swedish weekend

24 august 2012 Travel time: with 17 august 2012 on 19 august 2012
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Usually, we, driven by international rumors and television headlines and agency enticements, if we get out “abroad”, we will certainly go to a city of contrasts, or at least a tourist center of some azure coast. In the suburbs, villages, and simply cities indicated on the map in smaller print, we stop reluctantly, and mostly by way.

So here I am, I was almost deceived by the universal dogma and almost slipped through the “paradise oasis” of Landskrona, located in the south of Sweden, exactly between the more significant megacities like Malmö and Helsingborg. And if you suddenly jump out to the wonderful coast of this small town to practice spitting for a long distance, then, without really straining, you can see in the distance the fabulous homeland of Gantz Christian - Copenhagen.


It is precisely because of the proximity of such giants that Landskrona modestly shrinks in the middle, allowing the locomotives of the Swedish and Danish economies to straighten their shoulders. But it's not just some outsider. By the way, the city will be 600 years old next year. And it's like, "Oh! ". Yes, and in terms of the number of attractions and simply cozy places, it can safely take the palm. But, in order.

Our first meeting was scheduled for the evening. She preened herself in evening colors, and I calibrated the camera, preparing to shoot landscapes. Quite by accident, having stumbled upon the tourist office, all that remained for me was to flatten out sadly on the cold expanse of soulless glazing. Sobbing with excitement, I lamented the closed gate of the galaxy of information services.

And even my extraordinary vision threw out a white flag, after vain attempts to make out the names of the streets, on the maps of the area, lurking on dull stands. And just when I was ready to burst into tears from the feelings that overwhelmed me, like a Turgenev heroine, I noticed a carelessly thrown away free copy of the printed print of the hero city Landskrona. Having lost emotion on my sleeve, I was back in the saddle as this sample filled in all my information gaps about the Swedish yoke.

After such a successful discovery, my life again found meaning, and my movements became clear, and now, without wasting another minute, I went to the sculpture park.

The park did not impress with its size or splendor of colors, but it had all the necessary park set, according to the guest.

He gave summer coolness, separated green islands with sculptures by convenient paths and was very favorable to those walking, looking at them from the height of the crowns of huge trees.

The park is quite young and has been pleasing residents and guests of the city with its sculptures from 19 authors since 1998. Like all contemporary art, sculptures are not unambiguous, but they have the right to exist. And upon closer examination, they will clearly find their fans, like my moderately well-fed, petrified with delight, new acquaintance.


The park adjoins and prepares for a visit to the charming Citadel, located on a small island in the neighborhood. 2 wooden bridges lead to the island, one of which is automobile. Although I almost didn’t see cars there, the bridge impresses with its endurance, loudly declaring its 40 tons of carrying capacity.

For such a wooden fellow, this is a rather loud indicator, as is the length of his nose declared in the performance characteristics of Pinocchio. At home, I met reinforced concrete sculptures with much less ability.

The citadel was built by the Danish king back in 1550 for defensive purposes. Since then, she has changed assignments frequently, up to the unenviable position in the form of a women's prison. Now there are guided tours there 3 times a day, where for 60 crowns they will explain to you the very questions that you are now asking yourself. What was the name of that king, what other goals and why in 1550? If none of these questions have formed yet, then you can skip the tour, but it won’t hurt, at least, to just enjoy the wonderful picture that opens before your eyes. I have never seen a more soothing and tantric place.

The rich brown color of the tower successfully contrasts with the green lawns and is perfectly reflected in the mirror surface of the canal around. And my amazement was completed by huge trees, looking at you from the height of their more than a hundred years of age.

By the way, the water in the canal turned out to be salty. And no matter how I tried to track down the very way in which the canal is enriched with salt, I never succeeded in this. Not expecting a dirty trick, I approached the water and saw there ...jellyfish, then along the shore of sucking mussels and quick crabs. The crabs began chaotically scurrying along the bottom, like recruits in the army after the signal to rise, as soon as my unwashed surprised face began to be reflected in the crystal clear waters. And most importantly, no one catches anyone.

Swedish teenagers calmly walk around the fortress without a drop of interest and do not rush with obscene cries and rolled up sleeves at the unfortunate owners of claws and eyes on an independent suspension. .


