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Friday 6 July
– Copenhagen to
Kosta – (Total
miles: 175)
Turn left out of the hotel and look for the E20
motorway to Malmö.
Crossing over the bridge /tunnel between Denmark and Sweden, stay on the
motorway, around Malmö,
and take the E22 direction Lund and Hörby. After 32 kms on E22 take a
left turn at Junction 26, signposted Höör,
on to Route 23. After a further 10 kms, you will reach Bosjökloster.
This part of Sweden, known as Skåne, used to
belong to Denmark until 1658. The countryside is soft and arable, kinder
than the forest landscape we will see later.
Stop at the Bosjökloster
Monastery (which opens at 10.30) for a coffee and to see the gardens by
the lake. This is a good place to buy a picnic as there are not many
attractive restaurants or cafes between Höör
and our night stop at
Kosta.
Bosjökloster was founded in about 1080 AD when a
Benedictine monastery for women was built on the shore of Lake Ringsjön.
Its name is derived from bo sjö = "live by a lake" + kloster =
"monastery". Originally, the peninsula of today was an island set in a
ringshaped lake. When the Reformation came in the 16th century, the
convent was closed down. Today there are many relics from the time of
the nuns at Bosjökloster, among them the original vaults (once the nuns'
refectory), the church, which is still attended by the local population,
ruins of the penitential chapel, the little churchyard where the nuns
lie buried under simple stones, and the Thousand Year Old Oak, which
still comes into leaf every year in the park.
After Bosjökloster,
continue on Route 23 and, 8 kms after Hässleholm, turn right on to Route
119 (possible picnic spot) through Östra
Göinge, Glimåkra, Lönsboda
and Ryd. Two kms before Ryd is a sign on the left to Bilkyrkogård, a
“graveyard” for old cars in the forest and now a national monument. It
is a remarkable place. After Ryd take Route 126 to the north and, after
3 kms, take Route 120 to Tingsryd. At Tingsryd, there is a respectable
caravan site “Tingsryd Resort” with a perfectly nice cafeteria if you
haven’t had lunch by the time you reach the own. From Tingsryd, take
minor roads cross country to Linneryd, Lessebo, Sweden’s foremost
manufacturer of letter paper
(where you can find high quality handmade paper – look out for the sign
on the right before the sign to Kosta).
Kosta is in the province of Småland.
The company, Kosta Boda
AB is one of the world’s leading brands of glassware and art glass. The
glassworks at Kosta was founded in 1742.
In the evening, there will be an an
opportunity to visit the shopping outlet for Swedish glass and some
designer label clothes. We will be joined for a reception by members of
Swedish section of the R-REC with their Rolls-Royces. Dinner, Bed and
Breakfast will be at the stunning, new
Kosta Boda Art
Hotel, designed by famous modern glass designers, with much of the
fittings made out of glass. We will have the designer of the spectacular
Glass bar to tell us about its design before dinner.
Saturday 7 July –
Kosta
to Vadstena (Total miles: 150)
From Kosta it is an easy journey to Vadstena. Take
Route 28, then 31, which changes to Route 32 at Vetlanda. Eksjö is a
good stop for lunch. It is one of Swedens three best preserved small
towns and is an attractive old town. With houses made of wood, the towns
were susceptible of fire and like many others,
Eksjö was struck by fire, with half of the city burning down in 1856.
But a large part of the town, the northern parts, are largely intact,
dating from the construction of the city in 1568. The
Eksjö Stadshotell is in the middle of town, where
there is plenty of parking, and good for lunch. There are many small
restaurants and cafes nearby. If you want a restaurant by a lake, then
the Hotel Ullinge (turn left on Route 40 just before you get to Eksjö
and then a short way along Route 128) comes highly recommended and is on
Lake Södra Vixen.
Leave Eksjö by Route 40
westwards bypassing Nässjö after about 15 kms. After another 28 kms, at
the village Tenhult, turn right towards the city of Husqvarna. You will
now descent towards the beautiful lake Vättern, Swedens second largest.
Take the E4 motorway, with views of the Lake, to
Gränna, where you leave the motorway for the
beautiful town Gränna at the seaside of the lake. Pass through the main
street. The road continues northwards as Route 50 which takes you to the
medieval monastic town of Vadstena. Our hotel is the other end of town,
near the lake.
Vadstena dates from 1350 when
Saint Bridget, Sweden’s only
saint, founded the first
monastery of her
Bridgettine Order.
Vadstena Castle is one of Sweden’s
best-preserved castles from the era of
Gustav Vasa in the early 16th
century. Today the surviving buildings of the monastery are occupied by
our hotel, the
Vadstena Klosterhotell,
and the castle houses the provincial archives and a museum of 16th
and 17th
century furniture, portraits and paintings.
