Postcards from Sweden Part 1: Glasriket and more from Kalmar

On Thursday morning we headed over to the area now known as Glasriket or ‘kingdom of glass’. This part of Småland is known for its glass factories, and while the industry has changed over the years, it is still possible to see some factories, buy some glass and see a bit of the countryside and history.

We started at Orrefors, where glass has been made since the 19th century. There is a shop and museum, the latter of which was shut due to a fire in the factory. As we got there early, we took the opportunity to take a walk around the nearby park, stopping to look at the glass fisherman perched on the bridge and to say hello to some ducks, which decided to follow me around, I guess hoping I might feed them.

An ironworks was established on the site in 1726, and there is still part of an old smithy to be seen. I am not sure how old these particular buildings are, but interesting to see none the less. The dark rust-red paint is characteristic of this part of Sweden and can be seen everywhere.

From there we drove to Kosta, where you can find what I believe is Sweden’s oldest glass factory. Kosta Boda glass has a long design tradition, so the museum is well worth a visit, housing old and new pieces and also exhibitions of artists’ work in glass.

In one of the exhibition halls I spotted these which I thought looked like sausages, but given the colour were most likely glass gherkins. At Kosta, it is also possible to see a demonstration of glass blowing and making, so we sat for a while watching a man at work blowing glass and then using a mould to make drinking glasses. Below you can see the workshop and the museum.

Our final stop was Pukeberg, which has been in operation as a glass factory for over 150 years. We stopped there for lunch, enjoying some good food in the summer sun. If you are travelling in Sweden, look out for lunch offers in local restaurants. These are great value and usually include a self-service salad, bread, a hot dish, and a coffee. This was particularly good with a choice of three excellent salads and a hot dish of pork with potatoes and a mushroom sauce. There were little vanilla cookies too to have with our coffee.

Then it was back to Kalmar. Below you can see the water tower, constructed between 1897 and 1900, and which was in use until 1972 and the baroque cathedral, completed in 1703.

And below is Stadshottelet, the old town hall and other buildings in the main square.

This post was written on my iPad so apologies for its rushed nature but hope it has given you some idea of where we were.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.org