Coast meets forest

Bohuslän is a very versatile coastal landscape on the Skagerrak. On the seaward side, the landscape is characterized by thousands of islands and skerries, rocky coasts, and several deep, long fjords. Added to this, of course, are the many small, sometimes very famous coastal towns (think Smögen, Marstrand, Grebbestad, Strömstad, etc.). It’s a very diverse coastal landscape with many nuances. Partly soft rocky landscapes that then run abruptly into the sea, partly hilly forests that go right down to the water. And countless variations in between.

I divide the interior into two parts: on the one hand, the area near the coast up to about 15 kilometers inland, and on the other, the hinterland. For me, the area near the coast is particularly special: it is heavily forested, but also characterized by smaller fields and meadows. It’s hilly and dotted with rock faces and rocky cones that seem randomly distributed across the landscape. Everything is very small-scale. The roads are winding, go up and down, and you rock yourself wonderfully into the landscape on a car journey. The character of the landscape, shaped by the rock formations, is also reflected in the area’s reputation for climbing: Bohuslän is considered the area in the North for rock climbing par excellence.

The hinterland is then a little more settled. It’s not quite as varied. The stretches of land are broader and not subject to as many changes. Forests predominate – but some of them are real highlights. For example, there are several nature reserves that have the term “Fjell” in their name for a reason (Kynnefjäll, Herrestadsfjället): the name dates back to the time when Bohuslän was under Norwegian rule and the occupiers believed they recognized Norwegian, barren plateaus in the landscape. And indeed, I can understand this connection: lichens, mosses, loosely grouped birches and pines, along with bare rocks and plenty of small, clear lakes can certainly be reminiscent of Norwegian mountain landscapes.

Dalsland – Sweden in miniature

Dalsland, also known as Sweden in miniature, is one of my places of longing. If you exclude the agriculture-dominated, rather unspectacular southeast, the rest of this stretch of land is all the more beautiful. Located between the western shore of Vänern (Sweden’s by far largest lake, 10 times larger than Lake Constance) and the coastal area of Bohuslän, you’ll find everything here that you associate with Sweden: lots of water, lots of trees – and hardly any people. This is manifested, among other things, in Southern Sweden’s largest wilderness area, the Kroppefjell. Economically, the region is considered quite isolated, but that shouldn’t bother the nature lover. The landscape is gloriously green, gently undulating, and crisscrossed with hundreds of lakes. Between the few noteworthy towns – such as Ed, Bengtsfors, and Billingsfors – not much happens besides landscape, and that’s a good thing.

Life on the border

We who live in Munkedal live almost exactly on the border between these regions. Our house is located a few kilometers from the border – still in Bohuslän, but with one foot already in Dalsland.

The area not only has a lot to offer in terms of scenery but is also culturally interesting: to the west is Bohuslän, with a history shaped by life at sea (for a long time, Bohuslän had the highest widow and orphan rate in Sweden: fishing off the rocky coast without modern navigation was literally life-threatening), in the granite quarries, and on the barren fields – and to the east/northeast is Dalsland: a forest landscape that was shaped by the timber industry for a very long time. An impressive witness to this is the Dalsland Canal. A spectacular 250-kilometer-long waterway right through the deep forests and numerous long natural lakes.