Advertisement
Backlit Ake
Sometimes a photo opportunity just comes up. Much nature, one castle, one lighthouse, one shipwreck and a lot more
Over Easter we took some time off from work and went on a short road trip to Öland Island. Öland Island is one of the 25 traditional Swedish districts. Actually it is the smallest of all these districts. Öland is roughly 135 km from north to south but only about 15 km from east to west at its widest. As you understand, Öland is very elongated from north to south.
Öland Island is in the Baltic Sea, to the east of mainland Sweden. The distance from the mainland to Öland in only about 5 km and there is a bridge going there. So it is easy to travel to Öland. Also, there is plenty to see there so we think Öland should be high on the agenda for anyone who is making an extensive road trip in Sweden. We actually saw so much when we were there that we couldn't fit everything into one blog entry.
Let's jump into what we saw and did these days.
Stora Alvaret Much of the interior of Öland is semi-barren.
Öland Bridge
Öland Bridge is the second longest bridge in Sweden. There is at best only a very thin layer of soil and the vegetation is shrubs or grass. The most famous part of the interior of Öland is called
Stora Alvaret. Hiking there was a given thing for us to do.
In Swedish the name Stora Alvaret sounds like "the large seriousness", which of course gives rises to many jokes.
Öland Bridge When visiting Öland the Öland Bridge, the bridge that connects Öland with the mainland, is difficult to avoid. Öland Bridge is the second longest bridge in Sweden, surpassed only by Öresundsbron. Öresundsbron is not only longer, it is also more famous. You might be famliar with it if you have seen the Swedish-Danish TV series
the Bridge.
Borgholm Castle The 17th century
Borgholm Castle is today a mighty ruin which stands on top of a hill outside the town
Borgholm. The ruin is open for visitors and routinely it is used for exhibitions and concerts. If you want to see what a concert there might look like you can watch the music video for the song
">Listen to Your Heart by Roxette. The video was recorded at one of their concerts there in the 90-ies.
Farmland with Öland Bridge
Farmland in the foreground, Öland Bridge in the background In case you feel nostalgic and want to listen to more pop music from the 90-ies we also found another recording of Roxette playing live
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Visit Sweden
We hope to visit Sweden in the next two or three years. I will have to ask you to map out our itinerary. Decades ago I planned to buy a Volvo and pick it up at the factory and drive it all around before having it shipped home. Sadly, I don't like the new Volvo's as much as I did the old ones so that is not likely to happen. Keep blogging.... we are enjoying your country.