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Sweden
for Beginners Let me admit straight away that if my son had not spent a year there as part of his University of Wales language studies, and subsequently decided to settle there, the country would not have been high on my priority list for a visit – a country to visit one day perhaps, but other places, warmer climes, would have beckoned first. But although a little bit of me still says, “I wish he had decided to settle somewhere nearer the Mediterranean”, my visits to Sweden are something which I now treasure and would not like to have missed. I have made several visits during the last few years, staying initially in Linköping (Sweden’s fifth largest city but the largest that nobody in Britain has ever heard of). It’s an inland city, about 120 miles south west of Stockholm, and home to Saab aircraft and aerospace (but not the better known Saab cars). Aircraft enthusiasts will enjoy the Flygvapen Museum and historical aircraft collection, which unlike its larger counterpart at Hendon can be comfortably enjoyed in an hour or two – perhaps longer if you’re a real aircraft “anorak”. Linköping has all the appearance of a thriving modern university city with little of a historic core to make it a real tourist destination - good shopping centre and clean modern appearance without the worst excesses of modern Scandinavian architecture. Nonetheless, appearances can be deceptive: the city has a long history and the evidence for this is in its ancient Domkyrkan or cathedral, which was founded nearly 900 years ago, and saw the coronation of at least one Swedish king, Valdemar, in 1251. A couple of miles from the centre is a good example of the type of open air and rural life museum which is very popular in Sweden - Gamla Linköping (Old Linköping). This is not the original city, nor is it a faithful reconstruction of it, but a museum showing what a Swedish provincial town looked like about 100 years ago. Traditional buildings - over 80 of them - have been gathered together in one spot, and to ensure that the place has real life and is more than “just” a museum, over fifty people actually live there and traditional crafts are practised in the many workshops. Just outside the city is part of the Göta Canal which runs west to east across the country, and which like all canals has picturesque boats, locks and canal-side scenery. It is possible during the summer to take a (pricey) trip of several days from one end of the canal to the other, or just to make part of the journey as a day trip. The canal is not in fact a continuous whole but leads from the mouth of the River Göta near Gothenburg (Göteborg) to Sweden’s largest lake - Vänern - via the Trollhättan Canal, and then links up with another large lake - Vättern - before continuing to the Baltic. Water is everywhere in Sweden: even in the south, which has more agriculture than the centre and north of the country, the approach to the airport is likely to be over mile upon mile of pine or birch forest interspersed with lakes large and small, among rocky outcrops. Linköping makes a good centre for visits to other smaller towns in the surrounding area. Among them is Vadstena on the shores of Lake Vättern and known for its moated castle founded by King Gustav Vasa, and the abbey church dedicated to St Birgitta (Bridget) (1303-73), a local girl who founded a monastery here in the buildings of an even older royal palace, built for King Valdemar by his father. The abbey was visited by Pope John Paul II when he visited Sweden in 1989. Grimly interesting is the Mental Hospital Museum which graphically illustrates the various “treatments” to which inmates were subjected. In the opposite (easterly) direction lies Söderköping, a pretty former spa town near the mouth of the Göta Canal. It was once a town of considerable religious and commercial importance linked with the Hansa traders around the Baltic Sea, but as the river silted up its importance declined until it came to life again as a spa town in the eighteenth century. The spa itself is now an elegant hotel (Söderköpings Brunn) at which despite the surroundings I had a simple and reasonably priced Sunday lunch. This is a wonderful destination for a couple of hours’ serendipity among the elegant 16th century wooden houses and a good antidote to the modernity of Linköping. It has to be admitted that while there is enough to do in the Linköping area to occupy a few days, there are more interesting parts of the country to visit. On my second visit to Sweden I combined a trip to see my son with my first and fairly brief visit to the capital, Stockholm. And I could not wait to return: I was totally entranced by the city, which for me ranks with Paris and Prague among my three favourite European capitals. It is both clean and elegant: it is large enough to qualify as a real metropolis without being overwhelming (population about 1 million - about the size of Birmingham). It seems to be built on water: the city is situated on both mainland and islands where the Baltic meets the waters of Lake Mälaren. And there is so much to see and do, mostly within a comfortable walking distance, or at most a short Tunnelbana (Underground) - or boat - ride, that it is difficult to know where to begin a description without launching into the writing of a full scale book. The area
of the city which draws me back on each occasion that I visit (my son
now lives and works in Stockholm) is the old city or Gamla Stan, built
on an island just south of the modern city centre and main shopping area.
