Bullerö, Swedish Archipelago
Early this morning the National Geographic Endeavour left her birth at Gamlastan, the old town center of Stockholm and headed east into the Swedish archipelago. The weather had lifted, and large patches of blue sky lit our way as our ship threaded through an archipelago that contains over 30,000 islands of varying sizes. It was a short distance out of the city of Stockholm that we entered what to most Swedes is considered their paradise. Near the inner archipelago the houses that dotted the larger islands were also quite large. Though, as we moved east the islands slowly became islets and the quintessential little red and yellow houses were everywhere. Located on a dock or near many houses one could find a smaller building often painted to match the family home; with a stove pipe coming out of the roof and usually very easy access to the Baltic Sea. The Swedish sauna, ah yes, the great tradition of Scandinavian countries one and all! Many of us remained on the bridge through out the morning admiring, photographing and asking many questions of the three pilots who were required to guide the National Geographic Endeavour through this maze of islands, islets and skerries.
With our morning at sea we were able to continue our lecture series with a presentation by one of our historians Olga, who opened up the subject of, “Peter the Great and the strange new city of St. Petersburg.”
Just before lunch the National Geographic Endeavour dropped her anchor approximately 2.5 miles from our afternoon destination of the island of Bullerö, which is located in one of several Nature Preserves, found throughout the Swedish Archipelago. Johan Stake joined us onboard for a briefing about the small island of Bullerö, and wonderful stories of his life of over 30 years as warden in this remote island on the outside of the archipelago facing the Baltic sea. He brought a program showing us the many seasons of the Bullerö and the Baltic and representing the most recent of the human history, he walked us back in time to the first settlers who had come to the island of Bulerö with the same feeling as Johan, that this place of many small bits of land is definetely a unique and special part of Sweden. Johan joined us for lunch on board the National Geographic Endeavour, while our deck crew prepared to drop Zodiacs for our ride into Bullerö. Once on shore we had an opportunity to take several hikes and visit the museum, which gave even more detail to Johan’s stories about the many interesting and unique people who have lived on Bullerö. From fishermen to seal and bird hunters to livestock rearing to recreation and now a nature preserve the island has a very rich past. Its most famous resident was the painter Bruno Liljefors, who owned the island and studied, painted and hunted its animals for sixteen years. We had an opportunity to visit his hunting lodge, now a museum showcasing the islands lifestyle during the time of Liljejors.
While we were exploring the island our Naturalist Sharon and her assistant Christa were busy preparing one of the great Swedish traditions when visiting both Sweden in the summer and the archipelago; a wood sauna. Sweet water needed to be hauled; wood sawed into smaller sections and chopped for what Sharon hoped would be a great turn out for the traditional sauna and Baltic bathing! More than thirty hardy souls entered the sauna, were treated to a sauna ceremony, and followed that with a plunge in the Baltic. Relaxed and rejuvenated by hikes, a sauna and swimming we returned to the hunting lodge for another Sweden tradition, an appetizer called the lax macka, before returning to the National Geographic Endeavour for a traditional Swedish smorgasbord.
As our ship continued to move east throughout the evening, we were invited to the forward lounge after dinner to view a currently running movie in North America. In preparation for our visit in two days to Tallin, Estonia we watched the film, “The Singing Revolution.” This documentary tells the story of how culture can save a nation with patience used as a weapon and caution as a virtue.
Early this morning the National Geographic Endeavour left her birth at Gamlastan, the old town center of Stockholm and headed east into the Swedish archipelago. The weather had lifted, and large patches of blue sky lit our way as our ship threaded through an archipelago that contains over 30,000 islands of varying sizes. It was a short distance out of the city of Stockholm that we entered what to most Swedes is considered their paradise. Near the inner archipelago the houses that dotted the larger islands were also quite large. Though, as we moved east the islands slowly became islets and the quintessential little red and yellow houses were everywhere. Located on a dock or near many houses one could find a smaller building often painted to match the family home; with a stove pipe coming out of the roof and usually very easy access to the Baltic Sea. The Swedish sauna, ah yes, the great tradition of Scandinavian countries one and all! Many of us remained on the bridge through out the morning admiring, photographing and asking many questions of the three pilots who were required to guide the National Geographic Endeavour through this maze of islands, islets and skerries.
With our morning at sea we were able to continue our lecture series with a presentation by one of our historians Olga, who opened up the subject of, “Peter the Great and the strange new city of St. Petersburg.”
Just before lunch the National Geographic Endeavour dropped her anchor approximately 2.5 miles from our afternoon destination of the island of Bullerö, which is located in one of several Nature Preserves, found throughout the Swedish Archipelago. Johan Stake joined us onboard for a briefing about the small island of Bullerö, and wonderful stories of his life of over 30 years as warden in this remote island on the outside of the archipelago facing the Baltic sea. He brought a program showing us the many seasons of the Bullerö and the Baltic and representing the most recent of the human history, he walked us back in time to the first settlers who had come to the island of Bulerö with the same feeling as Johan, that this place of many small bits of land is definetely a unique and special part of Sweden. Johan joined us for lunch on board the National Geographic Endeavour, while our deck crew prepared to drop Zodiacs for our ride into Bullerö. Once on shore we had an opportunity to take several hikes and visit the museum, which gave even more detail to Johan’s stories about the many interesting and unique people who have lived on Bullerö. From fishermen to seal and bird hunters to livestock rearing to recreation and now a nature preserve the island has a very rich past. Its most famous resident was the painter Bruno Liljefors, who owned the island and studied, painted and hunted its animals for sixteen years. We had an opportunity to visit his hunting lodge, now a museum showcasing the islands lifestyle during the time of Liljejors.
While we were exploring the island our Naturalist Sharon and her assistant Christa were busy preparing one of the great Swedish traditions when visiting both Sweden in the summer and the archipelago; a wood sauna. Sweet water needed to be hauled; wood sawed into smaller sections and chopped for what Sharon hoped would be a great turn out for the traditional sauna and Baltic bathing! More than thirty hardy souls entered the sauna, were treated to a sauna ceremony, and followed that with a plunge in the Baltic. Relaxed and rejuvenated by hikes, a sauna and swimming we returned to the hunting lodge for another Sweden tradition, an appetizer called the lax macka, before returning to the National Geographic Endeavour for a traditional Swedish smorgasbord.
As our ship continued to move east throughout the evening, we were invited to the forward lounge after dinner to view a currently running movie in North America. In preparation for our visit in two days to Tallin, Estonia we watched the film, “The Singing Revolution.” This documentary tells the story of how culture can save a nation with patience used as a weapon and caution as a virtue.
