The Land of my Forefathers (Part 1)

Sunday 28-Jul-2019 (Simrisham Stelplatz to Torne (on Lake Asnen))

With the problem of “fullt” camp sites – today we phoned ahead to a non-beach campsite – so chose a site on a lake in Smaland, on Lake Asnen. We got a reservation, and with that we could relax and get on with visiting Karlshamn and Karlskrona.

We stopped in Karlshamn (Karl’s Port – in honour of King Charles X Gustav, who established it (in 1666) on recognising the area’s strategic importance) for lunch – which finally included Fish and Chips.

Town square, Karlshamn

Quite colourful... must be hereditary, Dianne? 

Then it was onto Karlskrona – which, we now know, is where we should have spent most of the day. The Swedish Maritime Museum is sited here – so we spent our time there… which also turned out to be free of charge.

Karlskrona was also established because of its strategic location. During the period when the Swedes and Danes were not getting along so well, there was a problem with icing.  Copenhagen became ice free (allowing the fleet to go to sea) much earlier than Stockholm (where the Swedish fleet was accordingly icebound). The King needed a new port that was not ice-bound for so long… and Karlskrona (meaning Kings Crown, in honour of King Charles XI of Sweden)) was born… in 1680. In keeping with this history, today Karlskrona hosts Sweden’s last remaining naval base, and is the headquarters for the Swedish Coastguard.

The lighthouse at Karlskrona - for after you have navigated through all the various islands and reefs...

Karlskrona also has a more illustrious, recent claim to fame – because it was in Karlskrona waters that the Soviet submarine S-363 (under the designation U 137) ran aground on 27 October 1981.This submarine just happened to have nuclear tipped torpedoes on board… it all got a bit tense! Eventually, Swedish tugs pulled the vessel off the rocks, and escorted it back into international waters…   Two of the Swedish vessels involved in this incident are on display at the Museum – a fast surface attack vessel (HMS Vastervik), and the Swedish submarine Nep (for Neptune), along with a full-rigged sailing ship (Jarramas).

WW-II minesweeper/layer(?), Fast attack Craft (see story here) and Sail Training ship.

Neptune - viewed from the rear.... it is hard to understand the scale of this thing!

The "business" end of Neptune.

The submarine was built in 1979, and only decommissioned in 1998. It is 49.5m long, and 5.7m wide, and very tall (18m draft – which I guess has a new meaning for submarines)! It is in a “room” that makes this size very apparent! It is open also – so you can go into the torpedo bay, and the control centre, and the battery and engine compartments.

Looking down the open Torpedo Tube of Neptune.

The machines of war…

Our campsite at Torne was on Lake Asnen… in a pretty setting.

The Reception for the Camp Site at Torne 

To children fishing in the campsite pond - reminds one of Tom Sawyer (I thought!)

Lake Asnen… When hiring a boat... drive straight out into the middle of the lake before turning, left or right... Wonder why, stones, shallows?

Looking into the water of this lake (and indeed, all that we have seen to date, and that is now a lot) – the most obvious feature is the lack of water clarity… it looks really brown, and perhaps your feet would no long be visible, once you were in up to your waste!  Yet we see lots of people swimming and diving into the water.  The reason? Iron oxide… the lake beds are iron rich, and so the water is “rust” coloured.

Monday 29-Jul-2019 (Torne to Hultsfred)

We were both a bit weary, and ready for a break – so called to make a booking at a Camp ground that claimed to have large pitches, on a lake. The Campercontact reviews were all very positive.

On the way we called at Huseby Bruk – which promised to allow us to see Sweden’s “great five”: Osprey, Black throated diver, Sea Eagle, Crane and Moose. How good would that be.  Sadly, all of these animals were available to be seen – but they had been dead for a long time!  The sea eagle, and moose were particularly impressive though.  Huseby Bruk was one of those grand “properties” that had “everything”… a manor house, its own hydro power scheme, a water driven grain mill, iron production, and later, timber processing facilities… and a dynasty. The King visited too… and it had its scandals (daughter Florence, may have been the natural daughter of King Oscar II??).

