1936 On the Continent

of the finest sand, backed by sheltering dunes, that rise against a background of pine and heather. There are large hotel-restaurants with music, while there are also a number of small bungalows that you can rent quite cheaply if you want to bring your family.
    Båstad, on the West coast of Scania, has delightful scenery and can boast of a most picturesque hotel, though you will find other good hotels besides. Båstad also has one of the most beautiful golf courses imaginable. The Båstad Tennis Tournament is one of the events of the season, patronised by the King of Sweden, who himself takes part.
    Mölle, with scenery reminding you of Capri, has only one drawback—its pebble beach. However, a short bus ride will take you to some good sands.
    Falsterbo, further south, is a fashionable watering place with excellent seaside golf links and opportunities for all sorts of amusements and recreations.
    Ystad, on the southern shore of Scania, has a magnificent sandy beach, and the town itself, with its old half-timbered houses, is most picturesque. For the Exhibition to be held here this summer, see “Calendar of Events.”
Orrefors Glass
    While you are down that way I suggest making a tour of Scania, where you will see many a venerable castle and magnificent manor. Sofiero, the summer residence of the Crown Prince of Sweden, is situated on the West Coast, not far from Hälsingborg, a town from where a ferry will take you over to Hälsingborg, in Denmark in fifteen minutes.
    You have heard of Orrefors glass, haven’t you? The factories of Orrefors and Kosta are well worth a visit, and it is not difficult to get there from Scania. Being in that part of the world you simply cannot miss Kalmar, a town which, as I know from experience, most strongly appeals to Englishmen.
    But let us return to Gothenburg, and from there proceed to Stockholm by the Göta Canal route. The Göta Canal, with about sixty-five locks, runs like a blue ribbon throughSweden, but only fifty-six of the total of 240 miles is artificial, the greater part of the canal being formed by natural waters—the lakes and rivers of Central Sweden. The canal itself is just wide enough to hold the little steamer which carries you into a world of poetic beauty. On the way to Stockholm you will pass
    Trollhättan, a large power station which, together with other power plants, supplies electric current to Central and Southern Sweden, as well as to parts of Denmark. Farther on you pass through two of the largest lakes in Europe—Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern. On a promontory in the former stands a large and historically famous castle, Läckö. The surrounding country is extremely rich in historical associations dating back to the Bronze, or even the Stone Age. Soon you will come to Vadstena, where St. Bridget founded a convent in the middle of the fourteenth century. The Vadstena Castle was deserted long ago, but the building is an interesting survival of the early Vasa architectural style, a fine example of Renaissance in Sweden. While the steamer is being sluiced down several successive locks at Berg, you have ample time to see the old convent, Vreta kloster, and the ruins. Through the fjord of Slätbaken the canal steamer enters the Baltic Sea, but soon turns inland again.
    At Södertälje, a nice summer and health resort, the boat enters Lake. Mälaren through another canal and before long arrives at Stockholm.
Stockholm
    The capital of Sweden is a city of islands and bridges. In the heart of the Swedish capital stands the foremost architectural achievement of the century: the Stockholm Town Hall. This brilliant example of modern Swedish artistic genius was completed in the year 1923, and is the work of Ragnar Östberg, who spent half a lifetime planning and executing it. No description of mine could do justice to this architectural wonder. It must be seen to be believed, seen not only by itself, but against the background of Stockholm, known as one of the most beautiful cities of the world.
    I don’t know when I like Stockholm best, on a night in late May or in June, one of those clear, translucent nightsthat seem to cast a spell over you, lifting your spirit to the Empyrean heights of the unattainable, or on a day in early autumn—crisp and exhilarating like champagne, with a sky of the deepest blue mirrored in the many waters of this unique city. Then the imposing palace in the late Italian Renaissance style looks down on the “City between the Bridges,”