Southern Sweden (1)

We spent a few days driving around south-western Sweden, the area inland from Malmo and down to the south. This is good agricultural land, with some small forests. Here we are with Barbro’s 93-y-o father, who guzzled a beer and scoffed the food (big piece of grilled salmon on mashed potato) just like the rest of us.

This was at Smygehuk, the southernmost point of Sweden. There’s a cafe, souvenir shop and a silly signpost to London, New York, and to the northernmost point of Sweden, etc. We were here also 3 years ago; I remember the ice-cream company’s clown, propped up by a metal strut so he looks like he’s enjoying somethng other than ice cream.

More seriously, here is the famous Smygehuk Runestone. There is an (untrue) legend that the Vikings crushed people by letting this stone down on top of them, which would have been a lot more trouble than killing them any other way and besides it would have damaged the runes carved on the stone. (In the younger futhark, of course). Oddly, the runes are on the bottom face, so you can’t see them – maybe that is to protect them against the weather. Or maybe they are secret. It is said that every 10 years or so, the stone is turned over for some weeks, or it may be every 50 years, I can’t find out any more about it.

Below is Ystad, famous for the WALLANDER series of police dramas. Like Inspector Morse is set in Oxford, no attempt is made to conceal the identity of the town, which in fiction must resemble Midsomer in the number of dead bodies lying about. The council will give you a leaflet identifying all the Wallander places in and around the town. But really, Ystad has a very nice old quarter with preserved buildings. Here’s the main square and a side street.

And it looks like you can get a ride on the fire engine, which would be quite exciting if a fire broke out.

Now here’s a story. British TV copied the Wallander concept, with Kenneth Branagh in the title role and all new episodes; it was still set in Ystad, but everyone spoke English. One day the British crew were busy filming Wallander in Ystad and they saw, further down the street, the Swedish TV crew filming their Wallander. It was a cordial meeting before they got out of each other’s shot, but one imagines a dispute between the two actors “I’m the real Wallander” – “No you’re not, I am.”