Sollerön

Around lunchtime after a tasty brunch we get back on our bikes to check out Sollerön village. It’s a couple of miles away mostly on cycle paths.

The church is impressive and obviously undergoing a major renovation of the roof and tower. Parts of the new roof are complete and the tiles are very pretty and look like dragon scales maybe?

It looks like the church is closed so we wander around to the graveyard and T gets talking to the gardener who tells us it is open and how to get in.

Inside it’s beautiful and quite unusual. Turquoise blue woodwork and pews and lovely chandeliers. A grand piano is next to the altar. There’s also a second ‘church’ in a room behind the altar. We buy a cute Christmas angel decoration from the shop at the back.

A grand piano, a rare sight in a church!

Outside in the square is a library which is closed and a Viking rowing ship on display.

Just a little further on we find the heritage centre. A chap is busy repainting a huge maypole ready for the weekend midsummer celebrations. There are various farm buildings that have been moved here to preserve them. There’s a lovely walk alongside a meadow in amongst Viking burial fields that were discovered in the 1920’s.

Back to the van with a quick pit stop for onions at the Coop.

A banana and muffin sitting outside in the sunshine until the wind picks up and the clouds come in. We wander out again when we spot a Viking ship practising in the lake, the cox shouting instructions over a megaphone to the all female crew.