Travels with Spaniels: Death metal, meatballs and Salander

We enjoyed a quiet night on our campsite by the lake. It gave us the opportunity to take the spaniels down to the water in the morning for a game of ball. Then it was back on the road as we continued the journey North East. First stop was Växjö the birthplace of our old friend Carl Linnaeus along with a number of other famous names including Stefan Johansson the F1 driver. The city is set on a lake, one of hundreds in that part of Sweden, so we thought it was an ideal place to walk the spaniels and allow them a bit of swimming, albeit on a lead.

The lake at Växjö was a big attraction

Then we left them in the van so we could pay a visit to the emigration museum, which tells the story of Swedish emigration to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. An amazing 30% of the population of Sweden emigrated during this period to escape the poverty and deprivation of what was then, a very poor country. Having become familiar with the stories of emigration from Cornwall and Ireland during the same period many of the tales told in the museum were familiar, but it was fascinating to read them from a Swedish viewpoint. One parallel with Ireland was the fact that many rural Swedes, like the rural Irish, relied on potatoes for their main source of food. Like Ireland, Sweden was hit by a potato blight which further persuaded people to seek a new life overseas.

Buzz Aldrin was a famous visitor to the museum

One previous visitor to the museum was the astronaut, Buzz Aldrin whose Swedish grandparents had emigrated to Massachusetts in 1892. It was fascinating to read his story on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Charles Lindbergh, the flyer who made the first solo crossing of the Atlantic, also merits a place in the museum as the son of a man whose family emigrated from Sweden to Minnesota in the 1860s. The text avoided mentioning Lindbergh's enthusiasm for Hitler and his part in campaigning to keep America out of World War II.

From Växjö we headed north east towards the lakeside resort of Granna, the home of polkagris, a kind of rock. It was invented by a widow named Amalia Erikkson in 1859 and, in appreciation of her efforts to launch this red and white striped sweet on the world, a statue of her stands in a prominent place in the town. We pitched up on a large motorhome site in the hamlet of Bunn which is populated mainly with the holiday cottages of middle class Swedes from the cities.

That night we had what was the first rain we have experienced since leaving the UK on July 8th. Luckily it held off while we walked the spaniels in a nearby forest. We were also able to catch up on some laundry on the site. Unusually we found that use of the washing machine and dryer was free although we had to be nifty to grab the facilities before anyone else.

Stockholm boats some impressive architecture

We had decided we must make Stockholm the following day although t was the best part of a three hour drive. Our progress along the excellent E4 motorway was not helped by the torrential rain which made driving difficult. Traffic was very busy with Swedes heading back to the capital after their weekend break. Eventually we fetched up in the Stockholm suburb of Älvsjö where an enterprising entrepreneur had taken over part of the car park for the Stockholmsmässan, a huge exhibition centre that isn't busy in the summer. It wasn't particularly picturesque, but it was fairly flat and had the services we needed.

Statue of King Charles XIV John

Streets made for strolling

The Swedes like a bit of Goth

One bonus was that it was close to the SL city train system so we left Florence and set off with the spaniels for the ten minute journey into the centre of Stockholm. The city, built on a string of islands, was a revelation.

Sweden was not involved in either of the 20th centuries two world wars and the old part of the city was intact. We wandered into the old town with its cobbled streets and eclectic selection of shops, cafes and restaurants. One shop had a huge display of vinyl records recorded by Swedish rock bands. Sweden is something of a centre for the various genres of metal music with some of the bands, including Ghost and Amon Amarth,achieving wider fame.

Sweden is also the home of Abba and it is difficult to avoid references to the band. The boats which ferry tourists around the city are named after famous songs such as Voulez Vous and Mamma Mia and, on our own trip the house by the river owned by Benny Andersson came in for special mention. We were also told that one particular area was known as the home of Millenium magazine and Elisabeth Salander, both made famous by Stieg Larsson in his famous novels about the girl with the dragon tattoo.

Lunch was nice

We did manage to avoid the Abba museum for which I am eternally grateful. Lunch, at a lovely little restaurant in the old town, comprised meatballs and lingonberries (him) and fried pike (her) washed down with some local beer. We did like Stockholm.