South to Kalmar

Towards the end of our second day in Stockholm the thundery showers that the forecast had been threatening arrived. In between them we walked onto the adjacent island of Södermalm to buy groceries. Our guide had characterised it as the most 'happening', bohemian part of the city. Perhaps the population was a tad more youthful, but on the face of it it simply came over as a pleasant but bland residential district.

With the mixed weather likely to continue for the next couple of days it seemed a good time to be travelling rather than sightseeing. We headed south, aiming to cover the 400kms between the capital and Kalmar and the Island of Öland over the next two days.

The first 130kms on the E04 to Norrköping were tedious, as motorway travel often is. From there, southwards on the E22 the landscape was wilder; it felt emptier, just miles of pine forests. Time seems to slow as you traverse unvaried landscapes and it is all too easy to drift off into your own thought as you drive. On all-day trips Gill tends to go into post-lunch nap mode in the early afternoon; I have to make a conscious effort to stay alert, not just because of safety issues, but financial - on Swedish main roads the speed limit changes constantly, a bewildering mix of 70, 80 and 90kph sections depending on hazards, they also bristle with speed cameras.

We found a place to stay overnight on the quayside at the small port of Valdemarsvik. The grey weather probably made the place feel more gloomy than it actually was. My sense of unease was made worse by the next door van's three huskies. Every time I went by the largest one licked it's lips; they were chained-up outside and they do look like wolves.

In the morning I was struck on the way to the shower block by the appearance of a glowering dark cloud at the seaward end of the fjord. On my return I was again struck, this time by the cloud's contents; a single ground-shaking thunderclap was followed instantly by a chilly downpour. Two showers this morning, a warm one immediately followed a freezing cold drenching.

Back on the road the weather improved as we approached Kalmar. By the time we had parked up in the stellpläts opposite the the tourist office it was warm and sunny. We wandered across to pay our dues. The young woman behind the desk provided us with the sanitary block code, an information leaflet and a town map. She then circled in biro 'the interesting things here - 'the castle, the old town with pretty houses, the today town with Domkeryken, the Lansmuseum, and here the new shopping place with MacDonalds and things.' We had our town tour sorted, we simply followed the circles, swapping the 'Macdonald's shopping place' for a visit to the old saltwater communal laundry - the Slapphus - which was mentioned in our guidebook. 

Our 'circular' tour:

The castle

Kalmar castle is not only grand, it has a dramatic position by the sea and played an important role in the history of the Baltic. The Kalmar Union of 1397 brought together the crown's of Denmark, Norway and Sweden an arrangement which lasted almost 200 years up until the Reformation. 

The old town

The tourist office advice was correct, the area of old houses near the castle is very attractive with cobbled streets and painted coloured houses covered with flowers.

The 'today town'

Central Kalmar is a mixture of ancient and modern. The main square is lines with cafés and bars. It looks like a lively town. The shopping area is varied, some buildings dating from the early 20th century, others more recent, but pleasant enough. The place felt thriving and prosperous.

The main church is famous as it was built by Tessin who planned the Royal Palace in Stockholm. It is impressive rather than beautiful. Protestantism and the Baroque are strange bedfellows, it is not a naturally exuberant faith.

Somehow the Domkeryken manages to look like an enormous municipal swimming baths rather than a place of worship.

The Klapphus

Beyond some lovely old streets of wooden houses lies the waterfront. We were intrigued to read about a saltwater public laundry that was still in working order, the last in Sweden, though they were quite common in the past. What this tells you is the Baltic had very low salinity.

I was tempted to put my finger into the tank and taste the water to prove the point, but it did look a tad green and slimy.

Over the water is an area of new waterfront apartments, ultra minimalist and very stylish. I liked the contrast of old and new, contemporary architecture celebrated, rather than being regarded as a carbuncle that 'spoils the view'.

The Länsmuseum and old port

We walked along the waterfront back to the van. It took us past some impressive looking old mills, a former communal bathhouse and the old port.

There is some commercial traffic still, particularly shipping wooden pellets for power generation, better than coal, but not really low carbon!

The old mill buildings have been converted into museums. The Lans Musuem commemorates a shipwreck, a little like the Vasamuseet, but the vessel itself was destroyed in an explosion, only the artifacts remain including a famous 17th century gold hoard.

We passed by. All the while we were wandering about we had been buzzed by a dazzling array of posh motors, vintage Cadillacs, high end Merc convertibles, a Lamborghini... each one was chauffeur driven and contained a young person dressed to the nines, but wearing a peaked sailor cap. Clearly it was a Prom do. Difficult to tell if it was an end of High School bash or graduation ball.

A cluster of mid-rise modern blocks lined the marina. These housed the Kalmar campus of Linneus to University, the departments here specialising in marine biology and nano-science and engineering.

Kalmar felt like a place with a future, somewhere that had suffered from the demise of shipbuilding, railway engineering and car manufacturer, but was reinventing itself as a centre for emerging technologies. 

It's good to come across places that are looking to the future, it gives you hope.