July 26, 2008...(Day 3)...Vinon Island on Hjalmaren Lake

Welcome to Vinoleden Car Ferry: We are about to embark on our first Sweden adventure out to the island of Vinon. We had a thoroughly wonderful day, as you will soon see.

Area Map: We took the car ferry from Hampetorp village to the Vinon Island. You can see that the town of Odensbacken is just a few minutes drive to the ferry landing.

(Click on the map for a larger view.)

Vinon Car Ferry: This is the first car ferry I ever remember being on. The entire trip took about 20 minutes and gave us a nice look at Lake Hjalmaren. This ferry is the only way for people living on Vinon Island to reach the mainland.

UllaBritt and Olle: Amanda's parents were awesome. They made sure our trip was first rate, and they took us to so many wonderful places. I cannot thank them often enough for all they did to accommodate our varied interests while we vacationed our hearts out!

Jon and Amanda: Jon and Amanda were ready to go for a swim upon arrival at Vinon. It was a hot, hot day.

Olle: Olle and I were constantly taking photos of each other at the same time. He is a lot of fun to be around, and he makes me smile just thinking about him.

Amanda: I can never resist photographing Amanda. She is so beautiful, both inside and out! She is the kindest, and gentlest woman I have ever met. Okay... and there is the fact that there are very few people who would put up with me taking oodles of photos everywhere we go. She is ever so patient with me.

Destination ahead: We could just make out the dock on the island ahead.

Car Ferry: Here we passed the second car ferry transporting passengers to the mainland.

Lake Hjalmaren: This is but a tiny portion of the large lake we are cruising on. Hjalmaren is Sweden's fourth largest lake. It is approximately 39 miles long, 12 miles wide, and averages around 20 feet deep. It drains into the Baltic sea by way of Malaren Lake (Sweden's 3rd largest lake.) Check out this web site for information about the health of the lake.

Beautiful Rocky Shore: We are almost at our destination, and the water is getting shallower, and shallower.

Ferry Landing on Vinon: Here is the dock we are landing at...actually the dock is to the right, but someone stepped in front of the camera as I was taking the photo, so I had to cut that portion of the picture out.

UllaLena: UllaLena was our host for the day. She met us at the dock and proceeded to show us all around the island. She is like part of the Juhlins family, and is a wonderful friend to me. By the way, she is one awesome cook as well. She accompanied us on many of our sightseeing trips.

Vinon Museum: This was a delightful museum which featured the fishing industry that is so important to this island.

Children's Artwork: This was one of several pieces of artwork being displayed on the entry wall of the museum. Kids love their Viking ancestry.

Local Swedish Woodworking: I would have loved to have bought this, but it was not for sale. What a great piece of art to showcase the gusto of Swedish women and their fishermen!

Now, we are off to see UllaLena's uncle's house.

UllaLena's Uncle's House: UllaLena's uncle has been a fisherman on the island for all his life. He has made his living on the waters of Lake Hjalmaren. Unfortunately, he was out fishing so we were not able to meet him.

Time for Fika: After strolling around the island under the hot sun, we decided to end our tour of Vinon with a stop for an afternoon snack, called "Fika". This is where people often traditionally have coffee and pastries. Yumm... We ate at the Bageri Butik. This bakery had lots of yummy treats. Thank you, UllaLena, for treating me to a great Fika.

Cold drinks were a necessity: On this super hot day, we were really chugging down the water, but when everyone was ready for a snack, we bought juice and coffee. My favorite drink was the Mer pear juice.

Typical prices of drinks: The Mer pear juice that I coveted was 10 Krona. The exchange rate was 6 Krona = $1.00 while we were in Sweden.