The Scandinavia Diaries (Day 1): Exploring Lund

Hello (or should I say ‘hej’?) from Sweden! I’m going to be on holiday here with my mum and brother until Saturday, and I am planning to write daily journal-style articles. We’ll be exploring all the main cities that make up the southwestern county of Skåne, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of adventures to recount. Last night, we arrived in the small university town of Lund – where we’ll be based for the next few days – and today, we had a wander round some of its main sights. Want to know which attractions you should visit if you come here soon? Keep reading!

Sunday 21st July

20:00

After nine hours of travelling, we’ve finally arrived in Lund! Earlier today, we took a flight from London to Copenhagen, which was literally and metaphorically smooth (there was no turbulence, and it arrived early!). After stopping briefly for refreshments at the Lagkagehuset bakery (I got the equivalent of a Tunnock’s teacake – not the most authentic Danish pastry, I know), we climbed aboard a train, and crossed the Øresund Bridge into Sweden. If you’ve seen the famous Scandinavian detective series, The Bridge, you’ll probably be familiar with this structure.

All was going swimmingly until we reached Malmö, at which point we were asked to disembark. No explanation was given for these instructions, but we were assured that there would be a replacement bus service. An hour later, however, we were still standing at the coach station. By now, we were not only quite sure that no transport would ever turn up for us, but also we were pretty drenched from the rain that had begun to pour down. It eventually transpired that our waiting around had been a total waste of time, since all trains, minus the one we'd had to get off, were running just as before. We retraced our footsteps, then, and within ten minutes, we were back on track (pardon the pun) for Lund!

And here we are now! We’re just having a quick rest in our Airbnb apartment, which is hidden away in a very picturesque lane, but we’ll be back out again soon to try the town’s best falafels!

22:00

I’m so full I can hardly move! We’ve just got back from a delicious dinner at Lundafalafel, a fantastic hole-in-the-wall serving Middle Eastern food. For 65kr (about £5.50), I got an absolutely mammoth portion of falafel, chips and salad, some of which I’ve had to bring home to finish later. We sat at one of the benches just in front of the joint, and were most touched when one of the people working there brought us out a whole extra box of food! Turns out they were shutting up for a couple of days, and needed to get rid of their leftover supplies.

I’m now just relaxing on a sofa, waiting for tonight’s episode of Love Island to become available on demand. I should really be watching a Swedish thriller: more appropriate, and much more mentally stimulating...! Anyway, I probably won’t be doing anything else today that’s worth writing about, so I'll catch you tomorrow.

Monday 22nd July

22:20

Our first full day in Sweden has now come to an end, and considering that my brother and I only emerged from our beds at noon (my mother was up much earlier!), we’ve managed to pack quite a lot in. We decided to dedicate today to exploring Lund, and began our tour with a visit to Kulturen, one of the world’s oldest open-air museums. I loved this place so much that I’m going to be writing a whole article about it – watch this space!

By the time we’d made it round all the exhibits – and gone to see the outside of the nearby King's House – it was long gone two o’clock, so we decided to find somewhere for lunch. Our initial plan was to go to Govindas Vegetariska Restaurang, an Indian restaurant with a completely vegetarian menu. Unfortunately, it was shut – and will be for the entire time we’re here – but we did get to wander to round the idyllic courtyard just outside it, and take a few photos.

Afterwards, we wandered back towards the centre of town, and presently stumbled across Mezaya Buffe, a Lebanese buffet-style dining spot. Here, we each enjoyed several platefuls of Middle Eastern food. We were slightly sceptical when we first saw what was on offer, but as I said in my last post, you must never judge a book by its cover! Not only was it all completely delicious, but there were also certain delicacies (such as baba ghanoush) that I’m not usually a fan of, but absolutely loved here.

After paying the bill, we walked to the nearby Lund Cathedral to see its famous astronomical clock. Twice daily (12 p. m. and 3 p. m. ), it chimes and sets off a mechanical show. Crowds of tourists had gathered to see this spectacle, and it certainly didn’t disappoint! It was, however, only about thirty seconds long, so very soon, we were back up off our seats, exploring the rest of the building. The whole place was incredible, but we particularly loved the chancel, with its stunning ceiling mosaic, and the eerie crypt, with its sculpture of the legendary Finn the Giant.

We then began to make our way into the town’s retail district. Just before the main shopping streets, we found a small artificial beach, complete with deckchairs, parasols, and buckets and spades. ‘Honolu-Lund’ read a sign next to it. Unfortunately, grey clouds were looming overheard, or we might have stopped to build a sandcastle!

We made a quick detour to see one of the oldest buildings in Lund – which has now been converted into the Italian restaurant, Restaurang Stäket – then took shelter from the spitting rain in Lund Saluhallen, a buzzing covered market. I think we’re going to be eating at one of the restaurants there in a few days’ time, so I’ll save my full description of the place for then.

After a quick trip to the supermarket, we decided to go and rest our legs in a café. Broder Jakobs Stenugnsbageri was the spot we eventually settled for. We sat in their outside courtyard – it had stopped raining by now – and had a great time sampling the most exquisite raspberry cupcakes known to mankind. We’ll definitely be back, not least because they are also known to make fantastic cardamom buns!

Finally, after stopping briefly at the Airbnb apartment to drop off our groceries, we went to visit the Botanical Garden. Sadly, the greenhouses had shut at 3 p. m., but we still had a lovely stroll around this place, and were amazed by the assortment of plants we saw. One minute, we had sunflowers towering over us, and the next we were staring down at colourful vegetable patches. We could have stayed there until 8 p. m., when it shut – the many people sitting round the garden's central lily-pond seemed to have such intentions, too – but the rain decided to make its second appearance of the day, so we hurried home.

And here we are now! We’ve had dinner (which included smoked salmon: one of the only products that’s cheaper here than in the UK), and now we’re about to make plans for tomorrow. Stay tuned to find out what we get up to then!

Photo gallery