By the way, all living creatures fled from me that evening. Maybe they sensed a foreigner in me, maybe my red shirt, or maybe the gleam of my Colgate polished teeth. But after the crabs, the nutria (what a ferret) fled from me and gave the torn an excessively cowardly hare. I don’t know if hares read prayers when they are very scared, but it’s definitely not a child’s prayer. The fact is that when I inexorably approached in his direction, threateningly pushing the lens in his direction, he, trained from childhood, deftly jumped towards the gardens and tried to seep through the pickets of the fence. But if he is like Winnie the Pooh, he ate something extra, or the pickets were not standard, in general, he was stuck.

And you should have seen his paws, with which he scraped the ground at supersonic speed not a millimeter away, without moving away from such a terrible-looking pursuer like me. In the end, like a cork from a bottle of champagne, he jumped out of the fence trap with a whistle and disappeared into the nearby beds.

But the ducks only squealed in disgust, at my approach. Well, having endured enough, and they fluttered awkwardly, moved to the expanses of water nearby. By the way, coming in for landing is no worse than our graduates of the Kharkov Aviation.

The city pleases with the number of parks and lakes. After all, even moving away from the water at a decent distance, you can always find a couple of ponds with swans frolicking there. And if you desperately need to have a chat with seagulls, then this can be arranged on the coast, where a narrow strip of sand stretches along the entire sea border of Landskrona.

Realizing that the fortress was not the only attraction here, I headed to the center, where life was buzzing much louder. There were young people hanging out with skateboards, and a more adult population sipping beer in cozy cafes. The gaze fell on a huge barracks building, which, when compared with the map indicators, turned out to be the repository of the city museum. By that time, its doors were already closed, and during working hours behind these doors they broadcast to listeners about the history of the city, its development, offered exhibitions, creative workshops, lectures and other types of intellectual leisure.

Across the road you can admire the city hall, rebuilt in the Gothic style at the beginning of the 19th century. Now there is a city council, a court and someone's offices. For rent, the building continues to be used to its fullest to this day.

Following in the footsteps of unseen animals, I came to a completely incomparable building, which I noticed even at a distance.


The building struck with its fabulous architecture and was very similar to the building from the daughter's stories about Goldilocks. The small windows, located high above, under the roof of an outstanding building, clearly hid some secrets from me. To my surprise, I could not find at least a teaspoon of information about this either in an eloquent guidebook or in survey booklets about the gardens and parks of the city. The only thread was found on a memorial plaque right on the building that this is some kind of seminary and after 16.00 all doors are closed here. The tower is very spectacular and beckons the eye from hundreds of meters away.

The day was coming to an end, and I decided to say goodbye to the sun on the coast, located near the Citadel. Near the place of my base, I saw some guy on a pebble, who, for some unknown reason, lifted his head obviously higher, something was necessary to contemplate the sunset.

Deciding to explain to him where the level of the horizon was, I resolutely approached it, and only then did I notice that it was bronze and attached to the stone with some unknown composition. That's how the two of us met a wonderful Swedish sunset.

A little later, when I decided to orient myself on the ground, I noticed that the house next to which my boyfriend and I said goodbye to the sun was successfully acquired by Salma Lagerlö f. The very first woman to win the Nobel Prize. It looks like 250 years ago, she also sat here and enjoyed the sunset scenery. That's interesting, but that guy, when did he settle down here?

When the sun hid behind Copenhagen, I decided to return, so that tomorrow, literally with roosters, I would start exploring wonderful nooks and crannies. For greater importance, I borrowed a bicycle from my neighbors. With the help of my iron horse, I can increase the number of square kilometers per hour I see by 10 or even 11 times.

At 6 am I got to the beach not far from the bay. A bicycle on deserted morning roads got me there in no time. Gentle cool water pleasantly enveloped the legs, as if welcoming, at such an early hour. After watching a passenger steamer part ways from a freighter in the narrow waters of the Sound (local bay), I set off along the west coast to enjoy the sea breeze and watch the early birds float their boats on the water for a Sunday stroll. Nature forced me to sing and dance, but riding a bicycle, I could only afford the first.


On the way, I came across a strange tablet with information about the planet Pluto. Having familiarized myself with the facts, I went further without noticing any catch. In order not to get into trouble, I went back and photographed her. You never know. Actually it was part of a very interesting idea, which we will talk about later when I am transported to Van Island.

