We are now on a bit of a mission to get to Stockholm. There are a number of reasons for this not the least including that it seems like a good place to do some preparation for our upcoming trip to Africa (without the truck). So today we set off from our camping spot with the plan of getting to and crossing the "border". There was a noticeable change in scenery as we passed by Oslo (on the southern side). Up until then Norway had been characterized by very steep, mountainous, rocky terrain and consequently with roads that wound between the terrain. Not far east of Oslo we were suddenly in flatter more open country and by the time we got to the Swedish border the country was flat and either forested or farmed. What a difference.
Our first few miles in Sweden brought a sense of deja-vue. Wide multi-lane freeways, huge service areas with McDonalds or Burger King - we felt we could (almost) be back in the US. As if to explain this Nina noted from her guide book that in the 1920's Chicago was the second largest Swedish city in the world and that 1 in every 6 Swedes lived in the US.
The other observation from the afternoon in Sweden was a shortage of obvious places to spend the night. So when we passed a roadside picnic area near the Byalven River we did a quick U-turn and made it our nights home.