Week 66: Crystal Kingdom, Kalmar Castle, and Öland (Sounds like a setting for a fairytale, doesn't it?)

This week was our semi-annual Senior Couples Retreat.  Thanks to John's long hours of research and planning, the 14 of us had quite an adventurous 3-days in a part of Sweden we had not visited before.

As we drove to our destination, we traveled through the Crystal Kingdom (Glasriket).  This forested region is filled with tiny towns known for their glassworks.  Years past, cut crystal was the popular product, but today it is blown glassware and decorative pieces.  However, our first stop was the old wooden church in Granhult.  It is the oldest wooden church in Sweden, surviving since the 1200s.  When the King wanted to have it destroyed the people saved it by using it as a granary.

Older churches exist, but they are made of stone.  Wooden buildings usually succumbed to fire long before the 21st century.

I stepped inside and there was this little group of people--perhaps a tour  or a group of  adherents.  I just snapped a couple pictures and left.  The wall painting was done in the 1700s.

Our first stop in the Glasriket was at the Bergdala Glas Bruk.  We watched as a molten piece was heated and shaped.

A red hot ball of glass, being smoothed with a wet cloth.  

Next, we stopped at the Skruv Glas Bruk where they demonstrated making a goblet.

This gentleman is blowing the glass to form a goblet.  After he blows a bit, he puts it into the mold and turns it to etch a design into it.  Then the stem is added.  Next it is put through a kiln.  When cool, the top is cut off and the edges smoothed. Quite a process.  I can appreciate the cost for crystal goblets now!

We stopped at a few other places, but it was getting late and they were not demonstrating any more, so we hurried on to Kalmar, our destination.  One the way, John said, "I don't know what this hotel is going to be like.  They gave me a code and told me the keys would be on the desk."  (The last time we had such a situation, the "hotel" was in part of a warehouse, with a shared bathroom.  It was a weird experience.) I looked up the Kalmar Hotel so I could put the address into the GPS.  No picture...bad sign.  Underneath the title it said, "hostel."  "Is this place a hostel?" I asked John.  "I don't think so, but it was pretty cheap. Everything else was 3x the amount we are paying."  Silence.  "I thought you said we have bathrooms in our rooms."  "That's what they said, when I asked, but maybe I misunderstood...." Silence; anxiety building.  Thoughts began flying through our heads, "What are the other couples going to think?  The President is used to staying at the Scandic!  I didn't bring a bathrobe.  Do we need towels?  I hope they have sheets!  I wonder what breakfast will be like?"

When we arrived,  we grabbed our key and flew down to our room, passing a restroom and a shower room to our left.  At the end of the hall, we entered our room, and it was lovely, newly remodeled and had a private bathroom, WHEW!  Evidently a small portion of this small hotel was a hostel, but our rooms were large, comfortable and private.  It was a perfect place, out of the traffic, with just the right price! Everyone loved it!  And breakfast was just fine--purely Swedish, offering something for everyone.

Not typical American fare!  On the top rack are soft and hard boiled eggs, to the right are knackelbröd (hard bread) and other soft breads, to the left are cereals (muesli and corn flakes) and toppings.  Yogurt, milk, buttermilk, juices, lemon water, (coffee and tea) round out the breakfast offerings.

We started the day with a walk around the city of Kalmar and had a tour of the castle.

Water tower near the center of town.

Kalmar Castle--the first tower was built in 1180.  Throughout the centuries, it was added to--standing as a medieval fortress, a renaissance palace, a prison, storage and a distillery.

Impressive inlaid wood panels utilizing 11 types of wood.

The smallest of 3 dining halls.  Dinners were not only to be the finest meals, but were meant to entertain.    Those 4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie were real!  They would get the birds drunk, put them in the pie, cover it and when they woke up, during the meal, they would fly out of the pie!  Eggs would also roll around the table at will, it seemed.  How?  Through a tiny hole, leeches could be put into empty shells.  When they sensed water, they would start moving around, causing the eggs to fall out of the dish and roll around the table!

After lunch in the castle, we drove to the island of Öland.  (The island is about 84 miles long, and 9 miles across at it widest point.)  Here are some of the pictures of this beautiful place.  Friday we only drove through the southern half of the island.

Limestone fences run through the countryside.  One that is uneven like this has been standing since medieval times!

Over 300 windmills dot the island.  Notice the long tree trunk sticking out the back.  That would have been used as a lever to rotate the mill into the wind.

Vikings were here, too, leaving their grave sites and rune stones in the southern half of the island.

The lighthouse at the southern end is the tallest  lighthouse in Scandinavia...42 meters tall, with 168 steps...we know!

View from the lighthouse.  

A field of rapeseed running all the way to the sea, bordered with wild Queen Anne's lace.

Eketorp--a reconstructed Viking Fortress, built on an excavated site.  

One half represents the iron age and the other half is medieval.

Saturday morning we returned to the island to view some of the sites on the northern half.

Borgholm Castle ruin, complete with cattle.

View from inside

Another view.. it was raining..so the sky doesn't show.

Rauks (Byrums Raukomeråde)--coastal limestone formations due to erosion.  These are small--only about 10-12 feet high.

Further up the coast at Neptunis Åker, the sand was gone but limestone shelving slid into the sea.  No rauks here though. 

Limestone based windmill

Limestone mill, used to polish the cut limestone.  

Limestone coast...where the mill is located.  I was fascinated by how different the coastal areas were on this small island.

Lighthouse on the north shore.

My photographer at work.  (Check out his pictures on Facebook.)   Also, note the rocky coast.

I was surprised to see sheep grazing at both lighthouse sites.  

 It was wonderful meeting together with the other couples.  We all miss our families and most of us don't see each other very often, so getting together is really heartwarming and uplifting.  Though we are all from different backgrounds, we are united in our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and our purpose in serving the Lord in our various assignments, so that brings us together on an equal and comfortable level.  These past few days were a real blessing!  And next week brings an even greater blessing to us, as Melanie and Brandon will be visiting!  (Thanks in advance to Tom and Mary for watching the boys!!  Maybe we can do the same for you someday😊!)