We first met Preben Pedersen in Estella Spain on September 28 2022, the third night of our second Camino when we walked from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela. We were in a nice modern hotel that did our laundry and provided dinner in their dining room. The dining room was sparsley filled with five other pilgrims. One other couple and three singles. The following is what we wrote in our blog about that night. “We had one of our best dinners here last night as there was one couple and three individuals sitting at separate tables. We started speaking with the person closest to us and before we knew it, we had all pulled our tables together and became a Pilgrim family. A woman from Ireland named Paula, a mother and wife from San Francisco named Tracey who had lost a son to melanoma and has another son with Down’s syndrome. She started the camino in Le Puy France 350km ago. Another couple, Francis and Hugh from Sydney Australia and the man that we started the conversation with, Preben Pedersen from Sweden who is a restaurant owner on the island of Hönö in Sweden. Tullhuset Restaurang, we have promised that we will visit him there.” Two nights later we stayed across the hall from him in Logroño and had dinner with him there. We thought that would be the last time we would see each other as he walks faster and usually further than we do and he was taking a train back to Sweden in two days.
Our second meeting with Preben in Logroño.We were having dinner in this restaurant in Najera when who should walk in but Preben. This was the last time we saw him until this trip.Leaving Amsterdam.Flying direct Amsterdam to Gothenburg, only a short hour and ten minute flight.North Holland.This is the weather that greeted us in Gothenburg. We had to use umbrellas walking to Preben’s car but that was the last time that we needed them.Ferry from the mainland to Hönö. There are numerous archipelagos around Sweden. We have taken a boat tour of the Stockholm archipelago in 2018. This is the Gothenburg archipelago which is much smaller. With 267,570 islands, Sweden has the most islands of any country in the world.Look at the lovely weather out here on the islands.This is an island that we passed on the way to Hönö.Our first view of Hönö, population 5,000.Preben and his wife Sophie put up their flag for arriving guests.Immediately after arriving and meeting Sophie for the first time Preben took us on a pre-dinner walk. This is a nearby cemetery where Preben’s parents are buried.Preben’s mother chose this stone. About half of the cemetery had this kind of stone markers and the other half had more traditional large marble headstones which you can see in the photo above. We really like the simplicity of the stones. Preben walked the Camino for his mom because it was something she always wanted to do.It looks like we are back on the Camino.The rocky irregular coast reminded Jim of Maine and reminded Sandy of the Scilly Islands off of the coast of Cornwall where we were last spring.Their house is lovely with this deck off of the kitchen. Jim had coffee here on our last day.Sophie and Preben treated us to two meals in their delightful restaurant which serves only fish and is rated #1 out of 11 in Hönö by Trip Advisor.Sophie and Preben in front of their restaurant Tullhuset. The restaurant name means toll house which is what the building was originally. They both work in the restaurant as servers and also operate and own it.Preben on the Pier Bar. The sign says a bar near the sea. Open when it’s open and closed when it’s closed.There is a large ships propeller building factory, Berg Propulsion in Hönö. It started as a small shipbuilder in 1912 and is now a world renowned marine propulsion facility. It was owned by Caterpillar, Inc. from 2013 but was bought back by a local person in 2020. We met the owner in Tullhuset our second night there.The restaurant is literally seaside and looks like it is floating out in the water.Cod with butter sauce and horseradish cream. Really tasty. Our appetizer was delicious white asparagus. We all chose the same three course tasting menu which ended with a delicious rich chocolate brownie. The main dining room, empty because it was late when we finished. The last food service is 9pm and closing is 10pm. It was clearly evident to us that this is a favorite dining spot with the locals as well as tourists. Preben and Sophie love what they do and it shows. View from seaside dining bar. Preben does not have umbrellas on the patio as they would block the view of the water, instead on sunny days he gives the diners free Tullhuset caps like he is wearing in the photo below to provide them shade. This is a very clever marketing strategy as it gives him free advertising. We forgot to ask him for a hat.Day two, Preben took us to Rörö for a nice long walk.Roro is a small village of about 350 inhabitants. Its main attraction is our destination today, the Nature and Wildlife Reserve.We had perfect weather for our hike.The Nature Reserve takes up most of the island where sheep and horses roam freely. Our trail started on this beach. There are many beautiful wild flowers here. These yellow irises were just past their peak.Curious baby lambs.Ran for their mother’s teats as soon as we went by.Another Camino déjà vu.Some of the walking was painfully rocky for Sandy as you can see in the photo below.Sandy held on to Jim’s hand going over this rocky terrain and if it was an incline she held on to Preben and Jim’s hands.This is a beach bar made entirely of jetsam and flotsam.Snack and water break on the “patio” of the bar.This shows the actual bar inside where they serve drinks when open. We were there too early in the season so the bar was not operating.Mute Swans. We don’t recall having seen swans in the open sea before.More sheep.Ok which one of us is going to move off the path?They eventually did after a few minutes staring us down.An Anhinga drying its feathers. Unlike most other water birds they have no oil glands to waterproof their feathers so they have to bask in the sun with outstretched wings to dry off before they can fly.A somewhat artistic piece of flotsam left behind from a shipwreck.Cotton plantsThe building in the distance beyond the rocks is an isolated skyscraper which is an apartment building in Gothenburg. It is the tallest building in Scandinavia.From rocks and beaches to lush forest and meadows.A blond horse, must be Swedish.
