In first part of our Skåne Adventure we explored Landskrona, Vejbystrand, Båstad, Hovs Hallar & more. In our second part, we will try out Jympa, go on a canoe trip, bike to Torekov and hike around Kullaberg and Söderåsen to show you the breathtaking nature spots of Skåne. Enjoy!
JYMPA
Ever heard of Jympa? Us neither, but a flyer that Helga (Judith) read at the beach said something about it being a uniquely Swedish way of training – and since then this first outdoor activity of the day was set in stone.
So we jumped out of bed early that day and biked to the Italian meadow where this mysterious Jympa class should take place. Expecting maybe a handful of people to join, we were surprised when we arrived and with us the masses. We counted around 100 people joining the session. So you still have no idea what Jympa is? Let us try to explain. It comes from the word gymnastic and is a kind of aerobic, a bit less choreographed, suitable for all age groups and supported by music. Got it now? Heini neither. But it was fun and you don’t need to understand any word in Swedish, the instructor shows what to do.
HÖGNAS
Wide awake and filled with positive energy, we returned to the cottage to wash off the dust, when suddenly a friendly neighbor stopped by just to say Hello (and probably to check who this grass-covered couple was…). We love that Swedish friendliness and citizenship! Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to chat – the Kullaberg peninsula was calling, our next promising destination to explore.
Our first stop on the way was Höganäs, where we visited Höganas Saluhall, an old fabric building that now inhabits a food hall and market, small local designer shops, a café, and a restaurant. It all looked so delicious and fresh. On the areal, there’s also a microbrewery and a Crossfit box (Helga had a quick chat with the coach but classes weren’t offered before early evening, damn!), some more restaurants, and an ice cream shop. Everything was so inviting! In the end, Heini got his standard, a Kanelbullar, and Helga the healthy, fresh stuff like a smoothie, cereals, and co. Not a big lunch but that has some time – or not.
MÖLLE
We decided to go to Mölle, a small but very beautiful fisher village. We had a quick look around at the harbor where you get a nice view at the Kullaberg peninsula and then our stomachs were screaming (Heini’s louder than Helga’s) for food. We looked around and there were a couple of options right at the harbor. Is there something that serves Heini’s appetite for unhealthy food which mainly needs to consist of meat and Helga’s vegan preferences? Already seeing us walking around for hours without finding any place (and to be honest, during our week we discovered that is quite hard for a vegan to find something good in Skåne), but then we found the Båthuset restaurant with Fish & Chips for Heini and Artichokes and other greens for Helga. Yaaas! That lunch was excellent!
Stomachs filled and happy, we took off to explore Mölle and its surroundings. While wandering the streets, occasionally we encountered people in bathrobes walking through the village towards one of the piers nearby for a swim. First, it was funny to see all those bathrobes in public but then we thought this is way more classy than just walking in your swimwear. Swedish elegance! The piers were also a popular venue for families haunting crayfish – maybe for the next “kräftskiva” (crayfish party) which is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the Nordic countries.
A bit further outside the village, we stopped to do some drone shots and get the full view on Mölle and Kullaberg from above. It is quite something different to get this overview, don’t you think?
KULLABERG
It was already late afternoon and about time to visit the Kullaberg Nature Reserve. Good thing it is long light in Skåne in July. The Kullaberg Nature Reserve is a fantastic area with breathtaking views, steep cliffs, and rocky outcrops. We went straight down to these cliffs and made our way to the smaller one of the two lighthouses down by the sea. It is hard to find words to describe the views and nature you can see and hear here, so we let our pictures speak for us.
After exploring the cliffs, we went up to the much larger and actually Sweden’s highest situated lighthouse for some more views of the sea and the lowering sun. The light was just perfect for millions of photos. Heini could stand here forever and take shots every second (okay he more or less did that ;))
NIMIS & ARX
It was already around 20.30 and we actually wanted to go home, but as we were in the area, we decided to also pay a visit to Nimis and Arx (two art installations down by the sea), only a couple of kilometers away from the nature reserve.
A quick check on Google Maps revealed that we could go quite close by car and then only a 20-minute walk and we should be there….
Yeah, about that. What the map didn’t show is that the hike to these installations is very slippery and steep through the woods and cliffs and it is not a good idea to do this at this hour in just sneakers. Luckily, we managed to get down there without falling or getting lost.
Nimis is a collection of bridges, tunnels, and lookout towers created from driftwood. About 60-70 meters to the east, Arx (the fortress) appeared.
We took some quick snaps and enjoyed the evening sun which was coming down and around the corner – then it was time to head back. It was already 21.30 and we didn’t want to climb up again in the dark (without any lights). So we rushed back up the hill, through the woods, back to our car.
SHOPPING TILL MIDNIGHT
Now Home. Oh, wait. What about dinner? Thanks to the internet, we found a supermarket which is open till 23.00 and even on our way back. So we hit the road and entered the supermarket half an hour later. Do you know these big big American like supermarkets which have trillions of things to choose from? Oh yes, that was exactly the kind of supermarket we were in. Whoohoo. Or not? So many choices, just limited time. And it seemed as if we were the only ones in here. Can anybody hear me? Hm… Let’s get our things and head Home.
