A bright sunny day greets us as we wake up at the hostel in Ystad. An old railway station made into a very neat and tidy hostel for tired travellers like ourselves. And to a very reasonable cost too I must say. Since breakfast is included in the price we head up to “Fritjof’s konditori” where we together with other guests as well as the general public have a nice breakfast with freshly baked bread and black strong coffee.
We head back to Anne’s apartment to pick up Salme who decided to stay there overnight so she could catch up with Anne.
With the car packed we head out on the roads again. We only have 300 km to travel today so we can take it easy and do some sightseeing along the way. First stop is “Ale Stenar” or the Rocks of Ale. Many believe it’s the grave of a Viking king who lived buried here some 1000 years ago or so. Others believe it has some astronomical significance and the word “archaeoastronomy” is frequently used in conjunction with the monument.
Whatever it is, it’s magnificently positioned of top of the green cliffs with great views overlooking the ocean towards Denmark and Poland. The 32 stones forms the shape of a ship so in my mind it’s a Viking grave and does not show what time the sunrise was on the 17 of June 934 Ad.
We buy some just picked very juicy sweet strawberries on the way north, yummy. By midday we’ve reach the little fishing village of Kivik and it’s time for lunch. Some marinated Salmon, smoked Baltic Sea eel and smoked herring is purchased in the local shop together with some bread and we enjoy a lovely lunch next to the small protected harbour in the sunshine. Who said you can’t eat like a king even though one doesn’t have royal blood flowing through ones veins?
A couple of hours later we have reach the goal for the day, the town of Kalmar of the Swedish east coast. We spent some time here the last time we were in Sweden and liked it so much we decided it would be nice to go back. We even check in to the same hotel which is just as good and cheap as it was a couple of years ago.
Despite the clear blue skies it’s quite cool and a stiff breeze doesn’t improve the wind chill factor in a positive way.
We explore the outside of the old 12th century castle for a little while before the cool breeze forces us to head back to the hotel for some refreshments in the form of wine and dinner. Planning on an early start the next day we head to bed early for a well-earned rest and to thaw up somewhat.
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