So twisting and enjoying, I got to the border camping village of Borstahusen. It has everything the Swedes need to make the weekend a success. There are houses, a yacht club, sandy beaches, high cedars and places equipped for recreation. The street with houses runs right 30 meters from the water. There is something in this contemplation of the motionless water surface under the singing of birds and the unobtrusive warming of the morning sun. I watched the crows dance nearby. And when I sent down the remains of my juicy apple to them, one of them, snorting contemptuously, fluttered up, but the other, kindly thanking, set to breakfast with pleasure. Some grandfather was sitting a little further, probably thinking the same thing as me, but only in Swedish. About ten minutes later his wife came out and began to explain something annoyingly to him. I think the essence of the issue is international - why, they say, to sit, would go and do something useful! Although, maybe not.

We will install non-functional boxes in which only pitchforks and shovels are stored, we will fence the garden with barbed wire, and we will plant beds not in order, and, as always, more than necessary. All summer and health will be left in the country. And then the bear will eat a third of the crop, the lovely neighbors will crush the third on the bus, and the third will turn sour in bottles. Why so much strength and energy was given is not clear. Yes, plus these eternal repairs of country mansions. Everywhere there is a feeling that they have just moved there, although we pass on dachas by inheritance. Anyway. Were distracted.

Driving further along the coast, I crossed the territory of the golf club, waving to the important gray-haired majors in short shorts, and ended up in a real field of wheat. That's when I realized why the Swedes also have a yellow-blue flag. I have never seen such a delightful union of blue sky and yellow wheat.


Add to this the magnificent trees and the blue sea in the background, with boats sailing on it, then you immediately want to write poems about the fact that life is beautiful and all people are brothers, kiss the earth and run naked across the field. It is in such places that it is worth holding all kinds of strategic negotiations, so that during the meeting people begin to hug and kiss each other from the flood of happiness, and at the end they consolidate the agreement with a noisy round dance in a wheat field. In wreaths of ripe ears.

Brushing away the romance with my sleeve, I hit the trail of the road that led to the more serious Helsingborg, and if I had continued to pedal irresponsibly in the given direction, I would have got there in an hour and a half. But I had other plans. I turned down a country road to a children's park, which was interspersed with other playgrounds.

It was the Karslund recreation area with a mini-zoo, recreation areas, cafes and other relaxation attributes.

The park was intelligently interspersed with forest and excellent playgrounds, surprisingly, in which there were no children. Maybe it's still early. In every yard we have a seedy swing, painted in a green-scabby color, around which about 20 toddlers are circling. Here in Landskrona, every Swedish child could have their own slide or swing. Everyone would have had enough.

Behind the net quietly enjoyed Sunday morning, a small animal population. The most interesting of which was the goat, which tracked all my movements with an unblinking gaze. And when, when changing the batteries in the camera, I mixed up the plus with the minus, he even seemed to grin. I have never met goats with such an intelligent physiognomy.

Having got rid of him with the last apple, I went to the city embankment, from where ferries departed for the island of Ven.

Ven Island is located almost in the middle between Sweden and Denmark, clinging a little more to the Swedish coast. Since today was Sunday, in addition to tourists, several hundred local residents also gathered to enjoy nature on the island.

Tickets were sold near the tourist center and cost 60 crowns each way. Ferries depart every 40-60 minutes and run on weekends until 6pm. On weekdays they finish a little later. You will have to pay 90 crowns for a bike in both directions, or rent a bike for the same money already on the island.


I crossed the Swedish territorial waters exclusively on the upper deck with a camera at the ready. The passage takes 30 minutes, after which you find yourself in a wonderful harbor of a friendly island.

After walking 200 meters, a huge field with rental bikes catches your eye. There are just none here. For all ages and abilities. There are even 2-seater and family 2 + 1. Prices start at 80 for a single bike. You can also purchase various bike accessories, such as a net for things or a seat for babies. Customers are given keys that unlock the locks that fix the movement of the rear wheel. With such a tool, it is not necessary to fasten the bike with a lock, although based on experience, in Sweden they are not interested in other people's bikes.

