Day 14: Öland to Stockholm

Click here to enlarge this panorama or see an ultra high-resolution version.

Wow, what a long but rewarding day that turned out to be. First, I wanted to take a panorama of the glassblowers of Småland. I'd heard of Orrefors, the brand, which also happens to be a town, so I headed there and hoped they'd let me take some pictures.

It was probably the easiest shoot of the trip: I parked the car, took my camera equipment, walked through a door, and there they were, working with molten glass. The glass masters were very quiet and focused on their work, but very friendly; they let me set up real close to where they worked, and so I was able to get a bit creative, as you might have noticed in the panorama above.

Here's what's going on: The man handling the glass first gets some out of the furnace, gives it to the man sitting on the left who runs two centrifuges that turn the glass into vases, and then gets rid of the excess glass on the right, returning to the furnace for some more molten glass. Those people in the background are tourists — it's a remarkably popular destination, and I wasn't the only one visiting.

With that objective completed, it was time to go hunting for Saint Birgitta, the famed 14th-century overachiever. Some of her remains are in Vadstena, where she had a monastery built, so I followed Vättern Lake north until I found her in the corner of her church — but more on that when I post the panorama, probably tomorrow.

Then it was time to head back to Stockholm, completing the circle. One more spot remains to be conquered: Gotland, which is where I'm heading this weekend.

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