2014 - England and Scandinavia - Sweden

2014 England and Scandinavia - Week 6 - Sweden

Leaving Helsingor, Denmark for Helsingborg, Sweden 

Saturday 28 June - Helsingor, Denmark to Kalmar, Sweden.   We had planned today knowing there were complex travel arrangements to navigate - hand in the Denmark car, leaving Julie & luggage at ferry terminal hoping that I would find my way back, walk on passenger ferry to Sweden, pick up our Sweden car some distance away from the ferry terminal, hop in car then drive three and a half hours to Kalmar on the southeast coast of Sweden.   

Much to our relief, all went smoothly, I didn't lose Julie or the luggage, and a big bonus was we have an automatic left hand drive car which is so much easier than a manual. It's a Volvo V60 C4 Diesel and it gets 4.8ltr per 100 klm which is very efficient. Not quite as efficient as the Renault we had in Denmark that used only 3.8 litres per 100klm.  Petrol here is very expensive (just on/over $2.00 per litre in Denmark and well over $2.00 per litre in Sweden) so good fuel economy is important.

Kalmar: Our accommodation is very nice, right on the water's edge in Kalmar Sound.  We had a quick walk into part of the walled city to stretch our legs then lined up with many others for the dinner buffet which is included in our room rate here.

Red squirrel

Sunday 29 June - Kalmar has a long history with stoneage graveyards being discovered here. More recent history goes back to the 11th century with the 12th century seeing a king's castle being built. The castle was under siege 22 times in its bloody history but was never taken. Kalmar was a very important sea port and royal location with many important historical events occurring in and around the castle.

Kalmar Castle, Sweden

So today was "visit the castle" day for us to reflect on the bloody battles that were fought there. Fittingly the bloody drizzly rain arrived too so it set the scene as we wandered around the outside of this well preserved renaissance building.  

Further along our part of the coast we came upon Sweden's beach swimming zone, complete with high diving tower and artificial beaches carved out between the reeds that line the foreshore.  Not surprisingly there was nobody swimming until someone got in. She screamed from the cold for at least two minutes.  Two people in wetsuits then swam by - crazy Swedes

Julie having 2nd thoughts

Old tombstones in original Kalmar Cathedral site

Haunting image on tombstone

Returning to the walled city part of Kalmar we had lunch in a highly recommended by Tripadvisor cafe which lived up to its high recommendation.  We then set off to look for the original site of the original Kalmar Cathedral and cemetery.  The site dates from the 12th century until 1678 when it was blown up by the locals to stop the invading Danes using it for cover in the war that was raging then.  They blew it up really well as it took us quite a while to find it. In a small park sized area amongst some old and very low houses is the site.  It is filled with tombstones from the era.  

Tiny house with someone living in it - Kalmar old town

We then headed to the more "modern" Kalmar Cathedral having walked about 13 klm in total for the day.  We listened for a while to the organist rehearsing for tonight's organ recital.

Gates to old city - Kalmar

Kalmar Cathedral

After all this history and the fact that the drizzle finally stopped, we packed it in for the day and headed back to our Hotel for some of their fine complimentary coffee and cake for afternoon tea.

Monday 30 June - Kalmar to Linkoping, Sweden.  At the end of today we had driven around 600 klm in Sweden. The whole time it has been on beautiful smooth roads that run through pine plantation after pine plantation after pine plantation. Lakes are numerous but civilization is surprisingly sparse. The typical house is a reddy maroon coloured timber building with white windows. The main house and farm buildings are much the same. 

Basil's new car - Fawlty Towers Hotel

Linkoping is located more towards the centre of Sweden, two hours drive south of Stockholm, on the canals that run east-west from the Baltic Sea to the north sea. Our hotel is a little quirky but surprisingly good. Located over the road from the train and bus terminal, as well as the Kinder Canal, Fawlty Towers Hotel is well located on the edge of the Old Town.  The centerpiece of the old town is the huge cathedral.  

The sign said it was OK

After settling into our room, we wandered around Linkoping, visited the Cathedral, said "Oh wow isn't it huge" eventually ending up in the central square where we had dinner. Knowing that waiting for the sun to go down here is a fruitless exercise we walked home and watched some of the Football World Cup and some of the Fawlty Towers episodes that run constantly in the hotel. The sun doesn't seem to set here.  It is relatively light up until 11pm and at 3:15am it's light again. 

