Peter and Vicki's Travel Page 2010 Heading north - Scandinavia & the Baltics

Karlstad 2 Jun 2010

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Karlstad is built on the river delta where Sweden's longest river, Klarälven, runs into Sweden's largest lake, Vänern. Apparently Karlstad is often associated with sunshine and the symbol for Karlstad is a happy sun. Well we were lucky and the town lived up to it's reputation today, because it was shorts and tshirt today - a beautiful sunny day. And the locals were making good use of the sun also because all along the river and in the parks there were people sunbaking. Didn't really expect to be seeing bikinis in this part of the world at this time of year. Actually Karlstad is reputed to be one of the sunniest towns in Sweden and a local waitress, known as "Sola i Karlstad" (the Sun in Karlstad) for her sunny disposition, is also commemorated with a statue. Bicycles are also very popular here, they are everywhere and seem to be the transport of choice. Within cycling distance of the town there are a number of lakeside bathing places. So today was very relaxed, with walks along the river and sitting in the sun. We did mange to visit a couple of the local sites including the church inaugurated in 1730. One thing we did not visit is the 90km car-free asphalt track made for bikes and pedestrians, it had previously been the rail line. The population of the town is around 60000, but it doesn't really seem that big. The shops in town are quite modern, including all the name brands Oh yes, there is an Ikea store here, and actually they have a Karlstad fabric series.

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