A delightful rabbit warren of meandering streets, small shops and ancient
buildings, with frequent glimpses of water on all sides, it has been much
restored in the past few decades from a neglected semi-slum into an attractive
and much visited area of the city. Gamla Stan also contains the large
and impressive Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet), which unlike Buckingham
Palace may be visited at all times of the year; and the ancient Storkyrkan
(Great Church) which since 1942 has also been Stockholm’s cathedral.
A walk over a bridge from Gamla Stan brings you to the Riksdagshuset (House
of Parliament) which sits on its own island and is open to visitors (guided
tours including some in English), without charge (UK Houses of Parliament
please note). Walk from Gamla Stan over another bridge to yet another
island - Riddarholmen - to visit Riddarholmskyrkan, the church which has
been the burial place of Swedish royalty and nobility for six centuries. Also on the
island of Djurgarden is the wonderful open-air museum of Skansen, said
to be the world’s first such museum. Like Gamla Linköping (above)
it contains examples of historic houses, farmsteads and gardens from all
over Sweden, spanning five centuries. But it also contains a fine zoo,
concentrating on Scandinavian animals such as bears, wolves, wolverines
and elk. There are also traditional breeds of Swedish farm animals and
a separate aquarium. All in all a wonderful day out for the whole family,
and a particular delight for children. Pockets of an older Stockholm remain in the central area, among them the Adolfs Fredriks Kyrka (church), which in its churchyard contains the very simple but poignant memorial stone to Olof Palme, the Swedish Prime Minister who was murdered while walking home from the cinema in 1986. I visited this memorial in July 2003; I was not then to know that two short months later, another prominent Swedish politician, Anna Lindt, was to be attacked and killed in a Stockholm department store. Just outside the modern city centre, in one of the many green areas of the city, during my most recent visit I went up the Television Tower, which gives superb views over the city and into the Stockholm archipelago and the countryside beyond. If you tire of walking and visiting museums etc., one of the best ways of relaxing, and seeing Stockholm at the same time, is to take one of the many boat trips which tour the city. The main points of interest are of course all described, including in English. Some boats also have catering facilities – there is a great deal of choice - or you may just decide to take the ferry to the fascinating small island of Fjädarholmarna, the first of the literally thousands of islands in the archipelago. There are many more attractions and places of interest to visit in this great cosmopolitan capital city and I am well aware that I have only scratched the surface in my visits to date. What I have described of the city is therefore only really a glimpse of the possibilities: there is so much more to see, particularly on the cultural front – many more museums, the iconic City Hall (Stadhuset) with its landmark tower on Kungsholmen; major theatres; the opera house; the Tivoli amusement park on Djurgarden; and much more. Outside Stockholm, and within reasonable travelling distance, are a number of places well worth visiting. Amongst the most spectacular is the royal summer palace at Drottningholm, now the main royal residence and easily accessible by ferry, tour boat, Tunnelbana and bus or by road. Known as the Swedish Versailles - though not on such a grand scale - it is Sweden’s greatest royal palace and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Another great castle - but totally different in its medieval appearance - is Gripsholm at Mariefred - accessible by an all day boat trip or, more quickly, by road, which was how I visited in May 2005. At this point it is well worth saying that Sweden’s roads are a pleasure to drive on – they are well maintained, the volume of traffic is far less than in Britain, and drivers are generally more tolerant and considerate. Even in busier Stockholm, the traffic generally flows well – I was rather amused to read earlier this year that the City Council is considering introducing London-style congestion charging - my comment to my son was that they have no idea what real traffic congestion is! Also in the Stockholm area is the wonderful archipelago - a number of boat trips go from the city to places such as the attractive waterfront town of Vaxholm. Alternatively it is well worth making a driving tour, if only for the fascination of making frequent short car ferry crossings between the many islands. You just turn up and go, and no charge is made as the ferries are considered to be floating bridges - substitutes for permanent bridges and essential links in the archipelago’s road network. North of Stockholm and easily accessible by the E4 motorway, express train, bus or (inevitably) boat, is the ancient cathedral and university city of Uppsala. As well as the cathedral, castle and university area, you should visit the beautiful Linnaeus Gardens, where Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) once lived and worked. On the way to Uppsala you should try to visit the pretty and historic lakeside town of Sigtuna, with its three ruined twelfth century churches and Sweden’s oldest street (Stora Gatan) in Sweden’s oldest town, founded in 980 AD. On one of my visits to Sweden, my son and I decided to take a week’s holiday on the west coast (which like