Exploring Sweden

This page will contain posts about my trips around Sweden. I guess I should have started it when I posted about Idre Fjäll but I didn't think of it at the time (and perhaps Stockholm should be moved here too - oh well, can always do that later). Here are details of my trips to:

• Sweden's oldest town Sigtuna
• the pretty town of Sundsvall 
• the cultural hub out west and home of the giant kanelbulle Gothenburg 
• UNESCO World Heritage site of Karlskrona 
• visiting beautiful Stockholm for Culture Night and the Vasa Museum
• a road trip around part of Lake Mälaren

Sigtuna

I did a day trip to Sigtuna which is some 33km from Uppsala. I took the Pendeltag (commuter train) from Uppsala to Knivsta (9 minutes) and then a bus from Knivsta to Sigtuna. It was a glorious day - sunny and quite warm. The bus took about half an hour and trundled through rural Sweden which is very much like Canada except for the colourful houses (usually red) and the ancient looking churches.

Sigtuna was founded in the late 10th century and in 995 Sweden's first coin was manufactured in the town. There are many runes - and ruins (particularly of 3 old stone churches dating from the 12th century) and the town is charming and picturesquely set on the shores of Lake Mälaren. I spent a very pleasant day wandering around, snapping photos, gazing out onto the lake and sitting comfortably flipping through a book on Islamic art in the quirky and welcoming library of the Sigtunastiftelsen (Sigtuna Foundation) which is a retreat/hotel/conference centre. I also enjoyed a very expensive chocolate dessert and mocha (about $16 Canadian - outrageous) at RC Chocolat. Here are some photos of the day.

A typical Easter decoration in Sweden is twigs/branches with brightly coloured feathers - nice to see familiar pussy willows too

More Easter decorations outside the shops on Sigtuna's ancient main street

Close up of decorations

Dragon poised above the doorway of the old building housing Sigtuna's tourist office

The main street lined with buildings ranging from 100-300+ years old

View from the belfry hill over the town

The belfry (must admit I don't really understand the concept of a standalone belfry - more research needed)

View out onto Lake Malaren

Ruined church

Another ruined church

And just one more ruined church

Ancient stones of a ruined church

Mariakyrkan (Mary's Church) - dates from the 13th century and still in use

One of the buildings at the Sigtuna Foundation - made me think of mission style from California

Hard to remember I'm in Sweden and not in the Pacific Northwest or somewhere in California or Nevada

Signs of spring!

Dessert - yummy but wallet said OUCH!

98 SEK for mocha and chocolate dessert (almost $16 Canadian)

Sundsvall

I had a lovely time in Sundsvall. It was peaceful and pretty and relaxing and refreshing. The so-called 'stone city' in the centre is full of gorgeous 19th century (mostly - though some early 20th) buildings. There are lots of interesting little shops, a helpful and well-staffed tourist centre and some hills (Uppsala has one which barely deserves the name - it is more of a gentle slope). Oh, and it has a small casino (which of course I visited - the machines were ultratight but I had fun though I don't think I will ever get used to the idea of paying to go into a casino). 

First highlight was the lovely Södra Berget Hostel run by the friendly Tommy and Anna with the capable assistance of Diezel the dog. Tidy, calm and oh so quiet - I so miss the quiet and peace of living on my own, for me I think this is the hardest adjustment I have had to make in Sweden. My room was perfectly adequate, the kitchen was well-equipped, clean and spacious and I availed myself of something I haven't enjoyed in ages - television. I watched all kinds of trashy stuff including several episodes of ER with an impossibly young looking George Clooney (I think he has become more handsome as he has aged - or perhaps that's because he's about the same age as me). 

I went to a not very fancy pizzeria on Thursday night and had a taco buffet which was nothing special but filled me up. Slept well and the next day went out exploring the town and taking pictures of some of the gorgeous buildings. The tourist office had a self-guided tour which took about half an hour and was well worth the price (free!). They have MP3s available for 80 SEK which might be worth checking out if you are really into architecture and history. The basic story is that the town centre was destroyed by fire in 1888 and rather than rebuild in wood many rich residents decided to go with stone instead. The buildings are wonderful and decorative embellishments abound. Here are a few examples.

