Sverige - Sweden

SVERIGE - SWEDEN

A bus ride from Oslo to Karlstad in Sweden

Tuesday 11th June 2019

I had originally planned to go straight to Stockholm by train, but  one of the advantages of the way I travel is that it is very easy to change my plans. I decided that I wanted to see a bit more of Sweden and found a long distance bus that stopped at Karlstad, a town situated at the top of Lake Vänern, about half way between Oslo and Stockholm, so I booked a seat. 

It was a luxury coach with loads of leg room, wide reclining seats etc. and once again Lucy had a window seat. We followed the main E18 road that goes across Sweden to Stockholm, but there was hardly any traffic and at times it was more like a B road at home. 

But she soon hopped onto the table so that she could see the Swedish countryside

We crossed the border from Norway into Sweden and continued to Karlstad. The journey took just under 3 hours, but Karlstad Station was the only stop. The bus continued to Stockholm without any further stops, but we got off to spend a couple of nights in the town. 

Hotell Drott

I stayed at Hotell Drott, a family run hotel, which  is amazing. It is an Art Nouveau building built in 1909 and was once a bakery, a bank and a theatre. There was a great atmosphere in the bar, which was used by locals, and the staff were very friendly. I chatted to the woman behind the bar and she taught me quite a bit of Swedish. As well as the usual breakfast buffet, there was an inclusive evening buffet and, afternoon coffee & what they called ‘sweets’. The sweets turned out to be a choice of fruit crumble served with cream, or hot fruit scones and cream. All this cost less per night than my room in Oslo. 

A wonderful feature was the original hiss (lift) which Lucy loved going up and down in. So did I. It was great fun. 

A day in Karlstad

Wednesday 12th June 2019

It was a damp, grey day but it made the Klarälven River look moody and atmospheric 

Karlstad is a city in Värmland County on the Klarälven River which feeds Lake Vänern to the south of the town. Vänern is the largest lake in Sweden and is dotted with tiny islands. There are also three excellent museums. So, as it was a rainy day, I decided to visit them.  

Brigadmuseum

Because of its strategic position in the Baltic Sea, Sweden played an important part in the Cold War and this museum outlines how it affected the country between 1945 and 1991. 

Värmlands Museum

When I got to the Värmlands Multi-Media Museum it was full with people from coach trips and a school party, so I decided not to go in as I could read about the history of the area. 

Lucy went in, but I continued to the Lars Lerin Museum. 

Sandgrund - Lars Lerin Museum 

This museum was difficult to find as it is in the Sangrund building along with a library, restaurant and art centre. It wasn’t clear that it also houses the Lars Lerin Gallery. I nearly gave up as there was no one around to ask, but am so glad I didn’t as it was the highlight of my day. Lerin is a prolific water colourist born in 1954 in Värmland. He works on a huge scale and is known for his Nordic landscapes and use of light. His paintings are exhibited in a wonderful gallery devoted to his work. 

Thes photos of the gallery give an idea of the size of his paintings.

 I can’t imagine using water colours on such a large scale. I loved his work and could fill the whole blog with photos of it, but will just include a few of them. I mainly photographed small parts of much larger paintings.  

A small detail from his ‘Björkskog’ (Birch trees) painting. This was several metres wide and over a metre tall. You can see it in one of the gallery photos above. 

A detail from one of his large ‘Sjöfart’ (Shipping) paintings

Lars Lerin has also written several illustrated books. Some of the paintings for the books were exhibited in the gallery. In 2014 he was awarded the August Prize for bst Swedish non-fiction book, ‘Naturlära’ (Lessons of Nature) 

I wanted to buy it but it was far too heavy for me to carry around for the next three weeks, so I hope I can get a copy when I get home. 

On the train to Stockholm 

Thursday 13th June 2019

I got a train to Stockholm and arrived with plenty of time to spare before I needed to check into my room, so I went to the Visitor Centre to collect maps and information and walked around the old town, Gamla Stan. 

Gamla Stan

My room in Stockholm

This room was very different from my Art Nouveau room in Hotel Drott and it was a bit of shock when I opened the door. The room didn’t have any windows, but there were hundreds of windows looking in at me. 

 All four walls of the room were covered, from floor to ceiling, with what I initially thought was wall paper of buildings. Lucy loved it, but I thought it would make me freak out. It looked as if the bed was in a concrete yard with no way out and people were spying on us. The ceiling was glass that lit up to look like the sky. All I could think was, ‘I’ve got to spend four nights in here’, and, ‘At least there is a nice bar and lounge downstairs, so I have only got to sleep in here.’ So I unpacked and went down to the bar to plan four days in Stockholm. Before I left Birmingham Elina had given me a list of places to visit, some suggestions of Swedish foods to try, and a few useful word in Swedish. This was a great help as she knows the sort of things that I am interested in. 

When I returned to the room, Lucy told me that it wasn’t wall paper, but  the buildings had been painted onto the walls. She was right, there wasn’t a repeat pattern and not one window or building were the same. Surprisingly I slept very well and soon got used to the room, which after a while seemed cosy and welcoming.

As you probably know I love chairs, so I had to take a photo of these pink ones in the conference room at the hotel. Lucy refused to sit on one as she said it would clash with her red sweater. 

The Stockholm Archipelago and Lunch on M/S Östanå I 

Friday 14th June 2019

Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden has been settled since the Stone Age and was founded as a city in 1252 by Birger Jarl. As this map shows it is built on 14 islands linked by over 50 bridges and forms part of the Stockholm archipelago. It is estimated that there are over 24,000 islands in total stretching eastwards from the city into the Baltic Sea. So one of the first things I did was to book a boat trip to go around some of them.  

