Skåne

I took a Sunday drive with some friends this past Sunday. We went on a tour of Skåne which is the county I live in. The rapeseed (canola) fields are all abloom bringing brilliant yellow to the country side. This, matched with the blue skies, makes me understand the Swedish flag.

Can't you just see it!

As much as I want to be a tree hugger and advocate for bike use only, it was nice to be in a car just driving around seeing the sites.

Lots of farming, open fields and forest

Beautiful beaches along the south shore

We went to the oldest castle in Scandinavia. It is made entirely of stone and I imagine must be very cold all year round. People would live in small houses near the castle and only use it for events and if they thought there was going to be an invasion or peasant revolt. It was built when this part of Sweden still belonged to Denmark.

The oldest fortified stone castle/fortress in Scandinavia with rapeseed fields in the distance

It was build by the same builder who built the Lund Cathedral

We also headed down near Ystad to see the Swedish Stonehenge. There are many stories of what it could be: an astronomical calendar, a cemetery or a Viking monument. The stones are arranged in the shape of a ship which is common for Viking landmarks. They also discovered skeletons near this area several years back. So, I think it is a Viking cemetery. 

Near Ale's Stones is a little bay that was full of surfers. It was a windy, slightly rainy and chilly day but with the surfers and all the cute little shops along the boardwalk I was tempted to eat some ice-cream and soak up beach culture. But it was too cold for me. Next time.

Surfers! I almost felt like I was back in California...almost

Finally on our Skåne tour, we went to the Southernmost tip of Sweden. At this point the sun was out in full but the wind still held a snap to it. I loved this part of Sweden for it's beaches, crashing Baltic Sea waves, seagulls and quaintness of its buildings.

The Southernmost point in Sweden

Södrast = Southernmost

Sometimes it's just nice to get out of the "city" and see some countryside. Skåne did not disappoint and I am looking forward to my next explorative trip around these parts someday.