After the disappointment of last Saturday's Motala markets, I was hoping that the ones here in Vadstena would make up for it. I'd read a little about it all being styled on the old medieval markets and that it was held indoors at the castle. The weekend had seen busloads of people descend on the town, so I was guessing that it must have been worthwhile to make the trip.

We set off bright and early (well, for us, anyway!) and made our way across town towards the castle. On the way, I stopped by my new hairdresser to make an appointment for a hair cut and colour for Christmas week. Better to do it as we were passing or I'd totally forget until it was too late.




Isn't it a cute building? It dates from the seventeenth century and used to be the stables attached to a blacksmith's workshop behind. While it is modern and well appointed inside, it still retains the air of being quite historical and it is typical of the way the town has managed to maintain the look and feel of a meddieval town, but still provide the modern comforts that we crave. I like the way they marry the two concepts so seamlessly.

The little errand done, we crossed the road, passed by the library (housed in the old mental asylum!) and across to the park adjacent to the castle. It was a bright, clear cold winter's day and everything looked clear and well defined in the clear winter chill. That blue sky makes all of the difference! I was quite pleased to see that there was only one coach in the car park, which gave me hope that it would not be too crowded inside.




The markets I've been to in the past are usually only for a couple of days. Well, that's not strictly true, as the ones in Stockholm at Gamla Stan and Skansen go for several weeks. But generally, the ones at towns and suburbs are only a one or two day affair. That this one is open for 10 days makes me curious to see it. We went into the largely deserted courtyard and while L-G answered the call of nature, I warmed myself by the open brazier - and lovely and toasty warm it was, too.




We bought our tickets and decided to start with the main castle first, where we saw that handicrafts were on display on the first two floors. The main hall (the Great Hall) and the banqueting rooms had been cleared of their usual furniture to house the market, though several of the tapestries still hung on the walls, with the colours and details still strong after 450 years. This one depicts the bloodline of thew royal family responsible for the castle being built. Despite what the wikipedia article in English says, the castle was built not to protect Stockholm (which is hundreds of miles away!) but as a show of strength to keep the unruly population of this area in control.




Today, kit's very peaceful in the area, so the castle is strictly a tourist attraction as well as being used in summer for Opera performances, large scale concerts and the winter Christmas markets. There were quite a few people inside, but it was not crushing and I was able to wander around in relative peace and look at the items on sale. There was a lovely range of goods to suit all tastes. The rough, whitewashed stone walls were an ideal backdrop to the markets.




Those cute little hairy figures (tomtar) in the foreground are very typical Swedish decorations for hristmas and I bought a few to enclose in a package I'm assembling to send to Lars-Göran's eldest daughter who is spending her first Christmas away from Sweden. She'll be in Kenya and I'm guessing she'll be very homesick come Christmas time, so a parcel of goodies from Sweden will be very welcome, I'm sure.




These lovely fresh wreaths also caught my eye. The fragrance of pine was beautiful and each of the wreaths was different. The woman also had plain wreaths as well, with a selection of decorations that you could buy and either do it yourself or ask her to decorate an individual one in your taste to pick up later. I was tempted, but I've just bought a beautiful wreath in autumnal tones from a shop in Linköping, so I couldn't really justify a second one. I mean how would I sneak it home?




As we made our way to the rooms upstairs, we passed the casement windows, which were decorated with traditional straw decorations. These are mostly made of rye straw, decorated with red ribbon and often served a dual purpose, especially if placed outside. As well as being decorative, they could supplement the meagre winter diet of some of the tiny birds that winter here in this harsh climate. These ones however were on the inside and they sparkled with a golden glow in the sunshine.




The upstairs area with the banqueting halls and other state rooms would usually be furnished with paintings and period furniture as you see here. The castles I've seen in Sweden remind me a lot of Scottish castles. They don't have the prettiness and fine wall coverings etc that you find in a place like Versailles or even some of the English castles which are more like pleasure palaces. Here in the north, they are rougher in the interiors, much more sparsely furnished and austere - a reminder that they were foremost fortresses.




I had to have a picture of this stall, which reads "L-G's Hobby & Träslöjd" (L-G's Hobby & Wooden Handcrafts). Who knew he was moonlighting on the side :) Actually, this stall had a beautiful array of hand made wooden toys and decorative as well as household items. There were also stalls selling straw decorations, hand painted glass ornaments, hand sewn and knitted items, clothing, lace, leather goods, sheepskin boots, handmade tomtar, gorgeous hand-dipped candles shaped like a crown. It was a market full of great things and I wandered around happily watching the craftsmen at work and buying here and there.

My only slight criticism is that I found the sellers a little pushy. As soon as you stood in front of an item, many of them began the "hard sell" patter that I so loathe, so I was scared off showing an interest in anything.




The upper floors housing the chapel and queen's chambers were closed to the public, but there were several sketches on the stairwells, depicting the castle at various stages in history. It has altered considerably from the original design, and even from a relatively "recent" picture such as this one from the early 1900s. The castle is right on the shore, which means that the park surrounding it and the whole harbour area has been added sometime in the twentieth century.




Being indoors meant that we were protected from the elements, although today was a beautiful winter's day. Imagine if it was raining or snowing? How much nicer to be inside looking out at the weather. Most people stuck to the main rooms, so I was able to grab a little peace and quiet just sitting in the window casements on the stairwell like a contented cat and look out at our new town. A brief respite was perfect to rest my feet and think about what to buy at the produce area, which was housed in a separate section in the castle's western moat walls.




What an absolute feast for the senses! Now THIS is what Christmas markets are all about. My first priority was the parcel to Kenya, so I looked for interesting flavoured "rock" lollies from the nearby town of Gränna. I found violet and liquorice as well as toffeed almonds, locally made julmust, mustard, hardbread and other goodies that a Swede would miss from home.

There were big wheels of cheese, locally made sausages and other smallgoods, aromatic herbs, oils and vinegars, baked goods, warm mulled wine and cordials, smoked fish, smoked reindeer, jams, gift baskets, lollies, cards, wrapping paper - in fact all you could possibly need to make up your christmas table.




We went around sampling the offerings and buying bread (a traditional vört bread, a saffron bread and a rye bread), sipping mulled wine, nibbling on the toffeed almonds and finally pigging out at the stall selling dried friut and other nibbly stuff. We loaded up with wasabi snacks, chilli sticks, mexican rice crackers - hey I even bought a local smoked fish. It's called sik, which translates as lavaret, which is apparently a a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family. I have no idea how to serve it, but I'm sure I'll find a way. Google Sverige, here I come.




By now we were fully laden with parcels and feeling well pleased with our haul, except that there were no straw pigs! I can't understand it - you are literally falling over them at the markets I've been to in Stockholm. Maybe they are only a Stockholm thing, though I've seen them pictured on flyers for the markets here. Come on, little straw piggies, come out from hiding. I promise I'm not the big, bad wolf.