Beautiful doorway with elegant plaster work (or carving?) - too bad about the graffiti!

The warm colours of the buildings are especially pretty on a cold winter's day

Pretty spires and blue skies

Many of the buildings are decorated with paintings

I think this was the Hotel Knaust

Lovely plaster work/carving

Detail of the interior of the Hotel Knaust

Gryphon pharmacy emblem

Entry way of Hotel Knaust

Fancy touches abound

Female figures on Stadhuset (I think) - now houses the tourist office

I had lunch at The Orangerie which is a gallery (not art gallery but gallery as in previously outdoor space that has been topped with a glass roof) off of the tourist office - the salad buffet which included broccoli soup, various more substantial items (cold chicken, salmon, hard boiled eggs and quiche), a nice selection of freshly baked bread and biscotti and coffee and tea for afters. Not cheap at 95 SEK but very pleasant atmosphere complete with slightly cheesy but cheerful recorded birdsong. 

In the evening I visited the casino - had a good time but no wins to report. Then up the hill to the hostel in the cold night air and watching TV. There was a family staying but they all retired early and I was on my own with the remote - bliss!

The next morning I climbed the hill to the Hotell Södra Berget - it took about 30 minutes and although quite cold (I think it was about -13 - Tommy told me it was -5 but considering the temperature brought tears to my eyes and these then froze on my eyelashes I think it was quite a bit colder than -5) it was a glorious walk in the sunshine. The hotel has a special deal for those staying at the hostel - partake of the buffet breakfast for a very economical 60 SEK (just under $10). It was a great nosh and as you can see below the views were spectacular. The plate of food I snapped doesn't do the buffet justice - there was a very good dark bread studded with nuts and raisins, one of those wonderful machines that makes lattes and cappucinos, surprisingly sweet and flavourful melon (usually at this time of year melon in Canada is tasteless), yummy jams, cold cuts and cereals. Delish.

The breakfast destination - some 2km uphill from the hostel

Views are somewhat industrial but dramatic

The bread on the left was so good - dark and molasses-y with nuts and raisins

Another view of Sundsvall and its frozen harbour

The row of squares in the water are the pilings for a planned bridge that will allow traffic to basically bypass the town and keep going north without slowing down (too much)

I walked back down to the hostel and dropped off my binocs and bird book (saw only a woodpecker on the way up to the hotel) and went into the city to search for socks. For some reason I forgot to pack extra socks and since I was still carrying around the H&M card that Jin and Marzi gave me for Christmas and I needed new workout (ankle) socks I bought myself a pack of four pair. And got some snacks to take on the bus the next morning. Back to the hostel in the afternoon after another browse around town. Watched ER until Melodifestivalen (Swedish cultural experience - too much to explain) and went to bed early. Next day - lounged around drinking coffee at the hostel and caught the bus at 10:25 am - back to Uppsala by 2:30 pm.

Wish I could say it is good to be back but the whole town looks drab and dull after the prettiness and variety of Sundsvall. Oh well. It will be good to be back in my own bed and the bathroom here in the apartment is closer than it was in the hostel. Need to be grateful for the small things - right?
 

Gothenburg

I had heard so much about Gothenburg (in Swedish Göteborg) and since it was the last casino left to visit in Sweden (the national company Casino Cosmopol has 4 branches) and it was on the sea I thought that I should go before the weather turned dismal. I took the train which was fast and relatively inexpensive though it is annoying that almost everything requires a trip to Stockholm (although I shouldn't complain since living in Victoria almost always requires a trip to Vancouver before you can go anywhere). Karl who I met through TEDx hails from Gothenburg and a couple of classmates are from the vicinity and had great tips on what to see and do. One even loaned me her bus card so that I could travel around the city like a local.

