A mixup; language or poor organisation or our stupidity?

We had problems obtaining a site.   We were not sure whether it was due to a communication mixup, poorly marked sites or our stupidity?   Who knows, but probably a combination of all three.  All we know is that we had to move  pitches three times, in a space of an hour.  Twice we had to hitch up the car again.  Three times we showed off our caravan mover to an interested Belguim couple.   Three times we provided amusement to all our neighbours.

It all started last night when Walter tried to book a site, and was told there were plenty of sites, even down by the lake.  When we arrived we chose a site, number 420.  It was marked on the electricity box beside the site.  Or so we thought.  We moved the caravan in using the mover, we levelled it, and I put the steadies down.   We chatted to the Belguim couple for a while, luckily, because the manager, plus two people with a motorhome, came over and told us we were on the wrong site.  Our site was further along, amongst tree roots.  Not really suitable for a caravan, or for a tent.   We had to move because the couple had pre booked the site.  We decided not to argue but to smile politely but no word of thanks, from the motorhome couple.  Superior motorhomers.

The motorhome on our 'site'.  The couple have since spent the entire time positioning their sky dish, so obviously not interested in their wonderful view over the lake.

We hitched up the caravan, good practice, and moved it across the track to a site that we were told was definitely free.  Just as I was about to lower the steadies, a couple came and asked diplomatically if we were just leaving as they had pre booked the site.  Flustered by this stage, and a trifle annoyed, Walter went to the office to check out the situation.  Miscommunication between employees apparently.

So there was nothing for it, but to move our caravan again, to a third site, and to carry all our bits and pieces which I had unloaded onto the first site.  But before we did anything else I asked Walter to check again that the site was definitely free.

We are now happily settled on a site which still has a good view, as long as we look around a couple of motorhomes. But I am not complaining, not any more.  A couple of wines, plus a nice meal,  have cheered me up no end.

We are in Camping Bomstadbaden, on the edge of Lake Vanern, not far from Karlstad, which is a resort town, as well as a University town.   Karlstad is on the E18, midway between Stockholm and Oslo.  A lovely spot.

A cruise to Vaxholm

We were up early this morning, 6 am in fact, in order to have enough time to walk to the station, catch the metro, and then walk to the area where the Waxholmsbolaget ferries leave for the different islands and pieces of land, in the myriad of waterways that make up the outer area of Stockholm.

The weather was glorious, brilliant blue skies and sunshine.  It was a great feeling to wake up briefly at dawn, which was sometime in the early hours of the morning, and know the day was going to be fine.   The wind was a little nippy, I must admit, but there were no complaints, the sun was shining.  Even the poor but expensive cup of take away coffee, that we drank while waiting to board the ferry, did not damper our spirits.

The ferry was a magnificent boat, similiar to the one behind Walter.  Luxury. We felt as if we were going on a short cruise, only 1 1/4 hours long sadly.

A view of the buildings on the island opposite the port.

 And finally out onto the wider waterways.  A cruise ship indeed.   All the land we passed had houses on them, some very large, plus an abundance of woodland.  The land was not of any great height, small hills really.  But it was very picturesque.  The ferry pulled into a few little jetties to let people off.

Finally the town in Vaxholm, came into view.  Vaxholm is attached to the mainland and we could have caught a bus back to the centre of Stockholm, but we were keen to continue our cruise.

A few facts about Vaxholm, according to the brochure.  Vaxholm consists of 70 islands and has about 11,000 inhabitants.  It is often referred to as the capital of the archipelago, outside Stockholm.

In 1548 King Gustav Vasa ordered a fortress to be built on the little island and a village started to grow on the opposite side of the strait.  By 1647 it had became a town.

Part of the old town, with a lovely restaurant/cafe at the end.  A perfect place for lunch, except it was too costly so we decided to look elsewhere.

 One of old gun emplacements, minus the gun.  One of the kings blocked off all other routes into Stockholm, so ships had to come past Vaxholm.

A rather large country home, hiding in the trees.

 Vaxholm Fortress, on the little island, was still used by the military until 1944.  So with the fortress on one side of the waterway and gun emplacements on the other, Vaxholm was very well fortified and could attack any enemy ships that tried to come into Stockholm.  The fortress is now a defence museum.

