Our first summer bike tour took us South and East out towards Tyresta National Park, where we had (shockingly!) not been yet. As usual, we encountered lots of wild beasties and nature, as well as cultivated land and domestic animals.
Huggorm (Swedish asp) eating a mouse! 
Tiny bebe toad (one of many) 
Adult toad 
the lake all the lil toads were hopping towards 
A Scots pine doing an arbutus impression 
Chicken crossing! 
Crazy cats ahead! 
A view out at the Baltic from Häringe reserve 
windy day at the seashore 
Seemed early for kantareller! Mental note to bring butter on future tours 
Lovely view from the tent 
The arable soil a longside the rocky forest has been cultivated for a long time. We did some biking while playing ‘guess that grain’.
The forecast was for rainstorms blowing in from the sea, so we decided to head back to Häringe to see if the ‘luxury’ vindskydd was still available. Unsurprisingly, there was very little demand for camping infrastructure during this inclement weather.
This was a pretty luxurious bike tour with lunch/fika at places we encountered on the way. Häringe castle probably presented the fanciest option, with an upscale table service lunch on the stone terrace overlooking the pool and gardens. This place is also a hotel, and it seemed most of the restaurant patrons were staying at the hotel. Our sweaty bike clothes were a bit of a departure from the rest of the clientele, but luckily the lunch service wasn’t too pretentious. We took no photos on the little jaunt out to Nynäshamn. We tried to get fish and chips, I thought I remembered the smokehouse restaurant having it, and it seems such a natural for a seaside vacation spot… NOT SO FAST, ANGLO! Swedes would rather have a skagenröra or shrimp sandwhich, and fish and chips is not really that popular here. So, we improvised with some truffle mayo fries and smoked Atlantic Salmon which we brought to the park to eat picnic style. We planned to then have fika and plan our next move, but sadly our Nynäshamn-favourite Mullers Bageriet was closed for summer holidays. Instead we found a local chocolate house, which was an acceptable alternative. After coming back to Tullinge we had the best lunch and fika of the whole trip: homemade baking at Johanna’s trädgård café (now recognized by the municipality as a rad place to go)!
Here are a few other views and snaps from the trip:
First Sörmland Runsten of the trip 
Runsten near Jursta 
The view from the shore in Tyresta 
The Vindskydd and grill area at Tyresta 
Another grill spot at Tyresta that we found on a hike around the lake 
An old millhouse by the river. It can be rented by groups! They warn that it is simple and rustic, and I guess the bank of outhouses tells the tale. 
Graham pointing to the beach on the National Park map 
This underpass made a great shelter in a rainstorm 
This was the awesome site where we spent a night, headed out to Nynäshamn, and then came back to avoid the exposed coast during a storm. 
picnic table AND vindskydd! 
If you pitch your tent inside you get a lot few pine cones and branchescome down on you (not to mention rain) 
view from the tent/shelter 
Lots of awesome sights out in the country, including this fancy stone church