Kalmar Off The Beaten Path

An interesting day trip from Kalmar is to Oland Island. Due to the limited winter bus schedule I only visited Borgholm. Near there is Bla Ror, Oland's largest Bronze Age cairn. It is comprised of a large pile of boulders. Excavations carried out have uncovered a coffin, a cremation grave and bronze swords. Finds are in the museum in Borgholm (closed when I was there). The site is about 3 km to the east. Starting from the bus station, walk on the north sidewalk of Sandgatan. At about 700m take the footpath off the sidewalk, leading to the east . The street name becomes Norra Infarten. Carry on for about 2 km, to the intersection of a road leading right to Norra Infarten. Turn left (north) and then left (west) again. The site is a field at about 100m further on, with an entrance across a style (steps across a fence). There is a parking area. The cairn is in the shape of an ellipse with major axis of about 50 m and height of about 5 m.
Get a map of the town from the tourist office in the bus terminal. Unfortunately the site is neither on that map nor on the larger one posted at the edge of the bus parking area.

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An interesting day trip from Kalmar is to Oland Island. Due to the limited winter bus schedule I only visited Borgholm. The castle is in ruins, although a large part still stands. A interesting art exhibit was there when I visited. Starting from the original 12th C castle, there was a series of extensions and improvements to the 15th C. There was major damage during the Kalmar War of 1611-1613 with Denmark. The castle is about 2 km south of Borgholm. Proceed along Slottsgatan, which becomes Akerhagsvagen. A sign on the right indicates the footpath to the castle. This segment (800 m) is a pleasant, climbing walk through a forest. In returning take the path to leading to the coast, ending at the beach in Borgholm. Get a map of the town from the tourist office in the bus terminal.