Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak

Newest first

Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 26: Sjötorp
September 22, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
On my last day on the Vänern, once again this big lake showed itself at its best: calm water, little wind! This weather on my trip is really great! This morning there was only a faint haze in the air, no trace of fog, and during the night I could hear the waves subsiding that the wind was changing. So I got off the island without any problems and was able to make my way to Sjötorp. Before that, however, I stopped for lunch in the sunshine in Mariestad and strolled a little through the old town: Sunday afternoon, few people and therefore some things seemed a little bleak... But oh well. I bought myself some potatoes again and am looking forward to eating them! Unfortunately, I haven't managed to buy fresh fish anywhere yet, although I paddled past a few nets, but the fish shops are either just closing for the season or I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time... I'd also like to try a crab. I'm still on the road for a while, so maybe I'll find something after all.
On the one hand, I'm sorry to be leaving Lake Vänern now, because it has always shown itself at its best and this "freshwater inland sea" can be really tough when it's windy. Paddlers who underestimate the wind and weather regularly drown here... On the other hand, I'm looking forward to what's coming next: the canal with its many locks... Even though it's exhausting to keep packing everything up and putting the boat on the trolley, I'm looking forward to the change. This is a really varied tour that I'm doing here! Tonight I'm sleeping in a shelter again, of which there are a few along the canal, so this will probably be my preferred place to stay for the night. I met the lock keeper here earlier, who had just checked two sailors, and he simply gave me two service cards that you can use to open the restrooms, so I will be able to take a hot shower in the morning, brilliant!
Now I'm having a great meal and then it'll soon be over for today...Read more
0 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
1 1
Day 27: Göta-Kanal to Tåtorp
September 23, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
This morning started with pushing my boat past the Sjötorp locks. There are seven locks over a distance of 1.5 km. Only then did I get in the boat and get out and back in again before the next one... There are quite a few. In total I passed through 15 locks today and paddled under 12 bridges. At first it looked as if it was about to rain, but it stayed dry the whole time and in the afternoon the sun and clouds bathed everything in a wonderful light and I drove straight to Tåtorp. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and who knows how far I will get then. But it is definitely autumn! Here with the deciduous trees the autumn colors are even more noticeable. I hope for more nice days, but it has definitely gotten colder! Going around the locks by boat was no problem, although the banks are usually secured with sharp stones and the moorings are too high for canoes, but I always somehow found a way.

It is sometimes "boring" on the canal, but sometimes not at all and a dream in the sunshine.... It is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, so I am quite happy about the shelter here at the lock, but it will probably be the last one (shelter)..
And: I saw an otter and a "beavercastle"...Read more
Traveler Das sieht aus wie eine Paddelautobahn! Ich freue mich so für dich! Ahoi
9/24/24ReplyTranslate
Matze L....auf der ich alleine unterwegs war!
9/25/24ReplyTranslate
Traveler Herbstlandschaften sind traumhaft schön. Es ist eine wunderschöne Farben pracht
9/25/24ReplyTranslate
2 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 28: Lake Viken to Forsvik
September 24, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Today it was only 21 km and I arrived in Forsvik in the early afternoon. Here in Forsvik I can camp at the lock. The lock keeper (I'm always lucky with that too: to meet someone) showed me a place... I can also use the shower and toilet here with my brilliant "canal service card" and don't even have to pay anything. I also contacted the Vandrahem here, but they wanted €75 for a night, it's supposed to rain at night, but then it won't be so cold...
I was here quite early because I was expecting a longer journey and I so strolled through the village. Unfortunately, all three "food-locations" here are closed, and I would have liked to sit in one, bad luck! Here in Forsvig is the first and oldest lock on the Göta Canal and it is also the highest point on the waterway. The place consists mainly of an open-air museum of the old works here: iron foundry, wood grinding works, hydroelectric power station, water mill, grain mill. You can look at all of this from the outside, but the season is over for inside. So I had a paddling-free afternoon...

