LearnSweden Blog

Pee Pictures

Did I get your attention?.....thought so.

Well this is what Per called these pictures. As we were driving our way through Sweden, taking photos for the book I can't talk about yet, I noticed that there were "P" signs in the oddest places, in fact there were little signs and huts in completely deserted areas.

When questioning Per about the signage in the middle of nowhere, I was told that these are bus stops. In Sweden, you can get from the middle of god nowhere to somewhere. Just stand by the sign or in the hut and a bus will eventually come and cart you off to someplace.

Another type of "P" picture is along side of the road with a place to park one car....maybe a car and a motorcyle. These signs are for the ever foraging Swedes,I guess that makes sense, I'm in Sweden. Swedes, love to stop and go into the forest and pick the berry in season or like now ,hunting for mushrooms. Nature is a big part of Swedish culture and because of the "right to roam" people stop on the way to here or there and enjoy nature and what it provides. It's also to stop and have a coffee break with some sandwiches, or the preverbial car breakdown.

Okej.....then there is the science of "P". What's this you ask? Each city or area has it's "Parking" rules. As a general rule I don't drive in Stockholm so I'm completely unaware of how to manueuver parking there, but the island of Gotland has a little system which is in a complete genre of "P" pictures in and of itself.

On Gotland we have these little parking cards which we display in our front window. You place the marker on the time you arrive. Depending on the sign, you have to return to your car to turn the marker again.

Do you see this sign here? It's telling you exactly what you to do. You can park here for two hours, between the hours of 9-6 pm. So every two hours you have to go and change your parking card.

This parking spot is for 24 hours. You just leave your marker on the time you arrive and you're good to go for 24 hours. You will have to move your car after that time though.

This sign has extra instructions......the times in parantheses will let you know that on saturday and sunday you have to change your parking marker as well until 2 pm.

You can get your parking cards at the tourist bureau and it works for the whole island. If you are renting a car, your rental company should have one in the car. Be sure to ask when you are getting your car.

Ok.....I think that covers pee pictures for today.

New Adventures in.....Love

While I've been in Sweden, Per and Lotta along with their friend, Mia Jiewertz, have welcomed a new arrival. In the beautiful country of Thailand on the island of  Kho Lanta,Per, Lotta, and Mia, are now organizing beautiful wedding ceremonies complete with photography and reception. Have a look at their new site and take advantage of this incredbile opportunity to love the one your with and get married in Thailand.

Here are a few words from Mia......

Jag heter Mia Jiewertz och likt många andra människor har jag en dröm om att kunna ägna mig på heltid åt min hobby.

I tio års tid har jag arbetat som lärare och funnit det givande och roligt.

När hela familjen fick chansen att flytta till Koh Lanta för att påbörja våra nya karriärer var beslutet att lämna familjen, vännerna och kollegorna i Sverige naturligtvis svårt.

Maken lämnade IT jobbet hemma och startade www.distansstudier.com och jag mitt arbete som bröllopskoordinator.

Efter  många planerade och genomförda vigslar kan jag säga att jag är överlycklig! Det är ett fantastiskt privilegium att få ta del av så många människors glädje på deras bröllopsdag.

Våra två barn fick dessutom chansen att börja på svenska skolan här på ön där de följer den svenska läroplanen.

Vårt liv här på Lanta berikas av alla trevliga människor, vackra miljöer och den fantastiska kulturen!

Jag önskar Er alla välkomna hit!

The site in English is coming soon .....

 

 

 

 

An Auction....Bergman Style

 

This auction has had many of us talking. Famed movie maker Ingmar Bergman stated in his will that he wanted some of his "stuff" to be sold after his death. Thursday the viewing opened in Stockholm and how what great stuff he had.

 

 

 

I didn't realize that Bergman and I both loved Carl Malmsten. The only difference is that Ingmar actually owned several pieces and I just gawk at the catalog and walk through the store. Of course I have to try many items in the store,.... I'm the one sitting in the comfy chair asking if there's any coffee.

Other items up for bid are the famous mora clock which inspired him to put it in several of his movies and the great "magic lantern".

