SWEDISH SOJOURN, Day 7, June 26

Today's itinerary included Lund, Karlshamn and Vaxjo. The first thing we did today was to drive to the university town of Lund to visit the beautiful 12th c. Lund cathedral with its amazing astronomical clock, dating from 1424. Lund is considered a more relaxed city than other Swedish cities. It is 54 km south of Helsingborg, and its reputation as a glorious university city is well founded. There is a bohemian, laid-back eccentricity which pervades the city. We arrived in the city at about 9:30 and immediately went to the Domkyrkan. It is built of charcoal-colored and white stone, giving it an imposing monochrome appearance. Before going inside, I walked the exterior of the entire building, noticing the grotesque animal and bird gargoyles over the side entrances,their features blunted by nine centuries of weathering. At the very back, the most beautiful part of the exterior, the three-story apse above the crypt is revealed, crowned with a fine gallery. The majestic interior is surprisingly unadorned. It is one of the world's finest masterpieces of Romanesque architecture, and I have seen only two churches to match it, both in Germany--Speyer and Worms. It was built in Lund in the 12th c., when Lund became the first independent archbishopric of Scandinavia, laying the foundation for a period of wealth and eminence that lasted until the advent of Protestantism. There are several striking features, such as the elaborately carved 14th c. choir depicting Old Testament scenes, and the grotesque carvings hidden beneath the seats. The most vividly colorful feature is just to the left of the entrance--an amazing astronomical clock dating from the 1440s, which shows hours,days, weeks, and the courses of the sun and the moon in the zodiac. Each day, at noon and 3:00, the clock reveals knights clashing swords as many hours as the clock strikes, followed by little mechanical doors opening to trumpet-blowing heralds and the Three Wise Men going to the Virgin Mary. The dimly-lit crypt beneath the apse has been left almost untouched since the 12th c. Here there are memorial slabs, and two pillars are gripped by stone figures--one a man, another a woman and child. Local legend has it that Finn the Giant built the cathedral for St. Lawrence; in return, unless the saint could guess his name, Finn wanted the sun, the moon, or the saint's eyes. Lawrence was prepared to end his days in blindness when he heard Finn's wife boasting to the baby: "Soon Father Finn will bring some eyes for you to play with.". The relieved saint rushed to Finn declaring the name. The livid giant, his wife and child rushed to the crypt to pull down the column, and were instantly turned to stone. After touring the cathedral, I entered the church museum for a moment to look at their selection of books and CDs. Didn't buy anything, but instead went back out, walked the park next to the cathedral, and sauntered to the various university buildings down the street. As there were old half-timbered houses and northern stairstep-gabled houses, I had a veritable photographic feast at hand. Following our short stay in Lund, we next traveled through the Blekinge province, southeast of Lund. It borders Smaland and the Baltic Sea and is the country's second smallest province by area and the smallest province on the mainland. As a border province, it was often fought over between the Swedes and the Danish. Finally, it was ceded to Sweden in 1658 according to the Treaty of Roskilde, and has remained Swedish ever since. After a short stop at a restaurant located by the side of the road next to a campground facing the Baltic Sea, we headed towards the town of Karlhamn to view the Emigrsnt monument there, commemorating emigration to America through characters from Vilhelm Moberg's novel "The Emigrants." Moberg wrote about Swedish emigration in his novels, and a large number of people left from Karlhamn. Axel Olsson's famous statue depicts the main characters, Karl-Oscar and Kristina, looking out over the sea before starting their adventure. After Karlshamn, we were off to Vaxjo in the province of Smaland, where we had a self-guided tour of the museum at the Emigrant Institute. The museum's displays, which include English translations and audio narratives, trace the lives of individual emigrants and recount the story of the industry that grew up around tourism fever. This stint was followed by a fascinating visit to the Glass Museum, with many incredibly creative and innovative glass pieces on display, representing Orrefors and Kosta Boda, the two great glass manufacturers in Sweden (we are visiting those factories tomorrow). I am especially anxious to see those factories, as my aunt Kathe had given my mother two Orrefors bowls which I now proudly own. One more place we visited in Vaxjo before leaving for our hotel was the unusual and wonderful cathedral of Vaxjo, which has changed many times in its history. Its latest restoration happened in 1995 and features incredible pieces by modern glass sculptors of the area: the "Spring of Life" sculpture depicting the Spirit gushing forth and infiltrating the hearts and minds of human beings; the "Tree of Life and Knowledge" made in 1995 and depicting the tree of life as a symbol of creation and the cosmos (it is an amazing candle holder, and again, I lit a candle and offered prayers); a profoundly beautiful sanctuary carpet designed in 1995 and symbolizing the earth; and the main altar triptych by Bertil Vallien in 2002 depicting, through Christ's crucifixion, his atoning love for mankind. Symbol after symbol was layered into the altar depictions, and I spent about 30 minutes with a written guide,deciphering the various symbols expressing and underlining the three basic motifs and gifts of the Eucharist and the altar: the fellowship of the meal, the sacrifice of the cross and the eternal life of the resurrection. An amazing work! Our overnight stay tonight is at Ojaby Herrgard in Vaxjo. Built in the late 1800s by a Count Posse, it was in the hands of the family for many years. During the first decades of the 1900s, a rest home for mothers with many children was created. However, the place was also used as a training center and as a rest home. Then, in 2002, the whole plant was bought by Tage Johansson, a famous entrepreneur in the Vaxjo region, and it is now a hotel. Must go, as a big day is coming up tomorrow. Last night, my blog was finished after midnight, and I would like to refrain from that this evening. Write again when you can friends! Thanks for your comments and best wishes, Michael. Alexandra, hope you are doing well--write, please! as ever, Sylvia