Waiting patiently to board M/S Östanå I 

M/S Östanå is a former steamship built in 1905/06. It was renovated in 1973 and the steam engine was replaced by a diesel one in 1985. It is beautiful inside with lots of polished wood. Lucy managed to get a table in the small restaurant, so she had lunch, (potato dumplings stuffed with mushrooms) on board ship. 

Sailing round one of the islands. I will write a lot more about the islands in  the Åland and Finland blogs

Skeppsholmen, Moderna Museet and ArtDes

When I got off the boat I realised that the Moderna Museet, Museum of Modern Art. that Elina had recommended, was open until 8pm on Friday evenings. So I decided to walk there. 

On my way I walked over the Skeppsholmsbron, one of the first wrought-iron bridges erected in Sweden in 1861 with a crest of King Karl XV on the balustrade. 

The ArkDes Museet tells the history of Swedish architecture using models, architectural drawings, and photographs. It is in the same building as the Moderna Museet and I had time to look at both before they closed. There was a guided tour of the art gallery in English, and although I didn’t join it I saw some of what he was saying about the paintings including the two below. 

‘Främlingar’ (Strangers) 1923/14 painted by Tora Vega Holmström

When this painting was exhibited at the Baltic Fair in Malmö in 1914 it was criticised for its modern style. 

This is part of a wall design by Otto G. Carlsund. It was commissioned by Le Corbusier for the foyer of a cinema which was never built. 

Alcohol Policy in Sweden

Lucy loves to have a beer. 

When I was in Karlsland I noticed that although a lot of locals were drinking in the bar they weren’t drinking alcohol or they nursed a small beer all night. So I checked the drink-drive alcohol limits for Europe. It is 0.2 in Sweden, so that must curtail their drinking. UK has by far the highest level 0.8, especially for commercial and novice drivers. In most countries they lower it for them to either 0 or 0.2. Yet another example of where we don't follow Europe. If caught driving in Sweden with an a alcohol level of  0.3 you can lose your licence for up to a year. And 1.0 or more will probably get a jail sentence. So very little alcohol is drunk during the week. But there is a drinking culture at weekends and, as I had noticed in Bergen, many bars offer Friday 'After-Work' events or ‘Happy Hours’. As in all Nordic and Scandinavian countries alcohol sales are restricted in retail shops to a fairly low percentage, and above that level it can only be purchased from the government owned stores that have limited opening hours. In Iceland these store are the only places, apart from bars where alcohol can be bought. Systembolaget is the government owned store in Sweden and is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages containing more than 3.5% alcohol by volume.

Djurgården - Stockholm at Play

Saturday 15th June 2019

Waiting for the Djurgårdsfärjan

It was a baking hot Saturday so I joined hundreds of locals on the tram to Djurgården one of the islands with woodlands, parks, an open air museum and amusement park. You can also get the Djurgårdsfärjan (ferry) from various points in the city but the tram was closer to my room. 

Göna Lund - Amusement Park and the ABBA Museum on Djurgården 

Nordiska Museet

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As it was such a hot day there were only a few of us in the Nordiska Museet,  so I was able to wander at leisure to learn about the social history of Sweden. The topics covered are fashion, textiles, jewellery, homes, furniture, photography, toys, folk art, glass and porcelain. And lots of different Swedish designed chairs. 

This was Lucy’s favourite in the ‘folk art’ section

 There is also an exhibition about the only indigenous people in Sweden, the Sami, and two special exhibitions. One was devoted to the 1950s and the other was  ‘Capturing the Moment,’ Portrait and fashion photography by Kerstin Bernhard (1914-2004). 

1950s dresses and paper patterns so you could make them at home

I really liked some of Kerstin Bernhard’s photos

Enjoying the sunshine

When I came out of the museum I wandered through the wooded areas of the island and along a path by the shore. It was full of people enjoying the Saturday sunshine. There were also  a couple of wedding parties taking photographs by the water and groups of people having picnics and playing team games. 

One of the groups playing team games. A bit like a school sports day. 

Electric powered scooters for hire

I first noticed these in Bergen, but there are hundreds of them in Stockholm and they seen to have replaced the city hire bikes. You download an App onto your phone which tells you where the scooters are located. You find one, scan it with with your phone and it debits your bank card. When you have finished you hop off and leave the scooter anywhere at your destination. I put the App on my phone but decided my knees might not be up to it, although Lucy bombed off on one. 

Everywhere you go there are scooters lying about on the pavements, parked by shops, up against walls, wherever people have dumped them. People, mainly young, and not so young, men bomb around the streets on them, going to and from work etc as an alternative to walking or cycling. They are very fast, and they weave around cyclists, pedestrians and cars. At first I thought they were a great idea, but after a while I wasn’t so sure. I will write more about them in the Åland blog.

The Ice Bar in Stockholm 

I finished the day by having my free cocktail in the Ice Bar next to my hotel. Everything is made of ice, the bar, the walls, the glasses, are all ice. You are given a cloak and thick gloves to wear when you go in. 

Lucy was worried that she might stick to the ice, so she didn’t stay long. 

Last day in Stockholm 

Sunday 16th June 2019

A bird’s eye view of Stockholm from a viewing platform 

I had a fairly lazy day, took photographs of the city and went to Fotografiska, the Museum of Photography, and had lunch there overlooking the archipelago. 

A couple of photos I liked from the ‘Light Within’ exhibition of photographs by Vincent Peters at Fotografiska 

There was also a fairly harrowing exhibition of photos of conflict taken by the war photographer James Natchway. 

Lucy loves Swedish Kardemummabulle and other Swedish cakes flavoured with different spices. So she had one while I looked at the photographs. 

The ferry to Åland 

I had a fairly early night as I had to be up by 4.30 the next morning to catch a bus to the ferry port to start my Baltic Sea adventures. 

Next stop Mariehamn the capital of Åland.