Grenna
Rikstelefon 30
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Grenna den 17 August, 1926
It's not Grenna we're at but Lidköping, Honey, and it's a pleasant and thrifty town on the shore of Lake Vänern to which we have come 120 miles in a round-about zigzag from Jönköping, stopping at 3 interesting places. This auto trip is under the Swedish railways and done in style - a big 12 passenger bus, and we the only passengers! "The season" here is practically over, and so we have a chauffeur and a guide all to ourselves. It is most amusing. He provides us with meals, including tea, and enters us at churches. What he would have done had we chosen to take the "bad" at the summer resort I don't know, for he hates to leave us! We nearly have had hysterics on a few occasions, when trying to find a "damrum", for he came flying after us and once bought us cider (called Pommac, and quite good)[.]
At Jönköping my room had a beautiful tall white stove, of which I took a picture, and I hope it comes out well. 'Twas a fine tall example.
From Jönköping we went along the shore of Lake Vettern, now near, now far from it, up to Hjo, a summer place where in season there may be 800 people, only 50 now. There are extensive grounds in a sort of park place, beautifully kept, and a long row of houses of assorted sizes, with a big restaurant where we ate an excellent repast almost alone, after we had been offered the bath and declined. It was a most attractive place.
From there we started across to Lake Vänern, and the route passed the old church, Varnhems Kryka, where we got out. The church was part of a monastery whose ruins are being studied. The church was said by the keeper to have been built first about 1200, though how much changed I know not. We have no guidebook of this region - Boedeker scarce mentions it, worse luck, and it's full of old and interesting places. Anyhow it has the cathedral type, arches of very low points type, some of them round, e.g. those in the ambulatory behind the altar where several of the early kings are buried. Birger Jarl, the founder of Stockholm, and evidently a man much remembered by the Swedes, lies on the floor with two women, one either side, and with 5 small heads (children?) in an oval medallion. It's a most interesting monument. The pulpit, organ and some monuments are very ornate.There's a big monument in one transept to de la Gaudie - the great man at Läckö, I think, with two huge statues. The other transept has a door, and outside are some gargoyles of amusing shape, perhaps snarling bears' heads. The roof line has lots of levels around the east end. We were quite delighted with both outside & inside. Royal pens for king & queen at right & left of altar & for their staff (?) near the door.
Then we drove on through farm and woodlands, by many fields where the grain is being cut, by McCormick-Deering reapers mainly, and through little villages. The Klock-stapel is separate from the church, often, at [sic] at least twice it was red while the church was white. The houses are mostly plaster on the outside, white, brown or pink, with red-tiled roofs, though occasionally we see thatch, neatly weighted by timbers of small size which make a row of X's down the ridge pole. There is much grain, oats, barley and especially wheat, and the whole place is very attractive, though the masses of flowers of a month ago are gone.
We came to Husaby Church, the oldest in Sweden, our Keepers claimed. It is very quaint inside, with one monument of a man & wife with 4 little sons on one side and 7 still smaller daughters on the other[.]
Couldn't get 'em all in! The oldest monument is of Olof Skötkonung and wife - two stone coffinlike things out front of the church, but with reliefs of the saints, e.g. Peter & keys, discernible on the side of his. He was the one baptized by St. Sigrid at a spring down the road, where the Keeper wanted us to drink from a bright tin dipper. We didn't, though the water did look clear. The decoration in the roof of the church had been restored, of course, but it looks as if the old patterns had been carefully followed. There was a very old stone font in a corner, and some fascinating hanging candelabra. (sp?) I don't wonder that the Swedes are moved to make things of elaborate patterns and to us strange design - they can find so many in their old churches, palaces, and inherited furniture &c. It must be fun to study the art of these northern countries.
We had a Large Smörgasbord for the first course of dinner - ten trifles around on the table. I really felt abused at the omission of a certain salt herring I'm fond of! Lidköping has given us a shot at a Swedish policeman, helmet, sword & all - but not in a very good light, nor was he as large as some. I'll try for a better one in Copenhagen - some of them are so tall and stunning.
