Helsingborg

Nathans time with us in Sweden this year ended with a stay in Helsingborg with our good friends the Robertsons. We hadn't been to see them for a while, and since last time they had finished the major renovations of their house, f.e up in the attic where we could now stay.

They had also got a dog since last time, Rafa. Not just any dog, a big dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Look at the size of him when he sits up next to Karin!

The weather really wasn't on our side, but big dogs still need their exercise, so we went walking - in the cold the first day...

The Helsingborg "Corniche":

... and dog walk in the rain the next day! Brrr!

Family tournament

Emma and Linus challenged us to a family mini golf tournament at Jula, the longest adventure golf in Sweden. Luckily we just had time to squeeze in a game on Thursday afternoon.

Let's just report that the Watson Family won, but no thanks to me this time... :)

At Naturum

The poor Boardman bike, it hasn't really seen a lot of action. At least this year Nathan took it out on a few rides. While the rest of us took the car one day, Nathan rode his bike to Broddetorp and Naturum by the Hornborga Lake.

Well deserved fika stop, at least for Nathan!

After fika we took a look in the newly renovated Naturum building.

The Hornborga Naturum is built on poles and welcomes the visitors out into the wetland. The experience inside the center aims to introduce the general public to the abundant bird life, and induce everybody to walk along the trails and visit the hides.
By taking the lift up to this roof terrace, you could enjoy the view over the wetlands and the table mountains in the distance.

Look at all those traces of bird feet!

We found this swallow, who was more than happy to have his picture taken! Look how close he let me get! 

After our little nature walk we raced Nathan home again. We won.

Göta Kanal

Nathan only got three full days in Skara this time, so we really tried to make the most of it. The first day we took him to see the locks at Sjötorp, where the Göta Canal goes from Lake Vänern through Sweden to the Baltic Sea.

Kids and I had been there before in 2010 but it's still a lot of fun watching the boats go up and down. There are 58 locks along the 190 km long canal, and three of them are here in Sjötorp.

Göta Canal was built between 1810-1832, and it's quite a unique canal in the way that 87 km of the 190 km stretch was completely man-made! It is by far one of the biggest construction projects ever in Sweden.