was even an area where you could do your own flower harvesting. It seemed like a very popular place for people to have Fika and enjoy the beauty all around them.
We found a nice restaurant in Varberg for lunch, paninis and salad, sitting in the outdoor courtyard. Stacy wasn’t feeling 100%, battling a sore throat so we decided to get some ice cream. Service in Sweden is not always the fastest, I think we stood in line for at least 20 minutes, and there were only a few families in front of us, an extraordinarily long period of time considering it was an ice cream place in a summer resort town. We kept ourselves entertained by watching young boys play darts, their parents completely unconcerned that they were throwing very sharp objects near each other‘s heads! There was a cart with dog water bowls that you could bring to your table along with a container of dog treats. We decided to go for the soft serve chocolate dip cone, forgoing the ‘Pippi Longstocking’ ice cream. Once we finally had our cones, we were very happy and worked hard to finish them before they melted. Reenergized, we headed out, passing a bathhouse where you can do a sauna then take a dip in the sea. We checked out a fortress built in 1650, watching how the blacksmith would have worked 100’s of years ago, chatting with the gentleman who currently holds the job. He showed us a candle holder that was used on ships. It was secured to the wall but would sway according to how the ship was moving, he told us he had recommended it for people who live in San Francisco because of the earthquakes! We had a look around the fortress, then headed to our Airbnb as Stacy was getting pretty tired.
The Airbnb was a cozy cottage on the property of a very friendly couple. I had my dinner outside, watching the young boy next door as he was coached by his father on how to use the ride-on lawnmower. It was adorable how proud he seemed, he was even enthusiastic about raking up the grass afterwards! I enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and soon was ready for bed.