Huseby Bruk Manor House

Lots of treasures in these rooms... 

Curious - but widespread fencing method - doesn't look easy to do?  Still in use today too - we have some around the current campsite we are in (in Ljusdals)

Harnessing the power of water at Huseby Bruk

The rest of the day was largely a drive through a landscape of forests and lakes.

Lots of forest to drive through - but looks like local-yocals have been spending lots of effort wearing down their tyres...

The view from our lunch stop - by a Lake, of course...

Tuesday 30-Jul-2019 (Hultsfred)

The camp at Hultsfred was lovely. The “pitches” were large because they limited the number of power points. It all sounded great.  It didn’t work out so well initially though, as a caravan ended up parking right beside us, and set up their awning etc. facing us… a couple of metres away (normally campers line up so that their awnings on the same side – so that each has some privacy even if the packing density is high). That was followed by loud laughter and talking, and a BBQ set up almost under our awning… And they asked if they could hook into our power – as there was none available for them! Michael was not very happy… and this was to be a “rest day”… It rained that night, and their caravan leaked (it turned out it was borrowed, and I suspect this one was one of there first experiences at “camping”). As a number of better camping options opened up this morning… we moved – and peace and light came in…

Our "final" camping spot at Hultsfred...

The view from the lounge...

And to the left 

A day to work on the blog (i.e. the Word version) – even if the campsite had no WiFi…

Wednesday 31-Jul-2019 (Hultsfred to Kisa)

Quite without our prior knowledge (i.e. planning), Hultsfred was only 19 km from Vimmerby… and the reason that is of interest is because Astrid Lindgren lived here (she died in 2002, at age 97). She wrote more than 30 books for children, and the fourth most translated children's writer after Enid Blyton, Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm (among others, she wrote the Pippi Longstocking, and The Six Bullerby Children.  We decided that we should pass by… and visit the place all the signs were directing us toward, “Astrid Lindgren World”, - this lead to a long queue of cars slowly making their way along several blocks then into the Parking lot for Astrid Lindgren Värld (i.e World)… at which point, on seeing the (people) queues and getting a sense of the place- we realised we had made a mistake. There wold be little point in visiting this “World” without a little person to enjoy it (a bit like going to Disney World as an adult!)… so we made a hasty exit, by following a delivery truck out to the exit, without first paying for parking!  We then went to Astrid Lingred’s Nas  – and bought a couple of books.  It is interesting that this part of the world (Germany, Denmark and Sweden have given the world most of its accessible Fairy tales).

We moved on to Vastervik – which was back on the Kalmar coast of Smaland, for lunch (according to Karilyn, the best burger she has had in a very long time!). The Swedish Floorball Open was in full swing …. This region seems to be focused on tourism related to its archipelago, with many options to visit the many islands in the region.  

Taking in the lunchtime action in Vastervik...

One of the harbours at Vastervik - with a number of beautiful old boats...

Like this one...

Some of the old cottages had really impressive "window sill" adornments...

However, we will save that experience for the Stockholm.  So instead we visited a couple of the old churches in the town – which, like others along the coast, experienced much destruction during the wars of the 16^th Century.

St Gertrudes...

The important organ in St Gertrudes

One of the votive boats in St Gertrudes - apparently made by mariners while at sea - then given to the church on their safe return.

St Gertrudes had an interesting history. When the town was established by King Erik of Pomerania – he gave the inhabitants 4 tax-free years, if they built a church (this church) – which was big for such a  small town, but served as a status symbol. IT would be 200 years before the Church needed to be extended (attendance was compulsory!). The town was burned down in 1517 – and left a ghost town, until, in 1547) King Gustav Vasa ordered the people to return and rebuild the town. When the building came back into use, it had changed from Catholic to Lutheran. In 1612 – there was another town burning event… likewise in 1677 (the Danes) – but on this occasion, the church was spared. It was more settled after that – all that they had to contend with was making it bigger. A new organ was added in 1744 – and is, today, considered to be one of the most valuable in Sweden.