Tuesday 1 July - In the 1800's Denmark imposed huge taxes on the Swedes to move goods across their borders.  So in 1810 Sweden started construction of the 190 klm long, 58 lock, Gota Canal that uses many of the large lakes to provide a sea trade route between the Baltic and North Seas.  In the year this huge project was completed Denmark dropped the taxes and opened up a train line allowing cheaper goods transfer than the canal option. One can understand why there has often been tension between these two neighbouring countries of Scandinavia.

Location of turning of the sod at start of Gota Canal

Standing of the Sod on Gota Canal

Given all this we set off to see the Gota Canal and its famous locks in action in a couple of towns it passes through and to visit a town on one of the large lakes. All day we successfully dodged heavy downpours with the rain coming down on us when we were in the car. Our first town was Motala, on the very large Lake Vattern,  where the first sod of the Gota Canal was dug up and thrown at the Danes.  

Locatory (speaking house) ruins - Vadstena Abbey, on Lake Vattern

Stone wash basin in brewery of Abbey

Next was the pretty town of Vadstena,on the same lake.  Here Saint Birgitta (Bridget) of Sweden set up the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Order of nuns in 1346 AD at the Vadstena Abbey which was a double monastery of 60 nuns and 25 monks. We wandered around the ruins of the Locatory (Speaking House) where the nuns and monks could communicate without seeing each other of course. The wooden box and spinning barrel that allowed items to pass between the two were still there as was the remains of the brewery and bakery. Interestingly each member of the abbey was limited to only 2.6 litres of beer a day!.

Communication box and barrel in Speaking House

Further amongst the 13 century monastery grounds we came across the original cobbled courtyard, some tombstones dating back to 1396 AD and, of course, a beautiful church steeped in history.

Original cobbled courtyard

We then set off to have a look at Vadstena Castle built in 1545 to protect Stockholm from invading armies from the south. It was once the Kings of Swedens castle but eventually the world changed and the castle ended up being a grain store.  Today it is well preserved but not all of it is original as some of the stone was used to strengthen the shoreline along the lake.

Vadstena Castle

Gota Canal in use - Berg, Sweden

We lunched on the shores of Lake Vattern at a cafe opposite the Vadstena Abbey ruins. After this we headed towards home via Berg where some boats were going through the famous locks of the Gota Canal, Lake Roxen. The forecast stormy downpours were no longer forecast but a reality, so we headed home to later have dinner at a sidewalk cafe looking up the cobblestone street towards Linkoping Cathedral.

Something we've noticed since arriving in Sweden, we haven't come across anyone speaking English as their main language and we haven't come across any obvious tourists - just locals or Swedish holidaymakers.  That's one of the reasons we like to get off the beaten/tourist track. We guess that's about to change as we head to Stockholm tomorrow.

Poignant stone carving on floor of Linkoping Cathedral

Wednesday 2 July  Moving Day - Linkoping to Stockholm, Sweden

Just when Julie was getting comfortable sitting in the front seat of a left-hand drive car, today will be our last day of having our own car. For the rest of the trip we will be training across Sweden and Norway.  For us today it is just a three hour drive to Stockholm, fill up the car, drop the luggage off at our hotel, then drop the car off with a leisurely walk back through the city centre to the hotel. That is what happened  - sort of.

All was going well heading to Stockholm. Our TomTom does many things with one being monitoring the traffic live on the chosen journey. We had the petrol station as our destination in TomTom so we could fill up before handing the car in, when, about 70 klm out of Stockholm, TomTom started registering a five minute traffic delay.  The further we travelled the longer the delay became until it was up to 30 minutes and red in colour. Eventually we chose a faster route option, although we soon had a traffic delay building up on the new route due to cars taking a detour as well. We chose another route on TomTom which took us down some back roads eventually tracking beside the stopped traffic on the motorway we were originally on. Eventually TomTom brought us back on to the main motorway into Stockholm just past the problem area.  