The buildings in the city centre date mainly from the 16th,
17th and 18th
centuries. The old town is well-preserved and the streets haven't
changed much over the centuries. The Town Hall is Sweden's oldest,
dating back to the early 15th
century. The main street (Storgatan), where all the shops are
situated, is most attractive. If you don’t have time for an evening
stroll, then visit the town and the castle the following morning, before
you leave for Stockholm.
We will dine in a private room in the old Monastery, now the
Vadstena Klosterhotell, where we spend the night in the nuns’ quarters.
There is ample parking to one side of the hotel.
Sunday 8 July – Vadstena to Stockholm (Total miles: 172)
The journey from Vadstena to Stockholm takes one
from the province of Östergötland (East Gotland
or a more ancient term Ostrogothia), which is largely agricultural, to
the province of Södermanland, which is more wooded with Northern
European spruce and birch. There are many large estates and mansions in
this area.
From Vadstena, take Route 206 to Skänninge (after 16 kms), a small town
that goes back to the 11th
century. The street structure has changed little since. It is worth
getting off the by-pass to go through the town centre. Then, head for
the E4 motorway, which you will join after a further 13 kms. Take the
motorway in the direction of Linkoping and Stockholm for 64 kms until
you reach Junction 123 and then turn off, taking Route 55/56 signposted
to Katrineholm.
Before Katrineholm, at Strängjsö take a small road to the right
signposted Forssjö. Go straight through Forssjö to Valla and then join
Route 55/57 to Flen. Continuing on Route 55 in an easterly direction,
until just before Sparreholm, you take Route 53 to the north until you
see a sign on the right to Sparreholms Slott. We have arranged a buffet
lunch (at 13.00) at, and then a private visit to,
the gracious lakeside estate of
Sparreholm where we will park in front of the mansion. The elegant
Gustavian house was built in 1759. Apart from the attractive interior,
Sparreholms Slott has several museums – of veteran, vintage and classic
cars, motor cycles, juke boxes and other memorabilia. There is also a
very professional dressage centre on the Estate.
From Sparreholm to Stockholm is about 100 kms. After lunch, take Route
53, again briefly, back to Route 57 and turn left again towards Stjärnhov,
Björnlunda,
Gnesta and Järna,
until you eventually reach Junction 141 of the E4 motorway. Take the E4
motorway, which is also confusingly the E20 motorway, all the way to the
outskirts of Stockholm. This is where it becomes slightly complicated as
we are crossing the very centre of the town. However, except for turning
right after two bridges (see below) the route follows the main traffic
flow all the way.
From the motorway, follow the directions to Stockholm C, then leave the
motorway at exit 154 for “Södermalm”, such that the road goes back under
the motorway. Go straight on to Södermalm at the traffic lights, over
the bridge arriving at the central town area. Follow the road around to
the right, direction “Skanstull” at the traffic lights. Go straight on,
through several traffic lights for one mile towards the harbour area.
Follow the road as it bears slightly left and then right (with the
harbour on the right and the old town on the left). Go by the waterfront
past the statue of King Gustav III at your right. The Royal Palace is on
the left.
Go over another bridge and turn immediately right at the traffic lights
towards the Grand Hotel and follow the road going left before the Grand
Hotel over a short hill and you arrive to another harbour. The road
bears left with harbour water on the right. Continue around the water
keeping in the right hand lane. The imposing Nordic Museum can be seen
on an island on your right. Keep straight on (ie not over the bridge)
and keep in the right hand lane. There is a church on your right and the
US Embassy on your left. Our hotel, the Villa Källhagen, address:
Djurgårdsbrunnsvägen10, a boutique
hotel in the Royal Garden area of Stockholm, with secure parking, is on
the right. If you get lost, ask for the US Embassy or the major street
“Strandvägen” which continues to the east as Djurgårdsbrunnsvägen.
We will park mainly on grass around the hotel and have dinner
(hopefully outside if it’s fine) on the terrace of our hotel,
overlooking Stockholm, and then Bed and Breakfast.
The RR/B-section of AHK – “Swedish Historical Automobile Club” will
arrange a meeting to see our cars, also being invited to the dinner at
wish.
Cars will stay at the hotel while tour members see Stockholm. At the
afternoon the tour members leave the hotel to the Frihamnen terminal
checking in at 16pm for the ferry to Riga.
From the Villa Källhagen
hotel, it takes about 15 minutes to drive to Frihamnen. Turn left
leaving the hotel and then right at the traffic lights signposted E20.
Go straight over the roundabout following the sign for the ferries and
Riga Frihamns. |
