Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [202]
For alcohol go to Systembolaget (Stortorget 10).
Cinemas in Örebro showing mainstream films include Filmstaden (611 84 00; www.sf.se; Drottninggatan 6), the Roxy (12 31 44; Olaigatan 19) and Sandrews/Astoria (10 44 24; www.sandrewmetronome.se; Storgatan 19). Tickets cost about Skr85.
Getting There & Away
Long-distance buses leave from opposite the train station and run almost everywhere in southern Sweden. Swebus Express (0200-21 82 18; www.swebusexpress.se) has connections to Norrköping, Karlstad and Oslo (Norway); Mariestad and Göteborg; Västerås and Uppsala; and Eskilstuna and Stockholm.
Train connections are also good. Direct SJ trains run to/from Stockholm (Skr209, two hours) every hour with some via Västerås (Skr98, one hour); and Göteborg (Skr256, 2¾ hours). Other trains run daily to Gävle (Skr286, three to four hours) and Borlänge (Skr182, 2¼ hours), where you can change for Falun and Mora.
Getting Around
Town buses leave from Järntorget and cost Skr20/10 per adult/child. Cykeluthyrning (21 19 09), at the Hamnplan boat terminal, rents bikes from May to September from Skr90 per day.
For a cab, call Taxi Kurir (12 30 30).
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ASKERSUND & AROUND
0583 / pop 11,480
There’s not much to Askersund beyond a cute harbour and cobblestone square (which doubles as a parking lot), but it’s a nice place to relax or to stock up for a visit to the nearby Tiveden National Park. It’s also one of Närke’s oldest inhabited places; Vikings started a burial ground here around AD 900.
The tourist office (810 88; turistbyran@askersund.se; Lilla Bergsgatan 12A; 10am-7pm mid-Jun–mid-Aug, 10am-12.30pm & 1-4pm Mon-Fri mid-Aug–mid-Jun) is on the main square. Ask for information on walking and cycling routes around the lake, as well as canoe and kayak rental (Skr75/250 per hour/day). There’s an internet cafe (141 21; Stöökagatan 10; per hr Skr20; 10am-9pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat) in a computer shop off the main square.
Sights
TIVEDEN NATIONAL PARK
Carved by glaciers, this trolls’ home and former highwaymen’s haunt about 33km south of Askersund makes for wonderful wild walking. The park is noted for its ancient virgin forests, which are very rare in southern Sweden, and has lots of dramatic bare bedrock, extensive boulderfields and a scattering of lakes.
Several self-guided walks, including the 6km Trollkyrka (‘troll church’) trail, start from the National Park visitors centre (10am-4pm May-Sep, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun Apr & Oct) in the southeastern part of the park, 5km north of Rd 49 (turn-off at Bocksjö). You can pick up brochures and maps here, and there’s a small shop.
A few kilometres north along Rd 49 is the turn-off to Fagertärn, a pretty lake that fills with blood-red water lilies in July. Legend says a fisherman called Fager traded his daughter to the fearsome water spirit Näcken in exchange for a good catch. On their wedding day, the daughter rowed out onto the lake alone and drove a knife into her heart, and the lilies have been stained red ever since.
The park is a bit out of the way, and there’s no public transport, but if you have your own wheels it’s worth a stop, especially for hikers.
The area is also good for cycling (Sverigeleden passes nearby), canoeing (information 0584-47 40 83), fishing, cross-country skiing and horse riding (information 070-654 91 59). The tourist office in Askersund can help make arrangements.
OTHER SIGHTS
Home to Prince Gustav, ‘the Singing Prince’, in the 1850s, Stjernsund Manor (100 04; admission by tour only, adult/under 12yr Skr50/free; 11am, noon, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm mid-May–Aug) contains one of the best-preserved 19th-century interiors in Sweden, with elegant furniture and gilt, glass and velvet fixtures and fittings. There’s also an appealing cafe in the nearby estate-manager’s old house. The manor is 5km south of Askersund; the best way to get there is via a day cruise on the M/S Wettervik.
In July and