Growing old is no fun sometimes, especially when a burst of physical exercise is required. Today was tough and a good reminder to me that I’m absolutely on the wrong side of forty whether I like it or not. While the sun shone in the early morning, we decided to climb up Ramunderberget hill, which rises 76 m straight up behind the canal. There is a local legend that the giant Ramunder lived here, but we didn’t see any sign of him, only a handful of ravens who mocked my pathetic climbing efforts and constant rest breaks. The reward for a climb up the steep stairs is a wonderful view over the town and the surrounding countryside. It is no wonder that this was used in former times as a sentry point and lookout. The town looked lovely spread out below us.




Söderköping has long been an important part of Swedish history. Numerous archaeological excavations through many metres of cultural remains have revealed traces of more than a thousand years of human activity on the site where the town stands today. The oldest area, dating back to medieval times, can be seen in the winding streets of the Drothem blocks and in the St. Laurentii and Drothem churches built in the 1200s. You can see the church bell towers to the right of the picture below.




You can also see “Fiona” tied up to her pier in the bottom left hand corner and towards the middle, right on the banks of the canal is a recently completed apartment block, converted from the old silos which have stood here for hundreds of years. I was very taken with these apartments and really happy to see that they didn’t face the wrecker’s ball, but instead were preserved as part of the town’s history. They make an interesting focal point and an important addition to the town’s skyscape. So often you see short sighted decisions made by local authorities and town planners to destroy important heritage structures like this, so it was heartening to see that someone had the vision and imagination to make use of them. Along with the beautiful turn of the century villas, the well preserved medieval buildings, the tiny, thriving specialised shops and cafés, the low buildings and the air of caring and conservation, it all enhances my positive view of Söderköping – a town I would move to in a flash!

Of course, the town was not always so peaceful. In the middle ages it was an important trading centre and the site of several battles between warring nations for sovereignty over Sweden. Much of the city was reduced to ashes in different wars in the late 1500s, meaning that the oldest wooden houses still standing today date from the 1700s and 1800s. There are several older stone cellar houses preserved, including Braskens house where Bishop Brask is thought to have run one of Sweden’s first printshops in the 1520s.




The handsome building you can see here, topped by a clock tower is Rådhuset (the town hall). There is no doubt that the it is the most prominent building in Söderköping. Built in 1777, it is the third town hall built on the same site and it housed the entire city administration until 1973. On the second storey there is a well-preserved hall that is still used for municipal representation and meetings as well as a lovely antechamber which is used for weddings. The square in front of the building is a meeting point and has a cobbled stone surface and pretty rose gardens on one side that must look wonderful in late summer. We enjoyed looking out across the whole town as far as it stretched.




Then it was time to move on. The hill is crisscrossed by superb forest paths lined with masses of blueberry bushes and one path leads down to exercise tracks and soccer pitches. During the winter there are even ski trails and a sledding hill. We wended our way back down to the bank of the canal and walked a couple of kilometres to Klevbrinken dry docks and then crossed over the canal and walked back to town.

The river running through the town seems to be a popular place for fishing, judging by the number of anglers we saw trying out their luck along the bank. The man you see pictured was pulling out a fish as we passed by, right in the heart of the town. The other thing we noticed was the rather severe tree trimming program they had here. I’m not sure of the rationale behind this, but those poor trees do not look happy and it rather detracts from what could have been a soft, leafy canopy to contrast with the straight angles of the buildings.




I was really sore and tired after all of that exercise, so I slept soundly for an hour or so and then set about making dinner. After we had eaten and I was washing up, I looked out of the window and saw one of the gracious old steamboats making its way towards the lock. Juno is one of the three boats that offer two day journeys from Söderköping to Motala, or four and six day trips from Stockholm to Gothenburg (and vice versa) during the summer. It is a lovely way to see Sweden, though it is not cheap.




The six day cruise costs around $4,000 per person. While that includes all meals as well as the bed onboard, it is still somewhat steep, though it seems there are no shortage of customers to try it out. This cruise, which began in Gothenburg seemed to be made up mostly of German tourists. It was a tight squeeze getting the boat into the lock.




On the way in, one of the logs that they use as fenders broke in two as it was crushed against the side of the lock wall. A peep through the windows showed that the boat was beautiful inside, with mahogany and brass featuring heavily. She is a rather elegant, stately boat and a reminder of a lost era of travel. I could imagine Hercule Poirot stalking around the decks and some rich pre-depression socialite opening her travelling steamer trunk to select an evening dress for dinner.




After the boat had descended to the lower level, she continued on her way to Stockholm. If you look at the picture, you can see a couple of ducks swimming next to the boat. These ducks really crack me up as they swim into the lock and get a free ride up and down the water. I’ve watched them for a couple of days now and they are always quick to swim in and join in with the boats, even though they could simply fly up to the next level. I wonder if they have to pay the lock charges?