Aug. 19 - On train
We're on the train bet. Göteborg and Copenhagen and I'll try to write a bit. Yesterday was another gorgeous day. We met our keeper at 8:45 for breakfast and he left us a[t] 5 at the hotel - and he really was a nice sort, but our free spirits agreed that as for a "conductor" all summer we wouldn't have one for worlds! We went first to the most entertaining old castle I ever saw. Läckö, up on a point sticking out into Lake Vänern, now the property of the state and being restored. It has a short moat on one side where the drawbridge used to be, and then a lovely ascending approach under trees to the portal. The decorations are from the 16th cent in part and show enough so the restoration seems plausible. They are doing it most carefully. Sweden is astonishing in that they care so much for the old things and keep them up. So many of the old clocks we have seen were going and telling the right time. This castle had two courtyards and 250 rooms around them, with towers, &c. The chapel was very interesting with so much of the old decoration still there, e.g. statues in the niches, &c. The big halls and practically all the rooms were formerly hung with tapestries. Those and the canvases on ceiling and panels are gone, but the painted borders &c remain. I think there was a lot of French influence from perhaps later than the 16th cent. I wish to goodness I knew enough to spot things quickly. Our keeper was no artist. The old chap who led us around had a bunch of keys that must have weighed pounds - most amusing - the old locks, these were. The bedrooms of de la Gardie were lovely from all the outer windows, though dimly seen through the old tiny leaded panes. The Swedish windows are huge, in both old and new buildings, double casement windows usually, with an upper section which goes nearly to the ceiling. Maybe they aim for all the light they can get in winter when the sun sets at three o'clock. We stayed around the castle an hour and I hope the pictures come out well.
Then we went on through more gentle, fertile country with huge grain fields, where the men and women were working together. They wear much blue, very pretty with the yellow grain. The grass fields are full of blossoming clover now, the second crop, and the millions of cows are ted one by one in these fields, systematically eating them off. I couldn't understand when I looked from the aeroplane why the cows always were on the edge of some other shade of green! We have seen the men out moving the stakes for the cows along, so they can eat another slice! Very amusing - and so neat!
We came to Trollhätten where the huge development of the water power has occurred. We saw that in detail - about half the water in the Göta and power canals and half still as a water falls. The fall must have been fine, through a rocky gorge, though it is not so much bigger now than some of the Norwegian falls we saw. The power house was wonderful, 13 huge dynamos, each with a great tank (?) for a turbine (?) behind it. The place was immaculate, linoleum on the floor and all in such perfection of green paint. The power supplies all of south Sweden, though the new electric R.R. between Göteborg & Stockholm is run by another power plant farther down the river. We lunched in a nice little hotel, our last meal with the Keeper.
There was an electric ferry by the Bohns ruin, where the cable is dropped down to let the boats go by. All that has to be done to start the ferry is to press a button! Remember Smith's Ferry? All the way from the Trollhätten we followed the river and its valley is lovely, so smiling and green. At one place we went between two mountains, perhaps 900 feet high or less, with steep precipices. The king has been wont to hunt elk there each fall.
We have just had our window-sill wiped off with a damp cloth, also the little table! This is a Danish car, not awfully good, but yet fairly comfortable and fortunately less crowded than on July 1 when we went before.
We just passed a house being built with wreaths along the ridge pole. That's a custom here - to put often a very large wreath above the top most point. The heather is at is brightest now, and while the barrens are few we have seen some red hills. There is a low ridge now between us and the North Sea.
Our dinner last night was in a garden restaurant in Göteborg - the lovely Public Garden - with a fine orchestra program.
Aug. 20
We're in Copenhagen now, and on the train going to Roskilde, which you may have seen also. Your letter of July 25 was here, forwarded from Amsterdam and I'm glad to hear about your trip. Anne had about a dozen letters and I had 2. There has been no mail from So. Hadley since you left, which I do not understand. If Anne's mail had not come so successfully - from many sources - I should investigate all our trails. We have left such careful word that it seems as if we must have covered the ground, but I sure never saw so little mail in my life before. - Trip yesterday uneventful save for another glimpse of nice Miss Benson at her town. We find the town hall here & in Stockholm about of an elegance. I think this is since your day. We had a grand dinner at Wivel's restaurant but it included the concert ticket, so to speak. Fine menus. [?] The shops are attractive and prices slightly lower than Stockholm[.] The porcelain is wonderful. Had a telephone from Dr. Benedict, now in town. Train joggles -
Much love, honey -
Abby
Tomorrow train across Denmark, sail at 5 from Esbjerg.