Heading out on a solo road trip had so far been really interesting. It was the summer of 2022 and I had reached Bergkvara in southern Småland after two days of driving that had taken me through Östergötland, across to the Island of Öland and I was now close to the province of Blekinge. This is a province that was once home to several of my ancestors and I had set my target on Tving, a bit north of Karlskrona. This is where my ancestor Gustaf Svensson Åra (1806-1873) had his home.
Waking up in Bergkvara
The sun was once more shining when I woke up at the camping in Bergkvara. I had once more slept really well in the front seat of my car and was ready for new adventures. I began my day with a short walk along the small marina of Bergkvara before leaving the coast for a while to gain some speed along the main roads.
Leaving Småland for Blekinge
Not long after leaving Bergkvara, I came to Bröms and the border between Småland and Blekinge. This is not only the border between two provinces, back in the day it was the national border between Sweden and Denmark. It might not be much to see today, but I just had to walk along this historical frontier that probably has seen more blood and conflict than what is today possible to believe.
Today the border area consists of a small stream of water and it’s quite a nice walk along it to get to the barely visible remains of an old fortress. Even history not directly connected to your ancestors can be really interesting and I have a fascination for sites like this that have played an important role in historical events. It seems I’m not the only one as there were several other people who had parked to read the information signs in the area.
By crossing this border I had for the first time set foot in the province of Blekinge. This was the last remaining province in Sweden for me to visit and the list is now complete until Sweden for some reason gains a new province.
The Maritime Town of Karlskrona in Blekinge
My onward route toward Karlskrona took me past places like Jämjö, Ramdala, and Lösen. However, the city of Karlskrona soon emerged in front of me. This city was built to compete as the capital of Sweden and became a maritime center and the home of large parts of the Swedish navy. I arrived in the city at the time of the annual summer festival and the city was filled with people enjoying the sunshine and the festive activities.
For me, the visit took me along some of the more historical sights. Many times I was afraid I’d take a photo of something belonging to the navy, something that is usually prohibited. My exploration eventually took me to the old naval headquarters and the very impressive Naval Museum. Many of my ancestors from Blekinge had been a part of the navy and seeing the history was really interesting. Even more impressive were the large naval ships berthed next to the museum.
My walk eventually took me back to the center and my parked car. My main target for the evening was still a short drive to the north of Karlskrona.
Following in the path of my Bleking Ancestors
Gustaf Svensson Åra was my father’s mother’s father’s father’s father. Sorry for making this sound so complicated. He was born in Småland but came to live his life within the Tving Parish having a low-level occupation within the navy. So I headed up to the village of Tving, passing by both Rödeby and Fridlevstad along the route. In Tving I saw the church and drove around for some time knowing that much of what is currently residential areas was not here a century ago.
So my drive did instead take me along small countryside roads to explore the old farm landscape of the parish. Gustaf is supposed to have lived in the settlement of Gunnetorp and it turned out to be impossible at the time of my visit to figure out if any part of today’s Gunnetorp might have been there more than a century ago. So I continued my journey and I eventually passed by the settlements of Bråstorp and Jämsunda which are also mentioned in my family tree. I might not have learned much about exactly where my ancestors lived, but I did get a better understanding of the layout of the many settlements and farms making up Tving Parish.
Exploring More of Blekinge
After Tving I took the chance to see a bit more of Blekinge. I made a short stop in the village of Nättraby before continuing westward. After Karlskrona, there are four more municipal centers in Blekinge. Three of them are located along the coast and it was these three towns that I wanted to see before heading back north.
The first of the three centers was Ronneby, a town with a troubled reputation. There is still a lot to see and do, but it does feel a bit limited. My walk took me through the central parts, forgetting about the large park just a bit to the south.
Next up was Karlshamn. This is a town that at the time was mentioned frequently in the news due to it being home to Karlshamn Power Station. This is an oil-fired thermal power station that is used as a reserve in the Swedish power grid. It was at the time used frequently causing many headlines in the Swedish news. I did not head to the power station, though. Instead, I enjoyed the marina and the coastal area close to the center. It was just a bit disappointing that the fortress was unreachable due to being located on an island.
My third and last stop was Sölvesborg. It’s another town that was frequently mentioned in the news at the time due to the upcoming national elections. Sölvesborg has always been considered a stronghold for the Swedish Democrats, the far-right party in the Swedish parliament. I did not meet anyone in Sövesborg to discuss politics with but did instead enjoy the views. This is one more town with water nearby and there is just something special with walks along the waterfront.
A Short Ride Through Skåne
The towns of Blekinge had soon been covered and I decided that it was time to head back toward Vagnhärad. But instead of driving directly I still wanted to make frequent stops along the way. That is how I came to visit a few places also in the province of Skåne.
First was Bromölla, where I said hi to the town’s two Plesiosaurs. These are sea-living dinosaurs that are today remembered in the form of statues in the center of Bromölla. From Bromölla I continued to Kristianstad for an evening walk. Kristianstad was a bit larger than I had expected and the city has plenty of historical buildings but also a few old fortifications. However, it was the summer atmosphere that did provide the greatest impression.
As it turned out, there was actually one more stop in Skåne. And it was a stop I hadn’t planned for. Summertime in Sweden offers evenings that are not really getting dark. This gave me the opportunity to make a last stop in Hässleholm for a last walk and to refill the sugar supply for the drive back home.
Heading Back Home to Vagnhärad
While walking the streets of Hässleholm, I had come to the conclusion that it might be possible to drive all the way back home during the night. Why wait for fo the morning to just drive back home? So I left Hässleholm and drove towards the closest connection with the E4. This is the road that goes from Helsingborg in Skåne all the way up to Happaranda in northern Sweden. Luckily it also passes by Vagnhärad, making it easy to drive back home. Well, yes, it still takes quite some time to drive through a third of the country to get back home.
As the skies turned dark I was up for a quite uneventful drive back home. I did actually make it and got to bed a few hours prior to sunrise. It had been an amazing trip and I hope to do something similar in 2023. We will see what happens.
Read More About the Visited Places
Join me around Sweden here: Solo Through Southern Sweden 2022 >>