 We ate a really lovely lunch, sitting on the verandah, in the sun, of a restaurant overlooking the harbour.   The lunch cost us about £9 each, and included a main course, salad from the salad bar, a soft drink and a filtered coffee. We chose the large meatball and creamed potato dish.  Apparently the meatball was made with mince, cream and egg, then rolled in breadcrumbs and probably baked.  We forgot to ask what type of meat was in the meatball.  Best not to know at this stage.  There were tiny redcurrants on the salad table, and we were advised to take a few soonfuls to eat with the meatball.  Delicious.

We followed lunch up with a very large ice cream from the shop along the street.   So we then sat on the benches, in the sunshine and contentedly ate our ice creams.

We noticed a ferry approaching, but it was not the luxury one we arrived on.  This one was a steamer, built in 1908.  Oh dear.  Just wooden benches, inside and outside, unless one planned on having a meal in the restaurant.

We hopped on board.  It had not finished its run yet, as there were still two more stops to go before it returned to collect the passengers to take them back to Stockholm. We enjoyed this part of the trip the most as the ferry sailed close to the shore and we could see the houses and woodland easily.

A view of a house with its sauna by the water.  Quite a steep climb down.

I managed to find a little saloon on the ferry with a comfortable bench, and had a little post lunch nap.  When I woke up, I was surrounded by other passengers, who were also trying to find a comfortable and warm area to sit in.  I hope my mouth was not open, and I was not snoring.  Very embarrassing and undignified.

Stockholm again.  And a beer/food feast seemed to be in progress, plus some entertainment.

 It was all very jolly, in the sunshine, with an assortment of beers on offer plus different food.  It would have been great to linger for a while but we were still full, after our big lunch.  And it was time to travel back to our lovely caravan.

 But first an appreciative look at the art work in the underground station.  No posters on these walls, just designs and patterns built into the tiled walls.  Quite a feature and people visit the underground station just to admire the tiles.

So sadly we have said our goodbye to Stockholm.  A truly remarkable city.

Stockholm's Impressive Museums

What an exciting day, visiting two well known museums in Stockholm.

First stop Skansen, apparently the world's oldest open air museum, founded in 1891, according to the Stockholm Guide.  It is set in beautiful gardens, Djurgarden.  It is full of traditional buildings and farmsteads from all over Sweden, and there are guides, some volunteer but mostly paid historians or craftspeople, dressed in period costume, to give you information about each building, and the people who lived there.

First stop, coffee and half a cinnamon twist each.  Very welcome on yet another cold day.

The cafe, a period house, also held a tobacco museum, which came complete with the aroma of good quality tobacco, rather then the smell of burnt out fag ends.  Tobacco was grown widely in Sweden at one time.   The men in their smoking room, while the women were next door drinking coffee.  The order of the day.

Walter standing in the Moroccan room.  Very comfortable.

A village street.

 This was a washroom, where the woman of the house took in washing to help towards the family income.  In the room next door a family of eight lived, mother, father and six small children.  Every night they put a mattress on the floor, to accommodate three boarders.  They needed to do this as they were so poor and rents were high.  I think the period was the late 1800s.

But ths house, in the 1930s was attached to the family hardware store, and it was decidedly more comfortable and roomier.

 We stopped for lunch in a traditional cafe, and managed to part with about £30.  Typical museum prices.  We had an egg and anchovie salad ( very small) on a piece of dark bread, and then followed up with a piece of rhubarb tart for me, and a cinnamon scroll for Walter.  I also had a small cup of filtered coffee.  It was delicious lunch though and we came away feeling very satisfied.

Many of the houses had living roofs, mostly covered with meadow grasses and wildflowers.

 A farmhouse room, where everyone lived during the winter.  Note the bed in the corner.

 Mother pig and her nine babies.  So adorable.

The school room with attached flat for the teacher. Very modern for the times.  Late 1800s.  We did find out about the red/brown colour of the houses.  Apparently wood became scarce during the 1600s, due no doubt to the massive boatbuilding, eg warships, which was taking place.  Therefore people needed to cover the timber in their buildings.   They used left over material from iron and copper production to preserve the wood.  Then tradition came into it, in later centuries.