It was already around midnight when we had our dinner. Damn, that tasted good after a long day. This day was probably the longest day with the most activities we did during that week in Skåne, but it didn’t feel like this. We slept and dreamed well that night with all the great impressions and adventures from that day!
BIKE RIDE TO TOREKOV
The next day, we grabbed our yellow bikes and cycled (Zick zack) to Torekov on the Kattegattleden. Zick zack because the path at first runs near the shoreline, along sandy beaches, and seaside meadows, then it passes a holiday home area to continue away from the ocean through open agricultural land with a large number of ancient remains before leading back towards calm bathing bays and idyllic fishing villages.
The streets in a new residential area before Torekov had matching names like Hummerweg (lobster road), Krabbenweg (prawns road), and Muschelweg (shell/mussels road).
It was Saturday, July 7th, 2018, and Torekov itself was all blue and yellow – at least a cluster of people surrounding a bar that was broadcasting the soon-to-start FIFA Worldcup game Sweden versus England. We took the time before the match to go for a pizza at the restaurant next door which was TV free and therefore not crowded.
We ordered and were told to please wait 10 minutes for the pizzas to be ready. After far less than 10 minutes, the waiter served our pizzas and apologized repeatedly that we had to wait: “We made a mistake and had to do the vegan Pizza again because we’ve put cheese on it.” The Swedish courtesy again! We were perplexed. Wishing the Swedish team the best of luck, we decided to not watch the football match on TV with the crowd but rather enjoyed the silence of the area while everybody else was inside in front of a screen.
SUNSET AT VEJBYSTRAND
Fueled up with some sweets and enjoying the tailwind, our bike tour back to Villa Sigrid felt like winging and we made it just in time for an amazing sunset at Vejbystrand beach and dinner at our cozy Home.
CANOE TOUR ON THE RIVER Å
For our last day in the North West of Skåne, we planned a canoe trip with Kanot Centralen near the Söderåsen national park. Booking the canoes was easy, you either can do it via the Kanot Centralen website (if you speak Swedish) or as we did send them an eMail. They were very quick and friendly in their emails and answered all our questions and gave us tips on how to get back after the tour.
The canoe tour starts in Stockamöllan and goes downstream on the river Rönne Å. The day tour takes about 3-4 hours if you go really really slow (we didn’t) and ends in Djupadalsmölla. If you have more time you can camp during the tour and go much further.
As it is a one-way tour, you need to organize your return tour. There is a taxi company serving the area, that can bring you back, but you have to call them in the morning and let them know the time when you need to be picked up.
INSIDER – TIPP
One piece of advice on this. The taxi company has only one taxi, so you better plan your arrival properly or you end up waiting for the cab at the endpoint (an open field) for hours, as we did. We are by no means pro paddlers but only needed about 2 hours for the whole tour, but told the cap driver in the morning that we would need the predicted 4 hours… Bummer…. The taxi costs about 44€ and takes 20 to 30 minutes.
SÖDERÅSEN NATIONALPARK
After this, our journey continued to the Söderåsen national park (about 20 min away from the starting point of the canoe tour).
The Söderåsen national park has a few short and well-marked hiking tours you can explore. From an 800-meter-long nature trail with information signs, adapted to maximize accessibility for the disabled, to 7 or 8 km round trips, varying in difficulties. Also, the Skåneleden trail passes for 14km through this area, which is dominated by beech forests – one of the largest uninterrupted expanses of protected deciduous forests in northern Europe.
We decided to go for the Liakrokrundan hike (marked in red) which also passes the most known viewpoint Kopparhatten. It mostly runs through the woods of the Söderåsen national park and is a round course where you end up at your starting point.
It was late in the afternoon when we started and we didn’t encounter many people on the trails, but we imagine it’s different when you start earlier in the day.
DJURHOLMEN
After the hike, we hang around in a picnic area by the lake near the entrance of the park but took off soon for our way back to our cottage (which is about 1,5 hours away by car). Typically for us, we decided halfway that we could add another stop on our way back. We found that the wetlands of Djurholmen might be worth a visit. So we asked Google Maps for directions and arrived at a totally empty parking space somewhere in the woods and made our way towards the trail hoping to find the planks over the wetlands we were looking for. There was a 4km round course and we found the planks mid-way in a nice landscape (mostly dry heath due to the dry weather in the last month), right in time to get some shots in the best light.
While Judith was running up and down the planks (finally again! She had to treat her left ankle with care due to an inflammation… which is freaking hard for a passionate runner), changed from running cloth to a yellow raincoat and yellow boots, Heini climbed 7meters up an observation tower to get shots from above. We finished the round course and made it back to the car and our cottage when it was dark. Time for some healthy… and unhealthy 😉 food. Good night!
TO BE CONTINUED ONE MORE TIME
We have one more post about our last days in South Skåne (Österlen, Ystad & Ales Stenar) and more photos in the next post. Please stay tuned. You'll find the first blog post on Skåne here in case you missed it.
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