Tiveden National Park and Vadstena Castle

7/12/2024

We'll stay another night in Vadstena, but today we drive about an hour out to Tiveden National Park, for a lakeside hike in the woods.

We hike around this lake about 6 miles - a guidebook says it's amongst the best hikes in Sweden.

For the first half there a're lots of geocaches to seek out.

We follow color banded fabric on the trees to stay on the trail.

There's another geocache through this curious gap.

Ah hah, there's even free firewood "services" provided in Sweden, as in Finland.

About a third into the hike, we come to a beach.

We continue on the trail...

Swedish blooms, and Swedish slugs...

In the night this tree stump could've been mistaken for one of those Scandinavian forest beasts.

Winding down, almost back to the car - yes, we can believe it's amongst the best hikes in Sweden.

Back to the lodging cottage - ack! - it's a hedgehog, in amongst all of the places it could be, the hedgerow.

We need to see Vadstena Castle before it gets too late. Our lodging host grew up in this town, had spent most of her adult life in the USA, but is now back in her hometown - she went to school at the "Folkskola".

"Vadstena Castle was originally built by King Gustav I in 1545 as a fortress to protect Stockholm from enemies approaching from the south. The fortress consisted of three smaller stone buildings facing Lake Vättern, three 31-meter wide ramparts, a courtyard, a moat and four circular cannon turrets. The original ramparts were torn down in the 19th century and the present ramparts were rebuilt in 1999. The stone buildings later formed the ground floor of the castle, when it was converted into royal lodging.

The reconstruction from fortress into a habitable castle began in the 1550s. By 1620, when the castle was completed, all the kings of the House of Vasa had contributed to its construction. Since 1620, the castle has been very well preserved, and is one of Sweden's best examples of Renaissance architecture.

Vadstena Castle was a royal palace until 1716, when the royal family lost interest in it; after which it became a storage barn for grain. Since 1899, the castle has housed the Provincial Archives and today visitors can also find a Castle Museum with 16th and 17th century furniture, portraits and paintings. The castle is also the seat of the International Vadstena Academy, Sweden's smallest opera house, commissioning new operas and reviving lost operas from archival scores."

With the Sun hanging low on the horizon, we found the perfect lighting for getting the castle's reflection in its moat.