Back in the saddle
First for those of you who are no doubt impressed I checked into the last campsite, overcoming the language barrier and didn't even think it noteworthy. The man 'Felix' who checked me in spoke Swedish, German, English and Swiss, his colleague also spoke French. It was on their shirts. The only issue was getting the computer to accept a UK postcode layout.
The campsite was right by a lake and I hung out there and many kids came to swim; school has just broken up for summer, slightly surprisingly many of them were speaking English to each other.

The woman in the supermarket also spoke English... I'm beginning to believe it might be that all Swedish people speak at least some English, but I remain nervous. and awkward... because these are my default behaviours.
I headed North, this is the general theme of this trip but it's good to put it into Action. The countryside is rolling, no major hills still but definitely starting to wake up the legs and on a few of the sharper ups it felt distinctly like there response was
"Fuck, this bike is heavy" but ignoring any lower limb complaints, I continued north. I mean the legs need to get with the program, North Cape is a very long way away still.

The landscape is amazing, I mean we have lakes and trees at home but they are Kraft mac and cheese to this fine italian dinning.
The place is so green, wild flower positivity litters the place, the lakes are huge (though they'll get bigger) life is everywhere, birds sing frantically, the bug life is plentiful and although bugs aren't my fav it feel right, it feels like here nature is in balance.
I stop to watch birds feed on insects above a lake, I startle a deer as I go past, (fleetingly I think its a moose, but sadly not, still cool though). I do see plenty of logged trees and logging trucks but I send up silent hope that this is in balance, that we take only what is in balance with new growth and that growth is also much in evidence in the previously logged spaces.
I do have one incident that is at odds to the environmental consciousness I see in the separate waste bins and eco-conscious advertising. I stop at a petrol station and get an ice coffee drink (this is a guilty pleasure of mine) and a cheese roll. " I place them on the counter, hoping I can get through this with no language. The guy picks up the drink and says something, I apologise and ask if he speaks English, he does he say "ice and cream" I think he is describing the drink, I say "Yes" he grabs it and takes it from its paper packaging and tips it into a plastic cup, adds ice, puts cream on the top, adds a plastic lid and not I but 2 plastic straws, when did you last see 1 plastic straw! Now I have 2!

Has this man never thought of the turtles! I'm outraged, amazed, my mind is blown. Do I say any of this?
No I'm English and polite, also I kinda asked for it, so I say "Thank you" and pay. I was outraged but that is no reason to make a scene.
Whilst I sip my good but turtle murdering beverage, trying to workout how the system for the toilets works, there are no signs on the doors (I only suspect they're toilets), a woman with a small dog asks about my trip (she also speaks English). I explain, she is not so much impressed as bemused. She is Swiss and travelling by camper van to Lapland, where they have a cottage, which I guess she doesn't own otherwise, living in Switzerland with a holiday home in Lapland which you go to by camper van seems somewhat strange unless you just like really expensive places where it snows. I guess I was as bemused at her as she was by me. It takes all sorts.
I gave up on toilets. I suspect there was a toilet but the door seemed to be odd, I'd go elsewhere. I threw my turtle killing beverage in a non sperated waste bin but that was hopefully not destined for the ocean but who knows, Greta had very good reasons for sitting on those steps.
I let the sugar and the caffeine fuel my gas free journey, I did have my solar panel out trying to further limit my fossil fuel use but I don't suppose that is much compensation to the turtles.
..
It took 2 days to get to my next 'place' of note, have I mentioned Sweden is massive but after a couple of days of pedal power I reached the shores of Lake Vattern, a lake so big it looks more like the sea.

To finish my last few kilometers I rode along the lake shore to the campsite which was mostly blissful but then turned into a cliff, honestly never trust a route by water!
The campsite was a little odd but I successfully checked in (the lady spoke English... I am now really thinking this is how it is) and had basically a whole field to myself, the other parts of the campsite were busy with caravans but the tent spot was not popular.
I had, mainly due to the cliff like hill and the fact noodles were not filling me with excitement considered trying the restaurant at the campsite, they spoke English and surely the process couldn't be that anxiety inducingly complex. One thing put me off....a giant stuffed moose head on the wall. I am very keen to see a moose, a live one, ideally in the wild but a dead one not so much.
It wasn't like it smelled or anything and I suppose if you're into that sort of thing it wasn't badly done. Although I'm about 95% vegetarian, I'm not anti-meat or anti-farming, I do have views on it but I don't hate dead things per say, I don't for example think the Tigers at the zoo should embrace tofu. I am though anti dead animals hung on walls, imagine looking at a creature and thinking, wow that looks good, I'll kill it and hang it on the wall so I never forget how majestically alive it was. No, the Tigers might have bad table manners but they don't gloat that the antelope is dead.
So driven to 'hunt and gather' other food I headed further up the hill, where my first stop was a bike shop, where I FINALLY replaced the water bottle I left in the cafe on day 2. I had been hoping for a Souvenir bottle but they were all quite boring. It had though been annoying me to only have one proper bottle. I got slightly distracted looking at other cycling stuff but as my bike already weighs a very large amount I just bought the bottle.
Then I went to 'Max burgers' and got a Halloumi burger and fries. I can't tell you if the folk in Max burgers spoke any languages at all as I used one of those clever machines to order, where your number just appears on a screen. Have I mentioned I love technology!
I headed back to the campsite to enjoy my feast where it was very peacefull except for a man with a strimmer, who was somewhat reducing the tranquility but he did eventually stop. It is possible someone beat him to death with it... It was certainly tempting.

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