“Are they broken?” asks the Danish border guard, pointing at the three brand new touring motorcycles on our trailer. When I tell him they’re not, he waves us through with a pitying look. “Pussies,” I hear him mutter. Well, it’s hard to argue with that.

In Denmark, we have to cross three bridges to reach Malmö. It’s an expensive business. The Storebælt Bridge alone costs us around forty euros, while crossing the Øresund Bridge into Sweden sets us back another 130 euros for a one way trip, trailer included. Still, plenty of holiday destinations have their own ways of making a little extra money from travellers arriving by land. Besides, we get to cross two impressive feats of engineering along the way.

At the Swedish border, we’re pulled over once again. The blonde border guard inspecting us is clearly impressed by the fine machinery on our trailer. She wishes us a great trip, setting a friendly tone for the Swedish leg of our journey.

A stuga by the sea

Sweden is enormous, far too big to explore properly in just a few days, so we decide to focus on the south. Our first stop is Landskrona, just north of Malmö. Sweden doesn’t have many major cities, but I generally try to avoid them on motorcycle trips anyway.

For accommodation, we turn to SCR, the Swedish camping association. Its website lists more than 300 campsites across the country, with convenient filters to help you find what suits you best. Most offer a choice between traditional pitches and chalet style cabins known as stugor. A stuga seems ideal for our five nights away, as it means we won’t have to bring any camping gear.

After arriving at our first stuga by the sea, I find myself counting down the hours until morning. The preparations and journey have taken long enough. I’m itching to get the first stage of our trip underway.

The following morning brings a light drizzle, but our first coffee works wonders. In Sweden, it’s called fika, a word derived from kaffi, an older form of the Swedish word for coffee. Our three travelling companions are the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT, Ducati Multistrada V2 S and Honda NT1100.

With so much woodland around us, the temptation to explore the unpaved roads is considerable, but these three motorcycles are better suited to tarmac. We stick to an entirely paved route, which is hardly a hardship when you’re riding three machines that feel so much at home on the asphalt.

The TikTok generation

The southernmost coastline of Sweden is dotted with flat agricultural fields, not exactly our favourite scenery. The fields are beautiful in bloom, but we’re keen to leave them behind and head towards the less populated parts of the country. We start with an hour on the motorway heading north, before continuing along N roads that run parallel to the coast.

We buy some pastries at a supermarket and settle on a bench outside to eat our breakfast. Local teenagers come and go, and I’m struck by how similar the TikTok generation looks wherever you happen to be in the world. Their uniform appearance is interrupted by a grey haired gentleman who launches into a lengthy explanation of Jönköping’s once thriving match industry and its unfortunate decline.

After this fascinating history lesson, we follow the coastline a little further before turning right into the wooded interior. Houses become increasingly scarce, as does traffic. Farmland gives way to dense forests, and we pass close to our first lakes, their shores shaping the curves of the roads. Before long, we spot a road sign warning us about crossing moose. The moose is something of a national mascot here, almost sacred. Remembering my collision with a cow in India two years ago, I’m taking no chances. I ease off the throttle and keep my speed in check. The last thing I need is to add another animal to my list of unfortunate encounters. Before long, we reach our second stuga, set beside a lake near Kinna.