Ystad to Trelleborg to Malmo

Rising like a phoenix from a thousand years of oblivion, the Trelleborg Fortress (or at least a quarter of it) is testimony to the Swedish city of Trelleborg's ancient, exciting and very Danish history (and how it got its name). A trelleborg is a ring fortress made of timber and earthworks, and this is one of only 6 ever discovered - the other 5 are in Denmark. The circular style is intersected by 4 portals or entrances, each opening to the 4 points of the compass. This fortress, minus its wooden structures (which have been recreated by traditional methods) dates back to around 980AD and was likely used as a road intersection, a checkpoint for incoming and outgoing traffic.
I received some happy news while at the ring fortress too but I can't tell you what it is because it's a secret...
If you are into foreign language films (and even if you're not), you may have seen a TV series called "The Bridge". It's a detective story, investigating the discovery of a body on the Oresund Bridge, at the border between Sweden and Denmark. Worth a watch if you are so inclined. Neville and I were hooked but I digress … The Oresund Bridge is an engineering marvel as well as being architecturally aesthetic. It's both a road and a rail bridge and is 16kms in length, 8 of which travels across a bridge above the Oresund Straight before plunging underneath the Sound into a 4km underwater tunnel. And as if that isn't marvellous enough, the Danes have built a wind farm in the middle of the Straight as well. Unbelievable!! We took a look at it today and will travel across the bridge tomorrow.
The rest of our day was spent in Malmo. As well as being able to see Denmark from here, we saw lots of other interesting things (the castle in the pouring rain) around this lively city too.Read more