Who doesn’t know the do-it-yourself furniture company IKEA? Some of us use their products during the whole life. IKEA in fact is an abbreviation for Ingvar Kamprad from Elmtaryd near Agunnaryd and that named place is near Älmhult, Sweden where you today find an IKEA hotel as well as an IKEA museum. Continue reading “IKEA museum”
Swimming elk
The Älgpark at Målilla, Sweden is a special one: it is run by a family and is therefore also very family-friendly and you cannot drive through by car or be driven through in a bus. Instead you walk on a path along and around the habitats of three elk families. It is therefore a bit harder to get in direct touch with the animals – but therefore you can also see them swimming. Continue reading “Swimming elk”
Ölands Museum
If you go to the long-stretched island Öland via the long bridge connecting it to the mainland at Kalmar, Sweden you might want to see how people were living there in the past and get to know something about their culture. One of the best places for that is the Ölands Museum Himmelsberga at Borgholm. Continue reading “Ölands Museum”
Kalmar Slott
The castle of Kalmar, Sweden is beautifully located on an island in front of the city. It was started in 1180 as a tower and is today one of the best preserved renaissance style castles. As it was located near the former border to Denmark it played an important role in Swedish history. Continue reading “Kalmar Slott”
Kleva Gruva
The Kleva Gruva is a former copper and nickel mine in the region of Alseda / Vetlanda / Holsbybrunn, Sweden. It was opened in 1691 after a ringer made a walk in the forest and found a stone that he believed to be gold. The mine was operated until 1920 with a lot of interruptions. In 1991 the mine was opened for visitors and is now operated by a family from Germany. Continue reading “Kleva Gruva”
Rälsbus
A unique opportunity to explore Småland is to take a narrow-gauge train from Hultsfred to Västervik, Sweden. The track is 71 kilometers long, was officially in use from 1879 to 1984 and it has a width of 891 mm. At Hultsfred the tracks are located next to the normal railway tracks and at Västervik you can see combined tracks with three rails. Continue reading “Rälsbus”
Astrid Lindgrens värld
If you read the tales written by Astrid Lindgren as a child then this theme park at Vimmerby, Sweden is a paradise for you. For every story there is an area that looks like the scenery for it. Half of the time scenes are staged and the rest of the time you can explore the stage and meet your favorite characters in person. Continue reading “Astrid Lindgrens värld”
Katthult
Astrid Lindgrens stories about the young prankster Emil (in German: Michel) from Lönneberga are famous throughout the world. If you are close to Vimmerby, Sweden you can visit the place that was used to shoot the films according to the books. The Katthult from the movies is a nice place for a stop. Continue reading “Katthult”
Bullerbyn
I must admit I never read The Six Bullerby Children by Astrid Lindgren – but the visit to Bullerbyn which is identical with the small village Sevedstorp near Mariannelund, Sweden was quite a pleasure. You can see the three lined-up houses only from the outside – but there are some small attractions around. Continue reading “Bullerbyn”
Filmbyn Småland
The stories of Astrid Lindgren are inspired by the Swedish landscape and often they are also located at Småland – you can find a lot of well known names from the stories on the map surrounding Vimmerby, Sweden. And for sure these Region as also been used to shoot the movies according to the books. Continue reading “Filmbyn Småland”