Marstrand and Magnificence

June 7, 2012

Miraculously, we both slept until the alarm went off today, so I think we are on our way to recovering from the jetlag!  J had his presentation first thing this morning so he was up quickly.  After answering a few e-mails, he was off to the university.  I had a leisurely morning– I finished the last ten pages of Middlemarch, had a long shower and a relaxing breakfast.

Just after nine, I walked to the Central Station and hopped on a train on my way to Marstrand, an island in the northern archipelago– about 40 km north of Göteborg.  I transferred to a bus in Ytterby, where a whole class of teenagers boarded with their teacher.  They were also headed to Marstrand, so when we got to the ferry terminal, we all boarded the ferry together.  The ferry is a passenger ferry only (according to guidebooks), but in reality, a few work vehicles and vans must be allowed on the island, because two vehicles were on the ferry and I saw quite a few such vehicles on the main drag of the island.

The crossing is only two or three times the width of the Fraser River, so the whole ferry ride is only about three minutes long.

Thankfully, when we got to the island, I was able to lose the noisy bunch of students and set out on my own.  The main drag of the street is all cobblestone, much like Göteborg, but it is all harbour, so there are boats moored on either side of the crossing.

There are a few restaurants, shops and cafés and the buildings across the harbour are perched haphazardly on rocks, which is reminiscent of Newfoundland.

Eventually the street trailed off into a hiking trail in the woods, so I took that path.

It took me all the way out to the tip of the island facing the Atlantic, and through a famously tall and narrow passage that must have been less than two feet across.

It rained on and off during the hike, but it wasn’t cold.  The trail sort of petered out on the rocks and it may have restarted somewhere further, but at that point I’d been hiking for about 45 minutes, so I turned around and headed back to town.

After wandering the narrow, steep cobblestone streets, I found a very, very steep road leading to the Carlsten Fortress, the major historic site on the island.

As I was heading up the road, I thought that this must be the reason that so many student groups seemed to be visiting the island.  When I got to the fortress, my suspicions were confirmed!  The grounds of the impressive stone structure were crawling with students of all ages, and there was a lot of Swedish yelling all around me.  A few little ones tried to speak with me, but when I told them I only spoke English, they didn’t know what to say!  The tour of the inside of the fortress was 75 SEK and I only had 115 SEK left for lunch and a few postcards, so I saved my money and took pictures of the outside of the fortress.  If my husband, the military history buff, had been there, we certainly would have taken the tour.  As it was, I was content to take some pictures and walk the grounds.

Before my hike, I noticed a cute local café where several people were sitting outside having their morning coffee.  After my exploration of the centuries-old fortress, I returned to that café, enticed mostly by the smell of baking from a few hours earlier.  I got a delicious brie-filled bunwich (making it five meals of bunwiches in a row..) and a blueberry pastry, which was also tasty.  I read my book while I ate and dried out from the rain.  After picking up a few postcards, I headed back on the ferry and then took the bus (packed with the same noisy school group in addition to another slightly younger, slightly quieter school group) all the way back to Göteborg.

I came back to the hotel where J was waiting in pre-afternoon nap mode, watching Asterix and Obelix in Swedish.  Shortly after my arrival and an exchange about his presentation (which went well) and my trip, he fell asleep.  As I mentioned, I really do stir up excitement in my husband!  Following his short nap, we went out for a walk.  We stopped for another one of my favourite chai lattes, and shared a chocolate muffin.  Then we spent some time shopping in a large department store, which had everything from fabric to household goods, luggage, clothing and stationery.  I found a pretty coil notebook for myself, and some capri tights for a good price.

We stopped at the hotel for a quick change of clothes and to drop off our purchases before we walked to one of the main city squares to meet with other conference attendees for a wine reception being held by the city.  There were a couple of delicious salads, plus rolls, wine and beer, so we treated it like dinner (and thankfully breaking my bunwich streak).

The reception was held in a stunningly beautiful old building that was completely ornate.  The floors had intricate wood designs and the two-storey doors featured inlaid wooden panels.  Two and three-tiered chandeliers hung from the ornate ceiling by velvet ropes.  The walls and columns seemed to be made entirely of marble and the ceilings were likely 14-15 feet high.