 The farm worker's accommodation, which consisted of one room.  And in this room, there lived a family of eight.

 After Skansen we caught the tram for two stops, and entered another museum, called the Vasamuseet.  This museum is a unique, and purpose built preservation and showcase for a very old warship.  It is impressive.

The battle ship, called the Vasa, was launched in 1628, and then sank after sailing for 1,300 metres.  The ship was very narrow, and top heavy, so that when the slight wind hit the sails it toppled over, water came through the gun holes, and the ship sank immediately.

The ship was the pride of the Swedish Crown, so it was a very embarrassing situation.  The King, Gustavus Adolpbus, tried to blame other people but no one was charged, and it appeared that he gave orders for it to be built, even though the workmen knew it was top heavy.

 Sweden was in conflict with Poland at the time, and the king included a motif in the woodwork of the ship, of the Count of Poland crouched in a demeaning manner.  But of course the ship sank and the last laugh was definitely with the count.

 The ship was located and raised in 1961, and then restored so that it looked as it would have done originally, except it would have been painted bright colours then.

The back of the ship is extremely high and beautifully carved.  It does not take a trained eye to understand why this enormous, but too thin and top heavy warship toppled over in the slightest of wind.

We came back to the caravan, feeling very enthusiastic and happy about our day.  We celebrated with a glass of wine for me and a couple of bottles of non alcoholic beer for Walter, and two bratwursts each, in bread with mustard and tomato sauce.

A day in Stockholm

This will be a strange blog to write because I have muddled the photos up, accidently of course.  The dodgy internet connection was so slow to begin with, due to so many people using it, that the photos would not upload onto Blogspot.

It has been a cold grey day, with a bitter wind blowing across the water.  A very interesting day though.   Stockholm is a beautiful city, full of character and fascinating buildings.  Most of the buildings in Copenhagen were plainer and simpler in design, and mostly painted white, and of course very clean.  But in Stockholm there is colour, grandeur and a rich history of lucrative trade.  A seafaring city.

Although the Lonely Planet stated that Stockholm was a good city to cycle in, it did not appear to be bicycle friendly as there were very few cycle lanes and much traffic.  There were also very few cyclists too, and no wonder.

People were not dressed as stylishly as in Copenhagen, but were still friendly and helpful, although a little more reserved.    Most of the Swedish people are not blue eyed and blondhaired either.  Really, where did I get that sterotypical image from.   In fact they are mostly dark haired, and the older people we met at camp sites along the way were quite rugged and tanned.

The other misconception was the cost, not expensive as we were led to believe but quite reasonable really.   The fact that the £ was quite strong against the Skr may have helped us.   The shopping yesterday at the supermarket was quite reasonable, and plenty to choose from in the way of milk, meat, cheese and vegetables.  Certainly much better than in Germany.  This morning we bought a three day travel card which cost about £11, senior rates.  We bought tickets to take a 1 1/2 hour return ferry trip to an island on Thursday for about £7 each (senior).  I noticed that children and students under 19 were free to enter museums.  Children were free on public transport as long as they were with a paying adult passenger.  However if you stay in a hotel, and drink alcohol, and eat expensive food, then Stockholm would be very expensive.  I will be the first to admit that seniors are subsidised greatly here, which helps us considerably.

The train trip in on the metro was quick and before we knew it we were standing on a shopping street.  A look in the shop windows showed very reasonably priced items for sale, but I was not tempted, not after the spending spree in the Netherlands.  Walter bought a really nice leather belt though.  His turn now.

This photo is for Isabel who loves browsing in the small Tiger shop in Bromley.  Isabel, you would love this Tiger shop.  So much to choose from and inexpensive too.

Lunch in a cafe on a square in the old town of Gamla Stan.   We usually avoid restaurants in touristy squares, due to the high prices and often poor quality food.  But this one was a pleasant surprise.  I noticed that there were many local office workers eating there so that was a good recommendation.   The Lonely Planet guide suggested eating a main meal in the middle of the day, as it was cheaper.  Restaurants, even the more expensive ones, usually have special lunch meals which are very reasonably priced.   A tradition, apparently.  Once the government sponsored the meals for the city workers.  But no more.