Since the island was only 5 by 3 km, I proudly decided to save my honestly earned pennies and set off on foot. To the surprise of all the elongated Swedish faces.

All rental bikes are yellow. Therefore, it is easy to track the movement and stops of guests of the island using them.

Not even 300 meters have passed, as you can see, about a dozen hungry people have already settled in the first cafe for lunch. And here are about 20 parked cyclists already looking for souvenirs in the souvenir shop. The restaurants here are very attractive and are made in the style of rustic summer houses. Around the apple tree, twig fences and wooden tables. As if visiting my grandmother in the village for pancakes.

After walking about a kilometer from the ferry, we find ourselves almost in the center of the island. By the way, this is the concentration of the life of the island, since it is here that the museum of the great Danish astronomer Tycho Brach is located. The scientist grew up in a rather influential family and received his education at the best university in Germany.


After Tycho in 1572 found a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia, with the naked eye, only with the help of his measurements and congenital diopters, the Danish king Frederick II realized that the small one was not joking and presented the entire island of Van to him for development. Here was built the castle of Uraneborg, named after Uranus, where Tycho did his research. It can be said that the whole island was at his disposal, where he and his assistants tirelessly made measurements and made new discoveries.

Tycho was the first to question the correctness of the theory of Copernicus with his Sun at the center of the universe. In order not to be unfounded, he, not sparing his assistants and vision, worked on measurements and his theory about the structure of the Universe. He excelled in the manufacture of precise measuring instruments, since the first telescope was pointed into the sky by Galileo Galileo already 5 years after Tycho left this world.

Thanks to his scientific research, Kepler later was able to establish that the planets still move along the ecliptic, and not God knows how, and Newton managed to deal with his apples and composed his second law.

The castle and beautiful gardens, unfortunately, have not survived to our times. But you can look at Tycho's restored instruments, his works and much more in the museum dedicated to him.

In principle, this is the main attraction on the island, so you should not miss it. The ticket costs 60 crowns, and 10 crowns less unless you go to the underground laboratory to watch an 11-minute multimedia show about the work of a scientist, accompanied by a voice, who, most likely, has previously read voiceovers for games in the spirit of Resident Evil. But this will not be a completely rational economy. From the category of saving on matches and wet wipes.

The museum includes a small area on which there is an old former church, a copy of a medieval garden, several information pavilions and a field for games of those times. On the field you can see and practice the games of the 16th century and practice walking on stilts. After 15 minutes of amusing landing and desperate curses, I still managed to master the principle of walking on stilts and wind a couple of circles around the site. Across the road is the observatory I have already voiced, where the show is shown at certain times in different languages. Sessions will be indicated to you when buying a ticket.


In the church building you will find all the information about the life and work of the scientist, get acquainted with his tools and the model of the castle, and watch 2 films about the castle and Tycho's research. Movies run every 15 minutes in Swedish, Danish and English. The sound in movies is quite breathtaking.

So this is all a Swedish idea to arrange all the planets of the solar system in proportion to the real distances in space here on Earth and start right from the museum of the great astronomer. As you approach the museum, you will encounter planets depending on their approach to the Sun. By the way, land in Swedish is Jorden. This is your search tip.

But the island is not only rich in museums. There is also a museum dedicated to the island itself, its history and relations with the Danish and Swedish kingdoms. There is a very romantic 12th century church of St. Ibb, standing on the very edge of the cliff. Sandy beaches, luxurious haciendas, meadow fields and grassy oases with direct access to sea waters. And solid green areas made it possible to organize a golf club here.

All this will be revealed to your eyes, if you are not too lazy and take a walk along the coastal outskirts of the island.

I especially liked the apples growing on the island.

And for the Swedes, apples will fall ripe to the ground, and they will prefer a proven option in the store.

Trying not to be late for the last ferry, I completed my walk at a more strenuous pace, and my hands were simply tired of throwing up the camera for the whole day. Back we rode on a cargo ferry, where we had to share space with cars.

The next morning, on the day of departure, I sadly drove early in the morning along the streets I loved, stopped by to say goodbye to the Citadel and the local inhabitants. The city left a delightful impression about itself, reinforced by its diversity and good location. And the blooming and smelling greens completed the lovely image that has been preserved in my database. I think the facts collected on the camera will be enough to lure my family on the next trip.

Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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