theeuropeantoursweden

Saturday
Barks arrived at 8.30 a.m. by ferry to Värtahamnen in Stockholm. An ivory coloured Daimler drove aboard and picked him up.
At noon it was time for a press meeting. Barks received the Adamson Statuette from Sture Hegerfors, President of Svenska Serieakademin, whereupon Per Erik Hallin, who used to be Donald Duck's Swedish voice, sang a new Donald-birthday song dedicated to Barks.
At the evening The Swedish branch of Egmont's hosted a dinner for Barks.

Sunday
Barks paid a visit to the Royal Palace and after lunch he arrived at Brygghuset where members of NAFS(k) and Seriefrämjandet (both Swedish Comics Forums) had gathered to meet him. He was slightly late but when he walked into the meeting room he was met with ovations. Barks and his manager Grandey sat down in armchairs and an interview started. Barks answered all questions professionally, but one could not help feeling that he was at times diplomatic in order not to offend the publishers and his fans.
The meeting was scheduled to last for 30 minutes but as the interview ended the public had an unexpected chance to ask questions. After the session Barks received presents. Among them were a nice beer glass (Barks was said to be fond of beer) and a glass vase filled with gold coins.
The next event was that Kathy Morby (Barks' second manager) announced that Carl would be happy to autograph something for everyone. Those who had brought along magazines and albums could queue up whereas the ones who did not bring anything would receive autographed folders about the latest Barks-lithographs. The queue grew so long that Kathy Morby had to stop the session on behalf of Barks as he was getting tired. Those who had not yet got an autograph were requested to leave their stuff at Grand Hotel for signed later.
Then Barks left the meeting and later at night he emerged in Stockholm's archipelagos to have dinner on a steamboat.

Monday
Following a quiet morning and lunch Barks was escorted to Arlanda airport in order to catch the flight for Warsaw at 4 p.m.

Martin Birgerson

The biggest honour which can happen to a Junior Woodchuck is to be promoted to Exalted Hightail. Only an Exalted Hightail may wear the racoon-tail on top of his cap instead of in the back.
Sunday Carl Barks was named an Exalted Hightail. It happened in Brygghuset in Stockholm, where the Swedish donaldist organisation NAFS(k) held a meeting to honour Barks. Close to 160 enthusiastic fans took part in the meeting, and experienced Barks' salute upon receiving the much desired cap. People cheered and Barks actually seemed touched by the moment.

The celebrations had begun on Saturday morning when Carl and his crew arrived at Värtahamnen with the ferry from Finland. On the quay a bunch of Swedish fans awaited with a long poster saying 'Welcome Carl Barks - The Great Duck Man'.
After this, Barks was taken by a limousine to the Grand Hotel, where he got a suite with a beautiful view of the royal castle.
At noon a press conference was held. Around 40 journalists, photographers and specially invited guests had gathered in the hotel's lobby, and the air was filled with great expectations.
A quarter past twelve, Barks' Swedish host, Dick Brobeck, stepped up to the microphone. He said that it was a great honour to present the legend, the maestro himself, Carl Barks, and added that he was actually most impressed by the maestro's vitality.

Later on Barks entered himself. Covered in flashlights he received the Adamson Award from the Swedish comics association from president Sture Hegerfors. It wasn't a normal Adamson statuette, but a special Gold-Adamson, which has only been awarded twice before.

Then it was time for the press conference. First question was why Barks so surprisingly had come to Europe when he hadn't been travelling before. The answer was that he had never had the money nor the time, since he had always been busy. Barks answered kindly with remarks making people laugh once in a while. He really seemed like he was interested in all of the questions, though he undoubtedly had heard them all before.
Those who tried to provoke less predictable or even controversial answers, did not succeed. Barks' PR-professionalism included the ability to avoid saying anything which might sound critical in any way. The result was that one hardly was able to detect what he 'really' thought about the answers.
He appeared to be most tempted to say something critical when he was asked to make a comment on DuckTales and the other TV animation series in that style. At first he said that he didn't mind them (they are good for the business), but after a short while he added, that sometimes I feel that they are not using the ducks! A reason might be, that Barks never has cared much to think about the questions which interest the fans so much, and because of this he just answers the best he can in order to be pleasant.
When asked why Donald Duck never has had any children, it was obvious that he had never thought about it. The spontaneous answer was: Well, they are just fairy tale characters. You may just as well ask who were the Little Mermaid's mother and father!

After the questioning, lunch was served - Swedish smorgasbord, of course! - and afterwards Barks was interviewed by Alice Bah from the TV show Söndagsöppet. A sparkling Barks explained how he drew his first animals home on the farm and made an attempt at saying Oppfinnar-Jocke (Gyro Gearloose) in Swedish. Further he named - encouraged by the enthusiastic Alice - Magica de Spell to be his favourite character!

In the evening, dinner was served at the well-reputed restaurant Den Gyldene Freden. Ten happy guests joined Barks at the table. Reindeer was served and everybody had a pleasant time.

On Sunday, Barks visited the royal castle. He was supposed to meet the royal family, but they happened to be abroad. Instead king Carl XVI Gustaf had chosen a special guide to show Barks the castle. The guide also made Barks sign some Disney magazines for the royal children.
Next stop was a yacht on the Riddarfjärden where Barks enjoyed some salmon before the meeting with his Swedish fans. NAFS(k) had rented a large meeting place in the center of Stockholm and invited their own members as well as the members of Seriefrämjandet (the Swedish comics association - Editor's remark). The 160 present enjoyed two speeches about Barks and watched the cartoon Modern Inventions from 1937 before the main attraction.
A little past three a white limousine stopped outside the house. A very animated Barks stepped out together with his managers and Swedish hosts. Much cheering welcomed Barks as he entered the room. He was seated on the scene and interviewed by the NAFS(k) founder and Disney translator Stefan Diös, who had collected questions from the members of NAFS(k). Like on Saturday, Barks answered willingly all questions, even though one got the feeling, that he sometimes answered what he felt the audience would like to hear.
When Stefan had finished with his questions the guests contributed with additional questions for the next half hour.

After the session a celebration ceremony followed in which Barks was given some gifts. As a reference to U$19 (The Mines of King Solomon) where Barks sends Uncle Scrooge to Sweden in order to inspect his Swedish glassworks, Barks received a glass vase. He was also presented with a portfolio containing drawings from the members of NAFS(k). Finally, he was promoted to Exalted Hightail and saluted the cheering crowd. After having signed magazines for nearly everybody, he left the place.

The stay in Sweden finished Monday. A limousine transported Barks to Arlanda airport where the plane to Warsaw waited. According to Dick Brobeck at the Egmont publishers, Barks had been very enthusiastic during his whole stay in Sweden. If Brobeck is to be trusted, Barks had said: Of course it is something special with Sweden. This is after all the place I have got most of my fans!

Thanks for the visit, Carl!

Olof Siverbo
Anders Berglund

Arriving at the meeting in Brygghuset		Answering questions at the meeting		Exalted Hightail #1
Courtesy of Martin Birgerson		Courtesy of Martin Birgerson		Courtesy of Peter Kylling