We chose a plum stuffed braised pork fillet served with a gorgonzola cheese sauce.  It came with roast parsnips, potatoes and carrots.  As well as this there was chilled sparkling or plain water to chose from and a salad bar.  It was all delicious.  And cost only about £7.  What  great value.

 The Lutheran church on Gamla Stan.  Very dramatic.  There was a very large stautue of St George and the Dragon in the church.   Apparently the dragon was killing the people in the town and St George killed the dragon, on the promise that the people converted to Christianity.  Now I must look this up on Wikipedia, because I am quite ignorant of the fable, as far as Sweden was concerned.  I always thought it was an English fable.  Ignorant or not?

 The imposing palace, with guard in front.   The royal family actually live here.  We were going to visit the state rooms today, but unfortunately they were closed.  Something else on that was more important.  The king of Sweden is King Carl 16th Gustaf.  At least we are learning about the royal families in Scandinavia.

We were able to visit the chapel and an entrance hall though. Impressive.

 We have now jumped, well not literally, we did cross a few bridges, from Gamla Stan to the next smaller island.  Looking back across to Gamla Stan.

 We took advantage of being on this little island, to visit the Moderna Museet.   The museum of modern art.  The largest in Europe apparently.  According to the brochure anyway.  But we enjoyed visiting the museum, although some of the art was a little too abstract or minimalist for us to understanding or appreciate.

Dali's William Tell painting.  Instead of an apple, William's son is holding a piece of meat.  There is one cheek of William's bottom stretched out.   Fascinating painting, but very weird.

 The sheep sculpture with tyre around its middle.

 The cannon spray painting.

My attempt at modern art.  A photograph of my legs and blue shoes reflected in the glass.  The tree, and street below,was the view I was looking at, but I seemed to have merged into the tree.

 We loved the greyhounds, or somethong similar, being taken out for a walk.  They appeared to be all slightly neurotic.

Now back to the Gamla Stan and the imposing entrance to the island city.   The building is actually the parliament buildings.

Morning coffee to warm up.   Morning coffee is a ritual in Stockholm, usually accompanied by a small cake.  But we avoided the cake.  Too many calories.

Gamla Stan, according to the Lonely Planet guide, is 'a concoction of storybook buildings, imposing palaces and razor-thin cobblestone streets'.  And this about sums up the island.  We loved wandering the streets.

Finally the square with the cafe, on the right with awning, where we ate our lunch.

Tomorrow the outdoor museum of Skanson.

The internet. The bane of my life at times.

I have spent the evening fiddling around trying to get an internet connection, mostly on a dodgy campsite internet connection. It will serve me right if I find I have been hacked, or my identity stolen or our bank account cleaned out.  All because I wanted to write a blog.

I had other plans, such as adding up all the money spent and guessing how much we have left.  I do not think I will be doing any internet banking until I get back to the Netherlands.  Free wifi and dodgy connections seem to be the norm in Sweden so far.

But not to whinge too much.  At least I am writing my blog.  And the weather has been gloriously sunny all day.  I have successfully reversed the caravan onto the site, in four movements, hard lock left, hard lock right, forward to straighten out  and then straight back onto the site.  Even I was impressed with myself.  And there was no one watching either. 

 We are staying on a site called Bredang Camping Stockholm.  A very large and busy site, even though it does not look so from the photograph below.   There are 22 British vans here, 19 motorhomes and 2 caravans being led by a Dutch guide.   They are on a two month grand tour of Scandinavia, and will drive to Finland from here and then back through Norway.   We were very impressed.

The back of the camping ground is beside a very dodgy housing area.  We went to the shopping centre, very run down concrete 1950s development, filled with people who looked very poor.   There was even a women begging in front of the supermarket.  Quite distressing really.  Unfortunately we will have to return there tomorrow to catch the train into Stockholm.

 The other three sides of the camping ground are covered in woodland, very pretty, with paths that lead down to the lake.

So time for bed now, as we need to be up bright and early for our trip into Stockholm.