Kåseberga

Around midnight the view from our B&B window looked like this:

Saint Nicolai's church, Simrishamn.

The ghostly figure on the roof is the silhouette of Carl Milles' sculpture "Angel with Trumpet" standing next to the church.

The morning in Simrishamn was calm but wet so we spent two lazy hours before we mounted the bikes at 10 a.m. and located the beginning of Sydkustleden (South Coast Trail).

The rain stopped and for two very pleasant hours we biked right along the coast ...

... enjoying the rocky landscape and shoreline as well as the many geese, swans and cormorants feeding and resting near the beach.

We shopped food in the charming fishing village of Skillinge ... 

... and used the opportunity to picnic there as well.

In the afternoon we turned to an inland route and the weather changed to be windy ...

... while quite impressive Cumulus clouds built up over the rather flat south Skåne.

Churches seemed to pop up everywhere we looked ...

... some were of medieval age (i.e. unchanged from the Danish period), others were rebuilt in  various ways ...

... like Hörby church, that got a double-up tower in the 19th century,

or in Borrby where the old Romanesque Santa Maria church from the 11th century was demolished 150 years ago and substituted by this one of peculiar architectural value.

Löderup church was, however, still in its original shape with two towers, the one to the far left was built detached from the church nave and its function was that of a stronghold and safe heaven for the local population whenever people in Löderup and surroundings were threatened by warfare and other evils.

The fields in this part of Skåne are on very fat and rich soil. A lot of crops are grown. This is a field with common onions that apparently were thirsty.

Because of the very windy weather we skipped visiting Sandhammaren, Sweden's most famous and extensive sand beach (in the distance on the photo).

Instead we biked to the fishing village of Kåseberga (that turned out to be a tourist trap) and the nearby Ales Stenar (that is Sweden's largest and best-preserved ship setting erected with 59 large stones about 3500 years ago.

Weather permitting, I shall try to re-visit the ship setting tomorrow at sunrise to see it in early morning light.

– – –

This then is almost the end of our enjoyable bicycle adventure in Småland, Blekinge and Skåne. Tomorrow we will bike the remaining 15 km to Ystad and get ourselves and the bicycles onboard a train to Copenhagen – and then bike home the final 10 km to Bagsværd.

By then we will have covered 445 kilometers.

: : :

Ales Stenar seen towards the west just before sunrise.

The weather did cooperate and I did get up early. – Here are some of the results.

Ales Stenar seen towards the east at sunrise 05:34.

Simrishamn

At midnight I got up hoping to snap some good milky way photos in the dead of night. However, clouds were moving in above us so the result was meager.

 Already at sunrise the sky was clear and blue. Another fine biking day was approaching and we set off at 9:30.

We passed through very picturesque landscapes and west of Vitaby we reached a high plateau with a magnificent view over the sea and northwards along the coastline.

Shortly after Vitaby we passed Borgvallen, a ruined castle from the Viking Age 1000 years ago ...

...  and from there onwards we biked between one big apple/pear orchard after the other. 

This corner of Skåne is often called "Äppleriket" (the Apple Kingdom) as the many sunshine hours and the proximity to the Baltic Sea create excellent conditions for growing fruits, ...

... mainly apples.

The shoulders of the bike route were very insect-friendly as a regional project called "Artsrik Vejkant" (i.e. "species-rich road shoulder") has managed to populate the otherwise dull road sides with multitudes of flowering plants to make bees and other pollinators beesy and happy.

Eventually, we made it to Kivik, the core of the apple country.

First we stopped by the impressive King's Grave, Sweden's grandest burial site from the Bronze Age.

In both construction and in size – it is a circular site measuring 75 m in diameter – this 3400 years-old tomb differs from most European burials from the Bronze Age. Most importantly, the cists are adorned with petroglyphs. However, we didn't get inside.

We proceeded to visit Kivik's Musteri, which is a "must-see" if you are in these tracts. To get tuned in, we engaged in a lunch-like apple pie with apple cider activity at Tina's Apple Treat ...

... and duly satisfied ...

... we then checked out the well-stocked apple must shop ...

... and went to the demonstration orchard where some of the many apple sorts were presented.

This is "July Red", a successful offspring of "Early MacIntosh" and "Melba"

On our way from Kivik to Simrishamn we needed another break. This time in the peaceful and picturesque harbour of Baskemölla.

On the bikes again, we were reminded that Skåne does have some very fast wild boars on the roads.

By 4 p.m. we reached the end of our bike trail "Sydostleden" in downtown Simrishamn. After 7 days of biking we have eaten a total of 371 km of gravel, cobblestones and asphalt.

We are presently in our B&B right next to St. Nicolai's Church in the city centre.

– – –

Tomorrow we will begin the second (and shorter) part of our bicycle adventure heading southwest on the bike trail "Sydkustleden".

Stay tuned !

Kuskahusen

Saturday night in Kristianstad was a very lively one; not for us but for quite a few customers at the pub just below our B&B. With ears plugged and pillow wrapped around we managed a fairly good night's sleep. Sunday morning was very quiet indeed and after a quick breakfast we began the longest stage of the tour.

First stop outside town was the beautifully built wetland information facility "Naturum" in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve called "Vattenriket". Close to downtown and a fine place to learn about the freshwater wetlands surrounding Kristianstad.

The father of Systema Naturae, Carl von Linné, was here too (in 1749), described the biodiversity and gave all the plants and animals Latin names.

Near Viby by lake Hammarsjön we encountered two families of White Storks frog-seeking in a meadow ...

... not far from Gustav Adolf's church built around 1100.

We then reached the town of Åhus which is formed around the mouth of Helgeå river as it flows into the Baltic Sea. Åhus itself has a very mixed beauty with a lot of architectural diversity, to put it politely.

This agricultural silo facility is definitely the least charming place in Åhus.

South of Åhus we biked 20 km in a friendly pine forest next to the coastline.

Midway we stopped for tea and knäckebröd and a refreshing dip in the Baltic Sea.

Dogs in Sweden have their own beach stretches, signposted at the appropriate places.

We then headed inland following an old railway right-of-way from Maglehem to Brösarp.

After shopping food in the village of Brösarp we headed for our B&B 7 km farther along the trail. The weather has been extremely pleasant all day and excellent for harvesting.

Today's stage turned out to be 72 km long. Around 4 p.m. we reached our B&B "Kuskahusen" which is situated in the midst of a nature reserve. We are having blueberry soup tonight so it is all very Swedish.

– – – 

Tomorrow we'll be back on the coast visiting Kivik and ending the day in Simrishamn.