The Ham Nomads

20 Aug 2015. <SE> (Lake) Vättern; Visingsö; Gränna —

Today we took the ferry over to Visingsö. We walked down to the harbour, bought our return tickets, and waited for the ferry to arrive. There are two ferries operating on an hourly schedule, each taking an hour for the return trip, so a ferry leaves each side every half hour. There is an older white ferry, the Ebba Brahe (named after the cousin of Per Brahe the Younger), and a newer yellow ferry, the Brahebron (Brahe Castle). We were going to make sure we travelled on each of them. The Ebba Brahe was the one that arrived first, so we crossed to Visingsö on her.

Welcome to Visingsö — the pearl of Vättern

When we got there, we went up to one of the cafes near the dock and started our day with a caffeine fix — and a wienerbröd (the Scandinavians, including the Danes, have 'Vienna Bread' where we have 'Danish Pastry').

Outside the cafe was a spot where a couple of carts drawn by pairs of horses were waiting to take people up to Kumlaby Kyrka (Kumlaby Church), just a little too far to walk — about 2½ kilometres up the island. When we went over to get on, the first wagon was filled, and we would be the only ones on the second, so the driver said she would wait for the next ferry to come in, in about half an hour. She was wrong, by the way, as she had forgotten to take into consideration the ferrymen's lunch break, which made it an hour's wait, but that just gave us some time to wander over to the ruins of Visingborg, once the most beautiful castle in all of Sweden. It was built by Lord Brahe during the 16th century. Most of the castle has been destroyed by a fire caused by Russian prisoners of war in 1718. What is left of this magnificent structure is the south wing.

Finally it was time for the cart ride. Our driver set off, giving a commentary alternately in Swedish and then English — we though as one point she was going to have an asthma attack, as she was straining to be heard right to the back of the cart. But she did well!

On the way, we passed an ancient cemetery with grave mounds rather reminiscent of, but much later than, the neolithic tombs we had visited in the UK and Ireland.

We got up to the church, after looking at a few other places on the way. This is a medieval church with magnificent wall paintings dating back to the 15th century. There is a wooden staircase that takes you up to the top of the tower, from which you get good views across the island.

After only about 15 minutes there, we boarded the cart for the journey back via a slightly different route. We passed the Kungsladorna (the King's Barns, often called the 'Russian Barns' in the mistaken belief that they were built by Russian prisoners in the early 1700s).

Goodbye cart!

The route back took us past Braheskyrkan (the Brahe Church), where we had asked to be let off — it was only a short walk from there back to the port area. This was a great decision. The church is like nothing else we have seen on our travels. It is the current parish church of Visingsö, built in the 17th century by the Brahe counts on a medieval foundation as a castle church to Visingborg. The interior of the church is so filled with artifacts and wall paintings that it literally took our breath away! For example, the pulpit, ornately decorated with wooden inlay work, dates bask to 1657. Everything inside is being cared for very carefully. The whole church is sealed from the outside, and the entrance doors must be fully closed each time someone goes through. The interior is fully air conditioned, maintained at the appropriate temperature and humidity to preserve all the artifacts in the best way possible.

In the sacristy are some of the treasures of the church, displayed in a glass-fronted safe. There is, for example, Ebba Brahe's bridal crown. This is not just kept locked away — it is still used for weddings on the island.

As a bit of an aside, Warren's interest was piqued when he learned the name of the counts — Brahe. He was wondering whether they had anything to do with the famed Danish nobleman astronomer, Tycho Brahe, whose data were used by his assistant, Johannes Kepler, to formulate the three laws of planetary motion. Well, there were two branches of the Brahe family, one Danish and the other Swedish — and yes, they were related!

By the way, we were rather amused at the types of transport we saw on the island. Bicycles abounded, as did motorcycles. Some people hired electric golf carts, others (like us) went by horse and cart. And there were a few convertibles that had come over onto the island, including a Cadillac from the 1960s!

We came back to another of the restaurants just as the Brahebron was departing, so we had an hour to relax and enjoy our lunch. But as the Brahebron was leaving, there was a little drama. An ambulance had pulled up nearby and was transferring a patient onto the medical transport boat (read 'water ambulance'?). We watched as this craft pulled out of port, rapidly overtaking the ferry on its way to the other side.

Finally, we boarded the Brahebron and enjoyed the trip back to Gränna. As we were approaching port, the front of the boat lifted up, and it really looked as if it was about to take a huge chomp out of the dock.

 We left the ferry, and watched a huge bunch of cyclists making their own departure. Then it was back to the van for a quiet night in Gränna.

Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 26,384 miles ( 42,461 km )