After a few days on the Danish island of Æro, we weren’t ready for the summer vacation theme to end. So, we headed north to Sweden and stayed a week in their most popular spot for summer vacation, Kalmar. Kalmar is well-known for its medieval castle, the nearby holiday island of Öland, and warm weather. Many locals refer to it as a “banana belt” because their climate is milder than elsewhere in the region. We definitely found it much warmer than our last two “chilly” weeks in Denmark.
We spent our first couple days like typical tourists wandering through the cute, cobblestone old town and the island of Kvarnholmen town center as well as exploring the famous 12th century castle. In the Kvarnholmen town center, Larmtorget is the locals’ favorite square for a night out dining and listening to free concerts. The fountain in the center shows David standing over the slain Goliath, a symbol of when their king defeated the Danes.
Just north of the square stands the historic Västerport gate and a restored old water tower. Today, the tower has been turned into apartment buildings, and the architect won an award for his ability to maintain the original design.
Although much of the town center has been modernized, walking down the main pedestrian street, Storgatan, we were able to catch glimpses of the past. This building from 1667 used to be the home of a war profiteer (notice the cannonballs decorating the doorway).
The 17th century main square, Stortorget, is dominated by the Baroque cathedral.
Between Kvarnholmen island and the Kalmar Castle lies the old town. So, on our way to explore the castle, we took a slight detour to wander the cobblestone streets and partake in a Swedish tradition.
In the middle of the old town lies a beautiful garden called Krusenstiernska. The Swedes love to come here for comedy acts on summer evenings or just to relax and enjoy a typical fika on a lazy summer afternoon. Fika is a coffee break and special time to meet up with friends, a ritual in Sweden much like afternoon tea in Britain. Coffee is always paired with a sweet or savory snack. One of the most common treats being the Swedish version of the cinnamon bun, a kanelbulle.
Of course, we had to join in the tradition to take a break from our difficult day of touring. We already tried the Danish version of the cinnamon roll, so now we had to give the Swedish version a try. Unlike Denmark, in Sweden, the cinnamon roll dough is more similar to the dough in the US, except for the addition of cardamom. Also, instead of an icing, the rolls are topped with pearl sugar. The Swedish version is a bit lighter and not as sweet as the American version. Sweden is often cited as the origin of the cinnamon bun and even celebrates Cinnamon Bun Day on October 4th.
Although I don’t drink coffee, I enjoyed the ritual of a special treat every afternoon. I alternated between three traditional pastries that I just could not get enough of. The kanelbulle, the dammsugare, and the prinsesstårte. Dammsugare literally means vacuum cleaner in Swedish. These pastries, also called Punschrulle (punsch roll), got their name from the supposed practice of pastry chefs using the leftover crumbs for the fillings. The crushed cookies/crumbs are combined with butter, cacao, and a Swedish liquor called punsch and then covered in green marzipan and dipped in chocolate.
The prinsesstårte (princess cake) is a classic Swedish cake made from layers of sponge cake filled with raspberry jam, whipped cream, and pastry cream covered in green marzipan.
Oh wow, I could go on and on about these three treats and am thankful that I had the excuse of the traditional fika to have at least one of these each day while in Sweden.
Okay…enough about cinnamon rolls and fika treats…on to the glorious Kalmar Castle…which is where we were headed when distracted by fika in the lovely, well-manicured old town garden.
Kalmar Castle started out as a defense tower in 1180 and over the years additional towers and walls were added to create this mighty fortress. For several hundred years this castle was strategically important as it stood close to the southern border (at that time) with Denmark. The castle is surrounded by a moat and a grassy park, which makes the grand entrance through the Guard Tower quite spectacular.
The interior of the palace is decorated in Renaissance style as it was redecorated by one of the kings in the 1500s. One of our favorite rooms was the Checkered Hall, which served as the queen’s reception room. The intricate wall panels, built in 1585, were created by using 17 different types of wood to create the contrasting hues.
The queen’s bed is the only surviving piece of original furniture in the castle. The ornate bed was actually stolen from the Danes after a battle, and the noses on the faces decorating the bedposts have been chopped off because they were superstitious that disturbed Danish spirits settled in the noses.
Of course, our other favorite room was the dining hall. We love good food stories. The table is set for an Easter feast with all the traditional dishes as described in a detailed account by a German visitor who was invited to one of these Easter feasts.
The king loved playing tricks and having a bit of fun with his guests. One dish that looked like delicious, sweet pears was actually salty, savory chopped pike in the shape of a pear to trick the guests.
Snakes in eggs rolling around the table, birds flying out of pastries…these feasts were quite the theatrical event to impress and thrill the guests.
Back outside, we strolled around the ramparts of the castle island to get a better view of the surrounding landscape and impressive medieval castle.