The hostel I booked was modern, sparkling clean and sleek but I found the rooms rather poorly thought out with the area underneath the bunk beds blocked with a piece of wood (may have been aesthetically pleasing but this is typically where people put their luggage I find). Also there was hardly anywhere to hang clothes (coats, etc) in the room – I find this a common complaint. Finally, the toilets– although there were plenty of them and they were squeaky clean and modern – were out in the hall. A problem for me and my darn ageing bladder. But it was perfectly acceptable.

My diary records that the casino was ho hum – didn't have many machines I liked although, as usual, that didn't stop me from dropping too much money. But since, as many have observed, money seems to manifest itself for me whenever I need it I have a different attitude towards it than most. The next day got off on a much more fun note with an immense kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) in the trendy Haga district of the city. Then it was wandering around and then off to one of the islands off the coast – again by public transit so it wasn't terribly expensive. I so enjoyed tramping round this sunlit island with its peaceful air, cheerful red houses and pleasant views of the sea.

After my visit to the island I went to the art museum which was where I saw my first works by the painter Bruno Liljefors that I have mentioned in other postings. It was an enjoyable visit although I thought the discount for students was kind of odd in that not only was it only open to Gothenburg students but it was also limited to those studying art or music. Surely those NOT studying such subjects are the ones most needing to enjoy and be exposed to art. At some point I obviously went to the hothouse where I snapped the picture of the rather odd plants you see below (I think they were some kind of insect eating plant).

I can't remember where I went out to eat but I probably just bought something at a supermarket. I must admit that I am not much for dining out in Sweden as it invariably disappoints me and is often so expensive. It's not how I like to spend my money and in defense of that I will say that I am much the same in Canada – I won't eat out unless it is something that really appeals to me. Since Gothenburg is on the sea and of course I am that weird westcoast Canadian who doesn't like fish it is not surprising that I decided to pass up a meal out.

The next day I headed back to Uppsala on the train. The gracious host at the hostel allowed me to take, for nothing, the breakfast leftovers (cold meats, cheese, chopped vegetables, bread) that I was quite willing to pay for and that comprised my meal on the train. I got back to Uppsala around 10:00 pm kind of sad, as usual, to have left the sea behind. My next trip would be a return to Helsinki around Christmas.

Cafe in Haga where I am about to buy and attempt to eat a massive cinnamon bun (kanelbulle)

Said buns in the window

Begin at the beginning - before I've taken the first bite

As far as I got - the leftover portion kept me going for the rest of the day

Fisk Torget (fish square - see below for the version in Karlskrona)

Rather odd looking plants in the greenhouse

Karlskrona 

Karlskrona is a town of some 35,000 inhabitants on the southeast coast of Sweden. Its main claim to fame is as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its naval port. Despite having a small population there is plenty to see and do in Karlskrona and it’s a great place for a visit – especially in the summer (I doubt I would be as enthusiastic about a visit right now in January 2014).

I visited Karlskrona from August 8 to 12th mainly to see my classmate Petter who has a job in the kitchen at a Karlskrona hospital and usually goes back in the summer to make some money to live off of while studying. Petter is a friendly, compassionate and somewhat anachronistic person combining a love of heavy metal headbanging music with birding. Sadly (for us, but great for him) he has switched from the International Health Master’s program to studying rural development at SLU (the Swedish Agricultural University).

I travelled by bus the 560 km to Karlskrona and it was quite a pleasant trip with free WiFi for most of the way though I must admit that I usually end up staring out the window when I travel rather than working on anything. I find the combination of motion and a moving view out the window to be very meditative and soothing. Of course this is something you don’t really experience when you are flying except for landing and taking off – perhaps that is why we have become so blasé about flying. Although there is no denying it is fast and efficient transportation it is not really ‘traveling’ but rather more like some kind of self-inflicted deprivation that has a side effect your abrupt and disorienting arrival in a place far away.

