First published: 19/08/14.

Ian Cade 1.0

Birka And Hovgarden

Birka and Hovgarden (Inscribed)

Birka and Hovgarden by Ian Cade

As with many other reviewers here we visited only Hovgarden, which proved to be an enjoyable out of the way idyll, even if the actual remains weren't especially spectacular.

After a quick free trip on the car ferry we headed to the site. Just in front of us was a guide in Viking dress conducting a tour in Swedish, we were too far away to hear anything, but it did highlight to us the route we should take around the grassy mounds. There were a few small boards dotted around to help interpret the green lumps and stones in front of us, but to be honest there wasn't really much to grab me. It was a nice stroll, especially when we got down to the waterfront and found there was a little boat going over to Birka, however the cost and amount of time required for the return boat quickly ruled it out.

We had a quick look inside the church, which was everything you would expect from a small Scandinavian church; pleasant, calm acres of white surfaces. Then that was about it, we headed back to the small café/ library and sat in the mid-summer sun, trying to acquaint ourselves with the distinctly Nordic "treat" of salt liquorice ice cream. Then we headed off for a quick drive around the island whilst we killed time before the ferry arrived.

It was a pleasant and idyllic way to spend a morning in the warm sunshine, however I don't feel that I really got much understanding of the value of the site. A trip over to Birka and its museum could hopefully provide a more thorough explanation however the large cost in terms of both money and time rather put us off making a visit. So we didn't see the best of the site but we had a nice morning, and the route back to Stockholm goes straight past Drottningholm so we had an enjoyable stroll around the gardens there to round out the visit.

[Site 2: Experience 5]

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