Since our last post we’ve spent three nights in Stockholm and a night in Mora, and are about to spend another, before heading to Oslo tomorrow.
In Stockholm we stayed at Bredang Camping about 13km’s from the city centre, but located a short walk from a metro station, so access to the city centre was easy. Our bikes took a rest as we opted for public transport, the hop on hop off boat, and of course walking, as the best options to see the city, and we saw as much as we could in the two full days we had there.
Stockholm is spread across seventeen islands so taking a boat trip is a must. There is an easy to use ferry service that is part of the public transport network but we chose to buy a 24-hour pass on a sightseeing hop on hop off boat, and we were more than happy with this. We bought our pass late on the first day and took the full round trip, and then the next day used it to get from island to island and explore thoroughly.
Strolling through the quaint streets of the Old Town, admiring the beautiful Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace, meeting the Vikings at the Swedish History Museum, and getting your head around the art at Moderna Museet were all experiences that didn’t cost us a cent, and there were plenty more too in Stockholm, proving you don’t have to spend a lot to see a lot.
One museum we did pay for was the Vasa Museum. This is an outstanding museum and a unique experience that neither of us will forget in a hurry. The Vasa was a 17th century warship that sank in Stockholm harbour 20 minutes into her maiden voyage. She lay on the sea floor for 333 years before being salvaged in 1961, and now she sits fully intact inside this impressive museum. The reconstructed vessel is 98 per cent original, and the sheer scale of this splendidly adorned ship is quite awesome. The museum is constructed around the Vasa so each floor takes you further up the ship allowing you to see just how huge she was, and also the glaringly obvious design fault that ultimately caused her to sink, there was far too much above water and not enough below. It was a case of the King’s design not being questioned until it was too late.
Staying three nights in Stockholm allowed us some time to do “house-work”, such as some much needed washing, and stocking up on supplies ahead of our trip to Norway, which is renowned for being extremely expensive.
While at the campground we met a group of enthusiastic Austrians who had just arrived on their vintage tractors towing caravans. They had already covered 2,000 kilometres on these century old machines and were heading to Helsinki before taking the ferry back to Germany and then home to Austria. It takes all types!
From Stockholm we travelled four hours north to the small town of Mora in the Dalarna County of Sweden. The moment we arrived we decided a one night stopover would not be enough and we extended our stay. Mora is under snow for the best part of 7 months of the year and is famous for hosting the oldest and longest cross-country skiing race in the world, the 90-kilometre-long Vasaloppet. It’s hard to believe this lush green countryside bathed in warm sunlight is freezing and dark for most of the year.
Mora is also the birthplace of Anders Zorn, one of Sweden’s foremost artists, who, after finding success abroad, made this town his home again for the remainder of his life. The Zorn Museum was wonderful to visit with a stunning collection of his work, which he and his wife donated to the Swedish people after their deaths. Many of his vibrant water colours and rich oil paintings depicted the landscape and life in Mora and surrounding Dalarna. It’s not often you get see an exhibition by an artist of such fame in a small rural town.
Ten kilometres around the lake from Mora is the small settlement of Nusnas where the centuries old art of making the wooden Dala horses continues. These simple wooden horses are brightly painted in typical Swedish designs and have become an iconic symbol of Sweden. Liking the idea of having a locally handcrafted souvenir we took to our bikes and cycled around the lake to visit these Dala Horse factories. These are not factories as you may think. More like artisan workshops. The horse shapes are roughly cut from a slab of wood and then passed on to members of the community who each carve the horses by hand. They are then returned to the factory and lovingly hand painted by artists, and because of this process no two horses are the same. Some of the artists are more renowned so their horses command a higher price, but in general they are very reasonable for an authentic handmade souvenir, and knowing the proceeds support a community to maintain their traditions makes it even more special. However, deciding which horse to buy took a while. A stylishly adorned black horse will be coming back to NZ with us.
Tonight we’re celebrating being on the road for two weeks. We’ve travelled 2,700 kilometres and been through six countries, Norway tomorrow will be number seven. We’re currently just running over budget (about 30%), but we always knew the first two months would be more expensive as we travel big distances through Scandinavia and allow for ferry crossings, toll bridges, and the notorious toll roads of Norway – our next update will no doubt have more on this. Right now it’s time for a glass of wine under the awning with Mr Love.