July 2010 – Norway

We drove into Norway, took a ferry across the Oslo fjord and continued south to Verdens Ende (the end of the world). There we visited Nina’s university friend Wenche and her family.

Then it was time to explore the central parts of Norway, this mountainous and beautiful country. We stopped at Norway’s largest stave church in Heddal.

We met up with our friends the Hägglund Family (www.livetigulafaran.blogspot.com) in a mountain valley close to Rjukan where they had found a nice bush camp next to a small river. Christine had made a cake for Disa to celebrate her recent birthday. Bush cake!

Norway is definitely a bit colder than Sweden, but the natural waterslides in the river were too tempting to resist the thrill.

We went to the 35 year anniversary of the Norwegian Land Rover Club. More than 100 vehicles from several countries had gathered in Flesberg.

We enjoyed meeting other Land Rover enthusiasts and travellers. Many people were interested in learning more about our travels.

At a Land Rover meeting there is of course a lot of off-road driving. Ola got stuck on a rocky path and had to be towed out.

Pär Hägglund got seriously stuck in a mud hole and had to be towed out.

Nina and Christine seemed to have fewer problems. Nina even qualified for the Trial finals!

Even the kids were allowed to drive, and they did not get stuck either…

Our journey continued up to Bessheim before we had to return to Sweden. We had some wonderful days in the mountains, with beautiful scenery, bush camping on lakeshores or at riversides, and we met very friendly people everywhere.

July 2010 – Sweden

Our friend Martin Tornberg is turning 40 and a surprise party was arranged for him in Blekinge. The Rock-karaoke with live-band and dancing was great fun!

We prepared our Land Rover ‘Alhambra’ for a five week tour through Sweden and Norway. The first stop was northwestern Skåne where we spent a couple of days with the Maurin family. Hovs Hallar, with its dramatic rock formations, was a highlight.

We continued on small roads along the west coast and enjoyed lazy days on the beautiful beaches.

Disa and Temba became addicted to minigolf and insisted on us finding camp sites where they could play.

In Grimeton, outside Varberg, we visited the highly interesting long wave radio station from 1925. It is a World Heritage since 2005 and tourists come from all over the world to visit this unique site.

Disa turned 7 years and we celebrated with cake in Varberg.

In Bohuslän the coastline changes appearance. Granite rocks form a beautiful archipelago and we visited some of the traditional fishing villages, e.g. Lysekil, Smögen and Fjällbacka.

Another World Heritage is the Tanum Rock Carvings from the Bronze Age. Vivid illustrations, some more than 3000 years old, tell stories about life in those days.

June 2010

Ola was on a business trip to South Africa the week before the World Cup. The vuvuzelas were on sale everywhere. And Ola even got the chance to play a practice match on a street of Jo’burg. Check out the Bafana Bafana shirt!

June was full of parties and sunny days. We celebrated Swedish Midsummer with our friends in Nyhamnsläge. We did the traditional frog dance around the midsummer pole. Then it was herring, aquavit, herring tart, more aquavit – and later dancing on the pier.

May 2010

Temba is enjoying the skateboard park in Malmö very much and giving expert advice to his father. Ola’s skateboarding is improving, and he is very excited about it.

We went to see a football match at the new football stadium in Malmö. Our home team MFF was playing against TFF from nearby Trelleborg. 17,000 spectators, sunshine and we were standing in the middle of the hardcore MFF supporters. The atmosphere was fantastic, especially since MFF played really well and won the game.

During a weekend in Gothenburg with the Lenander family we visited a wonderful art exhibition called “Renässansens Mästare”. It featured works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rafael. Visits to the amusement park Liseberg and the experience center “Universeum” were also on our itenary.

March to April 2010

In March we started the skateboard season. Temba and Disa are learning fast. Tinna and Atlas are using the skateboard ramp as a playground.

In April we spent our Easter holiday in the summer house with Nina’s sisters and their families. The arrival of the Easter bunny was a highlight. The hunt was on, with 10 cousins in fierce competition trying to find all the sweets hidden in the garden. Atlas looked like a winner.

Nina has switched from a public dental clinic to the private clinic Smile, where she is now enjoying her work as a dentist.

Ola is still working as an Export manager. During his latest business trip, to St Petersburg, the volcano eruption in Iceland cancelled the return flights. Ola did not mind since he likes to travel overland instead of flying. He managed to get back to Sweden by car to Helsinki, boat to Stockholm and bus again to Malmö. It took a few days longer, but it was an interesting experience. Now he regrets that he did not buy an old Russian Niva jeep in which he could have driven home. Maybe next time…

Cheers,

The Ringdahl Family

January to February 2010

In January we enjoyed the snow in Malmö.

At a memorable party with the Maurin family, Nina became a godmother to Malla. We have promised Daniel Maurin not to mention the results in the miniature ping-pong tournament later that same evening.

In February Nina went skiing with Temba and Disa in Canazei in the Italian Alps. They had a wonderful week with lots of snow, sun and fun.

Atlas and Tinna stayed at home with Ola, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Article in Aftonbladet

There was an article about our journey from Sweden to Cambodia in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet last Sunday. You can find the article through this link: www.aftonbladet.se/resa/bilsemester/article6379336.ab

To order our book "Kapstaden till Nordkap på 333 dagar" (Swedish), please visit our web page www.kaptillkap.se