After our improvised dinner at the campsite we went to bed early. We hoped to keep the warmth in our sleeping bags. When we closed our eyes around 21 o´clock we were quite confident to get through the frosty night. It went good until around 3 or 4 o´clock when the temperature fell below 0°C. Also the tent was frozen from the outside. Waking up with a freezing cold nose, thinking about every movement, and the pro and cons of going to the bathroom was not nice at all. However, after a short workout in the bathroom the core got warm again and sleep was further possible until 8 o´clock.

Although it seems possible to get through the night like this, it´s probably not the best way to get energy for the day. So we decided to go some more nights into an appartment/hotel. After our breakfast in the heated kitchen we prepared the bikes for the day. Luckily, the sun was already warming up the air and the tent could dry.

Cycling in the sunshine to Halmstad

The first kilometers we followed the coastline again. We stopped at Påarp with an old boulder field (culture part of the day). After that the Kattegattleden led us more inland. We passed a lot of farms and fields until we came to the more urban area of Halmstad. Due to the flat environment we had to fight an old friend again: headwind! But good to build some muscles (also mental ones 😋).

By chance we passed a mall. Because we were almost running out of food, we had to shop there. We also had a second breakfast in the sun right in front of the mall. The path led us further through an industrial area, along the Nissan river, and an amusement park for kids. A huge dinosaur was looking over the fence.

Around Halmstad

When we left the center of Halmstad we cycled through a nice forest. Of course, a golf course had been placed between the tree areas. On our tour we passed a lot of golf courses along the road, so it seems that this is sport number one in Sweden (next to tennis and fishing?). Luckily, no golf ball hit us, yet 😁

On the further way we passed some smaller towns. In Haverdal we stopped near a supermarket for a late lunch snack and discussed our plans. We wanted to get to Falkenberg and rest there for minimum one day. Also the decision for a warm accomodation was clear. The options for apartments (in budget) along the way were limited. So we just wanted to cycle as far as we came and search on site.

8 km to Falkenberg feeling like an eternity

After leaving the Halmstad kommun the area got less populated and if we passed some houses they were mostly small villages. Fields and forests alternated with short parts along the coast on this path of the route. But a constant companion was the headwind. We had to pay tribute to last night’s bad sleep. When we came close to Falkenberg we checked our options for an apartment and chose the Hotell Vesterhavet for two nights. But still there were 8 km to go and that would be the toughest of the day.

We were relieved when we saw the Skrea strand of Falkenberg because it meant we were almost at our destination. When we checked in we were surprised by the big room and because we felt that we might need a longer pause, we extended our stay for another night. After dinner in the hotel restaurant we went to the supermarket for some supplies. Afterwards we were happy to enjoy our warm room. Also the bikes did 😉.

Route

The total distance can be viewed on the “Sabbatical 2021 – Europe” page.

Download file: Sabbatical2021_005_Gullbranna_to_Falkenberg.gpx