The First Day

First Day
From Borås to Båstad/Ö.Karup

The nearest seaside resort to Borås is Varberg, 90 km away; in the province of Halland (Sweden). In Varberg you'll find both rocky beaches (which continue north into Bohuslän) and sandy ones (predominant in the south). Varberg has been a popular seaside resort ever since the early 1800s. It also has an old fortress, dating back to the 1280s; nowadays housing a historical museum, restaurant/café and a hostel. We've been to Varberg before, but it's always nice to get back there in summer. On this trip it was both our first stop (Monday, for lunch), and the last (Saturday pm, for tea/coffee).

View from the fortress

The fortress in the background

Falkenberg is also a popular tourist destination in the summers -
a nice little town, with a long sandy beach to the south. My original plan was to skip this town on the way down (but maybe stop there on the way back). However, a warning light on the car's dashboard brought us there anyway, to get that checked out at a garage. (Turned out not to be anything serious, and caused us no further trouble the rest of the trip.) And then, when trying to get out on the motorway again, we very nearly got stuck in a complicated traffic jam (caused by an accident on the motorway, we found out later)... Per managed to somehow maneuver us out of it, though; and found another road to take us in the right direction. But as Falkenberg seemed so insistent on keeping us there, we decided we might as well drive into the city for a look around and some tea/coffee first, before we continued our journey. We wandered some streets up and down before finding a café; but I seem not to have taken any  photos - probably still a bit shaken by the car/traffic incidents!

Unplanned visit

Intricate traffic jam

When we finally got out of Falkenberg, we drove pretty much straight on to our hotel/motel at Östra Karup on Hallandsås (a ridge on the border between the provinces Halland and Skåne).

Having checked in and rested for a little while, we drove to the nearby seaside town Båstad, and ended up having a nice and relaxed evening in the harbour there. The first little eatery we happened to come across also turned out to be having a country & western troubadour evening, starting just as we arrived - and comfortable seats in a tent providing shelter from the wind... So we sat there for an hour or so; and then went for a nice stroll along the harbour before we returned to the hotel.