The Content Reader Goes Outdoors

 At last, I have been able to establish a good morning routine. One that will keep me going for the rest of the day. Somewhere between 9 and 10, I go for a walk before breakfast. I dress in my sportswear, drink a glass of lemon water, and a cup of coffee on the balcony while reading a book.   I start my walk directly outside the house and walk towards the see down to Öresund, the strait that separates Sweden and Denmark. There are a camping and a huge park/recreation area, in the summer full of people sunbathing and swimming. This part of the year it is rather empty, just other walkers, with or without dogs, joggers, and swimmers. Yes, there actually are some people swimming even now.  The bridge between Sweden and Denmark I usually sit down on a bench overlooking the strait and the bridge between our countries to philosophy for a while. It is wonderfully relaxing, being close to nature and the sea, the wind blowing, more or less. Yes, there is always a wind here. Th...

Glimmingehus is a medieval castle located about an hour's drive from my home. If due to the coronavirus or not, only guided tours are available, every hour. I came 15 min before the first tour at 11 am, and got a ticket for the 1 pm tour. I spent the waiting time visiting the small, but interesting museum, walking around the castle, visiting the herb's garden, and the small park surrounding the estate. As I always have a book in my bag, I sat down at a picnic area to read while waiting for the tour to begin.  I always find guided tours interesting. They will tell you a little bit more about the history and the lives of the people living there. The estate has quite an interesting story, and we were treated with information about past and present times.  Glimmingehus was built 1499-1506, during an era when this place was part of Denmark. It is the best-preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. Due to the troubled times in which it was built, it contains many of the defensive...

Here in Sweden, we continue to self-isolate. Venturing out for errands, shopping, and excursions. If one should seek a positive angle for the present situation, it is that we have so much time on our hands. In the last 20-23 years, we have been very busy, and time has been a rare commodity. We, therefore, appreciate it a lot. It has also given us the opportunity to discover our new surroundings. I think we would not have discovered so many wonderful places had times been normal.  The Skåne (Scania) area where we live has a lot of nature parks, forests, and seashores. It is all there to enjoy. Here are a few photos from our latest outings.  The modern-day Falsterbohus, today housing flats. In the foreground the ruins of the ancient fortress.  There are lots of castles in this area. They are mostly beautifully situated around a lake. One of our favourites is Häckeberga Castle. Surrounded by woodlands they make for a stunning walk.  Söderåsen/Skäralid is another beautif...

North of Helsingborg, on the west coast of Sweden, we find a former royal summer palace, Sofiero. In 1864, Prince Oscar of Sweden and his wife Sophie of Nassau bought this former farm. The first one-story palace was completed in 1865 and was expanded with another floor between 1874-76 after Prince Oscar became King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway. Sofiero Castle In 1905, Oscar II's grandson Prince Gustaf Adolf, future King Gustaf VI Adolf, and his wife, crown princess Margaret received the palace, called Sofiero, as a wedding gift. Princess Margaret was very interested in gardening as was Prince Gustaf Adolf, and they invested a lot of effort into making the gardens great. Among other things, they planted a large Rhododendron garden, situated in a sort of gorge surrounding the palace, which we can still enjoy today. Princess Margaret died in 1920 from blood poisoning following an ear infection. Three years later the Prince married Lady Louise Mountbatten who also took an inter...

In corona times we take the opportunity to discover new areas for walking. Usually, we walk directly from our house down to the sea, or we take the car to venture out in the many natural parks we have nearby. As has been the case for five weeks(!), yes incredible for being Sweden, we have had sunshine, almost the entire time. Now the temperature has gone up somewhat as well, so we thought this was the perfect time to clean and maintain our electric bikes. Yesterday, we took the first ride for the year. A wonderful day and we went over to Katrinetorps Landeri. It is an old manor house and farm, now more of a museum with a restaurant, antique shop, and a souvenirs shop. In the old days, houses like this were used by the well off people from Malmö to use as their summer retreat. It has a big garden at the back of the house filled with flowers and vegetables. Around it is a natural park with a gazebo, small lakes and ponds, paths and small bridges connecting the two sides of th...

To celebrate my birthday in mid-February, I visited Florence, Italy for three days. We were lucky to get out of there just before the coronavirus started to spread. It is one of my favourite cities to visit. Apart from visiting the wonderful museums, houses, and art, it is a pleasure just to walk the streets. It takes you back to the Italian renaissance and the glory of this city. We stayed at a small B&B just neighbouring Il Duomo. What a view to wake up to in the morning! There were many tourists and the line to get into the dom was too long for us to try. I have seen it during an earlier visit. It is a beauty just to walk around from the outside. The building started in 1296 in the Gothic style, and with a design by Arnolfo di Cambio. It was not completed until 140 years later in 1436 when the dom was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. Il Duomo as seen from our B&B Il Duomo from street level We had three visits on our itinerary;  Palazzo Vecchio and the Piaz...

From Dominica, we returned to Guadeloupe. During our last, short stay there upon arrival, we managed to drive around the two parts of the island. It almost looks like a butterfly. The main island consists of two parts; Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre. The territory also hosts three islands; Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes. This time we checked in to a French tourist hotel. We had a small flat with an outside kitchen and a terrace, a beautiful tropical garden, and access to two pools and two beaches. During our first stay, we drove around the most beautiful area of the island, the Basse-Terre. Tropical forests, magical beaches, and the blue sea. West Coast of Basse-Terre The first beach we visited And the first swim! We just visited part of Grande-Terre, since we intended to come back and stay here. After all the traveling around, we enjoyed days in the hotel, going for walks, swimming, reading and relaxing. However, we made a couple of nice excu...