105’er party

We spent the weekend in Copenhagen, as we had been invited to a 105'er party. Lars is turning 55 and his girlfriend Nanna had turned 50, and they had invited for a big birthday bash!

We stayed with Thomas, so we got to meet the new addition to their family, puppy Marley! Very cute!

We started the party evening with dinner on Islands Brygge, together with Søren.

Then it was time for party! The hosts were giving a colourful welcome speech:

Lars gave an impressive performance together with the live band:

Lots of our friends were there, and we had the best time!
Lots of Espresso Martinis were had...

Happy 105!

Musselbaren

On our last evening as a trio in the summer house, we decided to go out for dinner as the weather was absolutely fantastic and we wanted to make the most of it.

We had been recommended to try the Musselbaren in Ljungskile, and it was spot on - really good wholesome food (all mussel based).

We managed to get a table on the terrace so we could enjoy the view and the sun in all its glory.

What a great evening, such a beautiful place!

The best way to end our west coast adventure together.

Stenum pit stop

We had applied for Linnea's new passport while in Sweden, thinking that it would take a while, so asked to have it delivered to Skövde. It was processed a lot faster than we thought, and since we needed it to action a few other things we needed to spend a day on a road trip from the cabin to Skövde to pick it up.

So, of course we stopped in with Mormor and Morfar to say hi on the way home. We brought pizza, and had dinner together.

Imagine! They got to see Nathan twice in one summer!

Bohus Fortress

This fortress is pretty cool, in that the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish history is all woven together here. 1308 marked the start of the building process of the very first castle here on the island Bagaholmen, made out of wood. It was built by the Norwegian king, and was also given the name Bagaholmen - which later got changed to Bohus.

It expanded during more than 300 years, and was reinforced both by Norwegian and Danish kings. The river formed a natural moat around it.

During the treaty of Roseville, Bohus becomes Swedish territory and the castle is passed to the Swedish king.

1789 King Gustav III ordered it to be destroyed, however in 1838 the demolition was stopped by King Carl XIV Johan.
This is inside the big tower called 'Fars Hatt' (= Father's hat). You can see the original dungeon here, where prisoners were kept six meters down, without any light of day.

Today this ruin is one of the most popular sights to visit on the West Coast, mainly for the magnificent architecture, unique viewpoints and the fused Nordic cultural heritage.

Nordens Ark

Something Linnea had spotted when we drove out to Hunnebostrand, was the zoological park 'Nordens Ark'. We had decided to wait with a visit until Nathan came. 
It was a bit of a grey day, but the rain held off luckily; but we were almost the only ones in the park. I guess off-season has its perks.

Nordens Ark is a wildlife park that has existed since 1989, with the goal to be a leading force in the conservation of endangered species. They have about 60 species and breeds from all over the world.

The park is rather large, and for the beginning of our walk we saw NO animals, as the enclosures are so big (good for the animals!) that they were probably hiding somewhere in the back, in the bushes or up in the rocks - and we spotted nothing.
Finally, we started to see some urials, wolverines and owls:

Look at those claws!!

There was also a Turtle Ark inside the Wetlands House, with turtles, tortoises, frogs and reptile species:

We didn't manage to see any red of their red pandas, dholes, lynx, pallas cats or maned wolves... but we got to meet the big cats, like the snow leopard. He was gorgeous!

We were also lucky at the end, to get to see the new amur tiger cubs that had been born in July. Mama tiger was busy feeding them, right up by the glass, so we got a good luck at the little cuties:

After our visit to Nordens Ark, we continued back to Hunnebostrand as I had spotted a restaurant there the other day that looked nice. We had the daily lunch, with a nice view over the little harbour.

A nice day out!

Hello Ivar!

Last week Linnea and I were invited to my cousin Sara for lunch, which was really lovely. We rarely come to this part of Sweden while we are home, so we hadn't yet seen their house. Also, Sara was pregnant and due three days later, so we made the most of it while she was still in one piece! My aunt Elinor also came along.
We did spend the lunch talking about how she hadn't had any contractions or tightenings at all, and how she was going to her midwife for a check next week, but being a first-time mother she would probably go over time.

The very next day, we get this photo!
Well, hello baby, who decided to come early!

So, as baby Ivar decided to come early, we had time for another visit. We were so happy that we had time to meet him while we were still around! Linnea hogged him, just a little bit..!

This time we visited together with Nathan, and also my cousin Simon and his family.

It was an extremely warm day, we were so lucky with the weather, could sit outside for our fika.

Linnea even got to give baby Ivar a feed. She was happy girl!