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”
Älgsafari
The Smålandet Markaryds älgsafari was the first highlight after arriving at Sweden. Here you can get pretty close to elk and watch them living in the forest. You can either choose to drive the 3 kilometers long road with your own car or let yourself be driven around in an open bus. Continue reading “Älgsafari”
Waiting for the ferry
This year we went by ferry to Sweden – with the TT-Line from Travemünde, Germany to Trelleborg, Sweden. Because of potential traffic jams we wanted to go to Travemünde some hours in advance. But what to do if there is no traffic jam? And where to have breakfast on the way back? It didn’t seem to be a good idea to get up early on the ship and have a very fast breakfast there as we where traveling with out child. Continue reading “Waiting for the ferry”
Safari by car
I dislike to be at the office on my birthday. That is why we decided to go to the Serengeti-Park at Hodenhagen, Germany. If you grew up at Lower Saxony and your parents listened to the radio you know this place – because of its advertisement which is a catchy tune. Main feature is a safari through different zones of the world with the respective animals that you can do in your own car. Continue reading “Safari by car”