A day filled with ART

I did not plan to have a day of art explorations, but it happened and it was good.

I arrived at the Carl Larsson Garden Home just before opening so that I could get in on the first tour of the day...which was, of course, in Swedish. I would have to wait 1.5 hours for an English tour, so I went alone on the Swedish tour with a booklet to read in English.
Carl Larsson and his wife, Karin were both artists and this beautifully decorated cottage is where they raised their 8 children. The home has been left just as it was when the family lived here.
No photos are allowed inside, but it is quite comfortable and fantastic all at the same time. I bought a book in the gift shop so I could remember it all.
This is a sample of Carl Larson's art

Some shots I took outside:

My next stop of the day would have to be Avesta. It is NOT exactly on the way to my next destination city, but I promised Jan that if there was really a big Dala horse, and I could find it, I would take a picture. So here, my dear sister is the photo I went 2 hours out of my way to take for YOU!

I took one with the camper in the picture so you would know that I did not just stage a small Dala Horse to look big!

So you see, older, bossy sisters can be thoughtful and kind too!

Since I had driven all this way to take a picture of a big wooden horse, I also followed a sign that took me to a very old big brick building..I went inside to find that it is an art gallery in an old Ironworks building.

I bought a ticket and took the ride!

The building itself is as much of a part of the art exhibit as the art itself.

Now to get on the road to Orebro.......3 hours of driving and I arrive at my hotel in the center of this very city. A very friendly staff greeted me and told me that I would be able to park my car, included with the room, in a parking garage located many blocks away...It was a great way to see what the city offered before I even settled into my room. The Behrn Hotel is really nice, a luxury hotel with open air restaurants and bars right out the door in a wide pedestrian street.

The city of Orebro is celebrating its 750th birthday this year with......ART in the streets!

AND...there is a CASTLE right in the middle of town too! This may be my favorite city in Sweden! (but then I think I have thought that of every city)

I had dinner at an open-air restaurant right at the castle. The waiter was sweet and suggested a Czech beer with my fish....I asked him to suggest one and he pointed to

Budějovický

I had to have that, as a tribute to Terry.......he had this beer on his last European business trip to the Czech Republic in the fall of 2002 and thought it was so funny....apparently this is the ORIGINAL Budweiser and it is even pronounced the same!

So, to Terry, SKOL!