*13 August 2025* So, the day finally arrived! After months of careful planning, we loaded final items into car and caravan and set off, with our little house behind us, and our dog Ester not quite as excited as were. ![[01-GNT - 1.jpeg]] Today's drive to Falun (477 kms) may well turn out to be the longest single leg of our month-long trip. ![[01-GNT-Map.png]] This route traces a journey through some of Sweden’s most distinctive landscapes. Starting on Tjörn’s rugged granite coastline, shaped by Ice Age glaciers, you soon reach the fertile expanses of the **Västgöta plain**. This broad, flat lowland—rich in post-glacial clay soils—is one of Sweden’s most productive farming regions, dotted with historic churches and old trade routes. Skirting the eastern shore of **Lake Vänern**, Europe’s third-largest lake (the two larger ones are in Russia), we passed a landscape shaped by fishing, shipping, and agriculture. Eastwards, the open plains of Västergötland and Närke gradually rose into the rolling, forested uplands of Bergslagen, underlain by some of the oldest bedrock in Europe and famous for centuries of iron and copper mining. The final stretch into Falun brought us into dense conifer forests and scattered lakes, where the cool upland climate and mining heritage have long defined the region’s character. We required two charging stops as the range of our car when towing the caravan is only a little more than half the range without. We stopped at a rest place which won awards as best in the region! ![[01-GNT - 2.jpeg]] And finally reached the home of our dear old friends Jan and Ingrid Franzon who live next to one of Sweden's 100,00+ lakes. After dinner, joined by their daughter Kjersti, we witnessed Kjersti's cute little dog Stitch exhibit his jumping skills... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/geJzhLH9voU?si=dslZ3-Myx3-HSycm" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> A beautiful end to the day. ![[01-GNT - 4.jpeg]] [[The GNT, Day 2 - Falun & Borlänge]] >>