Sveafallen

Near Degerfors lies Sveafallen, a natural area of glacier-smoothed rock, small falls and pothole basins. In autumn, water shows itself here in every shape and stage.

I climbed over the smooth rock slabs that glaciers once worked over like sandpaper, and at every bend I found a new form the water had taken. In places it spreads wide and calm over the stone, elsewhere it pushes through narrow channels, and in the round pothole basins carved out over thousands of years it simply spins in place.

What struck me most about Sveafallen was exactly this variety packed into such a small space. Not one single big waterfall, but a whole sequence of smaller steps, each with its own sound, its own rhythm. Around it all, autumn colour reflected in the calmer pools, giving the grey rock a warm counterpoint.

It is a place that forces you to slow down just to see everything the water is doing here. That is exactly why I stayed longer than I had planned.