Malmö

We are taking a boat from Karlshamn, Sweden to Klaipeda, Lithuania to get to our next stop, Vilnius. The train from Copenhagen to Karlshamn went through Malmö so we poked around for a few hours.

Crossing from Denmark to Sweden on a 8 km long bridge.









Medieval timber frame









Nice sidewalk detail












Tai chi in the park









The “Twisted Torso”, a Calatrava building , 70 stories tall and the centerpiece of a new urban mixed-use development.

































The boat! Another cargo ship that has cabins for passengers.





















A video of our departure


Kepta duona, a traditional Lithuanian prie alus (with beer) snack—light rye bread fried in garlic oil and salted. Hmmmmmm.









Lesley’s very first six-of-a-kind (six five’s, 10,000 points, game over), on the Baltic Sea no less












Dinner in the cabin—our favorite picnic of grilled chicken, coleslaw, and rolls.












Lithuania!
























Outside the bus terminal in Kalipeda. We arrived on a gray, rainy morning to an old Soviet-relic bus terminal made entirely of concrete. We were missing cozy Denmark.

Until…..we got to beautiful Vilnius.

Joe loves boats, viking ship musuem at Roskilde

Here I stand, at the bow of The Sea Stallion from Glendalough, a reconstruction of a 30-meter long Viking warship. The original ship was one of five boats salvaged from the bottom of the fjord at Roskilde. These boats were found based on local legend of the Viking era. Their remains were excavated and preserved in the 1960’s. It is believed that the boats were scuttled to block the canal from invaders over one thousand years ago. Today, the remains are displayed at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, and reconstructions of all five boats float in the museum harbor.












The Sea Stallion.









In 2007, The Sea Stallion from Glendalough, was sailed (and rowed) from Rosklide to Dublin, where the Vikings had made the original ship.


















A fearing drying in the sun after receiving a fresh coat of tar.










An oarlock made from a natural crook.










The stems and keelson awaiting planking.









Interesting way to attach a rudder. Two attachment points: the upper, just below the rail; the lower, underwater near the point of the rudder.












Pretty as they get.









Delicate oarlock, same boat as above.









The harbor.









Frederikkson fishing boat, 1900’s









Inside the museum, the remains of the thousand year old viking ships.









The Sea Stallion’s yard.









A clever forestay tensioning device on a smaller boat.

Road trip

Stephane lent us his car for the day to do one of our favorite activities, road trip.

Cruising up the coast of Zealand.









The town of Helsingør (Elsinor).









Helsingør is famous for Kronborg Slot (Castle), a monster of a castle that Shakespeare made famous as the fictional Elsinore Castle in Hamlet. It functioned for years as a tollhouse for ships crossing the strait; for us, it is where we fell in love with the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark in the museum gift shop.









An old village inside the first set of castle walls.









Inside the main castle square, where Joe quite adeptly recited a lengthy Hamlet sonnet (thanks to his familiarity with the musical Hair).












Near the castle, we found a totally hyggeligt tavern, Grønnehave. The menu lists their various smørrebrød, traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches.












Quite hyggeligt


















We had a Wilbroe, the local pilsner, and two kinds of sild (pickled herring) smørrebrød (pronounced ‘shmorr bror’ as if you have a potato in your mouth, says our Danish host Stephane). Pickled herring, dark rye bread smeared with lard, caperberries, fresh dill, makes a lovely lunch.





















Fredericksborg Slot, lakeside castle with baroque garden, that is used like any local park (biking, jogging, strolling, etc) by locals. Imagine.

































The grand courtyard.









Little red riding hood?

Statuary and Architecture

Copenhagen was full of excellent bronze statuary everywhere you looked, and the modern architecture amidst a historic city was a joy to come across. Walking through Copenhagen, you are treated to a real, world class city.



















This fountain depicts the goddess Gefion ploughing the island of Zealand (the island where Copenhagen lies) with her four sons yoked as oxen.



















A public art campaign to promote waste reduction and discourage littering.









Old boat, modern metal building, geodesic dome, brick apartment building, modern office building, sailboat. Seamless.










A new theatre









One, two, buckle my shoe










Modern apartment buildings










Brick behemoth










Pre-cast, modular office building foundation façade.










Corrugated steel-sided barn/studio.










The dock and the diving platform at a new public beach area, Amagerstrand













This is a large, windowless volume, completely sided with slate shingles. Note corner detail. Wild!