Weekend trip to Koster
We made a plan for this weekend to go explore two of my favorite places in Bohuslän: Fjällbacka and Koster. It was also the first time going there for Milly and Martin. We packed up the car early Saturday morning and drove north on E6.
First stop was in Hunnebostrand with lunch at Bella Gästis. Seafood of course. Me and Martin shared a shrimp pizza and Milly went for the cod. Highly recommend both dishes.
After a great lunch and a quick walk along the Udden sculpture exhibition, we continued to our next stop: Fjällbacka. We also made a brief stop in Hamburgsund to try the famous Pipers icecream, which unfortunately just closed for the season. Luckily ICA was open so we got some icecream there and enjoyed it with the Vietnamese coffee we brought from home.
One of my favorite places in Fjällbacka is Kungsklyftan, a 200 meter rocky gorge, dividing the roughly 70 meters high Vette mountain. Martin loved exploring it and climbing the stairs to the top of the mountain.
We spent the evening strolling around the small streets and making sure Martin got really tired before returning to the hotel.
We woke up early after a great nights sleep to a crisp autumn morning with fog was still hovering over the ocean. Breakfast was self-serve in the kitchen and we made sure to fill our stomachs before heading off to the next destination: Strömstad.
We drove to Strömstad, a 45 minute car ride through a very beautiful northern Bohuslän. Going to Koster off season means that most (if not all) places for getting anything to eat will be closed. We stopped by at the supermarket to get some salad and wraps before boarding the boat.
Right next to the ferry stop at Ekenäs, Sydkoster, lies Kosterhavets Naturrum. The ocean surrounding Koster Islands is very special with a deep crack allowing salty, oxygen-rich water from the Atlantic flow in. It hosts over 6,000 different spieces, more than anywhere else in Sweden. It's a national reserve and also bordering the Norwegian natural reserve of Ytre Hvaler. 300 of the spieces are unique to this area and cannot be found anywhere else in Sweden.
One of the highligts was the small aquariam where visitors can learn about, and pet, the marine creatures. Doesn't look so special here, but we spent almost an hour getting a private tour of the corals, anemones, shrimps, crabs and starfish.
After exploring everything Naturum had to offer it was time to head out and explore the island. First stop was Rörvik, a 10 minute walk from Ekenäs where we sat down on the windy beach for our lunch: Salad, wraps and egg.
Then we continued on to climb the small hill of Valhäll. Highest point of the island with its 59 meters of sea level and with a great view.
From there we walked back to Naturum and waited for the ferry to Strömstad, leaving at 5 pm.
Driving back from Strömstad to Gothenburg took a little less than two hours. All in all a great destinations for a weekend trip, and I can highly recommend going there a bit off season.
