The glamour of Bergman’s bay
ASMALL crowd of admirers had gathered on the quayside at Grebbestad in Sweden – struck by the model looks and timeless glamour of the Wilhelm Tham. Launched in 1912, she is quite a head-turner – a floating museum, but with all the comfort of a bygone era. Along with sisters Diana (1931) and Juno (1874), these elegant vessels are some of the oldest passenger ships in the world. Little has changed on board since celebrity guests included the authors Hans Christian Andersen and Henrik Ibsen.
The ship’s crew lined up to greet our arrival by coach from Gothenburg, and walking up the gangplank on to the beautifully crafted Wilhelm Tham felt like stepping back in time, with her varnished decks, polished brass, jaunty funnel and traditional wooden buoys.
My outside cabin was compact, like a sleeper carriage on a luxury train. A surprise to this 21st Century traveller was that there was no en suite. Well, that’s how it was back in the day. Yet I loved the cosy, nostalgic feel, the nifty bedside cabinet and hand basin, as well as the welcome fizz and berries.
Out on deck in the sunshine, the convivial atmosphere of our small ship (there are just 25 cabins) meant that the international passengers were soon overcoming language barriers to chat freely. The only Swedish word I knew was ‘skål’ (of course), which came in handy when drinking the local ‘snaps’. I soon learned ‘fika’, too – Sweden’s answer to afternoon tea, except that it involves coffee and cake.
Casting off on our three-day cruise of Sweden’s stunning west coast, we glided silently through narrow waterways such as ‘Snob Channel’ (famous for its super-yachts), and past sheltered islands including the friendly-sounding Hallo and car-free Styrso.
With no wi-fi or television on board, Wilhelm Tham provided an escape from the outside world and we were content just to watch the spectacular scenery.
Our first stop was Fjällbacka, once the holiday hideaway of Hollywood legend Ingrid Bergman.
Frequent ports of call, such as Smogen, with its half-mile-long wooden pier, and islands including Vinga and Tjorn allowed us the opportunity to stretch our legs.
As August is the month for crayfish parties, we couldn’t have cruised the stunning archipelagos and fjords at a better time.
Locals celebrate the seafood harvest with gusto, wearing silly paper hats and large bibs to tuck into mounds of crustaceans, while also knocking back snaps and singing rowdy songs.
Summer nights of never-ending twilight can make you giddy. So giddy, in fact, that I was more than happy to join in our own fresh seafood celebration on board – with song sheets, shrimps and snaps provided by our attentive crew.
The words (in English, at least), were easy: ‘I love the snaps and the snaps loves me…’