After congratulating Tommy (TomTom) on a job well done, we headed into the busy and unruly streets of Stockholm.  There must be some road and pedestrian rules here but they are not apparent. After going down some narrow backstreets and past a huge police station with numerous police cars and vans out front, Tommy announced we had arrived at our petrol station. Wrong - we had arrived at the headquarters of Statoil (like BP) with not a bowser in sight. Julie started looking at the back seat and the blanket once again. Pulling up on the side of the road, illegally we think, beside all the police cars, we reprogrammed Tommy to take us to another petrol station on another island - which she did.  On arrival we noticed something different - this one had bowsers! Queuing up behind a Volvo at one bowser we waited and waited until the occupants of the vehicle, who were sitting on seats in the sun looking at the water eating icecreams, realised the problem they were causing and moved on.

Great, all fuelled up and off to the hotel to drop off the luggage. No problems with this. Next off to Hertz just 700 metres away. Driving the mayhem of Stockholm's streets, we did a right turn down a narrow alley into a construction site with our 'next turn right and you've reached your destination' from Tommy closed off.  Julie has now moved into the back seat. All alone in the front I keep driving. Tommy is screaming at me 'Do a U-Turn, Do a U-Turn', I think she swore at me too. Tommy finally recovers and tells me what to do until I eventually realise she is taking me the same way again - back into the construction zone. I glance in the back seat and Julie is now under the blanket and I turn green with envy. Selecting 'find an alternative route' Tommy takes me another way through the chaotic Stockholm car, bike and pedestrian traffic, past the Herz shop on the other side of the road that has barriers across it so two lost souls from the Gold Coast, Australia cannot turn left!

On we go sailing past our Hertz destination with Tommy going on and on about 'Do a U-Turn, Do a U-Turn'. Julie is now rocking backwards and forwards praying. I do a U-Turn and slow down in front of Hertz where the drop-off area is 'closed due to construction'!  I resist climbing in the backseat too. Following the handmade sign instruction taped to the glass window of the Hertz shop I head further down the street as the rain starts. From the backseat and under the blanket I hear Tommy saying "Do a U-Turn" - Julie screams at her to shut up.

Stockholm - view from our room

Spying a little Hertz sign pointing into a dingy carpark, into the cavern I go. Julie calls out "Is it getting darker?". I tell her she just has a thicker part of the blanket over her since Tommy joined her. I follow the intermittent Hertz signs to the bottom of the crowded carpark and park the car under a Hertz sign. Julie finds a stressed little man dressed in black coming out of booth with a Hertz sign. English is his 15th language and interest in customer service his 84th. We hand the keys over not knowing if we just gave away a perfectly good car to a homeless man that lives in an abandoned booth that he put a Hertz sign on.

Up to the surface we go. Fresh air - filled with rain! We dash over to a coffee shop to have some lunch at 3.30 pm and a strong coffee.

After setting up in our hotel for the next four days we went for a walk along the waterfront and found a little Italian restaurant where we had dinner.  We have great views over parts of the Stockholm waterfront, city hall and the old town.

Thursday 3 July - Stockholm is built on 14 islands in Lake Malaren which marks the beginning of 24,000 islands, skerries, and islets stretching all the way to the Baltic Sea.  It is a beautiful city of bridges and islands, towers and steeples. Like many cities in Europe, it has a long history of wars, fires, the plague, bloodbaths, rogues, devastation and rebuilding. The city has a Gamla Stan (old city) steeped in struggles and buildings dating from the 13th century as well as 18th and 19th century wealthy buildings lining the shores of its many islands. Our hotel room has views over all of this.

Streets of Gamla Stan

Our day today was filled with a long walk through the Gamla Stan which is built on an island. First we strolled around the courts and legal fraternities island of Riddarholmen with its 13th century church topped by a cast iron spire. The church has been the burial place of kings and queens for the last four centuries.
 
 

Stortoget, Amsterdam

Next on to the Gamla Stan and to its many sights including the Royal Palace, Swedish Parliament, St George and the Dragon Statue, German Church etc.  The backstreets of this ancient city are just wonderful to stroll down.  All but empty of visitors, the old cobbled streets have accepted the countless footsteps of people going about their daily business for centuries. The Old City does have its own wonderful charm.  Every so often we'd come across a very busy main street with tourists aplenty so we'd drift back to the quieter streets.

For a while we sat in Stortorget (Great Square) which accommodates the Swedish Academy each year to chose the Nobel Prize winners in literature. The Square also has a gruesome past too. In 1520 the Stockholm Blood Bath occurred when Christian II of Denmark (that's right, a Dane) offered amnesty to the Swedish nobility to quell a rebellion against him. Ninety of them gathered in the square to receive the amnesty - they all left without their heads as these were piled up in a pyramid near where we were seated. 