In 1805, the Bishop visited St Gertrudes and decided that the church was dark, small and unworthy – and that the citizens should build a new one. They ignored him.  But late in the 19^th Century the town received two large donations to build a new Church (St Petris) – completed in 1905.  So they shut down St Gertrudes, and during WW-I used it as a grain store… But… in 1932-33 it went through extensive renovation… and the white paint that had been covering up the wall decorations for much of the 19^th Century removed.  It is not clear whether the church is a Church now – or just a tourist attraction.

The "new" church (St Petris) in Vastervik

Which seems to be very 21st Century Congregation friendly.

And a final comment on this day…

One can’t help but notice the influence of America on Sweden, well the parts that we have visited so far – Skane and Smaland.  There is an amazing number of old American cars on the roads (most of them in what looks like pristine condition)… and the sound of V8s is often heard.  We have also noticed lots of convertibles, both old (MGs, Mustangs) and new Mazda MX5s, Mustangs, and the occasional supercar (convertible).

One of the many, many, many, old American cars we have seen - nearly all in pristine condition,,,,

As Hamish notes… this may be explained by the close connection between Sweden and the immigrants that settled in the US, e.g. in Minnesota.   The other aspect of motor vehicles that is apparent, particularly here in Sweden – is that the Station Wagon (and to a lesser degree, old-style “sedans”, i.e. cars with boots) still reigns supreme (which perhaps explains why the Volvo SUVs (e.g. XC90) actually look more like a station wagon, than an SUV.  There are a lot of VW Tiguan’s on the road – but SUVs in general are somewhat rare.

Tonight we will be visiting Hamish and Johanna Struthers (Astrid and Agnes) in Kisa. Hamish is an ex NIWA colleague who now works at the Swedish National Supercomputing Centre (NCS) in Linkoping – quite close to Kisa.  Michael visited here in 2017, when he came to Sweden to speak at a SNIC (Sweden’s equivalent of NeSI) annual meeting.

Thursday 01-Aug-2019 (Kisa)

We spent the day enjoying being “in a home”… and doing some “housework”. Fiat got it’s first vacuum clean, and all the washing got done… and the pillow cases and tea towels ironed! Such luxury.  Hamish also saved me from a severe case of Marmite-withdrawal!  I had just finished off the 500 g supply that we bought with us (since Vegemite was not available in a plastic container!)… and was anticipating the consequences. But Hamish had 2 x 500 g contains of Marmite, and very graciously insisted that we take the full one away with us.  I’m sad to say that he did not need to be too convincing!  And so we (well, Michael, only, really) have been re-supplied – meaning that we will make it through to late October without further problems. But we do need to export some Marmite to Sweden when we get home.

Hamish, Johanna, Astrid (Agnes in the pram) and Karilyn - Kisa.

Hamish and Johanna had just a perfect place to park Fiat - even had outside power to feed us electricity! 

In the evening we went to a Swedish Folk music concert in a Church in an adjacent village (Hycklinge, about 15 km from Kisa). It was very odd driving a car (Renault!) again…with the wheel on the left, and a manual gear lever, and everything was so intimately close and quiet, after Fiat!

Listening to early Swedish folk songs at Hycklinge Church.

Friday 02-Aug-2019 (Kisa to Aby)

An easy day… starting with a trip to Tidersrums Church near Kisa, one of the Sweden's oldest wooden churches. It was built originally around the year 1260 of timber. The vestry is built of stone and white limestone…. and it has a separate bell tower (we have since seen similar bell towers, and there is one in Skansen too).  On looking at the landscape around the church – all we could do was wonder why, this church, had been built at this site – nothing appeared to be special about it??

