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Published: September 23rd 2010
Hej Hej!!
So glad the server is finally up and working because I've been dying to talk about the excursion I went on! I went as part of a class I'm taking about Swedish history and culture. It was fantastic! We left at 9am and stopped first at Rök where we gathered around an ancient rune stone. It is the oldest known runic inscription in stone. Pretty cool. The inscription is pre-Christian and about 760 characters. Our teacher can read the old Viking language and translated the words for us. Rune stones are built in memory of those who died and this 4 ton solid granite masterpiece is no exception. Just amazing!
Next we toured the countryside and our teachers pointed out important landmarks along the way but our final destination were the ruins of Alvastra Abbey. This was built in the early half of the 12th century as the land was a gift from the Swedish king to his wife for their wedding. In the 1530's there was a reformation which rid Sweden of all Catholicism and stripped the church of its money and power (to put it nicely). This abbey was taken apart stone by stone with
the intention to use the building materials (limestone bricks) for other buildings. Its foundation is just stunning to visit. We ate lunch sitting in what was the church.
We made a quick stop along the way at Vättern which is the second largest lake in Sweden. Over 1 million people use this lake as their source of water and what is so amazing is that it's actually clean enough (although it's treated don't worry) to drink directly from the lake. The treatment it does receive before arriving in our taps here is minimal because it is so clean. According to our teacher it is so clean in fact that not many fish species can survive in it.
Last but certainly not least we stopped in the town of Vadstena. In this town St Birgitta of Sweden founded her monastery in 1350. She had quite a following under a religious order she began. Her followers were so devoted that at her death they cooked the body and removed the flesh, then sent different parts of the bone remains to various religious places- one most notably being her monastery in Vadstena. It is beyond this world to see the inside
Model of the Abbey
Many abbeys throughout Sweden and other places in Europe follow this pattern of build. This included both the laymen and the monks. of this church. Unbelievable!
Vadstena is also the location of Vadstena castle which is known from the era of Gustav Vasa (king of Sweden who reformed its religious order). The castle has a freakin moat around it!! How cool is that???!
We ended the day with a quick trip to a bakery called Gamla Condis where our teachers treated the entire class to coffee/tea and cinnamon buns. YUM!! Clearly (since now reading over my post I realize it's a bit like a history lesson) I learned a ton on my excursion! I kind of wish everyday was an excursion!!
Since this post is such a long one- there will be another about the other adventures I've had since then unrelated to the excursion....I am just enjoying learning about Swedish history so much I wanted this to be all about it. It's really interesting stuff!!!
Vi ses!
-R
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Alicia
non-member comment
I find it both fascinating and hilarious that your prof can read the language of the Vikings.