Midsummer Day at Brandskär far out in the archipelago..

Midsummer- Sandhamn..

The boat that took us from the mainland to the island if Sandhamn the evening before Midsummer! The following morning, we found it had sunk and couldn´t believe what we saw!
There is no explanation on what has been going wrong! I am so glad nothing happened on the way here, at sea!
Midsummer everning at the house of good, old friends at Sandhamn was a great comfort! The house has a wonderful view of the sea and the weather was great! And so was the food - heering, shrimps, eel, smoked whitefish with beer and snaps! And strawberry cake for dessert - or pudding as the English would say!

Summer! The first swim!

Ok. I live in Paradise. And today summer came to Gotland!

Time to climb into the cab and head for the beach!

This is Svarthäll Beach in northern Gotland. Kilometers of white sand and..no people.

My niece Stella is the first one in the COLD water! She frolics and splashes around for quite sometime! Brrrr..

Then my sister joins her..

As for me?OH no -over my dead body! Too cold! I pretend cowardly be very busy watching the beautiful scenery of this lovely island!
Tomorrow I am off heading for Midsummer celebrations on the smaller island of Sandhamn in the Stockholm archipelago..Maybe there, I will dip a toe in or so. Anyway the rumors are that the turbot is on in the Baltic. I will for sure go fishing instead. At least some encounter with this element!

After all, it was not sooo long ago the Baltic looked like this!! Ha!

Two cottages to let at Sandhamn during the Gotland runt races..

Two cottages to let in Sandhamn, each with two beds, with small equipped pentries, hot outdoor shower, close to the sea and beach, during the Gotland Runt (Eurocard Round Gotland Race, 6-10 July) and Sandhamn Race (3-5 July) week. (Baltic Classic Race)
For further info contact me at: piaehrenpreis@hotmail.com

A 2009 Gotland Runt winner is honoured the traditional way!!

Eurocard Round Gotland Race is a classic offshore regatta - one of the largest in the world. Start and finish is in Sandhamn, in the Stockholm archapelago. To the 2010 race the following classes are invited: IRC Endorsed, ORC Int. SRS and One Design Classes with more than 8 participantes. Baltic Classic Race are held at the same time. This is a regatta for classic yachts.

Today..

..my daughter Lina and her husband Pontus happily called to inform me they finally bought a gorgeous apartment downtown Stockholm.

It is situated close to the water and parks on a nicely treed avenue. I figured it was quite high time since she is due with their first child in a few days! And live in an old, crammed one room apartment for the moment where not even a baby´s dressing table could fit in!

The building used to an the old postoffice in Stockholm which have now been totally remodeled by wellknown architects. This is what it looks like. There is quite som celing hight, huge windows and with open plan arrangement.

To be in the city, there are quite some green areas around the block. And a considerable park hidden behind the house was originally made for the former postal staff working in the house.

A modern, stylish bathroom (a far cry from mine in the old farm!)

I am so happy for them! And wish them good luck in their new home and with their new baby! (We know it is a girl!)

Paris 26 Gigapixels - Interactive virtual tour of the most beautiful monuments of Paris

Paris 26 Gigapixels - Interactive virtual tour of the most beautiful monuments of Paris

On the Sunday excursion..

..far into the deep woods of northern Gotland, I found her, the wonderfully scented
Lesser butterfly-orchid!
(Nattviol, in Swedish)

The forest was filled with a variety of orchids - en masse! Trips to these areas must have been a highlight in Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, Carl von Linné´s (who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature) excursions all over Gotland in the mid 1800-century.

Sunday, we went with a group of people and a guide to visit the iron age (500 BC – 800 AD) village of Höglundar (by Garde gård, Stenkyrka), deep into the woods. During this period, the climate in the Nordic area grew colder. Rainy summers and harsher winters led to lower yields from crops and farm animals. When iron came to the North in about 500 BC, it brought with it considerable changes however. Unlike bronze, iron was an inexpensive metal that could be used in everyday life – for tools, weapons and many other things.

The we spotted the foundation of a typical Gotland long house (I have one like this just behind my house!)
(A reconstruction in Gotland)
where people once lived together with their cattle in these areas of rather poor soil. Some evidence of farming has been discovered though, in the lower, more fertile areas of Höglundar.
In the 6th century, Gotland went into economic decline; as trade became more difficult and violence and plundering became more common. Perhaps this is the reason that many farms were abandoned and burned, many fortunes were buried, and the great defensive forts were built.
During this period, the dead were buried in large grave fields. Superficially, the grave fields appear to be very modest affairs, but they often contain rich assemblages of weapons, jewellery, coins and glass. At Höglundar, the many graves are shallow because of the stony ground conditions, and the corpses are buried in limestone coffins under the cairns.