Paddling across the Viken today was really fun again. There hasn't been any rain so far (it's supposed to come this afternoon), but the sun has peeked out now and then. Lots of little islands again, sometimes a glassy lake, sometimes wavy and again a stretch of dug canal...
It really is a pleasure to paddle through Sweden in these conditions in the colorful autumn. I am so grateful to be able to experience this!
It really is a dream how the weather behaves! Let's see what I say after the rain...Read more
0 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 29: Vättern (Djäknesundet)
September 25, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
After a rainy night and a hot shower in the morning, I set off towards Karlsborg and paddled further north. It was still raining while I was packing the boat, but the sun came out several times during the morning. So I set off in good spirits. The further I got out of the lee of the shore and islands, the more I felt the waves and the strong wind from Southeast. I had a bit of a struggle, especially after leaving Karlsborg, on Lake Vättern (Sweden's second largest lake). The wind was mostly coming from behind, but especially when I rounded a headland where the army is stationed and therefore no one is allowed to enter, I was really a bit scared and was glad when I got around and the waves got less. However, the wind and waves were not completely over yet. I took a lunch break at a fish smokehouse, but unfortunately there was no take-away food, so I bought a smoked "Röding" (Saibling), which I had mixed with rice for dinner. Delicious! I then drove on to a dream beach with sand, blue, clear water and rocks (Djäknesundet). However, I was initially undecided as to which of these bays I would set up my camp, but then I decided on the most remote one, as I am not sure whether you are even allowed to camp here. I walked a few steps through the moss-covered forest here... Sun and rain alternated in between, but the wind is not supposed to ease until tonight, so I really hope to get on tomorrow before Friday turns into a completely wet day...Read more
0 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 30: North of Vättern (Harge Udda)
September 26, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Yesterday, because of the wind-wave-conditions, I was worried for the first time that I wouldn't make it to Uppsala. I've been on tour for 30 days now and have paddled 766 km. It's still about 380 paddling-kilometers to Uppsala. So I still have a long way to go... I'm really so dependent on the weather, which has fortunately - and unbelievably - only shown itself at its best so far! But what if that changes?
I'll see...! And if I stop before then, then it's not really that bad...

After a dry night in the tent this morning starts with sunshine (just not on my campsite!). During the night I heard the waves and the gurgling and slapping of the water against the rocks and and it didn't sound like the lake had become calmer. Nevertheless, I set off northwards, where a rock shelter was to be my goal... The wind had actually disappeared and the irregular wind waves had turned into a swell, which was not bad outside the lee, but which I managed quite well. I find my way between the islands again and was able to enjoy the interplay of sun and clouds again, as well as the view of the great little islands that I paddled past. At first I had the impression that I was not making any progress at all, but I reached my destination after 27 km in the early afternoon. Once again the question arose whether I should paddle on or not. Since the sun is still shining, so I can charge the power bank and dry everything, and it's supposed to rain from 4 p.m., I'm staying here tonight and can relax and prepare for the rainy day tomorrow... I would like to go to Motala, but I have two shelter options on the way if I don't make it, because there's a thunderstorm forecast for the afternoon.... We'll see! You can never really plan it!

Today's shelter is something special and I could see it well from the water. However, landing with the rocks wasn't all that easy, because the boat was supposed to be on dry land overnight. But I was able to solve that somehow...

Now I'm sitting here and looking out over the now quite calm lake and it mizzles...

It's almost a little spooky: There's no boat (not even a fisherman or angler) to be seen anywhere (the whole day long)! The only human soul I saw today was a person standing on his porch far away from me. (But it was similar in Canada when Anke, Claus and I were there in late autumn.) The season is over and I have one more reason to paddle safely along the shoreline...Read more
0 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 31: to Motala
September 27, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
After a rainy night under the not quite dry shelter, (It was a good thing that I had put up my tent in the shelter in the evening as a precaution.) I experienced a rather mixed day:
It was great that I got a long way despite the strong wind and northerly waves: as far as Motala, as I had hoped. It was also nice that the rain didn't bother me much while paddling. It was annoying when packing and "carrying" and anyway, and I quickly got cold. It was also stupid that I discovered another leak, but I was able to patch it up provisionally so that I continued on. When I arrived at my destination, I discovered that two patches had come off (hence the leak) and that I had run out of glue. I have now bought glue from ICA and am curious to see if it is more effective than my Aquasure.... Then I was really cold because I was wet from all sides due to the rain and leaks and had to walk a long way through the city with the boat because there were no suitable loading/unloading points and there is no hot shower here, which I had hoped for. In return, the sailing club allowed me to set up my tent on their premises. Here I dried myself off and repaired the boat (with the rest of the glue). On the way to the shop and the pizzeria (that had to happen today) I noticed that my payment card was in my wet trousers, so walking back made the 20 minutes twice as long. In the pizzeria I wanted to charge my power bank, only to find that the new charging plug wasn't working... Not my day!

