The Scandinavia Diaries (Day 2): Ale's Stones and Ystad

Hi, everyone! I’ve just come to the end of my second full day in Sweden, and I’m really starting to love this country. Today, we went and picked up the rental car that we’re going to be using for most of the remainder of this trip, and drove in it to our furthest destination so far: Ale’s Stones. On our return journey, we passed through the lovely seaside town of Ystad, and couldn’t resist stopping and exploring a bit. Over to my past self now to give you more information on what we got up to!

14:50

Hello from our rental car! We’re currently driving to Ystad, a small town on the southern coast of Sweden, but we’ve been out exploring for a number of hours. At about eleven o’clock – after walking to the outskirts of Lund to collect our rental car – we set off for Ale’s Stones, an iron-age monument that’s essentially this country’s equivalent of Stonehenge. We parked about a mile from the sight, itself, then took a picturesque route up to it: past the houses of Kåseberga, and up to the top of a grassy cliff.

We didn’t spot the landmark until we were quite near it: the fifty or so rocks that made it up were, after all, only just taller than us. However, they say that good things come in small packages, and we certainly were impressed by this spectacle when we got up close. It was pretty blustery on the hilltop – many people were flying kites, and one man was even paragliding – but that didn’t stop us from spending a good half an hour wandering round the boat-shaped rock formation, taking photos on top of and beside some of its boulders. When we’d posed to our hearts’ content, we made a quick trip to the edge of the cliff, where we had an amazing outlook over the choppy sea below.

By this point, it was approaching lunchtime, so we decided to make our way back to the car, this time going via the Kåseberga harbour. The delicious smell of fried seafood dominated this small port, and we probably would have stopped to eat some of it, had it not been for the ridiculously long queues stretching out of all the restaurants. Instead, we just had a quick wander round, admiring the various boats that had been tied up here, then headed back to the car park.

Our stomachs were rumbling pretty loudly now, but luckily my mother had read about a brilliant café, Olof Viktors, that was just five minutes down the road. I can’t say the line here was much shorter, but the food served here was definitely worth the wait. We enjoyed a phenomenal array of traditional Swedish sandwiches – as well as a selection of sweet cakes and pastries – in the restaurant’s outdoor eating area, then had a quick browse of the onsite farm shop.

And now, we’ve just arrived at our next stop of the day: Ystad. I’ll write again once we’ve explored the place a bit – that is, if we ever get out of the car (finding free parking spaces here is proving difficult)!

17:15

Good news: we managed to park! First on our to-do list in Ystad was the superb St. Mary's Church, one of the city’s oldest buildings and main houses of worship. The structure was, at first glance, fairly plain, with its white-washed walls and unremarkable exterior. However, it didn't take long to find some of its more sumptuous features: a medieval altar cabinet, an ornate pulpit, and a series of chandeliers.

After stopping at a market in a nearby square to buy some fresh peaches, we walked along some idyllic hollyhock-lined lanes towards another religious building: the red-brick Greyfriars Abbey. We paid 50 kr (about £4.25) each to visit the institution’s museum, but I can’t say it was much to write home about. It was nice to see inside the structure, and learn a bit about its history, but I’d advise other travellers to save their pennies and just see it from the outside. Five minutes later, we were already outside again, sitting in the quaint rose garden just next to the abbey, and planning our next move.

We decided, in the end, to head somewhere for ice cream – not very Swedish, I know, but the sun was beating down on us! On our way back to the market square, we stopped off to see Änglahuset – a seventeenth-century house with angels’ heads decorating its façade – and Tvättorget, a small street lined with old half-timbered buildings.

My mother couldn’t resist popping into Konsthantverkarna, an elegant shop and art gallery just round the corner from the second sight. Naturally, we followed her, and luckily, it was a very pleasant place to look around. All sorts of tasteful gifts were on sale – soaps, jewellery, and doll's house furniture construction kits, among other things – and we certainly didn’t walk out empty-handed!

And then, after many diversions, we finally found somewhere to buy a refreshing treat. At Frusen Glädje, there were about sixteen different flavours to choose from, and I decided to go for two of the more unusual options: blackcurrant, and nectarine and rosé wine. The former was lovely and creamy, but the latter was the one that really won me over (and my mother, who kept asking to try more of it!). How they managed to get the perfect balance between the fruity and alcoholic tastes is quite beyond me. If you ever find yourself there, you’ve got to try it!

Once we'd finished our various snacks, we concluded that we’d seen all we wanted to see of Ystad, and so we slowly walked back in the direction of the car, making a slight detour to see the gorgeous tree-lined North Promenade. And here we are now. We’re headed homewards, but I think we may stop briefly to visit a church with an old runestone. I’ll keep you posted!

19:00

Whew – what a long day! I’ve had a wonderful time exploring some of the nearby sights and cities, but I am glad to be able to put my feet up now. We did end up going to visit the Tullstorp Runestone, which was once part of the wall of the eponymous village’s church, and can now be found on a small mound in its cemetery. I was amazed by how well-preserved it was, considering that it dated back to the Viking Age – turns out it was restored pretty recently.

And then began the long, but extraordinarily scenic, journey home. One minute we were driving along the coast, and the next we were surrounded on both sides by mossy lakes. When we'd arrived back in Lund, we found a parking spot near the Botanical Garden, and had a brisk stroll around it before going back to our apartment.

Tonight is going to be another Love Island and blogging evening, so I’ll leave today’s post here, and get back to you tomorrow to recount more adventures!

Photo gallery