camping in sweden | skanör

It's funny that we live so close to Sweden and, aside from the occasional trip to Malmö , I haven't ventured much around Sweden in the time I've lived in Denmark. Last weekend was incredibly sunny so we decided to go on a camping trip to Skanör, which is about 30km from Malmö. We packed up our stuff and paid our 120kr or so to take our bikes with us across the Öresund bridge, and that was it really as far as spending any money went. 

We did have a quick fika, coffee and Swedish cinammon buns (when in Sweden!) and sat on the grass to eat them. Then we headed off. Our cycle took us through secluded cycle paths, gravel roads, and a lot of farmland. We even took a shortcut through a few fields that were being irrigated. 

We stopped in a closed highschool and ate hotdogs and had Coke in the yard. It felt like we were in a dystopian movie, on the run from the law. At least, that's how it seemed to my overactive imagination. The day passed in a haze of sunscreen applications, stupid pink hat flying off my head, cycling and hydrating. We cycled through the most beautiful reserved area on our way to Skanör. Sheep, wildflowers and lots of beautiful butterflies.

We arrived in the evening, and headed to a beach, where I promptly napped. Unfortunately I couldn't relax, because these little black flying bugs loved me, my towel, but ESPECIALLY MY GREEN BAG. And that's not the last we'll hear of them either. 

I was restless and creeped out by the flying bugs, so we did a scope of the area, walked around the marina, refilled water bottles, and decided to find a place to camp. There was another beach on the other side of the marina, with rows and rows of summer chalets. After another cycle around the town (so many Swedes sitting out enjoying their summer houses and eating nice food), we headed off to make our camp.

I had never camped out before, just on a beach, but in Sweden you can basically camp in most places without it being illegal, so we made the most of it! The tent was the cheapest one we could find, and popped up in no time. 

We had our dinner of avocados, bread and sticky peanut butter straight out of the jar (the best meal!) and then got ready for bed. As the last of the sun set on the horizon, we noticed, aside from our black flying bug friends, THERE WERE MOSQUITOS EVERYWHERE. Leo swatter about 5, but there were more and more, so we dove into the tent. It was like something out of a horror movie, and as we zipped up the last of the zip, we just managed to keep them at bay outside. Well, aside from that one sucker that got in, and he soon bit the dust. 

I knew there would be no night-time peeing for me, lest I perish.

Ok, so the tent did the job of keeping the bugs out, and it kept us warm, but because it was so cheap it was absolutely soaked on the inside in the morning. We slept very well, all things considered, especially because we also brought our budget air mattress with us! In the morning I was the grumpiest I have been in many months, and I had had just about enough of those flying black bugs. I woke up in the early morning to the thought that it was lashing rain, but all it was was the pitter patter of a thousand tiny black bug friends on the roof of our tent! :o 

We packed up our things, slower than I would have liked as the tent had to dry up and folded away, and then it was time to head off again! Finally, breakfast. We packed up our bikes, managing to put our large bags on the back and smaller bags on the front handlebars/basket so our backs had lots of air circulation. Very important in the heat. More sun block, hats, and away we went!

Breakfast was the most delicious breakfast I have ever eaten. Hunger is the best sauce, and we stopped in the hyggeliest Swedish cafe for waffles, cream, jam, and endless refills of hot creamy coffee. I have never felt quite so sated.

And then it was time to do the whole thing in reverse. We stopped for a nicer picnic lunch on the grass amidst some farmland, made good time, sang and joked, and then before we knew it we were at the train station. A surreal weekend for someone not experienced in the art of camping, but I think we made a good job of it. I think next time I came, I'll get a tent with a double layer, and stay away from the sand dunes where those bugs are. Other than that, a great time was had by all. Many thanks to Leo for being my emotional support system during the numerous flying bug incidents and in the morning when I felt more irritable than a bag of cats. You my homeboy.

Malmö

Malmö is a short train ride away from Copenhagen. Until last week I honestly thought there were alternative ways to get to Sweden from Denmark, but turns out there's quite a bit of water separating them. My geographical skills are somewhat sub-par.

This is the view from the train- lots of wind mills, actually in neat little rows

To celebrate Leo's no-longer-birthday we went to Malmö on Sunday, not being content with one outing in the weekend. 

We found a row of huts that sell freshly caught fish, open from 8am to 2pm every day. After we meandered a little (and of course had coffee at a nice folksy cafe), we headed to the Sauna in the Sea, which we had heard a lot about and which was the real reason for the trip.

The image was found at this blog 

We paid 50 SEK and entered two separate changing and bathing areas, segregated by gender. The aim is to swim in the salty sea water (I only dipped up to my chest, while it wasn't as cold as it looks in the picture above, it wasn't more than 6 degrees IN the water that day!!), have a sauna in one of the saunas of varying heat, and then plunge into the cold sea water after. The decks you see above are meant for lying out on, catching some vitamin D and generally relaxing.

To use the sauna you must be naked, and generally everyone sunning themselves was naked too. Since I've been to the spa town of Baden Baden in Germany, the no-clothes spa experience is old rope for me. I generally think everyone could do with being a little more chilled out about their bodies, and this is the ideal way to do so while also getting some much needed r & r. 

I really enjoyed the experience, I was surprised how quickly I aclimatised and didn't even feel cold. My only negative was that it was a bit lonely being there all on my own. The whole point was to go as a two-some, to enjoy the experience together, but the gender segregation meant that, while all the ladies that went in twos and threes got to enjoy their chatting and relaxation time, I had to sit on my lonesome just because my partner was not a she-girl. I wish I'd known before hand, as I would have brought a book, or paid some woman to come with me. 

Malmö is a much nicer city than I had realised, it's full of beautiful old architecture, has a really pleasant town square with cafes and restaurants, and has lots of small parks, a central graveyard that is nice to sit in (they don't seem to have the same formality in graveyards here as we do in Ireland) and cobbled streets.

This cafe served cheesecake exclusively

To conclude, I'm a little sad that I'm living in Denmark and not Sweden. Swedes have gorgeous, lilting accents and are a pleasant bunch generally speaking. I might stand a chance of ever integrating and learning the language if I lived but a few miles across the sea, but alas. Alas. All is lost.

Somewhat tired (actually from that morning)