Toward evening on our first full day in Sweden, Sally and I arrived in Växjö.  It’s the small city closest to the Glass Country.  It’s quite a pretty little city.

You know you’re in glass country.  Even the roundabouts have glass art in the center.

And a cutout of a glass blower on top of a local business.

And the courtyard at our hotel had this fabulous glass sculpture in the middle of a fountain.

The next morning we headed out to the different glass factories.  There used to be scores of them, but now there’s just a handful.  We tried to visit as many as possible.  Our first was Nybro.  I have several of these glass boats–perfect for serving pickled herring–but I had never seen the tiny ones.  I came home with a dozen!

Isn’t this a great display, reminiscent of a fishing village?

At another small manufacturer I snapped this photo.  I love the blue and yellow glass pieces, and they had linens to match!

Of course we visited the towns of Kosta and Boda.

And the town of Orrefors and their showroom.

There were some wonderful glass art installations.

I loved this–simple but so poignant.

The settings around the factories were beautiful.

We did a lot of shopping.  It’s always good to buy the heavy and breakable stuff early in your trip!

Before leaving Växjö we visited the glass museum.  I wish they still made these!  They’re from the 1950′s, and I love to have a whole set.

So many pretty things in Anna Lena Land!