1st K-UE Sweden Tour
Beetle experience - Beetle history
The VW Beetle Club Última Edición e.V. toured Sweden from 22 June to 5 August 2017 with 12 Beetles and 21 people.
From Kiel, the STENA Line took them to Gothenburg. After the interesting city tour, the Beetles drove to Mullsjö. A wonderfully situated forest hotel by the lake - pure Sweden!
The small town of Hjo with its old wooden houses, crooked streets and small harbour was an invitation to linger. In Karlsborg there is one of Sweden's largest fortresses to see and the hike "Stenkällerund" in the Tiveden National Park was not to be missed. The destination was the city of Örebro, where there was a lot of abstract art to see.
Before the trip to Lake Siljan began, the participants had the unique opportunity to visit a private Volkswagen museum in Pålsboda with 100 air-cooled vehicles. Wow - you could have spent the whole day there with all the treasures. Even an aquarius-blue Última Edición Beetle was not missing, with the 50s and 60s vintages dominating.
Continuing through the small town of Nora with its beautiful wooden houses and cobblestone streets in the centre, the Beetle convoy drove on secondary roads on partly unpaved roads to Tällberg. At the beautifully situated Tällbergsgarden Hotel on Lake Siljan, they had really arrived in Sweden! All participants felt really at home.
On the following day, Lake Siljan was circumnavigated, first to Rättvik with its 628 m long wooden footbridge, and from the wooden lookout tower Vidablick (28 m) there was another great view over the country and the lake. In Nusnäs the wooden horses are made - an enormous selection with countless colours and it is interesting to watch how they are made by hand with much love and craftsmanship. No one could resist taking one of these souvenirs home!
The next destination was Mora, the northernmost point of the Beetle Journey. From the viewpoint of the Gesundaberg, you can see that Lake Siljan was formed 25 million years ago after a meteorite impact.
There was another viewpoint in Siljannäs with the beetles in the foreground. Now the destination Stockholm was on the agenda. Before that, the World Heritage Copper Mine was visited in Falun - simply impressive.
Another highlight: the Beetle convoy drove through the portal of the "Volkswagen Historika Klubben" in Täby to Näsby Castle. There, Swedish VW fans with their Beetles and Bullis were waiting for the German Beetle drivers - in the convoy, all the air-cooled cars drove through the most beautiful parts of Stockholm for an hour to the hotel "J", wonderfully situated with a view of the Baltic Sea. The highlight of the evening was dinner at the "J" restaurant on the marina overlooking the harbour.
In Stockholm the Beetles had a rest, with small boats we were quickly in the city centre, which everyone got to know in their own way: the old town Gamla Stan, the Wasa Museum. ABBA Museum etc. - a fascinating city. The tour continued to Gripsholm Castle on Lake Mälaren and the Göta Canal with the seven-step lock staircase in Berg. Before the convoy reached the day's destination Gränna, the impressive view of Lake Vättern from Brahehus was on the agenda.
The Beetles were parked on the market square in Gränna (famous for the candy canes); the participants took the ferry to Visingsö, a carriage ride there not to be missed.
Along the lake on the side road -an impressive Swedish area- the monastery ruin Alvastra was reached.
Borgholm on the island of Öland was the next stage destination with a visit to the Kosta Boda glassworks and a stop in Kalmar (castle). The 6 km long bridge to the island of Öland was impressive. The next day, the Beetles explored the island of Öland; the many old windmills and the open-air museum Himmelsberga were particularly impressive.
Back across the Öland Bridge, the lonely Tommarp was the day's destination. The hotel KarlabyKro impressed with great rooms, exquisite dinner and special friendliness of the service.
Along the impressive scissor coast through the province of Skåne we went to the village of Kåsaberga, where there is the largest stone site in Sweden (Viking grave "Ales stenar" with 58 upright granite stones).
In the harbour town of Ystad with its many half-timbered buildings, the Beetles parked on the harbour shore. Smygehuk is the southernmost point of Sweden; the beetles parked there - a unique picture! Secluded in Vellinge in the countryside, the participants enjoyed the peace and quiet.
The next day, a visit to the Beetle Club "Svenska Volkswagen Veterana" was on the agenda, the cathedral (built around 1145) of Lund was visited and the city of Malmö was on the agenda.
Before driving over the Öresund Bridge to Copenhagen, they went to a vantage point to see this impressive structure up close. The journey over the 7.8 km long bridge and a 4 km long tunnel is an experience in itself, especially driving across it with 12 Beetles in a row.
Copenhagen was reached in the early evening, the Admiral Hotel, in the middle of Copenhagen, has its own parking spaces and the Beetles stayed there, while Copenhagen was "conquered" in many ways by the participants on foot, by sightseeing bus and by ship. Before leaving Copenhagen for home the day after next, the Beetles did a lap of honour on the Royal Amalienborg Square.
In Rödby, the Beetles took the ferry to Puttgarden (Fehmarn); there it was time to say goodbye and, as a last little highlight, they crossed the Fehmarnsund Bridge, which had already been used by more than 50 Beetles of the K-UE Club at the Whitsun Meeting.