Then there are those spare items that I don't think anyone really cares about except me......well in my own little world anyhow. I can dream you know.....dreaming is free.

You can go and view these items at Bukowski's in Stockholm. Viewing goes through Sunday and the auction is on Monday September 28th. Anyone is free to bid. The catalog is online and worth a visit.

Glad Helg Allihopa!

(today's photos are from the Bergman auction catalog)

An announcement somewhere near Vimmerby

We decided before we left Stockholm that we would stop along the way often to take photos for our new book. (We can't say more about it now but Per and I are writing a book. It's a very exciting project which we will share with you very shortly. )

Everything caught our attention and we stopped often. This lovely place didn't miss our attention and we took a moment to take in it's beauty. I'm not sure of the name of this place but we were close to Vimmerby and it's just off the highway. Enjoy !

Swedish Wanderings to Söderköping

 

  "I didn't think the town really existed" James stated in the din of the conference. "I really thought it was a town in children's stories." I was really suprised to find it."

We weren't. We left early on a Tuesday morning,passing all of the incoming traffic into Stockholm. We had agreed that our first stop would be Söderköping. Little city of the Göta canal. It was still so early that everything was closed, but that didn't matter. It was perfect for taking photos, and having a coffee.

While walking by this little stream we found a lovely and cheap cafe in the kyrkogården. There we had cinnamon buns,coffee, and a lovely and kind conversation with the caretaker. It was a lovely way to start our "Sweden in a day" tour. More of that to come.......

Farewell to Summer

By Per Svangren

It is well known that I like my food and drink. I love to cook and to present it in an elegant and beautiful way on the plate. I mostly use ingredients that are in season and are locally produced,and organic. Today, on this first day of Autumn, I thought we would take one more look at the lovely dishes from our summer on Gotland. Hejdå summer.

The Stone Industry

 

During the Medieval period in Sweden people learned how to use lime stone and sand stone to build churches. In the fifteenth century lime stone and burnt lime were shipped from Gotland to Germany and other countries around the Baltic Sea. During that period many small factories were built, mostly on the east coast of the island.

 

Lime could also be burnt in Kilns. Big kilns were built and into them they put lime and wood and after five days of heat, the burnt lime was ready. After storing it for awhile, it was shipped all around the world.

Nowaday there is just the lime stone factory in Slite left and from the deep harbor lime stone still is shipped all over the world.

Today you can find a couple of the old kilns and factories left and some of them have been renovated and work as museums. These pictures are from one of them, in Barläst on the north east coast of Gotland.

The Fabrik Furillen

By Per Svangren

 

The third White guide recommendation in Rute is the design hotel The Fabrik Furillen. On an island which was a former military base in a former limestone factory, a new modern hotel and restaurant have been built. The old factory and the whole factory area have been used when forming the new hotel. Iron, brick, limestone have been renovated and used, together with new modern material.

 

 

Here you can stop for a coffee, homemade bread, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or you can rent a bike, stay a night  either in the hotel or in a caravan that is placed around the island.

 or the very popular, eremitkoja. That is a small house with one bed, one table, one chair and a small fireplace placed all around the island with a sea view or in the middle of the forest. Here you can enjoy the silence and just be by yourself for a day or so. Every morning you will be served breakfast in your house, coffee, fresh baked bread and so on. A very wonderful place to come and retreat.

 

 

 

Paddan

A must in Gothenburg as a tourist is a boat trip with Paddan.

The boat will take you around the town by Göta älv (the river) and out to the sea and the harbor. The guide will tell you the story of Gothenburg and show you a lot of interesting places along the water.

 

Gothenburg has a big harbor in town and many wharfs, building boats and ships. Today there is just one wharf left, Götaverken and the harbor has moved outside the city center.

 

 

The trip passes under many bridges, two of them are very low, The cheese cutter and The hairdresser. So when passing them we all had to lay down on the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Words

Stockholm Sweden......this is where I've landed. Looking forward to a happy weekend with friends. What are you doing this weekend?