Having had possibly the best hotel breakfast I’ve ever had (at the Scandic Klarälven), we packed the car, checked out of the hotel, spent a long while searching for Mirinda’s hat which was at reception and walked into Karlstad.
Our target was the Värmlands Museum. Jason (who might be called ‘The Boy’ from here on in) diverted to the tank museum having spotted the pink tank parked outside. This was clearly because his mother is quite keen on pink and has nothing to do with his desire to find a video game inside the museum.
As we approached the main bridge across the river, we spotted a statue of Selma. She was in the middle of a hedge garden. Lots of other robot mowers were busy, quietly trimming various grassy bits of ground around the great writer and elsewhere along the river.
Each of the mowers had its own name. We watched Gustav for a bit, going about his daily chores. His mates, in other sections of grass, occasionally cast glances over towards us, making sure Gustav didn’t slack off, I assume.
I have never seen so many robot mowers in one place. It was like when the Sunne Awful American Cars Club have a big meet-up. Only without the noise.
We left the mowers to their swarming and headed down to the museum. And what an amazing museum it is. More to see than one single solitary visit can achieve. Mind you, we gave it a good shot.
I loved some of the interesting facts about the county. My favourite has to be when Sweden decided to let Norway go it alone back in 1905. Negotiations for the dissolution of the union began in Karlstad in June but weren’t finalised until September.
The man in charge of literally sealing the deal was the Norwegian Prime Minister, Christian Michaelsen. Come the moment, comes the man but, sadly, not the seal. He’d clearly left it at home. As The Boy said “He had one job…“
There was a bit of frantic consultation on what to do when, eventually, someone suggested using the seal ring of the recently deceased mayor of Karlstad. He’d, fortunately, not been buried with his ring. And, coincidentally, his name was Carl Moberg so they shared the same initials. The ring saved the day and the deed was done.
The ring is on display in the museum. Sadly, the seal was knicked back in 1950 while on display in an exhibition.
Alongside some amazing facts about Värmland, there are also a few art spaces. Most amazing is the watercolour gallery where beautiful, enigmatic watercolour works by Katja Pettersson hang from the ceiling. They hang, begging to be studied, against a backdrop of massive windows, looking out over the museum parkland, the river flowing by, people providing movement.
The exhibition is called Glitch and, in part, reflects the moments of intense pain that the artist sometimes suffers from. That’s where the title comes from. But it’s not chaotic and painful; it’s calm and beautiful.
I sat for a while seeing various shapes, sometimes human, deep within the images from the artist’s brush. It was quiet and contemplative.
Another gallery features Nobel prize winners from the point of view of their desks.
Einstein, Marie Curie, Gabriel García Márquez and, of course, Selma are all represented by desks and the tools of their trades. There are also small artefacts of each of them. Mysteriously, Selma’s table has a pair of her shoes on it.
A walk through a glass walled tunnel, brought us to the library and a series of paintings, which I wish I’d had longer to admire. There was also a lovely bust of a younger Selma, still with her distinctive hairstyle.
But, of course, like all good things, our museum visit came to an end, and we made our way back to the car, still parked at the hotel, for the long trip to our accommodation at Rottneros.
Okay, that’s not exactly true. The drive took less than 50 minutes and was easy and direct. A bit like the trip we made into Sunne after unpacking. This took a lot less but was also pretty direct.
We parked in the big town car park, ticking off the various things we remembered from our last visit, and went to the big Coop for supplies. And an opportunity for The Boy to make a young Swedish girl smile and flirt. We then headed back to our shack. Actually, we are in a little cabin while The Boy is in the shack.
I almost forgot my new Swedish girlfriend.
I would like you to meet Eva Lisa Holtz, locally known as the Sun of Karlstad.
Eva (1739-1818) was a waitress and, later, innkeeper in Karlstad. She was known for her happy, sunny disposition as she skipped around her home town. She was nicknamed the Sun of Karlstad. It was said she was beautiful and always happy.
I should add that the sun is the symbol of Karlstad. This is not because of Eva (though I think it should be) but because of the inaccurate assumption that it’s the sunniest place in Sweden. This isn’t true. Last year, for instance, the sunniest place in Sweden was Svenska Högarna, a small island in the Stockholm archipelago with a population of around four people. It recorded 618 hours of sunshine from Midsummer to August 15.
And, to rub more salt into a wound, the island of Gotland has won the Sun League 12 times since 1990.
Still, they don’t have an Eva to brighten up their days. Be they summer, winter, autumn or spring.
And, to end this post with one final photo…in various cities around the word they leave padlocks on bridges, then, of course, there’s Juliet’s balcony with the expressions of love left by everyone who visits. Well, Karlstad has gone one better with the Sticker Bin. Here’s The Boy adding his museum sticker to the scores of others.
Nice one, Jase.
