Sweden's Gota Canal Cruises
Tow-path Bicycling, Swedish Food, Excursions, 57 Locks and More
Swedish Food, Tow-Path Bicycling, Traversing 57 Locks Plus Excursions to Lake Vanern, Vadstena Abbey, Charlottensborg Castle, Motala' s Canal Museum are Cruise Features.
Each week during the summer season, passenger boats travel the 200-kilometre (about 124 mile) Gota Canal between Stockholm and Goteborg,. The trip provides travelers opportunities to explore little towns along the way, to spend part of the journey riding bicycles or to do nothing at all.
Stops Along the Way
As they travel the canal, the boats stop once or twice each day for shore excursions. Options include places like the old industrial community of Forsvik where a smithy demonstrates early-day ironworking techniques. Other excursions go to a somewhat interesting museum store at Lyrestad, the Vadstena Abbey founded at by Saint Birgitta and around the medieval city of Soderkoping.
A Town Called Motala
One of the boat’s most interesting stops is at the town of Motala (pronounced MOO-tah-lah). Located on the shores of Sweden’s second largest lake, Lake Vanern, it’s a popular holiday destination with the Swedes.
At the junction of Lake Vanern and the canal, the Canal Museum chronicles the waterway’s history with ship models, photographs and other memorabilia. The Radio Museum is housed in the station that during the 1920s had one of the strongest signals in Europe. There’s a Firefighters Museum, too, which displays antique equipment, and at the 15th century Charlottenborg Castle, a collection of intricate wooden carvings by Sophie Isberg and a permanent exhibit of works by Swedish artists are highlights.
Boating Through 57 Locks
When the boat stops to go through a lock (there are 57 of them), passengers often have the option of hiking or riding one of the boat’s bicycles along the canal-side path to the next lock.
The locks vary enormously in size. Some of them, such as Lilla Edet near Goteborg are large enough to accommodate container ships. At others, it’s a squeeze for the 21-1/2 foot wide passenger boats. The most dramatic change in elevation occurs when the canal joins Lake Boren at Berg, about 66 kilometres (about 41 miles) southwest of Stockholm, with a flight of 15 locks in all.
Accommodations On Board
Needless to say, accommodations on the commercial passenger boats are anything but spacious. Single cabins measure a scant four by six feet. Doubles aren’t much larger. Surprisingly, it doesn’t matter to most people, although six-footers say getting a good night’s sleep is difficult. Dressing is not a problem, mainly because pulling on jeans and sweatshirts isn’t a space-consuming task.
Food in Abundance
Mealtime at tables in the lounge is somewhat of a miracle since the boat’s galleys aren’t much bigger than the cabins. Yet platter upon platter of Swedish specialties like poached salmon, herring in sour cream, a potato and anchovy dish called Jansson’s Temptation, reindeer steak with lingonberries, cabbage rolls and tureens of the traditional yellow pea soup keep appearing on the white linen tablecloths until everyone vows that next day they’ll hike the tow paths between locks every chance they get.
Cruising the canal isn’t for everyone. The scenery isn’t always exciting. Much of the countryside along the canal is pancake-flat, with an occasional farmhouse set in the midst of fields of wheat, flax and rape seed. People who thrive on activity may be ready to abandon ship after a day or two. But travelers who prefer the slower pace of life insist that the cruises are the most restful vacations they have ever had. Information on the various boats offering cruises on the canal can be obtained at www.gotakanal.se (in Swedish) or by entering “Lake Gota Boats List” on www.Google.com.
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