SWEDISH SOJOURN, Day 9, June 28

After breakfast, we headed towards Oscarshamn, traveling north along the coast. We were out to tour the Axel Petersson Woodcarving Museum. Axel Petersson was a famous Swedish woodcarver. In the Doederhultarn Museum there is a collection of his work, with more than 200 wooden sculptures. The museum is located in the same building as the library, in the central part of the Swedish town of Oscarshamn. Petersson was born in 1868 in the parish of Doederhult, Sweden. As a boy, his primary interests were in whittling and carving small figures. This activity was considered worthless by his friends and family in Sweden. His family decided that the best thing for him to do as a young adult was to emigrate to the US. Petersson did not emigrate to America, however, and after a brief time away from home, he went back to help his widowed mother in Oscarshamn. He worked on figure carving and sold figurines in the local market in Oscarshamn. Most of the figures he sold were refined traditional wood carvings. Some time around 1900 he began to carve in a minimalist style, and these are the carved figures for which he is most famous. In 1909, he was invited to participate in an exhibition in Stockholm. The public response to his work was overwhelming. After his success in Stockholm, some of the museums in Sweden began purchasing his work. He had many requests to exhibit his work throughout Europe and the US. In 1911, 57 of his figures were on display in Oscarshamn, and the groundwork was laid for the museum we went to visit. The next year, some of his work was shipped to the US and the Swedish Consulate sent it on tour to several major cities. Axel Petersson became known as one of Sweden's great artists. His work as well as photos of his work were circulated worldwide, and he served as an inspiration to other woodcarvers. His popularity was so great that the "Doederhalten figure" became the generic term for any small figure in the minimalist style. After touring the museum with an excellent guide who was originally from Portland, Oregon but had married a Swede, Kristen and I took a walking tour of the city, seeing the harbor and a quarter with the oldest home structures in the town. I purchased some nuts and a banana as well as some currant juice for lunch on the bus, and we got two goodbye cards for Agneta and Haakon. After quickly stepping into a secondhand shop for a look at their offerings, the two of us sprinted back to the bus five minutes before it left. Oscarshamn was followed by a drive to Eksjo to enjoy a walking tour of the wonderfully preserved Old Town area from the 17th c. Burned to the ground by the Danish in 1568, the town was redeveloped in 1569. Eksjo is best known for its wooden buildings in the Old Town, and as a military town. The Old Town of Eksjo is a unique area which follows the rules of medieval town planning. Many of the houses were built in the 1600s. In fact, virtually the whole of Old Town is comprised of listed buildings. The inhabitants of Eksjo are very much into architectural preservation. Eksjo and the old Town have been awarded one of the internationally acclaimed Europa Nostra diplomas for 1997. From the Eksjo district we traveled through roads bounded by forests and open countryside to Hotel Ullinge. In the 1930s, the Von Porat family built their own private house (now the restaurant and the main building). The place became a favorite holiday destination to Von Porat's friends and business acquaintances. Guests were put up here and attended by Von Porat's daughters Ulla and Inga, which is why the place is called Ullinge. In the early 1960s, Teddy Nilsson and his wife took over and ran Ullinge until the 1980s as an event business catering for weddings, company celebrations, and special occasions. In 1985 the Dahlbron family took over, and in 1987 the hotel and conference buildings were added, conference operations were started and all-year-round opening commenced. In 1993 the Darius family had the opportunity to take over Ullinge. Now finally, since March 1, 2010, the owners have been Detlef Pannosch and Gert Ziegler. The view outside our window is to the lake, and it is so serene and mellow here that I find myself constantly watching the ripples form as birds lift off and the light plays with the shadows and clouds are reflected in the lake. For dinner, with a view onto the lake, we had the following: tiny pork and beef rollups dusted with parsley and two different kinds of potatoes, mashed and au gratin. Dessert, featuring Smaland cheesecake (totally unlike American cheesecake and not nearly as sweet), strawberries and raspberries, a dollop of whipped cream and one of ice cream, topped by a fruit glaze, made for an incredible meal. The light is now low, with pink and blue streaks painting the length of the horizon. Tomorrow, a big day as we head towards our last three days in Stockholm. What a fabulous trip!