Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [110]
The best open-air museum on Öland is Himmelsberga (56 10 22; adult/under 15yr Skr55/free; 10am-5.30pm mid-May–Aug), a farm village on the east coast at Långlöt. Its quaint cottages are fully furnished. There’s hay in the mangers and slippers by the door; it’s so convincing you’d swear the inhabitants just popped out for a minute. Extras include a dinky cafe and modern art gallery.
STF Vandrarhem Ölands Skogsby (383 95; info@vandrarhskogsby.se; dm/s/d Skr200/250/400; mid-Apr–Sep; ), a charming, low-fuss STF hostel, claims to be Sweden’s oldest (it dates from 1934). It’s based in a flowery old wooden house, 3km southeast of Färjestaden. The Färjestaden–Mörbylånga bus 103 (Skr25) runs past at least five times daily.
There are a few good eateries at the old jetty in Färjestaden, including På Kaj4 (310 37; mains Skr95-145; from 11.30am Jun-Aug, shorter hours rest of year), where you can sample fresh seafood dishes, steaks and Med-style nibbles. Best of all, there’s a large sunny terrace with appetising views over Kalmarsund.
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SOUTHERN ÖLAND
The southern half of the island has made it onto Unesco’s World Heritage List. Its treeless, limestone landscape is hauntingly beautiful and littered with the relics of human settlement and conflict. Besides linear villages, Iron Age fortresses and tombs, this area is also a natural haven for plants and wildlife.
Birds, insects and flowers populate the striking limestone plain of Stora Alvaret. Bird-spotting is best in May and June, which is also when the Alvar’s rock roses and rare orchids burst into bloom. The plain occupies most of the inland area of southern Öland, and can be crossed by road from Mörbylånga or Degerhamn.
The ancient grave fields of Mysinge and Gettlinge, stretching for kilometres on the ridge alongside the main Mörbylånga–Degerhamn road, include burial sites and standing stones from the Stone Age to the late Iron Age. The biggest single monument is the Bronze Age tomb Mysinge hög, 4km east of Mörbylånga, from where there are views of almost the whole World Heritage site.
If you can’t picture how the ring forts looked in their prime, take a trip to Eketorp (66 20 00; www.eketorp.se; adult/6-14yr Skr95/45; 11am-5pm May-early Sep, to 6pm Jul–mid-Aug). The site has been partly reconstructed to show what the fortified villages, which went in and out of use over the centuries, were like in medieval times. Children will love the scampering pigs, and the fort is particularly fun when there are re-enactment days – phone for details. Excavations at the site have revealed over 26,000 artefacts, including three tonnes of human bones; some of the finds are on display at the little museum inside. There’s a free daily tour in English from late June to the end of August (call for times). The fort is 6km northeast of Grönhögen; there are several buses (summer only) from Mörbylånga.
On the east coast, about 5km north of Eketorp, Gräsgårds Fiskehamn is a delightful little fishing harbour. A little further north, there’s an 11th-century rune stone at Seby, and in Segerstad there are standing stones, stone circles and over 200 graves.
Öland’s southernmost point is a stark, striking spectacle of epic sky, sea, and rock-strewn pastures. A nature reserve, almost surrounded by sea, it’s justifiably popular with bird-spotters. There’s a free Naturum (66 12 00; 10am-6pm Jul–mid-Aug, 11am-5pm May & Jun, 11am-4pm late Mar-Apr & mid-Aug–Sep, 11am-3pm Oct-Nov, noon-4pm Fri-Sun early-late Mar), a great cafe-restaurant and, at 42m, Scandinavia’s tallest lighthouse, Långe Jan (adult/7-15yr Skr30/10) to climb.
Sleeping & Eating
Mörby Vandrarhem & Lågprishotell (493 93; morby@hotelskansen.com; Bruksgatan; hostel 1-/2-/4-/6-bed r Skr300/500/700/900, hotel s/d from Skr500/700; May-Aug; ) In the small village of Mörbylånga, this place has a mixture of hostel- and hotel-style accommodation. It’s great for families, with nearby park and beaches, and bikes for hire. There’s a pool and restaurant on-site.
Kajutan Hotell & Vandrarhem