The rains fall as Gotham City burns

It was one of those get-up-before-you-get-wet mornings as the rain had been incessant all night and the tent was leaking. Luckily everybody's sleeping bags were mostly dry so those and any clothes went back into the roof box before they got damp. The camp was well equipped with both showers and cooking/eating facilities so we had breakfast inside, croissants and pastries bought from the supermarket the night before.

The staff phoned up the local library and arranged wi-fi access for us, and also directed us to a camping shop as the options were 1) buy a new tent, 2) waterproof tent if it's dry enough or 3) stay in the Ibis across the road. Camping shop first as the library wasn't open till noon. Unfortunately neither was the camping shop so we headed into central Gothemburg instead.

We found a cafe but I couldn't access their wi-fi for some reason, shame as it was the most expensive 2 coffees & 2 hot chocolates yet at nearly 140 SEK (about £12.50!). We traipsed down to the tourist information place in our waterproof trousers and jackets, picked up the city map and decided to visit the library and the Science Museum. The library was quite a trek, and by the time we got there we'd discovered that Vanessa's and my jackets had ceased to be waterproof. The library staff were really friendly and helpful and we got a temporary membership card that gave free wi-fi access and allowed me to upload the blog text. I'm still getting to grips with Linux though, and couldn't crop or re-size pictures so they had to wait. Two streets from the library the street was closed as an apartment building had caught fire the night before. We only saw the smoldering building, but when I stopped for a picture the guy standing in the doorway showed me the raging inferno on his camera taken the night before.

A few streets later and we found the Science Museum, but everyone else had the same idea and it was jam packed so we decided to give it a miss. Back past the smoldering building there was a soup and bagel shop and we had some of the nicest tomato soup we've had for a long time.

We headed back to the camping shop and stocked up on some waterproofing spray and a new jacket for Vanessa. We'd decided by then to head to central Sweden and rent a chalet, a better option than the Ibis.

We broke camp in the pouring rain, it was Dunedin/Wasdale/Wells etc again. Luckily my waterproof trousers were doing their job, a new addition to my camp gear after admiring Mad Mike's pair, but my jacket needed re-coating so I just let my shirt get soaked through. The kids valiantly watched dvd's as Vanessa and got everything loaded and set off for Tivenden National Park. Not the best drive, through rush hour traffic around Gothemburg and 2.5 hours through torrential rail, but we managed to arrive by 7.40 pm.

We had decided on a site at Hallekis (www.kinnekullecamping.se), not the one on the itinery but a bit nearer and it had wi-fi. The approach got better once we had passed the cement works and weaved 4 kilometers though the lakeside track. It's on Lake Vanern, but it seems like the sea; its so big and the waves crash against the shore, all that's missing is the smell of salt. The cabin was no bigger than our garden shed, but seemed bigger on the inside. Vanessa threw a quick pasta dish together, and after we huddled around the table and watched a dvd together before crashing out in real beds!