Britain’s west proved itself wetter than the east!) We stayed a few nights in Gothenburg - Sweden’s second largest city, and its major port for trading with the world beyond the Baltic and Scandinavia - for instance it was the headquarters of the Swedish East India Company which monopolised trade with the orient for nearly a century. Our budget hotel (Ibis) in Gothenburg was actually a converted ship moored permanently on the Göta River in front of an old East India Company warehouse - sadly there was absolutely no information about the ship itself. Staying there was nonetheless quite a novel experience. There is a good deal to see in Gothenburg, although it is a more industrial city than Stockholm and the attractions are inevitably fewer and more concentrated. There is much of interest around the old town and harbour, while further south in the modern centre are the shops, main museums and the Liseberg amusement park - Gothenburg’s answer to the Tivoli in Stockholm and Copenhagen. North of Gothenburg begin the fjords and islands that make a scenic route all the way to the Norwegian border about 200 miles (as the crow flies) to the north. We went a short distance into this area, visiting the colourful island and town of Marstrand, with its historic buildings and wonderful nautical atmosphere. Once the centre of a vibrant herring fishing industry, it was actually part of Norway and later became a fashionable resort. It is now a centre for sailing and bathing, as well as a wonderful place just to saunter around and soak up the atmosphere. Later in our west coast trip we travelled south to stay a few days at Malmö, in the far south west of Sweden. A largely modern city in appearance, Malmö is nonetheless of ancient foundation, and has an attractive medieval centre, full of cobbled and pedestrianised streets. It too was an important herring fishing centre and for a considerable time was the second city of Denmark, since the whole of this area (Skåne) was until 1658 part of Denmark. It is immediately opposite Copenhagen on the Öresund, and while historically it prospered as part of Denmark, it has not always done so as part of Sweden, being remote from Stockholm and the central heartland of Sweden. One of the most impressive sights locally, however is the new (2000) Öresund road and rail bridge linking Sweden and Denmark, and it is now an easy, if not particularly cheap, journey across the bridge from Malmö to Copenhagen – a trip we made by train during our visit. I am told that although the usage of the bridge was initially lower than anticipated, business has gradually increased, and there is a growing band of commuters who live in Malmö but work in Copenhagen, where residential property is considerably more expensive. There is also a large day tripper trade from Sweden to Denmark, where the prices of all alcoholic drinks are much lower than in Sweden - people travel from all over southern Sweden simply to stock up on their supplies. Such has been the impact on alcohol sales in the Swedish state off licence monopoly Systembolaget, that the Swedish government is now seriously considering reducing the punitive taxes on alcohol. Our final visit while staying in Malmö was to the nearby small city of Lund, Uppsala’s rival as an ancient university and cathedral city. The cathedral is undoubtedly the main tourist attraction and includes an intriguing medieval (1440) astronomical clock, which at 3 pm every day performs a “show” with mechanical knights, heralds, and the Three Wise Men. This seems to have been quite a long review of my various visits to Sweden over the last ten years. Until I put it down on paper I had not realised quite how many interesting places I had visited. Undoubtedly Stockholm and its hinterland is the “jewel in the crown” - but there is plenty more I have not yet seen, including the central Swedish traditional heartland of Dalarna, and the midnight sun of the far north, a thousand miles away in Lapland. Who knows where future visits will take me? The possibilities are endless. A note on
prices. Whenever I tell people about my visits to Sweden, I nearly always
meet with the reaction “But isn’t it very expensive?” The
answer, as for many places, is “It depends on what you are buying
or where you are – it’s dearer in major cities than in the country
areas.” Generally speaking Sweden’s accession to the EU and
changes in exchange rates mean that it is now much less expensive than
it might have been thirty years ago, although it would certainly not be
considered to be cheap (unless you are reading this in Norway or Iceland
in which case practically anywhere else in the world is cheaper!) Some
examples: eating out in the evening is more expensive than in most of
Britain, although probably comparable with London. However midday special
lunches are generally cheaper than in Britain, and likely to be of better
quality. Hotels are quite expensive although the price of chains like
Ibis compares well with Travel Inns and similar places here. There are
even cheaper options such as the Hotel “Formule 1” with which
some travellers to France may be familiar – or of course there are
hostels. Car hire and petrol are priced reasonably, probably a bit cheaper
than Britain. Clothes are comparably priced, although shoes are a lot
dearer. CDs are much cheaper. Public transport is comprehensive but not
cheap. Entrance charges to places of interest are similar to those in
Britain. All in all, how much you spend depends on what you want to do
and where you want to go. First published in VISA issue 63 (Oct 2005) |