THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508080423
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHEN HARRIMAN, TRAVEL EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 206 lines
IT'S BEEN HOT here in the islands, too. People have been talking about little else but the heat. They talk in Celsius numbers - thirty-something, I hear a lot - but I always have trouble doing the math required to arrive at a Fahrenheit temperature I understand. But I know hot.
It's been so hot today that the sweater - just a light cotton thing - came off early this morning, before 10 I think it was, and just now, half past 8 but still two hours before sundown, I've put it on again. The sun's been bright and warm all day.
Now, though, there's a chill wind here on the upper deck of the old steamship Waxholm III as we glide through deep blue water back toward Stockholm after a daylong Thousand Islands Cruise through the Stockholm Archipelago. Some people are grabbing for lap blankets from the baskets on deck, but I am going to tough this out.
Archipelago is what you call a place with so many islands - and islets and skerries (basically littler and littlest islands) - that you can hardly count them. Sweden figures there are about 24,000 here, give an islet here and a skerry there, in the Stockholm Archipelago, which stretches eastward from the Swedish capital for about 40 miles into the Baltic Sea and extends about twice that distance north to south.
The gray gneiss and granite outcrops, some 200 million years old, were sculpted and smoothed by four great ice ages, the most recent 25,000 to 100,000 years ago. Some are small communities, virtually bedroom suburbs of Stockholm, others have small patches of farmland, while the outermost ones in the Baltic are largely barren.
Only about 130 of these islands are permanently inhabited by about 10,000 people, although the population swells considerably - by several hundred thousand plus perhaps 150,000 pleasure boats - with vacationers in the summer.
Even with that influx, though, the archipelago remains one of Europe's last wildernesses.
Resembling the rockbound coast of Maine, these rugged islands, interlaced with fjords, narrow channels and straits, have a near-idyllic climate in the summer with as much as 18 hours of sunlight.
The archipelago is farther north than Scotland, but the islands get none of the chilly, damp weather that is so characteristic of the northern British Isles. Norway blocks that unpleasantness.
The archipelago begins at Stockholm, itself a network of 14 islands . . . and clean, clear water, bridges and ferries, cruise ships and pleasure boats. I'm told that one of every eight Stockholmers is a boat owner.
Stockholm has been called the Venice of the north. Stockholm is Stockholm, beauty on the water - beautiful light that reflects off the water and gives a special glow to the elegant, flag-festooned facades from the baroque, rococo and belle epoque periods that line its spacious boulevards and the narrow, winding streets of its old town.
A third of its total area is parkland and green space. People swim in downtown Stockholm. Fishermen casting lines into the Strommen between the Royal Palace and the Opera House catch Baltic herring, sea trout and even salmon.
And it just gets better as you cruise east into the archipelago. The archipelago is as different from Stockholm as the Eastern Shore is from Virginia Beach, as Martha's Vineyard is from Boston.
The Swedes, with their egalitarian approach to life in general and their keep sense of environmental awareness in particular, have made a visit to the archipelago particularly delightful . . . if not unique.
They have what is known as the Right of Public Access, which enables Swedes and visitors alike to share the entire countryside. There are no ``Private Property, Keep Out'' signs. You can go where you wish as long as you respect the land, people and wildlife on it. It requires, of course, an inherent respect for others - a behavioral concept that is foreign to so much of the world.
Here, the social theme is ``My land is your land'' or maybe ``This land is our land.'' You could write a song about that.
Most visitors venture into the archipelago aboard one of the numerous steamships that nose up to downtown Stockholm's several public quays. These are classic, old vessels, boxy and white with black smokestacks, that glide through the waters like a grand dame through a fashionable salon.
The Waxholm III is such a ship - built in 1903 and renovated in 1994 with traditional polished wood and brass fittings. It has two restaurants serving typical archipelago fare, several cozy salons and spacious sun decks. A guide explains, in several languages including English, the islands' history, wildlife and ecology. There are brief stops on several of the islands, with guided or self-guided tours, but these, I'm afraid, only strengthen the urge to jump ship and take up residence . . . at least until just before the bitter winter sets in.
The Thousand Islands Cruise, which makes a wide swing through the heart of the archipelago, is one of many offered by the Stromma Kanalbolaget company's fleet of 20 ships. It is possible to arrange for overnight (or longer) stays on several of the islands, where accommodations range from luxury hotels and villas to cottages and youth hostels.
Fjaderholmarna - the Feather Islands - is the collective name for a group of four islands that are the real gateway to the archipelago, just 20 minutes by boat from the Stockholm dock. A brief visit here a year ago whetted my appetite - in more ways than one - for greater exploration of this island paradise.
On the main island there's an aquarium with an interesting collection of Baltic Sea fish, a fish-smoking plant, a bakery, a couple of excellent restaurants (one very casual, the other more upscale), several arts and crafts shops and an adventure playground for children - all within easy walking distance of the dock and each other.
This is the striking thing about Fjaderholmarna and so many of the other islands: Not more than 100 yards from the boat dock and the small commercial enterprises, nature begins to whisper its siren song - look at me, look at me and enjoy. It is impossible to resist. One shouldn't try.
