Our base for the week was a spectacular cottage on the edge of the Fjord in Onsala, Sweden, the location tactically chosen for its access to Trollhättan, and more importantly, the Saab Museum. The entire trip was focused around a long awaited visit to The Box exhibition, with everything else taking less priority.
Arriving from England by air, rather than road, we'd planned on hiring a car, however with the lack of available Saabs at Sixt, we settled on a Volvo V60 T6 AWD Hybrid, finished in the wonderfully muted Forest Lake metallic over supremely comfortable, Charcoal leather. As far as the specification goes, the V60 was a great choice for us, it performed faultlessly over a few thousand miles, although I was utterly underwhelmed by it's performance, smoothness and awkward gear changes. Aesthetically however, the V60 and V90 wagons have always appealed to me, their design feels beautifully elegant, and dare I say it, very Swedish.
Besides the pilgrimage to Trollhättan, and a few days spent in Gothenburg, we'd not planned anything specific, just days out to truly explore the Halland area as much as possible. Then we came across an absolute gem of a book - Kulinarisk Resa Genom Halland, or Culinary Guide for Halland for those who don't speak Swedish.
Being total foodies, the book literally became our guiding light for the week, featuring nearly 100 farm shops, herbal gardens, restaurants, cafés and artisans throughout the area, we picked a culinary destination each day, and set off in the V60.
In my ideal world, this entire series of road trips would have been in a Saab, possibly in my classic 9000 Aero or 9-5 Sportwagon, either would have made each and every trip more memorable, but that will be something for us to look forward to in the future.
The weather was spectacular for the entire week, but we had one day where the rain was going to set in for the day, so we decided to pick one of the furthest destinations in the guide, and take the scenic coastal roads for a relaxed road to SOLHAGA in Slöinge. Apparently famous for its breakfasts and legendary gröt, it looked like the perfect place for a rainy day.
A few hours driving in light rain, and we turned off the E6 Coastal road and in to the small village of Slöinge - picturesque timber homes in the iconic Falu Rödfärg and Gulockra Slamfärg paint, endless, deep trees with vibrant green leaves from the rain, and at the heart of the village, SOLHAGA.
I have an enduring affinity with Sweden, its quiet beauty, warm and inviting lighting, and timeless elegance, SOLHAGA encapsulated everything I love about the place. The ground still wet and the wonderfully earthy, fresh smell in the air, the door wide open and the tantalising displays of freshly baked breads and pasties glowing through the window. The gröt lived up to its reputation, and a long, late breakfast was enjoyed, the 2 hour drive was totally worth it.
We plotted our return journey back to Onsala with many detours and stops on the way, the cobbled streets of Falkenberg and its nearby deserted beaches, coffee and fika at Sikta Stenugnsbagei in Varberg and an epic detour on 'the most beautiful road in Halland', the stretch of road between Askome and Gällared.
Late afternoon and the rains had stopped, the sun was shining though the beautiful forests, endless lakes appeared around every curve in the road, and all I could think was - "I really need to do this in a Saab".