Karlsborg and the Göta Canal

Anders and I made plans last week to spend today together, so I met him at the softball fields this morning at 10:00, not really sure what he had in mind for the day. First stop: the fortress city of Karlsborg!

In 1819, King Karl XIV Johan decided that a fortress should be built on Vanas on the shore of Lake Vattern. He named it Karlsborg and it was to be used as an emergency capital in the event of war and a place of safety for the royal family, the national bank and the government. It took 90 years to complete, and so it was out of date when it was finally finished and never held any real significance as a result. It is now a major tourist attraction and people come to see the town that is enclosed in a 2 mile long wall.

This is a picture of the bayonet chandelier in the Garrison Church inside of the Karlsborg military base. The church is used by the regiment as an assembly hall for feasts, for regimental prayers and memorial services and also for traditional services. The bayonet chandelier has 276 bayonets, and the symbolism in the design can be interpreted so that the gold crown on the top symbolizes the royal power, the bayonets represent the military power and the chains represent the prisoners. Cool, huh?

Anders and I also went to the museum in Karlsborg which featured the special unit forces of the military, but my favorite space was the wall of the kids' area, pictured above.

I just liked this picture, taken in Karlsborg. :)

On our way to the next town over, Forsviks Bruk, we had to wait because a ship was passing on the Gota Canal. The bridge was raised, and Anders told me to get out and walk ahead to take a picture. I didn't really understand what was going on, but once I got out, I figured out I had some time to look at the boat before Anders would be able to drive again once the bridge was lowered. The boat was the Wilhelm Tham, which I later learned was built in 1912 and cruises the entire length of the Gota Canal, (118 miles), takes a week to do so and costs passengers roughly $4,500!

Our next stop was Forsviks Bruk, a factory town. There was a museum which offered an interesting look into Sweden's industrial history. This picture above is one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a museum--they replicated the picture on the wall on the left in the room behind it! I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at in the museum because the captions were all in Swedish, but it was kind of cool.

One of my favorite pictures from the day. Anders and I were wandering around the town of Forsviks Bruk.

Anders was like a little boy on Christmas morning when we saw this ship. It is named the Eric Nordevall II because the original one sank in the Lake Vattern 20 years after being built in 1836 and still rests on the bottom of the lake. The Eric Nordevall was part of the first generation of steamships designed to operate on the Gota Canal. It revolutionized Swedish transport, making it possible to travel from Stockholm to Gothenburg. Great efforts were made to construct Eric Nordevall II as closely to the original as possible, even using techniques characteristics of the time. Anders worked on ships for his career, traveling all over the world for 50 years, so he definitely has an avid interest in ships. It is interesting to hear him talk about ships and he is very knowledgeable. I was happy to accompany him on this trip to see the ship.

 Taken below the deck--very cool to see!

The picture above is one of the warehouse near the harbor. Anders isn't one to follow rules, so we climbed up the ladder and peeked around the gray ship.

Our next stop was the Gota Canal locks at Hajstorp. (Don't even ask me how to pronounce that!). People were lounging by the canal and eating ice cream, enjoying the nice Swedish weather. It was a beautiful day outside, and we only had 1 brief rain shower. Anders told me this is the rainiest summer since 1901! Of course...

The sky in Sweden never ceases to amaze me. I apologize for how many sky pictures I post, but it is truly incredible. I've said it before and I'll say it again--the sky is just different here. Maybe it's bluer, maybe the clouds are whiter, I don't know, but it is just amazing.

I love the Gota Canal logo on the flag above. Now for more info on the canal, (called Sweden's Greatest Wonder)...It was opened in 1832 and provided a vital link for transporting timber and iron between Stockholm and Gothenburg. It took another 100 years for leisure traffic to hit the water, but now many boats will travel either short stretches or the entire length, stopping at restaurants or cafes along the way, or stopping for the passengers to rent bikes and ride along the paths that follow the canal. Many of the lock gates along the canal are worked by hand by the lock-keepers and I even got to see one guy in action! A fun fact: It is nicknamed the "divorce ditch" because couples spend a lot of time together traveling along the canal, running into trouble when they have to navigate the locks by themselves. Haha.

Our final stop for the day was at the Lyrestad locks. We saw the locks and then went down to the marina. We ended up sitting for 20 minutes or so and the sun felt so nice. It made me miss the beach back home. It was lively and there were a lot of people around, but the cool breeze and beautiful scenery made for a very relaxing break. Another fun day with Anders!