Vättern Things to Do

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The deep and dark forest of Tiveden was for long a time a forest you would keep away from, due to pirates, thieves, trolls and other dangerous creatures. In the old days this was described as the border to the wild and unreliably people of the north.... and when you walk around in Tiveden, these thoughts are easy to understand. This park makes your imagination come alive.

The quickly changing landscape, from dark green valleys with big boulders covered with moss, fallen over trees, moist in the air, to the higher elevations, where the sun light tries to be break through the trees. And all off a sudden you will be in an open spot in the forest, where the sun is shining brightly on the grey rocky surface, and the views over the surrounding area are wide and stunning. Imagine staring out over a blue lake, which mirrors its surroundings perfectly, as the water is so still or admiring a waterlilly showing off its beauty for everyone who wants to see, Tiveden has it all!

For me, Tiveden is one of the most beautiful national parks in the southern part of Sweden, and it has gotten a special little place in my heart. I know I will visit again some day; the only question is when :-) When you are in this part of Sweden and you love nature, don't forget to spend at least one day in Tiveden National Park and do one of the hikes. I am sure you won't regret it.



you can read more about this destination on my Olshammar page

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Gränna is known for its red and white candy canes, also known as "peppermint rocks" or by the Swedish name "Polkagris". This is the place for a real sweet tooth, there are candy shops by the dozens in Gränna! Almost unbelievable that a little town like this can have so many candy shops side by side! And they are all filled with peppermint rocks in any thinkable taste and variety! The traditional one is striped red and white and tastes like peppermint, but nowadays you can choose out of many colours and flavours.

In many of the candy shops you can see the actual making process of the "Polkagris". It is quite fun actually seeing how a some boiling hot liquid (a mixture of water and vinegar) is transformed after lots of pulling, kneading and twisting in a delicious looking candy cane. And I can promise you, hahaha, you won't leave town without at least taking a few of these candy canes with you. Even I fell for the temptation ;-)

The tradition of making "Polkagris" in Gränna started in 1859 by the widow Amalia Eriksson. Now Gränna is famous in whole Sweden for the Polkagris and has become a major tourist attraction in the region. There are at least 10 millions of "Polkagris" produced in Gränna per year in more than 20 bakeries.



You can read all about this little village on my Gränna page

You can't visit Lake Vättern without being on the water and my way of doing so was by taking the ferry from Gränna to the island of Visingsö. It is a short enjoyable ride over the lake to the island. It is a car ferry, so you can even take your car with you if you want to explore the island a bit further.

During our trip the waters of Lake Vättern were amazingly calm, with a nice evening sun. The distance between the village of Gränna and the island of Visingsö isn't so big, so you can already see where you are going as soon as the boat leaves. We used it both as an excuse to have a little boat tour on the lake and also to make a quick trip to the island of Visingsö possible.

You can find a lot more information about ferry times and prices on this website: http://www.visingso.net/visingsotrafiken/

Brahehus ruins are perfect for, a quick stop along the way. The ruins are located right beside highway E4. close to the village of Gränna. It even has got an own exit off the highway! The exit leads to a gasstation, restaurant and parkinglot, but from there is a little road and tunnel underneath the highway that leads to the ruins of Brahehus. I didn't think that the ruins are thats spectacular to see, but it does make a great stop on a long drive. What I did enjoy a lot was the view. From the ruins of Brahehus you have a wonderful view over Lake Vättern, the little village of Gränna and the island of Visingsö. Brahehus is located on a ridge towering high above lake Vättern, making these beautiful views possible.

Brahehus was build in 1640 by Per Brahe junior. Unfortunately a fire destroyed the castle completely in 1708.

Old and new times go side by side in Rök and for that matter in this whole area. In the field next to the church and the rune stone, stand these modern type wind mills. It is such a sharp contrast with the rune stone.

These days you see more and more of these wind turbines in Sweden. Although often I can't appreciate the view of them in the open landscapes, I do have to admit that they do have something special at times. They can in a way be rather beautiful against the clear blue sky, like here in the picture.

Rune stones are standing stones with runic inscriptions on them dating from the Iron Age (Viking Age) and early Middle Ages found in most parts of Scandinavia. Most stones are put up as memorials for a dead person, like this one at Rök as well. On the stones you can find writing in runic, a distinctive sort of alphabet.

The rune stone at Rök is extra special because of its inscriptions. No less than 7 different rune types have been used on this stone, which makes it very difficult to decipher. The stone is unique in that it contains a fragment of what is believed to be a lost piece of Norse mythology. It also makes a historical reference to Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great.

If you are interested in Vikings, history or Rune Stones, this is a place you might love to visit!


You can read much more about this Rune Stone on my Rök page

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Some of the best times to visit Lake Tåkern would be May/June and September/October. These are the seasons when you can see all the migrating birds passing through this area on their way from and to the warm south. During the autumn passage about 2000 Mute Swans and several thousands of Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Pochards and Coot collect on the lake. The Bean Gees population will build up to an amazing of 20,000 by the mid-October. This must be an amazing site to see. Unfortunately I only visited here during the very early spring, but even this time of year it was full of bird-life.

During the year about 270 species of bird visit Lake Tåkern and about a 100 species breed here. There are so many species to see that there is no use in naming them. So I like to refer you to this website instead: Lake Tåkern. I also can recommend you to look at this page (birding in south of Sweden). This is a beautiful website (PDF.file) about birdwatching in the south of Sweden in general.


You can read much more about Lake Tåkern on my Omberg page

After lots of culture it is time for some more nature! And where better to find that then at Lake Tåkern! A bird watchers paradise! Lake Tåkern is a nature reserve and about 5400 hectares big. About half of it is open water and the rest is devided by woodlands, meadows and reedbeds. The aim of the reserve is to protect nature and preserve it for the future, as it is one of the most important nesting and resting places for wetland birds in the country. The area is rather easy to reach with two visiting areas in the south (Glänås and Dagsmosse) and two to the north-eastern part of the lake (Svällinge and Hov). As this a bird protecting area the area is closed during the from 1 April until 30 June, with the exception of specifically marked roads, visiting areas and footpaths.

In the photo you can see a nicerview over Lake Tåkern, taken from the viewpoint at Omberg.


you can read more about Lake Tåkern and surrounding area on my Omberg page