A guide to the past

First of all I have to say that I am not that interested in flowers, plants or trees. Secondly before living here I had never paid any attention to things like Statues. Apart from that one of the women with no arms (Venus de Milo) I would have no idea of names or who created them. Then I visited Rottneros Park and let’s just say it opened my eyes quite a bit. The story surrounding this park is an amazing epic which centres on the passions and dedication of one man: Svånte Pålsson. Almost singlehandedly he created an environment which resonates with so much artistic importance, it wouldn’t be out of place in any of the great cultural capitols of Europe. Covering an area of more than 28 hectares it is a botanical masterpiece, adorned with a diverse selection of world famous statues and relics. The centre of the park is dominated by its original manor house in which up until his death Paulsen lived with his family; the house looks proudly out over Lake Fryken and has a lawn stretching downwards leading all the way to the waters edge. Every year this area becomes host to a concert which attracts over 5000 people. In the past few years I have watched ZZ Top, Status Quo and best of all a Swedish band called The Ark. There is another more personal reason why I think Rottneros Park is a cool place to visit. Recently I recorded a guided tour; it’s for any non Swedish speakers who want to learn more about what they are seeing as they meander around the park. The recording was then set down on to mp3 players and hopefully, my voice speaking directly into their ears describing everything they see, will add to the experience? Recording it was the fun part, the hard part was translating the information needed from Swedish to English; I take no credit for that, it was all done by Anna. All I had to do was learn to pronounce the names and places properly, then go into a studio and talk into the biggest microphone I´ve ever seen in my life. I have tried not to be a Sunne tour guide during my blog writing, but I really felt I had to mention the park, if someone like me finds this place inspiring the real lovers of gardens; statues and the history surrounding them need to get their asses to Sunne and check this place out. Before I go I have to say ”I miss the Peacock”.