Tomorrow it is supposed to be a bit sunny in the morning, so hopefully my things will dry a bit before I paddle on... Let's see how it goes! If the patch glue problem can't be solved, then that's probably it...
But it's supposed to be sunny again on Sunday. That'll definitely motivate me!Read more
0 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 32: Lake Boren and Gota-Kanal
September 28, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 8 °C
This morning I used the morning sun to dry my things and did set off relatively late. The new glue also had to dry, but it didn't hold at all. But my paddling gear was dry again and I was able to store my warm and dry spare gear again. When grey clouds rolled in, I set off paddling - across the small lake Boren - to Borensberg, where a lock allows me to continue my journey through the canal. (As happened in Motala, we have to go back down from the high Vättern to sea level, which in turn requires many locks.)
The canal was again laid out like a paddling alley, where I was the only user and only occasionally did other people appear on the right or left of the towpath. After the lock it started to rain heavily and towards the end (my destination for the day was to be Ljungsbro) the sun came out again.
The aqueduct is interesting on this route: the canal runs over a road.
After today's 29km I'm spending the night in the "Vandrehem Ljungsbro", indoors for once. This way I can avoid the frosty night, dry everything, fix the boat (this morning's temporary solution) and hopefully get an early start tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll go around the Berg locks and across Lake Roxen to Norsholm, where the next section of the "Göta-Kanal" awaits me...Read more
0 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 33: Lake Roxen
September 29, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 7 °C
This morning I walked the first few kilometers past the locks, pushing my kayak in front of me. It was brilliant sunshine again, but still just too cold for just T-shirt. It's a shame that the sun's warmth is no longer enough and I want to go further north... Paddling across the Roxen went quite well today. But as the lake is not very deep, the wind (8kn) created short, quite high waves that pushed me, but I still had to concentrate! I noticed this especially when I had trouble getting going again after a break on shore... When I arrived in Norsholm (after 28 km of paddling and some other km of pushing), I heard live music at the Sluscafé, which is ending its season tomorrow. The landlord helped me lift my kayak over the barrier at the railway tracks and let me camp at his cafe tonight, although I'm still skeptical about the train traffic that rushes past here...
The blueberry pie tasted great anyway! Tomorrow I'm heading towards Söderköping or Mem, where the Göta Canal ends. After that the water will be salty again...Read more
0 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 33: Söderköping
September 30, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 9 °C
Today was another beautiful day of my tour! After a night with a lot of train noise and frost, I paddled the last part of the Göta Canal today.
First I went through the canal again, then over the Asplången and back into the canal, where first a few, then several locks in a row awaited me and required me to portage/bypass. The sun again showed itself in the blue sky and it was a real pleasure to paddle through autumn-colored Sweden. Admittedly, portaging is always annoying because the boat first has to be mostly unloaded, then pushed out of the water, put on the cart and the luggage has to be packed into the boat using the trolley. And then the whole thing has to be returned on the other side... What is particularly annoying is that there are few suitable places to load and unload. The canal company should do some work on that... The destination of Söderköping is also really pretty, with old wooden houses and beautiful buildings, as well as lots of nature all around.... I decided to end my tour here... See the next footprint!Read more
1 like
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
End of Paddling
September 30, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ 🌙 7 °C
This morning, after much back and forth, I made the decision to end my paddling tour here in Söderköping!
I would have had a nice day of paddling tomorrow, but after that there is a lot of wind forecast, just when I leave the St. Anna archipelago and go around Arkösund. The temperatures have dropped rapidly, there are very few people anywhere, no larger towns and I don't have the right equipment (e.g. dry suit) for such an undertaking. I would probably have dared to deal with just one of these factors, but all of them together is a bit too heavy for me! Being stuck somewhere in the cold for several days and not being able to leave is kind of stupid. Here in Söderköping I still have infrastructure and can pack everything up in peace tomorrow, take my boat apart and take the bus and train to Uppsala. That was planned differently, but I had the option of breaking off the tour at some point or somewhere with the folding boat from the start...

Maybe I'll do the rest of the way by paddling someday.... On the one hand, I am very happy with my performance so far, after all, I paddled 880 km in 33 days. It was a great tour with the best weather! At the same time, I think it's a bit of a shame that I'm missing the rest of the tour through the archipelago here in the Baltic Sea, but "safety first" is probably the right decision. I'm now looking forward to seeing Claus, who I'll reach by train tomorrow. In Uppsala it was already -3°C yesterday.

[This footprint is set to Mem. Here (near Söderköping) is the last (or first) lock of the Göta Canal. Behind (or in front of) it lies the Baltic Sea.]Read more
TravelerHej Matze! Du bist einmal quer durch Schweden! Mega! Ich bin begeistert und inspiriert! Freu mich schon auf deine Berichte, wenn du wieder zu Hause bist!
10/1/24ReplyTranslate
Matze L.Jupp, es war echt ein super schönes Erlebnis und eigentlich müsste ich unbedingt das letzte Stück irgendwann nachholen. Das sollte ebenfalls wunderschön sein! Mal sehen!
10/1/24ReplyTranslate
2 likes
Kiel -> Uppsala im Kajak Matze L.
Day 34: Uppsala (end of tour)
October 1, 2024 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
Yeah, I'm finally in Uppsala! The train dropped me off here, after I first took the bus from Söderköping to Norrköping and then continued via Södertälje and Stockholm to Uppsala by train. I had a relaxed morning with a few rain showers in Söderköping, strolled through the pretty town again and was able to pack my things in peace... And the sun dried everything in time...Read more
1 like

Trip end
October 1, 2024