I arrived early afternoonish, Petter met me at the bus station and we had a lovely dinner al fresco at a restaurant on the main square (stortorget). This expansive square is a little out of keeping with the size of the town but when it was planned and constructed Karlskrona was an important town in Sweden and thus it is not too surprising it is so large. We then wandered back to Petter’s apartment, a lovely one bedroom suite that he found with relatively little trouble and which he was renting for a reasonable sum – made me jealous in the extreme given the housing situation in Uppsala.

The next day, a Friday, Petter went off to work and I amused myself wandering around the town, going in any old building that was open but deciding to take a pass on the excellent looking maritime museum as I am not that into maritime history (despite my potential link with the aforementioned shipwright Fredrik Chapman who had a book on him in the Karlskrona Museum gift shop). I did however have lunch there and it was delicious and well-priced. Unlike almost every other place I’ve visited for lunch in Sweden the museum cafeteria featured traditional Swedish dishes (not pizza or kebab) with labels and explanation of what they were in English. Yes, it was heavy on the meat, fat and carbs but so what. And of course I was ecstatic to be by the sea again and spent quite a bit of time just sitting in the sunshine and gazing at the sparkling waves. Bliss.

On Saturday we headed off on the public ferry to the island of Utlängan which is one of the most southeasterly in the archipelago. Here we spent the day birding and it was fabulous – not the least because Petter is such an excellent birder and it seems that birds appear as if by magic when you are with a really skilled birder. We saw more snipes than we could count, some really exciting raptors (can’t remember exactly what) and of course since the birds in North America are almost all of different species than what we see here in Sweden almost everything was new to me. A wonderful day in a delightful setting with glorious weather. By the time we went back to Karlskrona we were both very tired – the combination of sea air and most of the day spent on our feet.

Sunday saw us having a well deserved sleep in. After breakfast we wandered around Karlskrona a bit. One of the highlights was strolling out to the neighbourhood of Brändaholm which consists of about 40 summer houses all painted traditional red and white (except for one yellow one as I remember). Around the 'backside' of this set of houses was a breathtakingly gorgeous view out to the archipelago that made it seem as if you were a thousand miles away from civilization. We lunched at the museum and the food was just as good (although just as heavy!) the second time around. The rest of the day was more of the same – strolling in the sunshine.

The next day, Monday, Petter walked with me to the bus station – it was sort of on his way to work – and I returned to Uppsala. Can’t deny that I was very sorry to leave the sea (and such congenial company) but I knew that in 9 short days I would be off to Copenhagen so that made it somewhat more bearable.

One of the churches on the main square

A second church on the main square (sorry, I'm bad on the details here)

So good to be by the sea again

Yes, I know, more boring salt water

The king's cannons - not much use for them now thankfully

One last sea shot

Lovely old building with green glass tiles

Church chandelier

Church interior

Chapman school

Karlskrona's fish torget sculpture

Fish close up

Herring and mashed potatoes (at least that is what Google translate says for potatismos)

Potato pancakes with pork

Potato dumplings (with meat inside as I remember)

Stockholm 

Stockholm, Sweden's capital city, is everything I love in a metropolis. Great for walking around, by the ocean (although not as much on the coast as Victoria or Vancouver since to actually reach the open ocean from Stockholm you have to maneuver through the scores of islands in the Archipelago), lively, historic and at the same time modern. It's a short (38 minutes) and relatively cheap (about the same price or a little less than the ferry to Tsawwassen from Swartz Bay as a foot passenger) train ride from Uppsala. I really should go more often. Last visit was for Culture Night (April 26, 2014) when the city throws open the doors of many attractions and welcomes people in for free. Most photos are from that evening though some are from earlier when I went to the Vasa Museum. Next visit will be tomorrow (May 2, 2014) when I will be going to apply for a visa to visit India (you must go in person if you live within a certain distance of Stockholm). Note that the dates are one day earlier than they should be on the photos - no idea how that happened (i.e. March 29 should be March 30).

