RIVER CRUISING
It’s a Swede Thing:
Sailing The Göta Canal T
Anthony Lambert steps back in time on one of Europe’s most enchanting waterways Among the famous engineers who
here are some stretches of water that one feels compelled to travel, once discovered, and there are also ships that beg to be
experienced. Put the two together and it’s an irresistible combination. I first learned of the Juno a decade ago and I finally got to spend four days on her last summer, making the journey she was originally built for in 1874, the 368-mile waterway between Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg, and capital Stockholm. Besides the pleasure of travelling on the
world’s oldest commercial ship on which you can sleep, there is the natural beauty and fascination of the Tröllhatte and Göta canals that link the rivers and lakes. Sweden has an astonishing 96,000 lakes and the dream of linking eight of them by canals to join the country’s two largest cities
was realised in 1832, when the final section of the Göta Canal was opened by the king. It had taken the exertions of 58,000 men to dig it and build the 58 locks.
worked on the Göta Canal were Thomas Telford, builder of the Caledonian Canal in Scotland, and a young John Ericsson, who went on to design the (American) Union armoured turret ship Monitor of Civil War fame. Freight traffic was soon undermined by the railways and, within decades, the Canal had assumed a new role as Sweden’s best-known recreational waterway. The Juno was built for the Göta Canal Steamship Company, followed by the simi- larly sized Wilhelm Tham in 1912 and Di- ana in 1931. Today, they offer an authentic taste of old-fashioned luxury comparable with the Orient Express, particularly when it comes to swinging cats: elegant the cabins may be with their brass fittings and beautiful woodwork, but they are small, and my wife and I dressed in turn.
Spring 2012 I WORLD OF CRUISING
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Photos © Gota Canal Steamship Company
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