King Vasa

Last years main exhibition at Kalmar castle was a huge multimedia presentation of the life and works of Vincent van Gogh. This year, being 500 years ago our first "real" king Gustav Vasa (Google him) started to build what was going to be the state of Sweden. He had been in captivity but managed to escape and landed here in Kalmar in may1520 to seek support for his plan to put a stop to the Danish King who had a huge influence in Sweden at the time. The exhibition is about his way to power and what he had to do to keep it. He was the first of the Swedish kings who died a normal death. He died in 1560, 64 years old.

I seem to have a problem with my  expectations. 

I wasn't too impressed by last years exhibition and even less about this one. Last year I was unhappy with all the technology involved that I thought got in the way of my experience of the show. This year I was unhappy with the meagre content in the main exhibition which consisted of two rows of 26 plates of text without a single picture or illustration. An actor was reading quotes from letters and other writings from the time through a speaker system. In addition to this there was one short film about his struggle for power and some plates with mostly text about what it was like in the rest of the world at the same time. All these words was not available in a broschyre or anything you could buy to take with you. You had to remember everything in place. I had expected more. Poor me.

Afterwards, I had to go somewhere to have lunch. Next to the sound between Öland and Kalmar there is a place called Lots stugan (Cabin of the pilot) that has been a very popular café as long as I've lived here. Now it's got new owners who wants to serve lunch as well as being a café. Excellent food and very personal service and the situation of the house itself is magnificent. The blip shows the view from my chair. The island outside is part of the old defence system from the King Vasas time. The experience from the café was much bigger than from the castle, I'm sorry to say. Last years Van Gogh exhibition was a great success for the castle and I imagine this years is also going to be presented as a success ( if Covid-19 don't put a stop to the tourist season). I'm probably too picky. 
But the weather is brilliant and I am well.