Monday 6th August.
Had some pretty big planning last night and have decided to invoke Travel Clause 101, – “that is we have no idea where we are going and have every right to change direction where and whenever we feel like it”
SO plan SWEDEN Ver 2; Continue onto Stockholm as planned but then catch a ferry across to Finland from there (an 11hr crossing mind you) then make our way northwards through Finland. Reason being is that we are essentially following in the footsteps of another blog I have been following for a couple of years and they had a lot of fun through Finland on their way to the top of Europe.
Back to today, quite a cool day actually, visited the town of Huskvarna, and the Huskvarna museum, yes this is the home of Huskvarna, bikes, chainsaws, sewing machines,firearms and so many more things. It was a family run company that was founded upon a foundry and a gunpowder plant using hydro to run the factory, real early entrepreneurs and a family that essentially started the whole workers rights and well being of modern trade unionism.
A really surprising museum that has a huge amount packed into it, for me the highlight was obviously the evolution of the Husky motorcycles and a great display of these through history. The chainsaw factory is still in the town today.
From here we ventured rural again to find a church I had read about somewhere, one of the earliest recorded churches in Sweden in a Village called Vireda.
Vireda wooden church was built before the year 1344. It is one of the best preserved wooden churches from the middle ages. In the 16th century the sacristy in stone was added and from 1701 – 1705 the semi-circular sanctuary apse was built from stone along with the wooden tower.
The church has wall-paintings from the end of the 15th century, the paintings on the ceiling were carried out during the years1756-57 by the local official painter.
Above the alter hangs a Triumph crucifix from the end of the middle ages and the baptismal font can be dated to the early 13th century and may have come from an earlier Roman church.
The first organ and the organ font were built in 1755, with the organ itself being replaced in 1908.
Moving on from here Miss Stella is tonight happily parked up in a paying Stellplatz in Granna on the shores of lake Valtern at a cost of 200Kr (20euro) with full fresh water tanks, empty dirty water tanks and plugged into electricity. And we have lots of friends tonight.
Now this cute little town is home to the “boiled sweet” and more specifically the “xmas candy cane”. The whole main street is a tourist “tat” street filled with shops selling these sweets and variances of it. (you think of a flavour and it is probably here).
Adventures of Miss Stella 