Tidersrums Church

The bell tower at Tidersrums Church.

This was followed to a trip to IKEA in Linkoping to pick up some more felt storage boxes for Fiat (same as got in Ulm, right at the start of this “adventure”), some clear plastic containers (to collect together items in the bathroom cabinets) and a duvet cover. We were only successful in the last of these… but we had a nice (inexpensive) meal in the IKEA Café, and we discovered that instead of a Green CR-V (that we owned from 1999 to 2018), we could have had one that matched the lovely colour of our HR-V (that we only sold, just before departing NZ).

A "beautifully" coloured Honda CRV... same model as we used to have (except of course ours was Forrest Green - which I must say it looks better in!)

Campercontact indicated that there was a really nice camp site (Sorsjons Camping), in a Forest, on a Lake, near Aby (NW of Norrkoping), so, based on experience, I called to make a reservation (Which was as well, it turns out)… but perhaps more interesting – the girl who took the call had spent 10 months in Hamilton – on an AFS exchange (I commiserated with her re the location (apologies to any Hamiltonians following this)… but she seemed to love it!). And so it turned out - Sorsjons Camping was delightful!

Our "pitch" at Sorsjons Camping... in a Forest, by a Lake.

The Lake...

And an adjacent Lake...

And buildings built with green obsidian... we wonder where the volcano was/is??

Saturday 03-Aug-2019 (Aby to Stockholm)

Called the Bredang campsite in Stockholm to make a reservation… but no powered sites available (but we can go on a waiting list for the following day)…  We can live without power for a day or so – so broke camp and started the drive to Stockholm.  There is a lot a water along the way…. And a lot of red stained / painted buildings… (it is pretty clear what colour “paint” hardware stores need to stock… red and white, and a few pastels…).

As you can see - quite a lot of Sweden is water... 

Driving by another lake... with another red stained house (with white window frames - always white!)

When we arrived at the campsite (which is really large… 248 “pitches”) at 3 pm (the checkout time for this camp site), a powered site had just become available (a couple of minutes earlier) – and it was on the end of a row, beside a large “rock” – so we had no neighbours and a nice outlook.

The view of our Bedang Camping "pitch" looking to the Right)

And to the Left...

This camp site is also adjacent to Lake Malaren – Sweden’s third largest lake … and holds 14 km³ of water (in case you care). The lake – just 1 m above sea level (having become cut off from the Baltic Sea (around 1200 AD) as the land has risen since the end of the last ice age) – is very lovely, and the water is clearly good for swimming (and clear too)… We took an evening stroll along the shore, and watched the sun set…

Along the shores of Lake Malaren 

Agreed - it is not a great sunset... but it was a nice place to view it from...

The other good thing about Bredang Camping was that it was just 700 m from a metro stop, which in turn was only about 20 minutes from the city centre – with trains arriving every few minutes.

Sunday 04-Aug-2019 (Stockholm)

As the weather was fine(ish) – the forecasts had suggested something less nice… we bought a 3 day ticket for the metro – and headed into Skansen, the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden. The idea of Artur Hazelius, it opened in 1891, with the purpose of showing the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era (which in Sweden means the early 20^th Century). Hazelius bought around 150 houses from all over the country (as well as one structure from Telemark in Norway) and had them shipped piece by piece to the museum, where they were rebuilt to provide a unique picture of traditional Sweden.

However, Mr Hazelius was, it would appear, not unaware of what was marketable, and what was not – and what people would pay to see.  We watched a roll play at the Blekinge County House – which has been returned to the state it was in when Skansen opened.

The Blekinge Country House

How it was decorated in 1891... so very beautiful, and luxurious..

Our informants!

The point the actors made (both in the play, and in discussion with one of the actors afterward) – was that, what Hazelius was showing as a “normal” house, was far from normal – and indeed much more luxurious than would have been the case (e.g. it had a wooden floor, and “beautiful” decorations on the walls).  But as the male actor pointed out – who would pay to come and see someone living in a normal (impoverished) house.  Though there were some of those in Skansen too.

