Sweden Trip, April 2018 Part 2

I mentioned in the last post that we visited a castle. Brittney took one of the days to show us Kalmar, which is the home of the castle, Kalmar Slott. It was built into a Renaissance palace by King Gustav, Erik XIV, and Johan III. It was about an hour drive from Holsbybrunn to Kalmar. I was so excited to see some Sweden's history. It was such a treat to spend this day with the whole family!

We drove by this frozen lake on our way to Kalmar and we had to stop and take a picture. I remember there were a lot of little frozen lakes scattered around our trail throughout Sweden. 

When you walk up to the castle, it almost looks fake. It is massive! There is an actual moat and a draw bridge. It is such a beautiful castle. I'm glad we went there on a sunny day because it made everything glow. It only added to the experience. 

We walked into the castle, bought the tickets, and started our journey. We began in the room that looked down into the dungeon and there was a metal grate that once allowed the guards to look down upon the prisoners. Brittney stood on it first and I didn't like that very much. I knew it was probably safe to stand on but I'm a nervous person and all about safety; I was afraid it was going to fall in. Of course, the castle, being a big tourist spot, I knew the chances of the metal grate falling in were little to none, so Brittney got me to stand on the metal grate as well.

We walked through the castle on a self-guided tour, looking in all the rooms and going into the secret passageways (that tourists are allowed and encouraged to go through). It was a very fun experience! I was brought back in time to see how early Swedish royalty lived, of course looking past some of the modern modifications made to the castle.

After we walked through the castle, we were lead out to the yard area where the historic cannons are kept. They point out to the Kalmar Strait that leads into the Baltic Sea. It was so pretty!

The castle in Kalmar isn't the only tourist attraction there, they have a charming town and my dad wanted all of us to have a drink together somewhere. Since Sweden's drinking age is 18, Brittney was legal to drink in Sweden, so it was fun to share a bottle of wine with the whole family. We found Harry's which is a sports bar, casual pub, fine dining, and bowling alley rolled into one establishment. It really was a fun place. We played a frame and I got a little wine happy (as I do...). It was just a fun family day.

The lighting was not in our favor. It was very dim at Harry's, so it was hard to avoid the glare. 

To end our day in Kalmar, we went from restaurant to restaurant trying to decide what we felt like eating, along with what was open. We ended up eating dinner at a little Chinese buffet. Normally, I'm not a buffet person, but that was one of the best buffets! I think it was so good because I was with my family and we had a long, fun-filled day, and I was hungry.

If you are ever in Sweden, I recommend taking a day to Kalmar and visiting the castle and walking through the town. It's worth visiting to experience a part of Sweden's history.