We wandered into the centre of Stockholm looking for a supermarket which don't seem to exist. Not finding one we headed home and on the way decided to take a shortcut back to our hotel . We ended up walking for a kilometre or two down a service road past the Swedish Post depot and back service lower ground entrances to hotels and the convention centre. Julie was concerned that we'd either be run over or arrested -  I wasn't because I can run faster.   Finding out there was no way out, we retraced our steps pretending to the bemused workers unloading their goods that we weren't really lost.

We then sussed out Central Station to work out where we'll have to come on Sunday to catch the intercity train to Oslo, Norway - seems too easy being just across the road from our hotel.

Friday 4 July - Stockholm is built on numerous islands with the Stockholm Archipelago containing 24,000 islands - give or take a few hundred depending own which book you read.   Situated in the Baltic Sea, the tides are only a few centimetres each day so any development can safely build close to the water's edge. This development is made even safer as the islands are rising out of the sea by about 3 millimetres a year. Only the large islands are linked by bridges so water transport is big here. 

Stockholm Archipelago

One of the many little habited islands 

Groovy fountain

Feet up watching the world go by

Today we decided to see Stockholm by boat and with the perfect weather we had a great three hour boat ride. We did nearly miss the boat due to some unforeseen technical difficulties experienced by Julie's husband in trying to find the correct ferry terminal. Many of the islands are very tiny rocky outcrops and have only a couple of houses on them. Some larger ones have a little community on them supplemented by restaurants. We had a great morning relaxing on the bow of the boat in the sun watching all the islands pass by. Numerous yachts were sailing along in the light winds and we did spy a seal too.

Late afternoon we went back out again and strolled Gala Stan (old city) once more before discovering a quiet restaurant off the main tourist tracks and had a lovely dinner. 

Saturday 5 July - On 10 August 1628 the Swedish warship, the Vasa, set sail on its maiden voyage. After 1400 metres it sank. Oh well.  About 30 lives were lost and it sat on the bottom of Stockholm harbour for 333 years. It was salvaged in 1961 and was in excellent condition with 98% of the complete ship being recovered. About 1000 oak trees were used to build this ornate warship, so the Swedish government only got 1.4 metres per oak. 

Painstaking restoration followed and it now sits in its own museum about 3 kilometres from where we are staying. So we thought we would walk twice the distance it sailed in its whole life to see it. The first thing everyone says when you enter the museum is "Oh wow" and so did we. This unbelievably beautiful ship from a time of sail is remarkable. From any angle it is stunning. It just looks like a pirate ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. 

Bow of the Vasa

Vasa from the stern

Stern carvings

Canon deck

The related displays with full sized replicas of the officer's room and the canon deck makes it easy to appreciate what the original ship was like. Skeletons recovered from the ship have been forensically examined and the skulls have been used to recreate the busts of some of those that died so long ago. We spent 2-3 hours just mesmerised by this incredible display.

Stern of Vasa from its rudder looking up

Next was a visit to the oldest building in Stockholm, the Riddarholm Church built in 1285. This church has been the burial church for the Kings and Queens of Sweden for the last 300 years. We wandered this ancient church filled will the coffins of its kings and queens and sometimes their young children.

Coffins of kings and queens

Buried with his armor

Cause of death ... known

Many of the coffins are made of pewter. Battle armour of some of those buried here are beside the coffins. Sounds all a bit macabre and it is a bit, but it was fascinating.

So that's about it for Sweden. Tomorrow we head off to Oslo in Norway by high speed train. Sweden is less english speaking friendly than Denmark, although we had no real problems except for signage. On numerous occasions we looked at a sign which seemed important and wondered what it said. Sweden is less rule compliant than Denmark too. Driving and crossing the roads in Sweden is a lot more unpredictable as the culture is more of what can I get away with as opposed to what is the right thing to do. Stockholm is very pretty and very livable although expensive - diesel is about $2.30 per litre and a schooner of beer is about $10.  The bottle of wine we ordered one night, which was the second cheapest on the menu, cost the same as two main courses.  We'd been forewarned about the price of alcohol and forewarned that it is even more expensive in Norway.

Stockholm at its finest

We are both well and still very much enjoying our travels.