Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [107]
Getting There & Away
All bus and train services depart from the Resecentrum, downhill past the church from Stora Torget. Swebus Express runs once daily on Friday and Sunday to Eksjö, Jönköping and Göteborg, and in the other direction to Västervik (Skr58, 1¼ hours). Svenska Buss operates daily between Stockholm, Linköping and Vimmerby.
After Vimmerby, services continue on to either Oskarshamn, Åseda, or Kalmar and Nybro.
Trains run several times daily south to Kalmar and north to Linköping.
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ÖLAND
0485 / pop 25,000
Like a deranged vision of Don Quixote, Öland is covered in old wooden windmills. Symbols of power and wealth in the mid-18th century, they were a must-have for every aspiring man-about-town and the death knell for many of Öland’s oak forests. Today 400 or so remain, many lovingly restored by local windmill associations.
At 137km long and 16km wide, the island is Sweden’s smallest province. Once a regal hunting ground, it’s now a hugely popular summer destination for Swedes – the royal family still has a summer pad here. The island gets around two million visitors annually, mostly in July.
Around 90% of them flock to the golden shores fringing the northern half of the island to bask and bathe.
Behind the beaches, fairy-tale forests make for soulful wanders.
South of Färjestade, the entire island is a Unesco World Heritage site, lauded for its unique agricultural landscape, in continuous use from the Stone Age to today, and peppered with runic stones and ancient burial cairns.
There are surprisingly few hotels, but you can stay in innumerable private rooms (booked through the tourist offices), more than 25 campsites and at least a dozen hostels (book ahead). Camping between Midsummer and mid-August can cost up to Skr300 per site.
Ölands Skördefest (www.skordefest.nu), the island’s three-day harvest festival in late September, is Sweden’s biggest.
Information
The bridge from Kalmar lands you on the island just north of Färjestaden, where there’s a well-stocked tourist office (56 06 00; www.olandsturist.se; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat, 9am-3pm Sun May & Jun; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat, 9am-5pm Sun Jul–mid-Aug; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, 9am-3pm Sun rest of Aug; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat Sep, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri rest of year; closed late Dec-early Jan) at the Träffpunkt Öland centre. Staff can book island accommodation (for a Skr195 booking fee), as well as organise themed packages, including cycling, spa and gourmet getaways. Model monks and ring forts illustrate the island’s history in the Historium inside the tourist office, and there’s a Naturum (in Swedish) for wildlife spotters.
There’s a smaller tourist office in Borgholm (see right).
Getting There & Around
BICYCLE
There are no bicycle lanes on the bridge between Öland and Kalmar, so cyclists should exercise caution! Bicycles aren’t allowed on the bridge in summer – instead there’s a free Cykelbuss service to get you across (roughly hourly; enquire at the tourist office in Kalmar). If you fancy peddling your way across Öland, check www.cyklapaoland.se for cycling routes and other handy information.
The following shops hire out bicycles in summer for around Skr100 per day, or about Skr400 a week:
Byxelkroks Cykeluthyrning (070-579 61 00; Hamnkontoret, Byxelkrok)
Färjestadens Cykelaffär (300 74; Storgatan 67, Färjestaden)
Hallbergs Hojjar (109 40; Köpmangatan 19, Borgholm)
BOAT
From mid-June to mid-August, M/S Solsund (070-621 42 60) sails daily from Byxelkrok (northwest Öland) and Oskarshamn (on the mainland 60km north of Kalmar). One-way tickets cost Skr150 per adult and Skr100 for those aged between seven and 16 years. A car and up to five people costs Skr550, and a bicycle is free.
BUS
Silverlinjen (0485-261 11; www.silverlinjen.se, in Swedish) runs one to two daily direct buses from Öland to Stockholm (Skr280, 6½ hours), calling at Kalmar – reservations are