I tried to chide J into networking with his colleagues, but he wasn’t feeling very outgoing, so we stopped for ice cream at McDonald’s and walked towards the hotel.  It was warm and calm outside, so the water of the canal was calm and we got a few beautiful pictures before turning in for the night.

 

Nationaldagen at Tjolöholm

June 6, 2012

Another early morning.  I managed to sleep till 5:15, and then lazed in bed for another 30 or 40 minutes before getting up.  We were both dressed and ready for breakfast by the time our 7:20 alarm went off!  Today is “Nationaldagen” in Sweden, which is their national holiday, so the schools are closed.  We noticed this difference immediately when we entered the breakfast room this morning.  Yesterday, the room was severely silent and my husband and I felt uncomfortable even carrying on a whispered conversation.  This morning, kids wearing green bunny ears (Apparently these are the Liseberg theme park (in Goteborg) equivalent of Mickey Mouse ears?) were running wild and there were no chairs left!  We brought our trays to our room and ate in here.

J was headed to the conference again, so he left shortly after eight.  I planned to visit Tjolöholms Slott, a huge manor house about 30 km south of Goteborg.  I double-checked my route online before heading out.  When I arrived at the Central station, I explained my route to the ticket agent and she gave me a blue transit card that you swipe when entering a train or bus.  Only a few minutes after boarding my train to Kungsbacka, it took off, and about 20 minutes later I had arrived.  Directly across from the train’s exit was the bus I planned to take!  It couldn’t have been easier.  I asked the driver to make sure I got off at the right stop, and we were soon heading to my stop: “Torpa Smedja”.  This ride took another 20 minutes or so.

When I disembarked from the bus, I was in a thoroughly rural area.

I was surrounded by fields, farmhouses and cows and that is about it. The road to Tjolöholm was easily found, and I just started walking.  Google told me it was about a 3.5 km walk, and I was early, so I took my time.  Thankfully, today was sunnier and warmer than yesterday, and I dressed in layers.  I took lots of pictures on my walk on the narrow country road.  One car stopped and (I think) offered me a ride, but I told them I was happy to walk.

As I neared Tjolöholm, vehicles pulling horse trailers and old-fashioned carriages began to stream past.  They were headed to Tjolöholm for a special event.  Finally, I rounded the corner, and there it was!  It is a breathtaking manor perched on a hill, with the sea directly behind it.

I arrived about an hour before the first tour, so after purchasing my ticket, I took my time exploring and photographing the grounds.

I had some time to read my book on a bench in the woods– it was so relaxing and peaceful!

The tours are only in Swedish at this time of year, with an English pamphlet which gave me some of the information, but I would have loved to understand all that the tour guide was sharing.  We saw most of the “public” areas of the house, including a spectacular grand hall, billiards room, music room, library and the children’s nursery.  We also saw three bathrooms with sunken tubs (that looked more like modern day hot tubs in public pools than bathtubs) and comical, frightening looking shower contraptions that sprayed from the sides and below (!).  Among the impressive guest rooms was a “royal” room intended for the King of Sweden, but he never visited because the man who commissioned the house died before it was completed.  However, Prince Philip stayed there in 1983, which is good enough for me.  The staircases permitted beautiful overlooking views of the 2.5 storey high main hall and the windows provided beautiful views of the forest and the sea.  Sadly, we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the house, but I did get one or two before I learned about that rule.

After the tour, I bought some postcards, strolled through the little village nearby and had lunch at the cafe.  I chose a bunwich and a raspberry crumb cake (the menu was in Swedish, so I had to pick something that was already made…).  They were both fantastic.  I ate outside and read my book in the sun.  Then I walked the long trek back to the bus stop and made my way back to Goteborg without any difficulty.

When I arrived at the hotel, J was already here, having spent the last part of the afternoon working on his presentation for tomorrow.  He fell asleep shortly after I arrived (I am a very stimulating travel partner, apparently).

After J’s nap, we went out in search of an affordable dinner and landed at a vegetarian cafe for bunwiches and carrot cake.  Both were delicious, but this was my third meal in a row consisting of a bunwich.. If it weren’t for the copious amounts of cheese on each sandwich, I might get bored… but no, cheese is delicious.  mmm.  So far so good.  After dinner I mailed some postcards and then we stopped at a convenience store for a few snacks.  Since we were both pretty tired, we went back to the hotel and had an early night.