We slept well and had a nice Swedish breakfast (cereals, yogurt, cheese, meat, bread, fruit, juice, and coffe or tea).
Then we loaded up in the car and headed for Vimmerby. Our first stop was at an ostkaka (literally cheese cake) shop called Frödinge. Ostkaka is not like cheese cake that is common in America. For Swedes in America, it is often served at Christmas time. We had coffee and a huge piece of ostkaka with berry sauce and whipped cream (our first fika of the day). It was delicious.
Then we headed for Astrid Lindgren's home and museum.
The house where Astrid Lindgren grew up.
Lindgren is the author of the Pippi Longstocking books and many other books. We learned a lot about her childhood and the house she lived. She was both a gifted children's author and a participant in polictical and social issues. At one point she determined that she was paying 102% income tax on the income from one of her books. So, she wrote a satire about politicians and there ineptitued. After some intense debate in the halls of power, in which she participated, the law was changed. She also championed animal rights and was anti-war, being vocal about her opposition to Hitler and Nazism before it was common.
She is extermely popular in Sweden (as you might expect) and in Germany. There are 100 schools in Germany that bear her name.
The grounds of the house were quite beautiful. Afetr visiting the house and the museum, we had a picnic lunch on the grounds of the museum and fortunately, we managed to avoid the rain showers were frequent during the day.
And, to top it off, we had fika in the late afternoon. This time it was coffee and rhubarb pie with whipped cream for us.
Queen Caroline have tea.
Fika in the afternoon. Vidar, Eva and Joakim's eight year old son, is sitting by us.
Views from the car on our way home.