Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
north to Norrköping (Skr289, four hours); and one to three services daily run south to
Karlskrona (Skr69, 1¼ hours) and Malmö (Skr229, 4½ hours), among other destinations.
SJ
trains run every hour or two between Kalmar and Alvesta (from Skr167, 1¼ hours),
where you can connect with the main Stockholm-Malmö line and with trains to Göteborg.
Trains run to Linköping up to nine times daily (from Skr333, three hours), also with con-
nections to Stockholm.
Taxi Kalmar
(
44 44 44)
can help you get around town.
Glasriket
With its hypnotic glass-blowing workshops, the
'Kingdom of Crystal'
(
www.glasriket.se
)
is Sweden's third-biggest drawcard after Stockholm and Göteborg. There are at least 11
glass factories (look for
glasbruk
signs), most with long histories: Kosta, for example, was
founded in 1742. The region is also immensely popular with Americans tracing their an-
cestors, many of whom emigrated from this area at the end of the 19th century.
The glassworks have similar opening hours, usually 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday,
10am to 4pm Saturday and noon to 4pm Sunday. Expert glass designers produce some ex-
traordinary avant-garde pieces, often with a good dollop of Swedish wit involved. Factory
outlets have substantial discounts on seconds (around 30% to 40% off), and larger places
can arrange shipping to your home country.
There's a
Glasriket Pass
(Skr95), allowing free admission into 'hot shops' and mu-
seums, and discounts on purchases and
hyttsill
parties. It's a good deal if you want to try
glass-blowing and
hyttsill
and buy some pieces, but skip it if you're just browsing.
Getting There & Around
Apart from the main routes, bus services around the area are practically nonexistent. The
easiest way to explore is with your own transport (beware of elk). Bicycle tours on the un-
surfaced country roads are excellent; there are plenty of hostels, and you can camp almost
anywhere except near the military area on the Kosta-Orrefors road.
Kalmar Länstrafik's bus 139 runs from mid-June to mid-August only and calls at a few
of the glass factories. The service operates four times per day on weekdays and once on