The Vasa Museum had been on my list for a long time and it did not disappoint although it is far from cheap at 130 SEK (about $22 Canadian) for adults (student price was 100 SEK). I had downloaded an English MP3 guide off of their website the day before. It is indeed very impressive and I easily spent a couple of hours there wandering around the exterior of the ship, watching various videos and looking at the well-displayed artifacts uncovered during the salvage. A note if you go - make sure and take a sweater, the museum's interior is kept cool to help preserve the ship and I kept my hoodie on the whole time and was still a bit chilled by the time I left. I am sorry I only have a single photo but my camera works very poorly in the low light conditions that exist inside the museum.

For those of you unaware of the story of the Vasa, it sank on its maiden voyage out of Stockholm in 1628 and remained underwater until 1961 when it was salvaged. Bringing it up from the seafloor was one of the first live television events ever seen around the world.

A depiction of what the stern of the Vasa was thought to have looked like when it set sail from Stockholm in 1628

After looking around the Vasa Museum I walked over to Södermalm - a formerly working-class neighbourhood that is now rather trendy. I was heading for a vegetarian restaurant called Hermans where I thought I was going to enjoy a (relatively) inexpensive late lunch. I had been to Hermans before with a classmate and we had had the buffet for half price (well, two for one as we were both students). But as it turns out there is no deal for students dining alone except on Monday (this was a Sunday I think) so it was 175 SEK. By this point though I was hungry and too tired from walking to go looking for somewhere else. Next time I will know better and not go alone.

View of Gamla stan (the old town) from lunch at Hermans

Sunset as I headed back to Central Station after my day visiting the Vasa Museum

Culture night in Stockholm was preceded by SFI class (Swedish for Immigrants) which is from 10:00-13:00 on Saturdays. I then went to my school and made my lunch to eat in Stockholm and met a friend at the train station to catch the 14:11 SJ train (typically the cheaper SJ trains to and from Uppsala leave at 11 minutes after the hour most of the day but are more frequent at morning and evening rush hour and don't go at all from about 1:00 to 5:00 am). SJ offers a more reasonably priced and faster train than SL - typically 81 SEK vs 108 SEK.

We walked from Central Station to Odenplan and from there caught a bus to Haga Parken - a large, green area that is also where the crown princess Victoria lives with her family. Here we saw the famous copper tents and wandered around looking at the various architectural highlights as well as just enjoying the water vistas and the trees, flowers and shrubs. We then walked back through the center of town, stopping to pick up a meal from Max (Sweden's own burger chain) and then meeting friends at a park in Södermalm. 

Looking down Drottninggatan (pedestrian shopping street) on Culture Night

Art (that's not a real person) on the Kulturhuset at Sergel's Torg

The so-called 'copper tents' at Haga Park

A view across the water from Haga Park (no idea what we're looking at)

The Royal Palace

The tower in Sergels Torg (square) in Stockholm - it is about 40 years old and prettily lit at night

Lovely buildings on the water on the walk to Djurgarden (where the Vasa Museum is located)

Another sunset view

We stayed in the park in Södermalm eating, talking and drinking wine until the (collective) need for a toilet forced us to move on! We went back to Central Station on the Tunnelbana (metro), paid 10 SEK each to use the loo and then walked up through the far end of the Tunnelbana Central Station platform to Sergel's Torg. From there we walked straight down Drottninggatan to Gamla stan and then to the king's palace which was open free of charge for the evening. It was pretty much a mob scene in there and I didn't take any photos - it was really just a lot of 'blingy' rooms although quite interesting.

After the palace we went to the concert house where we were hoping to be able to go up onto the roof to get a panoramic view of Stockholm at night. However, when we arrived we were told that you needed to book a time to go up and not only were the bookings full but there was a long waiting list as well. So that didn't happen and as it was about 10:40 pm Astrid and I decided to head back on the 11:11 pm train to Uppsala while my other classmate set off with her cousin and another friend to party some more in Stockholm. We could have done more but it was a fun day all the same and it is always good to get away from Uppsala to beautiful Stockholm.