Day 4: Stage 5: Halmstad to Skrea / Falkenberg
This stage is supposed to end in Falkenberg. However, we wanted to stay in an AirBnB rather than a hotel, in order to get use of a washing machine halfway through the trip to reduce the amount of clothing we had to haul around with us. Also, hotel rooms in Falkenberg proved to be more expensive than elsewhere en route, possibly because it is such a popular destination. I stayed at the wonderful Falkenberg Strandbad once, for a work retreat. Checking the room and spa prices for regular guests, I think it is safe to say that I’m unlikely to repeat the experience. There was however also a shortage of AirBnB’s available in Falkenberg, and those that were available were too large and expensive. In the end, I booked one in Skrea, which was only a few kilometres away. This meant we would have an extra few kilometres tomorrow, but it is a shorter stage.
We got a bit lost heading out of Halmstad, as the signage could be a little better – we found the route but then were confused as to how to continue on it. We had also planned to make a stop at Tylösand – a very popular beach quite close to Halmstad. However, the route turned out to send us near it but not to it, and it wasn’t clear where we missed the detour to get to the beach. By the time we realised we had passed it, we weren’t too keen to head back. I pointed out that the beach at Falkenberg is at least as nice, and possibly quieter (at least based on my previous experiences) and my friend said that, living in Denmark close to the coast, she has plenty of opportunity to see beautiful beaches on a regular basis. The route was a little inland for most of the day, and we stopped at Ugglarps camping to eat lunch and use their facilities, before continuing on. As we had (unintentionally) skipped the beaches, we were making good time, but my friend’s allergies were playing up. With around what we thought was 10km to go, we decided to check where the AirBnB was. Google maps said our estimated time of arrival was around 2:20pm, but check-in was not until 3pm. We couldn’t stop where we were though, due to the allergy issue being particularly bad at that hut, and our host had send us instructions on how to get to the house. This took us past Boberg Kraftstation, a picturesque hydroelectric power station beside a narrow, stone bridge. Another group of cyclists also stopped to take photos and videos of the rushing water, but there was a surprisingly high volume of car traffic trying to get over the narrow bridge, possibly due to the closure of another bridge, so we couldn’t take as much time as we would have liked.
The AirBnB host had messaged to say the place was ready, and to give us the entry code. We arrived just as they were taking their dog out for a walk. We had a nice chat about her dog’s love of eating chantarelles (and how many of those who pick them – a popular hobby in Sweden – will not tell you their best locations for finding them), how Norwegian is easier to understand than Danish for Swedes who don’t live in Skåne, and how to get to the nearest ICA. We headed inside, and she arrived at the door a few minutes later with bath towels which she had forgotten to provide earlier. My friend wanted to walk to the supermarket, but it was 3.7km away and we needed to buy laundry detergent before we could do our laundry. I was insistent that we needed to cycle there. We decided it made sense to eat in, and explore Falkenberg the next morning before heading to Varberg. The AirBnB was gorgeous, and we had a relaxing evening in very quiet surroundings, mainly trying to get our clothes dried by putting the airer outside and moving it around to chase the sunlight.
Day 5: Stage 6: Skrea / Falkenberg to Varberg
We had a relaxed breakfast, and took the clothes horse outside again to get a few stubbornly damp in places items as dry as possible before needing to pack up. We left the AirBnB just before 11:00am, and cycled off to Skrea Strand. This is a beautiful beach with a very busy campsite. As we hadn’t been into Falkenberg yet, we headed into the town centre and took some photos of the bridge. There were signs up for Färgen på Falkenberg – a festival, and we decided to have lunch there on a swing bench next to a singer who was performing for the town.
The route to Varberg was fine, but we saw less of the coast than expected. Morups Lilla Turist Byrå was lovely and colourful, but my companion’s allergies were badly affected there. The Byrå had a multi-valve foot pump so I took the opportunity to blow up my front bike tyre. Having never used one of these before I struggled to work out how to switch the valve correctly. My friend couldn’t wait for me to work it out due to her allergies, and it took me 4km to catch up with her.
The section leading into Varberg at Apelviken was absolutely gorgeous, but it was also very busy and a huge campsite. We got stuck in convoys for a couple of kilometres.
When we reached Varberg around 4pm it was peak rush hour. It felt very busy and there were some people driving around over-revving which was really jarring. We also got a bit lost, but were soon back on track and found the hotel without too much problem.
Hotel Gästis was where we had booked, and it claims to be the oldest hotel in the town. It really plays into this, and had so much character. I loved the décor – a nice change from the stylish but minimalist modern nordic style, and was enthralled. Unfortunately it reminded my friend of a horror movie she had seen, and she did not want to be left alone in the hotel room. We ate out at Istanbul, a very nice Turkish restaurant. After a walk, we headed back to the hotel and found a lovely book nook where we hung out for the rest of the evening.
