After a third night sleeping in my car, I woke up in the province of Skåne in the southernmost part of Sweden. My summer road trip had taken me from Vagnhärad, down through Östergötland and Småland to Öland, and then back through Småland and Blekinge to Skåne. This morning I woke up just a few kilometers outside of the town of Ystad. This is also where the last part of the adventure begins.
Skåne’s Capital of Crime?
Ystad is a town along the southern coast of Sweden that is home to the fictional police officer Kurt Wallander. It is the books by Henning Mankell that have put Ystad on the world map. So in some ways, this is the Gotham City of Skåne, where there seems to be a never-ending series of crimes.
Ystad in reality is a summer gem along the southern coast of Skåne. It is a historical town with narrow streets lined by timber-framed houses. This makes it feel a lot more like a town in continental Europe than the usual towns of Scandinavia. For me it was a cozy walk around the center of town, taking extra time to enjoy the picturesque small street Lilla Västergatan as well as the view out towards the harbor. From here it is just a short ferry ride across the Baltic Sea and you are in Poland.
The Southernmost Point of Scandinavia
Onwards from Ystad, my adventure continued a bit further south. I soon parked outside of the small grocery store in Smygehamn. I wanted to get something to drink before going the last kilometer to Smygehuk – the southernmost point of Scandinavia. Standing at the shore watching out towards the horizon, across the Baltic Sea. That feeling that cities like Berlin, Hamburg, and Gdańsk are all closer than home. The stone compass on the ground told me that Stockholm was 510 kilometers to the north. Treriksröset, the border tripoint between Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and by so the northernmost point in Sweden was at this time 1572 kilometers away. Imagine, that distance to the south and you would be somewhere near Terracina in Italy. No, this is not a city in northern Italy, it is a city located more than 50 kilometers south of Rome.
Following in the Steps of the Vikings
From the southernmost point of Sweden, I continued to the country’s southernmost town, Trelleborg. This is together with Ystad one of the main harbors in southern Sweden with passenger ferries going to and from places like Travemünde, Rostock, Stralsund, Świnoujście, and Klaipėda. Maybe that is a heritage from the Vikings that one had a fortress here. The reconstructed Viking ring castle is, in my opinion, one of the city’s main sights. Located close to the center it can take your imagination back in time.
The Viking castle was my main stop in the city, but I made sure to have time to see more of its center. Unfortunately, this is a coastal city where the huge harbor blocks most of the waterfront. Sadly I found out afterwards that I could have walked around the harbor area to find a viewpoint. Instead, I left with a sad feeling that a beautiful city like this prevents you from seeing the sea that is just a few hundred meters away.
Skåne’s Second Largest City
Continuing along the coast I just drove by Malmö and headed to the second largest city in Skåne, Helsingborg. I had heard so many nice things about the city and looked forward to seeing it. The question is, how do you find a parking spot in a big unknown city? Well, I thought I had parked in the center. It turned out to be a long walk to the real center. In the end, it didn’t matter as the sun was shining and it was a nice walk. Eventually, I stood in front of Kärnan, a 14th-century defensive tower watching out over the city. Climbing the stairs to reach the hill did in itself offer a great view across the main square and towards the Øresund Strait. Denmark is visible on the horizon.
I did spend most of the time in Helsingborg walking along the waterfront. No matter how busy a city is, if there is a waterfront there is usually some calm to be found, either by sitting down and watching the boats pass by or by walking along the shore and seeing the waves hit the shoreline.
Returning Home
From Helsingborg, I began the trip back north. However, I made one more stop in Skåne before turning back home. I wanted to see the town of Ängelholm. I made sure to have a stroll through Ängelholm, but I actually had another reason to make a stop here. I wanted to find a grocery store where I could buy a salad so that I would have something for dinner on my drive back home. It would be an almost six-hour drive back home and dinner time was approaching.
I left Skåne, entering the province of Småland again, before I stopped for dinner. I had reached Markaryd, a locality along some of the main transport connections heading north. I found a nice place to park, where I could eat my salad in peace before continuing north.
From Markaryd the drive back home is quite boring. It is one road, the E4 motorway. Driving through Småland it is almost impossible to see the localities of Ljungby, Värnamo, and Skillingaryd as they are separated from the road by dense forests. A few hours later when I reached Brahehus on the outskirts of Gränna, I got that feeling of getting closer to home. This has always been a common rest stop for us when driving south, with the castle ruin and the view of Lake Vättern as landmarks. However, there would be almost 3 hours of driving left from here. But there is just that feeling when you reach an area you are more familiar with. Everything from here onwards was known, including each small locality and especially the larger cities of Linköping, Norrköping, and Nyköping, each marking a milestone along the route. I was tired when I finally took the exit to Vagnhärad. But I was back home after an amazing new adventure.
Join me Exploring Sweden! Read more: Summer Road Trip 2023
