Ever since I found out that there is a canal leading through the Swedish mainland, allowing you to sail all the way to one of Europe's largest lakes, I told Reto that this is on my adventure wishlist.

So naturally, I was incredibly excited for the days ahead. Although the planning wasn't the easiest - figuring out exactly when we had to be where and finding all the information we needed in a language we understood - we managed to arrive at the starting point on the 24th of May, ready for this big adventure.

Since it was still pre-season, we would be travelling through the Göta Canal as part of a group over the next five days. Every stage was planned in advance by the Göta Canal employees, with a detailed schedule that left very little room for flexibility. The nice thing about this system, compared to the high season, was that we shared every lock with the same group of boats, so after a while everyone knew what to do and we had our system down.

The downside, on the other hand, was that the places they chose for us to spend the night were usually directly in front of the next day's first lock, often in the middle of nowhere. That meant that most overnight stops had no supermarkets, restaurants, or facilities such as showers or toilets nearby. Even Mem, the starting point of the Göta Canal, didn't offer any grocery stores. Since we had just spent five days at anchor, our supplies were already running low, so that would definitely have been useful information to know while planning the trip!

The first few locks were definitely a learning experience. Until now, all the locks we had passed had filled fairly slowly. The Göta Canal locks, however, are much faster and let the water rush directly into the main chamber, creating surprisingly strong currents that push against the bow of the boat.

We quickly realised that holding our sailboat by hand wasn't nearly as easy as we had expected. Of course, we had to learn that the hard way. We thought our experience with locks and our strength would be enough—but after the first couple of locks, we had developed a system using the winches that worked really well, and from then on everything went smoothly.

Unfortunately, we weren't quite as lucky with the weather. Although the sun was shining most of the time, strong westerly winds accompanied us during the first three of the five days. Since we were travelling westward across the lakes, we had the wind and waves directly on the bow, making the crossings quite uncomfortable. Because of the fixed schedule, there was no option to wait for better conditions; we simply had to push through. We didn't enjoy those crossings at all, but we felt even more sorry for another boat in our fleet - an elderly couple on a much smaller sailboat - the waves must have been even tougher for them! We learned later that they only took on this journey to bring their new boat home so they could use it to go sailing with their grandkids. I hope the grandkids have the best time on this boat and are thankful for having such caring grandparents!

My favourite part of the Göta Canal was definitely the landscape and the history behind the canal. The narrow canals wind through forests, fields, and small villages, making the journey feel incredibly peaceful. The Göta Canal stretches for about 190 kilometres, including the lakes, and almost half of it was dug entirely by hand. Between 1810 and 1832, around 58,000 enlisted soldiers helped construct the canal and its 58 locks. Knowing the history behind it makes the journey feel even more special.

After passing the final lock, we felt incredibly proud to have completed the Göta Canal - also known as the "Canal of Divorce." Apparently, navigating the many locks has caused enough marital arguments over the years that it earned itself this rather amusing nickname - even friends and family in Switzerland knew about this, and so we received plenty of congratulations for making it through without getting divorced!

Once we entered Lake Vänern, we decided to continue on the same day all the way to Mariestad. This gave us two relaxed days there to catch up on a few boat projects before welcoming our next guests on board.

Among the biggest projects we completed were:

Installing a new cockpit compartment where we can safely store our VHF radio, autopilot remote, and charge our phones.
Installing our new outdoor shower with a hot-water connection.
Brightening up the galley by adding an accent wall.
Doing laundry, cleaning the boat, and getting everything ready for our visitors.

So now there are two questions left: “Would we do it again?” and “Would we recommend doing it?”

I think it’s a great adventure and something we will think back on for a long time. I don’t feel the urge to do it again, though. Maybe the weather took a bit away from the great experience, and we would have enjoyed it a bit more in better conditions. We also learned later that we could have split it up into two parts, having a few days of a break at Lake Vättern. I think that would have given us a more relaxed adventure and time to get some rest from the first few days.

I would probably recommend that my friends experience the canal with the passenger boats, so they can take in all the scenery without having to worry about the wind or the locks. I think it would also be a great way to do it by bike; we have seen multiple people cycling along the canal, and it seemed very peaceful.

But of course, if you want to explore Lake Vänern with your own boat, it’s the best way to do it because it gives you the chance to also see the east coast of Sweden - just make sure to split it up and have a break at Lake Vättern.

Join us in the next blog as we explore beautiful Lake Vänern together with Karin's parents!

Day 44: Mem SE - Berg SE’