Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [102]
Parties cost Skr325 (under 10s are free), and include beer, soft drinks and coffee (aquavit costs extra). They’re held almost daily from June to August at the larger glassworks of Kosta, Målerås and Orrefors. Contact the regional tourist offices or the glassworks themselves to book a spot.
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There’s a Glasriket Pass (Skr95), allowing free admission into ‘hot shops’ and museums, and discounts on purchases and hyttsill parties (see boxed text, above); but unless you’re intending to go completely glass crazy, it doesn’t really add up.
Most of Glasriket is in Kalmar län, with some in Kronobergs län; all parts are covered in this section.
Getting There & Around
Apart from the main routes, bus services around the area are practically nonexistent. The easiest way to explore is with your own transport (beware of elk). Bicycle tours on the unsurfaced country roads are excellent; there are plenty of hostels, and you can camp almost anywhere except near the military area on the Kosta–Orrefors road.
Kalmar Länstrafik’s bus 139 runs from mid-June to mid-August only and calls at a few of the glass factories. The service operates four times per day on weekdays, once on Saturday, and runs from Nybro to Orrefors and Målerås. Year-round bus services connect Nybro and Orrefors (up to nine weekdays), and Kosta is served by regular bus 218 from Växjö (two or three daily).
Buses and trains run from Emmaboda to Nybro and Kalmar (roughly hourly); trains also run to Karlskrona, Växjö and Alvesta, from where there are direct services to Göteborg and Stockholm.
Nybro
0481 / pop 19,640
The biggest town in Glasriket, Nybro makes a good base for exploration. It was once a centre for hand-blown light bulbs(!), and still has two glassworks on its doorstep. Nybro’s tourist office (450 85; www.nybro.se, in Swedish; Stadshusplan; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat mid-Jun–Aug, 10am-5pm Mon-Fri Sep–mid-Jun) is inside the town hall.
Of the two glassworks, 130-year-old Pukeberg (800 29; www.pukeberg.se; Pukebergarnas väg), just southeast of the centre, is perhaps more interesting for its quaint setting. Nybro (428 81; Herkulesgatan; www.nybro-glasbruk.se) is smaller and laced with quirky items (think Elvis Presley glass platters).
There’s a superior homestead museum Madesjö Hembygdsgård (179 35; adult/child Skr30/10; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun mid-May–mid-Sep), about 2.5km west of town. Housed inside the 200m-long kyrkstallarna (former church stables), it contains an admirable collection, with cannonballs, clothing, coffins, carpenters tools, a classroom and a fantastic (ice-)cycle – and they’re just the things beginning with ‘C’.
Joelskogens Camping (450 86; www.joelskogenscamping.se; Grönvägen 51; site Skr130; May–mid-Sep) Campers should head for this little lakeside ground just out of the centre, with basic facilities (a kitchen, laundry and shop) and a small beach.
The local STF hostel, Nybro Lågprishotell & Vandrarhem (109 32; Vasagatan 22; dm Skr225, hotel s/d Skr490/790; ), near Pukeberg, is clean and comfortable, with a kitchen on each floor as well as a sauna. More expensive ‘hotel’ rooms have cable TV, nonbunk beds and private showers and toilets. You can also rent bicycles.
The town’s other option, Stora Hotellet (519 38; info@storahotellet.se; Mellangatan 11; s/d Skr1090/1350, discounted to Skr795/990), is this chintzy yet agreeable central hotel, by the tourist office. It contains Scandinavia’s largest work of art, an impressive 70-sq-metre fresco of Nybro’s industrial history. The restaurant is the best choice in town for a feed (meals Skr95 to Skr245).
SJ trains between Alvesta and Kalmar stop here every hour or two. Regional bus 131 runs to/from Kalmar.
Orrefors
0481
Established in 1898, Orrefors (341 95; www.orrefors.se; year-round) is arguably the most famous of Sweden’s glassworks. The huge site is home to a factory with glass-blowing demonstrations, plus a large shop with a shipping service. The ubersleek museum-gallery showcases a range of stunning glassworks spanning 1910 to the present