Antiques for Weekend Street/Reflections

After our visit to the glass museum at Limmared last Saturday, we also went for a little stroll to have a peek in the windows of some antiques/second hand shops nearby. We kept strictly to "window shopping" and did not really step inside any of them... But when looking at some of my photos afterwards, it's a challenge in itself to sort out what's supposed to be inside vs outside!! :)

 

With this one it may even be hard to guess what that "thing" is supposed to be in the foreground... It's actually an old "double-sided" rocking horse (with the seat in the middle).

 These animals are easier to identify, but I have no idea where or when they were made.

 One  or two shops had put some big stuff out on the street as well - like rusty coat hanger stands...

 Linking to Weekend Street/Reflections

 

A Visit to Limmared Glassworks

The photo above was copied from a brochure about the village Limmared, about 30 min drive from Borås. It's famous primarily for its glassworks (Swedish: glasbruk), founded in 1740, and still running. Internationally it may be best known as the manufacturer of the Absolut Vodka bottle - which visitors are now reminded of with the entrance to the museum "House of Glass" (Glasets Hus) being designed to resemble that shape.  

At the museum you can watch glassblowers at work, look at examples of their production through the centuries, and buy more recently made glass souvenirs. They also have a café where you can have lunch. In the village there are also several antique and second hand shops, selling both glassware and other things.

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My brother drove down here from Karlstad on Thursday last week (27 August). On Friday we had lunch at the restaurant in the park in the city centre, and after that drove "across town" to a big shopping mall for a few errands. Primarily I needed a new rain jacket; and managed to find one. (It will probably appear in a later post, with me wearing it.) But I also happened to find another item on my wish list - a new winter jacket/coat (fairly long, but not quite reaching my knees). I was glad to also get that rather bulky purchase done while I had the company of a chauffeur/carrier! ;) 

"On the road again" - driving to Limmared, 29 August 2026

Saturday the 29th was my 71s birthday; and to celebrate that we drove to Limmared to revisit The House of Glass. We've been there together once before, but that was several years ago now. (Neither of us could recall exactly when. I thought it might even have been back in Before Blogging times - but a search now informs me that it was in 2013.) 

When we arrived, we had a look around in the museum first, then had lunch in their cafeteria, and after that explored the museum a bit more, plus got to watch a professional glassblower giving a "lesson" in that noble art to another visitor (who had pre-booked and no doubt paid extra for that experience). 

I took quite a lot of photos, and might save some for "later", but here is a selection:

Model of the village in the past. The glassworks is the building with the tall chimney.

 

Various old items from the past

 

 

 

These may look like ceramics, but they are actually painted glassware.

Here you can see the "ghosts" of my brother and me reflected... ;)

 

Old tools

 

 

▲ Items for sale ▼

I bought the dark blue bird as souvenir and birthday present for myself. 
Back home, it got to join an inherited blue glass bird on the window sill in my bedroom: