Halden - Strömstad - Koster Islands - Halden

After a good night's sleep, a slightly cloudy morning, and a tasty breakfast, the journey today took us back toward Sweden to the Kosterhavet National Park. To visit this park, you must take a ferry since no cars are allowed in the park. The park consists of two islands that can only be reached by water. For this, you take a small ferry that takes you across in just a few minutes.

The crossing takes about 45 minutes, and since the sun was out again, we enjoyed the water, wind, and sun. Once we arrived at the northern island, we walked the yellow loop that took us completely around the island. It was definitely worth it as there was plenty of variety in the landscape. Pine forests, sandy beaches, rock formations, birch forests, and meadows alternated with each other. After a couple of hours of walking, we returned to the harbor where the ferry had dropped us off and took a small ferry to the southern island. There, we walked toward the center and stopped at an ecological farm where we could sample and buy some local products. A first cinnamon roll was on the menu, along with a delicious juice made from local berries. After this little refreshment, which we definitely needed, we continued to the center. There wasn't much of a center except for a local supermarket, but what do you expect when only about 330 people live on both islands combined? Around 3:30 PM, we took the ferry back to the mainland and after strolling around Strömstad for a bit, we returned to our hotel to freshen up and have dinner. We have actually booked 3 nights including dinner.

By around 8 PM, we drove toward a large fortress that is situated atop the hills of Halden to take a look. It is apparently a famous fortress for Norwegians because it was never taken during many wars with the Swedes. From the top of the hill, there was a beautiful overview of Halden, and after walking around for half an hour, we still had to find a charging station to charge the car. After half an hour of charging, we drove back toward our hotel, and with a coffee and a hot chocolate, we discussed what we would do tomorrow. See you tomorrow!