Category: Sampling Scandinavia

Post by Grubb. The fantasy world that I thought would be Malmo actually turns out to be an open-air museum in Lund called the Kuturen in Lund.  Stretching over two blocks, buildings replicating structures that Scandinavians have lived in since the Middle Ages are laid out in a village format and open for inspection.  It was like…

Post by Grubb Along with graveyards, Ella and I enjoy the quiet seclusion of a good crypt.  The Lund Cathedral, an early 12th century Nordic monument to Romanesque architecture, has a crypt made up of stone arches, carved sarcophagi, and several like “the giant Finn and his wife.”  Legend has it that the giant helped build the…

Post by Grubb. I didn’t know what expect from Lund, a university town northeast of Malmo, about thirty minutes by train.  But after spending most of the day there, I’m a definitely a Lundsfan.  The university is over 400 years old, so it has the cloistered charm of a scholarly retreat where the ponds are quiet and…

Post by Ella. A brief mention for food. I have no pictures. But breakfast was provided by the hotel and what a spread it was. All kinds of breads and cheeses, jams, muesli (thinking of you Wynette and Charlie) with all kinds of add ons like lingon berries, sunflower seeds, etc. juices and smoothies. Eggs….

Post by Ella No pictures of yucky food, I promise. The entrance ticket is a barf bag. And if that isn’t enough, there is a tasting bar at the end where you can play Disgusting Bingo. And partake in a Chile Challenge where the heat ranges from 1.2 million scoville units to off the charts…

Post by Ella We always get some cash from an ATM on arriving in a new country. On this trip, we needn’t have. So far, no cash required anywhere. In fact, payment by card (digital or physical) is preferred and in some places, required. And if you use a physical card, it is always just…

Post by Grubb. Leaving Copenhagen this morning, I wanted to make note of how safe the platforms were due to the glass walls that only opened to allow passengers on and off the train when it was stopped.  No Anna Karenina moves here.

Just a few photos to get an idea of the place.

Post by Grubb. After our train ride over the bridge from Copenhagen to the Malmo Central station, we took a hike over some canals to the More Hotel in the Vastra Hamnen district.  Although the weather was beautiful, I found myself blundering along the wide thoroughfares periodically stopping to check my whereabouts as if Ella and…

Post by Ella The Oresundstag train serves both sides of the border and the train station one metro stop from our apartment in Copenhagen. All just too easy. We had downloaded the Skånetrafiken app (transportation for all of southern Sweden and also serves the Denmark/Swedish border). We purchased the train ticket to Malmo in the…

Post by Grubb. When I grew up in Chicago in the early fifties my parents outfitted our apartment with Danish modern furniture.  Spare two piece curved blond wood chairs held together by tubular steel, kidney shaped blond wood coffee tables, a long canvas stretched lounge chair that rocked on wooden runners, and a simple easy chair…

Post by Grubb. As we were walking to the Danish Design Museum (after our expedition to see the giants) we passed an art gallery with strong feelings towards corporate advertising.

Post by Ella and Grubb. We signed up for an AirBnB “experience” today to explore the giants. The artist, Thomas Dambo built 6 giants out of recycled wood, hidden by forests, lakes, and hilltops in selected places to bring the art outside the walls of the museums and into nature in the West of Copenhagen. …

Post by Ella. Today marks 3 years since my father, Joe Sitkin, died.  He was 100-1/2 and lived a rich life. Rich in family and friends. Dad had an endless curiosity about everything. My parents were travelers taking every opportunity once we kids were grown. They biked through China in the 70’s, tooled around Europe with…

Post by Grubb. For a moment I thought I had come across Olaf Oesterplunk’s gravestone.