The cabin of a landless labourer

The "Finn" village... they didn't have chimneys, even though there was a fire inside.... the smoke escaped by a less direct route...

We were told that some less than desirable employment practises did not end till 1945 – such as farm labourers who were “paid” for their labour through the provision of “accommodation” and food – but no money – meaning they were forever trapped.  Teachers fell into a similar situation – accommodation was provided, along with a small salary… but not enough to enable them to ever buy their own house – so they too were trapped. 

The point that I think we don’t often realise (in NZ) is that the acclaimed “Swedish way of life”, with all of its advances and benefits – is still a relatively recent occurrence… that evolved from deep adversity.

Skansen has a nice zoo too…

The lynx has had three cubs...

And they played - just like domestic kittens...

There must be some eggs around here... I like eggs!

One of the Reindeer in Velvet.... they do have very oddly shaped antlers.. including one that protrudes forward.

But Stockholm is not looking so pretty at the moment – with tower cranes, it would appear, “everywhere”, along with stacks of “construction offices / builder’s sheds”…

On the edge of Gamla Stan (building a new lock system to get between Lake Malaren and the Baltic?)… it looked like this when I was here in May 2018... except it seems to be even more construction activity!

The cranes do impact on that iconic skyline...

Yes, still more... and to the right, there were still more - but they were coloured red!

The other nice thing we managed to do today – was to attend one church service (as it turned out – a confirmation service (at a “Swedish Church” formerly the State Church of Sweden from  1536-2000).  We didn’t understand much of that! Then in the evening (after Skansen) while passing St Jakob's Church (near Kungsträdgården), we heard the bells calling the faithful to a service… and found ourselves in a Church Service for internationals… in English (The International Church of Stockholm).  We also discovered that “How Great Thou Art” is a Swedish hymn!  The liturgy reflected the Lutheran tradition, but for us, it was quite like an Anglican service – and people were friendly.

St Jakob's - International Church of Stockholm service.

And that is what it looks like from the outside (the pink building).

Monday 05-Aug-2019 (Stockholm)

The forecast for today was “cloudy”… but no rain (except at 1400)… so after much research into Archipelago and Lake Malaren cruise experiences – we ended up choosing the default one – to Vaxholm, capital of the Stockholm Archipelago, and back, primarily because it required the least time, to get to somewhere that gave us an experience of this part of Sweden’s maritime history.

The good ship "Stockholm" awaits our arrival...

Strandvagen...

Typical scene along the route to Vaxholm

Originally, a merchant's house? (based on the colour).

Among otherthings we learned along the way… merchants (the new wealthy class) built villas out in he archipelago to escape the stensh of Stockholm in summer… and to demonstrate their wealth, painted their houses in pastel colours (worker’s house were red). I’m sure that there is much more to it than that, but it is a start.

We enjoyed 3 hours in Vaxholm before the return trip… a lovely place for lunch.

Lunch at Vaxholm...

There are stones in the water here too.. .and flowers by the tables… but weeding the garden would be a bit of a challenge - perhaps its done from a boat...

And viewed from the other side... (and just a little further up the path were the remains of artillery batteries - as Vaxholm was at the centre of the naval defences for Stockholm.

On the way back – a container ship tried to overtake us… (we beat him)… and the weather turned “inclement”… but people must continued to be scared witless at the Grona Lunds Tivoli amusement park…

Looking out the window of the "Gentleman's Room" on the Stockholm … Container Ship coming through...

Possibility of rain?

But the show goes on here

Tuesday 06-Aug-2019 (Stockholm)

Okay – now it rained… as forecast, but by the time we were ready to go into the city, it had almost stopped.