Our guide, Per-Åke, (sitting, ) is himself living on farm close to Lickershamn not far from where we were, which stands on the foundtions of a iron-age dwelling. The farm has been passed on for "he did not quite know many gererations!" There he found the skeleton of "Gotland´s oldest human being" some years ago. It is now placed in the Gotland Fornsal museum. He has also found a number of treasures on his farm: silver, iron items, brons and claypots.
Here the group studying the layout of the iron age village.

A beautiful Juniper tree in the middle of the Höglundar woodlands!
Increased trade eventually led to increased prosperity on the island. New farms sprang up on Gotland, and the first longhouses began to appear; they were built on solid stone foundations and had high roofs.
Today we know of about 1,500 dwelling foundations of this sort, some of them over 50 metres long. In days gone by, they were called kämpagravar – giants’ graves.
Ironworking thus became an important craft, and the smiths made many items that the merchants could sell. The Roman Empire was at its height during the second century AD. Its border with the Germanic tribes followed the courses of the Rhine and Danube. Many of the archaeological finds unearthed on Gotland show that there was extensive trade with the Roman Empire and Germanic tribes.
At the many trading centres along the Baltic, furs, skins, salt, glass, wine and other commodities were eagerly exchanged. (info: by Gotland Tourist Information)

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Returning home to Gotland..

..I found the garden has grown quite wild..

.. and ever so beautiful!
June, June oh June! The peonies are now in full bloom!
May I introduce my "almost domestic" phesant who is constantly yammering and marking his territory in the garden.Today, I managed finally to get a photo of this proud fellow! We have been knowing eachother for quite sometime now! So I am now levelling for a bit with my sister with her 6 peacocks in her neighbouring farm!
The gorgious "Turkish" lilac outside my window! Heavy, heavy..

Tomorrow I will spend quite a few hours on my lawnmower! The weather forecast is great for Tuesday with a warm sunshine predicted - a day for gardening indeed. Friday and Saturday are a bit more uncertain though... There are prognoses for some rain which might interfere for a bit the great Royal wedding that will take place in Stockolm on Saturday! And the Swedes are now keeping their fingers crossed for fair weather and blue skies on this festive occation!

Photos from Runmarö island in mid-June..

Runmarö is one
larger islands in the Stockholm Archipelago.

Lat: N 59º 16' 47.67"
Long: E 18º 45' 38.30"

Runmarö lies at Nämdöfjärden, outside of Stavsnäs on the main land.

There are hundreds of islands and skerries in the archipelago surrounding the island. The main island is one of the largest in the middle archipelago and in the villages, which consist primarily of genuine traditional archipelago buildings, you will find more than one hundred permanent residents.

The island is mentioned in writings from the 13^th century, which tell that Magnus Ladulås gave the island to the Franciscan Order in Stockholm. The existence of limestone on the island was already important at that time and it was quarried and calcinated until the middle of the 17^th century. Limestone from here was used to build the castle Tre Kronor in Stockholm. The island has also played its part in the Swedish military history. From here Gustav II Adolf shipped out some of his fleet of 1400 men in 27 warships to Prussia to participate in the 30 Years War. As in so many other parts of the archipelago, the Russians ravaged the island in the attempt to invade Stockholm in 1719. Remains from that time, Russian ovens, i.e. fire boxes that were used for heat and cooking can still be seen today.
(Excerpts from Visit Skärgården. Click on link for more.)

Strange rockformations at Runmarö.

View towards the island of Sandhamn far away.
On Runmarö you will find plenty of deer, wild boars and some moose on the island.
Today I saw a few deer and only traces of moose and wild boars.
(I am happy to say!)

Almond blossom among reindeer lichen.

Cephalanthera longifolia - the very rare wild orchid

can be found in abundance on Runmarö island just off the mainland outside Stockholm.
In Swedish it is named "Svärdssysla" - in English I think it is called "Lady´s Slipper. "

Strange patterns in the rocks are reminders of the ice age here..

The lightning struck long time ago and the tree is trying to heal..

