We left Malmo and traveled north along Sweden’s east coast.  The views were beautiful.

There were lots of orchards and fields of grain.  Along the edges of many of the fields there were wild poppies blooming.  What a joy to see!

Our destination was Öland, the second largest island in Sweden.  It’s 85 miles long and 9 miles wide.

Öland is famous for its windmills, mostly built in the same style.

There used to be over 2000 of them!

Now there are only 333.

The remaining windmills are protected and preserved.

This one, considered a “Dutch” windmill, is for sale!  There are only 3 Dutch windmills on the island.

The most notable thing after the windmills is the stone fences.

They are everywhere.  I love looking at them, but I think of all the work that went into clearing fields of stones and I’m overwhelmed!

We stayed in the seaside village of Borgholm.  The architecture there was very special.

There has been a bathhouse on this site since the early 1800′s–although it’s had to be rebuilt a few times after damaging storms.

I loved this flag display at the Strand Hotel.

Nearby is the ruins of Borgholm Castle.

The first castle was built on this site in the 1100′s.

Through the centuries it was damaged in wars and rebuilt several times.

It was finally abandoned in 1709.  That’s more than 300 years ago!

It’s hard to believe there’s anything left!  I guess those castle builders knew their stuff!

After leaving the castle, it was time for “ficka”–a Swedish coffee break!  Luckily, there are wonderful little Kaffestugan everywhere.

Isn’t the blue and white china charming?

In this one, all the tables were decorated with wild flowers.

They were so cheerful.

😉

I love open air museums, and Öland has a great one called Himmelsberga, which is an eighteenth and nineteenth century farming village.

The details always fascinate me.

I wonder how old this gate post is, and who took the time to do some decorative carving on it?

The corners of this little building are made from tree trunks.

In this part of Sweden, it’s common to see thatched roofs.

Of course they made good use of all those stones!

Another stone fence. Notice the mill wheels propped up along it.

Here’s a stone water trough.

What else would you make your picnic table from!?!

I love how no one mows down the daisies.

This house had a sweet little fenced garden….

…with a thatched roof bee hive!

Now you know how pole beans got their name!

The interiors were as interesting as the exteriors.

I’m in love with these stoves called kakelugn.

At one time they were very prevalent in Sweden.

They are amazingly efficient—a small fire is built in the fire box then the smoke is routed like a serpentine, helping heat the tiles.  The tiles then radiate heat into the room.

Sweden has great painted furniture.  Notice the painted wainscoting, too.

A painted clock from the seventeenth century.

A fancier clock from the eighteenth century.

Here’s a fabulous painted door.  The walls are stenciled.

Stenciling was very popular.

Someone added a hand painted decorative border to this wall.

Here’s a more elaborate stenciled design.  Before wall paper was readily available, stenciling was the way to go!

I guess it was too much trouble to do partial designs, so this stenciling quits before the corner!

Spatter painting was also popular.

This was probably a bride’s chest.

Wouldn’t you love to know what treasures were packed inside when a young woman got married?