From where I sit on a gentle rocky cliff, the gray granite slopes down to the water's edge where a flock of swans are feeding. The water is so clear I can see the swans, with pointed white tail feathers skyward, extend their long, slender necks to the bottom to graze.
Streaks of sunlight do wobbly, shimmering dances on the water. In the distance tilting ranks of straining white sails vie for space with speedboats that spank the surface with their hulls as they bounce across each other's wakes.
The harsh screech of soaring gulls mixes with the warm and endearing laughter and squeals of children at play.
The air smells as clean as the water looks.
Flowers bloom in every nook and cranny where the rocks have disintegrated enough to form a bit of soil. Here, in this special reflected light, colors are positively brilliant: the greens are greener, the blues bluer. Trees, against the cloudless sky, glow in the afternoon sun.
Two characteristic archipelago trademarks are the little red chalet and the ``folkbat'' or people's boat. They are twin symbols of the lifestyle to which most Swedes aspire: a house on the water and a boat at the dock.
There are, by one count, nearly 50,000 of these little red chalets throughout the archipelago - striking landmarks amid dark blue water, light blue sky, lush green trees and stark gray lumps of stone. From the ship's deck, each and every one looks especially inviting.
I'd love to live there . . . no, I think there . . . Oh, look at that one!
Typically they are painted what is commonly called barn red, with white painted vertical corners and window trim and shutters. Some have orange rippled tile roofs, others black shingles. They're not chalets, really, not in the Alpine design anyway, but rather simple rectangular shelters. Most are holiday homes, but nowadays they are not all red - a golden ocher is particularly popular - and some have grown quite large.
It is in these chalets that Stockholmers spend much of their leisure time, relaxing and socializing with friends and neighbors. When they're not in a folkbat.
The ``people's boat'' is a sailboat with a single mast and a small cabin, first built in 1941. It is marked by its simplicity of design, its affordability and its good sailing qualities, not its speed.
It is as utilitarian to the water-loving Swedes as the original Volkswagen was to the Germans . . . or, decades earlier, the Model A to Americans.
And it is a classic little beauty in the water, its natural wood hull well-oiled and shellacked to a rich honey-gold sheen.
Less than an hour out of Stockholm, the cruise travels through the narrow Skuru Sound, lined with a number of large wooden ``merchant villas'' built at the turn of the century by the city's upper classes. The families spent a few weeks each summer here. Today many of these houses have been restored by the city's current elite.
Another hour's trip from Stockholm will take you to Vaxholm, the archipelago's fortress town. On a small island opposite the town is Vaxholm Castle, easily reached by boat. Part of the fortress dates from the 16th century, when it guarded the main sea route into Stockholm. Most of the present structure, an imposing wall of stone, dates from 1866 - just about the time it ceased to have any strategic military role. Today it houses a museum, open in the summer.
One of the islands most distant from Stockholm is Uto, where there are hotels, restaurants and tourist services including a guest harbor and bicycle rentals. Uto's main attraction is Sweden's oldest iron mine, which dates to the 12th century.
Sandhamn, the yachtman's mecca, is perhaps the best-known excursion destination in the archipelago. The island itself is called Sandon (the Sand Island), and it is a rarity here in that it does have sandy beaches.
But the major attraction is the harbor, packed with every sail and power boat imaginable.
The village is not unlike Ocracoke on the North Carolina Outer Banks in its isolation and its sandy alleys with close-packed houses.
There's a little seafarer's museum and the Sandhamns Vardshus restaurant that has been serving sailors since 1672. The town's fame comes mostly for its sailing competitions, including the Round Gotland race, one of the world's biggest yachting competitions. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
STEPHEN HARRIMAN
The archipelago numbers about 24,000 islands, including Bullero,
where there are cottages, youth hostels and campsites.
Graphic
TRAVELER'S ADVISORY
Getting there: Five airlines fly from the United States to Sweden
- American, SAS, Finnair and Icelandair. Many Baltic Sea cruise
lines stop in Stockholm. U.S. citizens need a valid passport, but no
visa is required.
Getting around: Best way to explore the Stockholm Archipelago is
by boat, although there is ground transportation - train, bus and
then ferry to some of the islands. With an Inter-Skerries Card
(about $33 U.S.) you can travel as often and as far as you like for
16 days on boats run by Waxholmsbolget. The Silja line offers a
one-day archipelago trip aboard one of the biggest cruise ships in
the world for about $13 U.S.
Getting along: Most Swedes speak English as well as you do
Average temperature in Stockholm and the archipelago in July and
August is 71 F. Pack casual summer clothes, a light or medium
sweater and a light jacket or coat.
Jumping ship: You can arrange to stay overnight or longer on
several of the larger islands. A villa on Idoborg costs about $180 a
day for two, including three meals; Vaxholm's harborside hotel runs
about $155 for two, including three meals; hotel rooms at Sandhamns
are about $120 for two with three meals. There are cottages and
youth hostels on Bullero and several other islands that cost about
$30-35 for two without meals. Bullero also has free camping sites.
Info: Contact a local travel agent or Swedish Travel & Tourism
Council (212) 949-2333.
by CNB