Excerpts from Värmdö Art Council , Runmarö Lighthouse:

"Runmarö’s main features are its delightful natural surroundings,
scenic walks and cycling routes. An abundance of
orchids, including the impressive lady’s slipper and the
more demure fly orchid, can be found on the island. Carnivorous
plants grow on the ground close to the enchanting
freshwater lake Silverträsk (Silver Swamp), about
which Swedish writer August Strindberg wrote a short story.
Runmarö has nine pristine freshwater lakes, which are
known by islanders as swamps (träsk), although this is
somewhat misleading.
Runmarö is one of the Archipelago’s larger islands and
has been inhabited by fishermen and pilots for centuries.
Runmarö has also attracted a number of writers and artists
over the centuries. Swedish dramatist and novelist
August Strindberg spent some of his summers here, and
other painters, photographers and poets followed in his
footsteps. The Swedish Writers’ Union owns a number of
cabins on the island that are made available to members.
So expect Runmarö to feature in the novels of the future...
The island also has a small privately-run museum, a 17th
century bosun smallholding cottage (Båtsmanstorp nr. 95)
which has been carefully restored. There are a number
of active shipyards on the island. The handicrafts centre
sells handicrafts typical of the Archipelago, local woodwork
and art. There is a weekly film screening in the
heritage community centre during the summer months.
Runmarö has scenic gravel tracks that are ideal for a leisurely
cycling holiday. The island also hosts tennis and
football camps during the summer. There are innumerable
opportunities for bathing and fishing along the island’s
coastline or in the fresh-water lakes. Runmarö serves as
an excellent base for kayaking in the Archipelago during
the spring, summer and autumn, as well as a great place
to start long-distance skating expeditions in the winter.
Winter fishing is also highly recommended, although be
sure to wrap up really warm!
A former limestone quarry provides evidence of Runmarö’s
past as a supplier of limestone to major construction undertakings
such as the former royal palace Tre Kronor (burned
down in the 17th century). A number of open-air brick
hearths, known as Russian ovens, provide evidence of the
attempted Russian invasion in 1719.
Keeping the
Archipelago Beautiful
The Stockholm Archipelago is around 2 billion years old and
encompasses about 24,000 islands, rocks and skerries. The
land is rising by 30-40 cm every 100 years, so the Archipelago
is growing day by day!
Nevertheless, the Stockholm Archipelago is truly unique in
the world. It is a sensitive environment and something we
need to protect, so that future generations can also enjoy
this special place.
Consequently, it is important that our stay in the Archipelago
considers the needs of nature, the environment and our
cultural heritage. It is the islands’ human visitors that have
to adapt.
If you pause for a moment’s thought, what you need to do
to protect the natural environment and cultural heritage on
these special islands becomes obvious.
If you do this, we won’t have to bore you with countless
regulations and pointers about not starting fires, especially
on exposed bedrock, dealing with your litter appropriately
and trying not to disturb other visitors. Just more one thing:
please do bear in mind that drinking water is in short
supply in the Archipelago.

(Info provided by: VÄRMDÖ ARTS COUNCIL, RUNMARÖ LIGHTHOUSE)

Mass wedding at Skansen on a rainy Saturday..

Newlyweds!!

In view of the forthcoming Royal wedding in Stockholm - the Swedes are living in a veritable wedding daze! In Skansen , (the first open air museum (1833-1901) to show the way of life in the and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden.) launched a mass wedding day on Saturday!

About 350 couples showed up waiting for hours in long lines to get married. Among those my niece Stephanie who choose this way to marry her long time fiancee, Roger.
The civil ceremony was estimated to 10 minutes whereas the religious church ceremony took a bit longer! Skanen personel was on their knees because " No one here expected the enormous interest.." And the priests and civil clerks looked a bit tired towards the end of the day - to say the least!

The long lines for registration..

Stephanie and Roger toasting in champagne..

One of the 350 couple who got married at Skanen on Saturady in one of the small wedding tents erected for the occation.

A number of attending people were decked out in their beautiful national costumes.

Long waits for the big step!

And champagne! Mot people brought picknic bakets and a few brought layer cakes to set on the green lawns!

Rain and heavy wind did the waiting a bit teadious for many brides-to-be!

And waiting cold be quite long for a 9-month pregnant young woman too! Here is my daughter Lina resting in waiting for her cousin to get married!

We all congratulate Stephanie and Roger and welcome him into the family! May the sun shine on their marriage forever!