Day 40_Kungsbacka. Sweden

Old and new--both beautiful in their settings.  I visited a modern castle, c. 1904, called Tjoloholms Stott located in Kungsbacka, about 20km from Michael's house.  Built by a rich Scotsman named James Dickson (whose grandfather started the famous Swedish East India trade company), this English Tudor-style manor is a located on a peninsula with panoramic views of the sea.  Walking around the estate, the house is centered on an island with formal, symmetrical gardens continuing this focus.  Simple, evergreen, structured with stone walls, these gardens remind me of Ireland where the focus is not on flowers but on form (plus they have short summers).  Woodland plants like ferns, bulbs and primula bloomed under the trees along the naturalistic edges by the house.  I walked to the worker's village, small cathedral, and school which the family built for its employees.   Now you can rent these cottages for a vacation with the school a cafe/restaurant.  Mr. Dickson never saw the completion of his estate:  after cutting his finger while opening a bottle of champagne, he wrapped the lead foil wrapper around the cut.  He died of lead poisoning--so don't do that at home.

Ten kilometers further was a small village called Askhult which has been preserved to about 1825.  This peasant farmer village grouped its houses around a central stone gathering space, with the agricultural fields skirting the edges of the community.  Usually four to five families lived here at a time--though only once in 400 years did one of the children marry each other (perhaps the togetherness of growing up was enough).  Some of the buildings were constructed in the 1600s and remain today, with small restoration efforts to their weathered oak siding and grass thatched roofs.  The houses are furnished with period appropriate domestic items--like looms, bedding, and their pots and pans--from the 1600s - 1800s.  While the modern Swede is pretty tall, these homes had ceilings around 5'6" (which is perfect for me since I am 5'5").  I guess they didn't eat as much dairy then.  The houses had few windows despite how long the dark winters last in Sweden.  It was interesting to imagine my ancestors in similar settings as my Swedish grandparents only emigrated from to the U.S. in 1910.  Ironically, my brother has returned.