We planned to take in the Palace, the Old Town (Gamla Stan, and it’s big churches (the German Church (St Gertruds) and Stockholm Cathedral), and… some of the “good” pubic art that is on display in many of the city’s subway stations.

Gamla Stan square (Stortorget) - where the Massacre occurred

One of the many side streets … with the long enduring Jerusalem Restaurant...

Interior of the German Church of St Gertrud - the very tall spire that is visible on the Skyline... to be a member you, or your parents must have been born in Germany...

Stockholm Cathedral - with its Ebony and Silver altar - and was donated to the Cathedral in the 1650s by Johan Adler Salvious and his wife Margareta - to commemorate the peace treaty in Westphalia that ended the 30 years war.

St George and the dragon - its been there since 1489. It was commissioned by Sten Sture the Elder, who had conquered the forces of King Christian of Denmark - thereby rescuing Stockholm from the Danish invaders.... In this case, perhaps Sten is George, and the Dragon, Denmark...

And another George and the Dragon... but not in the Cathedral!

We also read about the executions carried out by Christian II of Denmark – who had just been crowned King of Sweden… 3 days later he eliminated 82 opponents – by execution. So to the Swed's he became Christian the Tyrant (but apparently, even today there is propaganda suggesting that the Danes referred to Christian II and Christian the Good…. – so still a sensitive topic, and I hope I have not stood on anyone’s “toes”). While it looks like the executions were meant to frighten the opposition – it didn’t work. Gustav Vasa was a son of Erik Johansson, one of the victims of the executions. Vasa, upon hearing of the massacre, travelled north to the province of Dalarna to seek support for a new revolt. The population, informed of what had happened, rallied to his side. They were ultimately able to defeat Christian's forces in the Swedish War of Liberation. The massacre became the catalyst that permanently separated Sweden from Denmark.

As regards the Palace… it was very interesting too.. it was, needless to say “palatial”…

Royal Palace... another painted ceiling vault... lots of darker colours used in this palace (compared to others we have seen)

There were many tapestries here too... some we noticed had dates on them from the 18th century.

This is all porcelain!

But… the apartments we got to see were those of the “House of Bernadotte”.. a very French name. And so it is…  King Charles XIII of Sweden didn’t have an heir (was old, and senile).. so in 1810, the Swedish Parliament chose one of Napolean Boneparte’s “generals”, Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, a Marshal of France, as heir presumptive to the Swedish throne. He came from Pau (Fabrice’s home town)…, from “artisan” roots…  In 1813, he broke with Napoleon and led Sweden into the anti-Napoleon alliance. This all feels a bit Polish to me…. they too, acquired their Royalty from other nations (well that is what Michener says!).

And so to the Subway art…

Blue line... Kungstradgarden

Blue line... Kungstradgarden

Stadion 

Stockholm Central Station

Ostermalmstorg

Oh… and here it seems you can buy many foods with Liquorice content… even ice cream.

Does that look appetising??  I don't think so...

Wednesday 07-Aug-2019 (Stockholm to Ljusdals)

Time to head north.  But before leaving Stockholm, a visit to a larger IKEA… and lo, they had what we were looking for… then onto the E4 route, then Route 83 heading north. Interesting weather along the way…

More inclement weather … or beautiful cloud formations - take your pick.

To another beautiful campsite, by a lake. 

The view out of Fiat's side window at Ljusdals Camping...

And delicate flowers.

No... we can't identify them... but they are about 1 cm wide - and an interesting test for the bochr of the Fujinon 50-140 mm (f2.8)  telephoto lens (which I like, based on these images)… And since posting, we have checked about the botanical features of these two flowers... they are unnamed weeds, that "you do not want in your garden, pretty, though they be"... according to the operator at Ljusdals Camping!

Ditto... but smaller...

Thursday 08-Aug-2019 (Ljusdals)

A “rest” day… meaning, finish the blog write up, and put it on the web… (i.e. this post)… Tomorrow,  we will try to make it at least half way to Lulea.