The air smells of tar and steamed salmon as we board the M/S Sandön. The walls are lined with red plush sofas and the elegant parquet is the original flooring from 1910. There’s a south-west wind blowing, but the Sandön holds firm in the light waves on the canal.
Welcome aboard!” says Captain Håkan Spångberg, who will be taking us from Töreboda to Karlsborg this August day. A pleasant breeze rustles the leaves as we glide along the tree-lined canal, surrounded by wide-open meadows and fields. “We’ll be in Vassbacken soon. In the olden days this was a vital loading harbour for the matchstick factory in Tidaholm, but nowadays it is a popular guest harbour with dances on summer evenings,” the captain tells us from the wheelhouse on the upper deck.
We enter Lake Viken via a hand-operated lock in Tåtorp. The bow propeller thunders as the M/S Sandön parries gusts of wind in the narrow lock. The waves have white caps and a brisk wind cools us off on the deck as we move into the lake. It’s time to head to the dining room, where Carolina serves us an exquisite lunch of Vättern salmon with Remoulade sauce and potatoes, or a loin of pork with mushroom sauce.
After about an hour on the open lake, it’s comforting re-turning to the peaceful canal at the Forsvik lock. This is considered the most beautiful stretch of the canal. The woods are deep emerald green, with mossy rocks and tall pines. The 600-year old mill town of Forsvik is home to the oldest lock on the canal, built in 1813, which carries us down three and a half metres to the level of Lake Bottensjön. Once again we chug over open water, docking after about a half hour at the guest pier in Karlsborg. “What an incredible ride!” exclaims one of my fellow passengers as we disembark and head for the famous old Kanalhotellet where we have rooms reserved.
A new adventure awaits the next morning. We gather at the tourist office in anticipation of the adventure tour at the Karlsborg Fortress. An introductory film sets the scene, taking us back to 1865. We run through the gloom of the bulwark with cannon-fire thundering in our ears and the passageways filling with smoke. It’s almost unreal coming back out into the sunlight. We catch our breaths up on the fortress wall, admiring the amazing view of Lake Vättern.
Louise Clausen2008-01-26