After strolling around town and learning Swedish history, we sat down for a special Swedish dinner in one of the oldest stone buildings in town. We went to Källaren Kronan, a romantic candlelit restaurant, where we sat in the renovated archway of a cellar vault built in 1660.
For our appetizer, we ordered a classic Swedish dish called Toast Skagen. Toast Skagen is made with small shrimp mixed in a creamy mayonnaise/dill sauce on top of fried bread.
At the time, the appetizer had a rich unique taste, but after a couple more weeks in Scandinavia, we started to notice a trend that the dill mayonnaise is used quite often. For our mains, we shared traditional Swedish meatballs and a moose steak. Both were served with lingonberry sauce because lingonberry sauce goes on just about everything in Sweden.
After seeing all the main sights in Kalmar, we were able to just relax and experience the area more like the locals do on their summer vacation. We gathered up picnic supplies for lunch one day and headed to a park area called Kattrumpan, literally “cat’s rear end,” thanks to the shape of the island and location of the park.
These first couple pics were taken earlier one morning before the crowds showed up. When we got there for lunch, the little green park was covered in families sunbathing and playing in the sand and the water. We were happy to find a little table still free for our picnic.
We enjoyed a warm, sunny day relaxing with the locals. Although, just like the Danes, the Swedish definition of hot is a bit suspect. We were happy to finally be in shorts (I was actually still in a long sleeve t-shirt because of the chilly breeze). But, all the locals were in their bikinis! Jimmy was a bit worried about getting a farmer’s tan, but when I told him to take off his shirt like everybody else, he said it was too cold! We have no idea how so many people were playing in the water and hanging out in swimwear.
The spot was actually quite popular for competitive swimmers too. We saw lots of people in their wetsuits swimming around the channel. Ironman has a race in Kalmar, which was only a few weeks away when we visited. If I ever get back into long distance triathlon, this race is on my list. What a beautiful location to swim. And perfect weather for racing as the temp rarely gets above 70 degrees F. To add to the appeal of the race course, the bike goes over the 3.7 mile bridge to the island of Öland for a scenic ride past old wooden windmills, wildflowers, and herds of sheep and cows enjoying waterfront pastures.
Speaking of Öland, we couldn’t pass up a visit to one of the top summer vacation destinations for Swedes, so we rented a car for a day and took a joy ride around the island to see the windmills, the cows, and the Swede-covered beaches. We also got to see ancient burial grounds like Gettlinge Gravfält.
This Iron Age graveyard has many different grave types dotting the landscape including the one above shaped like a boat.
We also visited Eketorp Prehistoric Fort, a reconstructed fifth-century stone fort, which still has the native, runty Linderöd pigs roaming the interior.
The southern section of Öland is an UNESCO World heritage site. This limestone plateau has been continuously inhabited for over 5000 years, and the locals adapted to this unique landscape and divided the land between the arable interior and the alvar, coastal plains. Driving through this area, we thought it was a bit funny that the livestock got some of the best ocean views.
At the southern tip, we climbed the Långe Jan lighthouse to get sweeping views across this UNESCO World Heritage landscape.
After the strenuous climb to the top of the lighthouse, we were ready to eat, and lucky for us, Öland is famous for a special type of meatball created right here on this island called the kroppkakor (literally, body cake). Swedish and foreign tourists alike flock to one of the most famous restaurants on the island called Arontorps Kroppkakor. We waited in an extremely long line, but the wait was totally worth it! Kroppkakor are potato dumplings stuffed with onions and minced pork topped with cream and lingonberry sauce.
The dish was much heavier and more filling than we expected but absolutely delicious. Incorrectly thinking that three meatballs (we had no idea they were the size of baseballs) would not be enough food, we also ordered a side of another traditional Swedish dish, raggmunk, which is potato pancakes with fried pork topped with lingonberry sauce.
To wash all this down, milk is offered free-of-charge. As a side note, Sweden is the king of dairy products. I got lost in the dairy aisle of the grocery stores just looking for basic yogurt. The variety of yogurt-like products is mind-blowing, and we couldn’t help but try many of them.
After stuffing ourselves with meatballs, pancakes, bacon, cream, and lingonberries, we waddled ourselves back to the car and were thankful for the driving tour and not a walking tour today. Who needs to work out at the gym when you can have a “Body by Body Cakes.”
Our final stop was a pleasant surprise. I had no idea that Scandinavia had wineries, but the unique warm climate in Öland as well as a few other areas in Sweden lends itself to a few obscure grape varieties. We visited Wannborga winery, and we didn’t even recognize the varietals when the young lady poured samples for us. The wine was good, and we enjoyed a nice afternoon sipping wine in the sunshine…a perfect way to end our tour of Öland and Kalmar.
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