We’re finally back in the US. I need to to apologize for all the typos and errors in the previous post. Trying to quickly write a blog post with a spotty internet connection in a house filled to the brim with family and little children was beyond challenging! I’ve been traveling without a computer for two days, and was not able to correct it. So sorry!
Our last night staying at Haringe Palace was my favorite part of the trip. It’s a Gothic castle dating back as far as 1289, and is famous for it’s ghosts. If you ever visit Stockholm I highly recommend spending a night there. The second you arrive you feel like time has stood still for hundreds of years. We were disappointed to find out we would not be sleeping in the main area of the castle. But at the end of the night, we were very happy we didn’t.
After a long winding drive on a tree lined street, we arrived to this.
The second we entered we felt like guests in someone’s castle. There was no front desk, instead you rang a bell and a very friendly person came to help you. We now had free roam of a place with historical interiors that would make anybody swoon. Feeling shutter happy I quickly ran to the back of the hall…
…old armors greeted us in every corner. This one guarded a Gothic dining area.
The wood paneling in here came from a castle in Scotland 400 years ago. This room is supposedly haunted by a Scottish ghost. He’s very friendly – unless you step on his toes….
I quickly ran upstairs to explore and take some pictures, while there was still beautiful light.
This is one of the upstairs salons. Several of these images are from the hotel website.
The bar with the Swedish Tenn fabric on it, had me swooning. The rooms were completely empty as I wandered about. I went in to the next room….
…and was stopped in my tracks by a creepy stare from the lady in this painting. When I realized this is the female ghost in the red robe that forced the hotel to bring in a medium and redesign the space, I got chills. Yikes! I didn’t enjoy being alone in the room with her.
There have been many sightings of her watering the plants in the dining hall. The medium suggested adding a wall with mirrors to stop her from pushing dinner guests. Apparently it works.
I stayed long enough to take a picture of the stunning botanical wallpaper.
Every single room was a feast for the eyes. I loved this pink and red vignette!
This stair case lead to…
…the castle’s underground tunnel.
Luke refused to go any further when we got to the old prison cell.
The castle has two main wings with elegant suites.
This is the Greta Garbo suite. She stayed here a long time ago. She must have liked the peace and quiet here.
After roaming around we had the most delicious dinner out by the pool. We all gave the dinner a “10”.
Later we decided to take a walk to the ocean. As if the beauty inside the castle was not enough…the ocean front location blew us away.
Down at the dock we enjoyed the beautiful view.
After walking through the castle, none of us were in the mood for a cold ocean dip.
Instead went bowling in the castle’s bowling alley from 1929. It’s the oldest working bowling alley in Sweden.
One thing is for sure. I can’t wait to visit again. I’m imagining a snowy, cold winter day arriving here for dinner…
P.S.
Before we left in the morning we checked out the scroll on the wall which listed the castle’s owners for the last 1000 years. We were a little surprised to see the names of the last few…
…Hartvig Sorensen happens to be my two last names.
Oh wow!! Spectacular!!!
This is the first time I had heard of Svenskt Tenn fabric, but did some research immediately after reading this post. Now that I am looking at the textiles on their website, though, I recognize a lot of the patterns from some projects I've seen on blogs along the way.
How beautiful is that fabric, though?!?!?!? I'd love to make a pair of curtains out of some of that fabric. The hard part would be picking which pattern, though!
You lucky girl — I've got to put this on my list of places to visit in my lifetime. THose names at the end are creepy, not just for the names but for their very short lives! Glad to have you back.
What an amazing place, I wish were you this week. Your last few postings have put Sweden on my list of places I need to visit in the next 10 years. Watch out, I'll be showing up on your doorstep. After I visit this place that is.