Video of a curious horse and a curious human.This horse looked dead but he wasn’t.The tiny village on Rörö. Ö means island in Swedish.Heading back to Hönö.Preben and Sophies two teenage sons have sailed on this. They have both been on transatlantic sailings. Their school has a barque and everyone participates in long voyages going to places like Seville, Cape Verde, Açores, Caribbean islands and Tampa. They have different crews on each leg of the Atlantic crossings.Lupines.Second nights meal. Started with a seafood platter of langoustines, shrimp and cold mussels. Sandy had steamed mussels and Jim had their famous seafood soup.Sophie is such a sweet woman. We just loved getting to meet her. We also met their two handsome boys, Hannes and Olle. Hannes turned 18 the day before we arrived and obtained his drivers license immediately. Olle who is 16, gave up his bedroom for us and stayed with a friend.. Both of them are very mature and doing well in school.The inside bar area with high-tops.Preben made the hourlong drive to Landveter airport to pick us up and drop us off. This is the highest building again, it is quite skinny for such a tall building.
This was a special visit for us. Spending two days with Preben and family after only meeting him three times on the Camino, but that is what the Camino does, makes a family of pilgrims who connect with one another. How could we have known what a wonderful person he was in that short period of time? That being said, we have connected with four other people that we met on our different Camino’s. We took a train from Madrid to Valencia for lunch with one couple, took another train from Munich to St. Gallen Switzerland and spent two nights there with another walking buddy, met another couple in Portland Oregon for a meal and another couple drove to Newport RI for a meal. We strongly agree with the saying “friends are gifts we give ourselves” and that being said we feel blessed and very, very rich.
Having a Valencia paella with Ben and Ilonka in Valencia Spain.Sandy and her walking partner Bernadette in St. Gallen Switzerland. We met her briefly in Luquin at a cafe on our third day of the Camino Frances and then ran into her again over three weeks later. Jim remembered her name and her country. We walked and talked a bit and when Jim had to stop walking due to severe fatigue Bernadette showed up and Sandy walked with her for the next few days. They were perfect walking partners and really bonded.Jim and Sue Halpin from Worcester Massachusetts drove to Newport Rhode Island to meet up with us. We met them on the first day of our Camino Frances and saw them for a few days before they fell behind us.This is Dave and Bonnie Swanson who we met on Camino del Norte in 2021. We have met up with them in Portland OR for lunch. They have homes in Alaska and Portland.
Dear Jim and Sandy, its been such fun following you around living your dream. We actually just talked about doing ´a Jim & Sandy´ and spend a few months somewhere in Latin America ;-). You two are a great example to us, in doing what you both love. We dearly enjoyed our lunch in Valencia, let us know on your next travels to Europe, we´d love to cross paths XX Ben and Illonka
Good day, so good to hear from you. We are actually leaving for London on Monday morning and will be there through the end of September. We will be going to South America for January, February and December. We will be in Medellin Columbia.
Laurie is in Stockholm now and loved seeing your photos! She’s been to Hönö and loves it! I definitely think the Swedish coast looks like the Maine coast! Tak!
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