The inviting Swedish coast

Magical hostel

The road led us through the mighty woods and through the wide meadows that were occupied by farms here and there with old houses. We stopped by the most beautiful one: the house was surrounded with wooden beams and covered with straw; it seemed as if it was taken from a fairy tale. I just waited for Hansel and Gretel, or maybe Pippi Longstocking - we were in Sweden after all. Instead of fairy-tale characters, Erica, a caretaker of the Havang hostel, welcomed us kindly. She and her husband have taken over the hostel this year, and they like the hostel so much that they will definitely stay for a long time. Teachers by profession got tired of the fast pace of life in the city, and they took over the management of the hostel in a remote countryside. They are not bored here, even though they are a good hour walk from the nearest bus station. There are many visitors and the rooms are occupied most of the summer. Every room is spacious, and four-legged friends are also welcome in the hostel. Rooms do not have their own bathrooms, but they do have a sink. The bathroom is only a few steps away, in the nearby building. We were very happy to see a well-equipped and exquisitely organized kitchen - each room has its own corner in the fridge and in the pantry. In addition to the dining room, we also enjoyed a common social room where a convenient library is arranged next to the TV. In the summer months, the centre of everything is an inner courtyard with tables and sunshades. You can sit there with a cup of tea, coffee or a bottle of wine that perfectly complements dinner. They provide sweet treats like excellent ice cream, and Swedish sweets, cinnamon cakes. They are available every day, and some of them have been kindly given by the friendly host for the long path ahead of us... So after a few hours driving, we enjoyed a stop at the coffee and a snack, which the Swedes call fika. It's more than just quickly drinking coffee or tea. Small snacks also go with it, but it's socializing with friends that is important, and most importantly, with no mobile phones.

Thousands of years in stones

The hostel is located along the paths that cross the sparsely populated landscape. Because of that, mostly hikers, cyclists and lovers of active break stay in the hostel. Just a few hundred meters away, the sandy shore, over a kilometre long, invites the visitors. On some places it is easily accessible, on others it was necessary to climb to the sea over a sandy slope. Domestic animals also walk to the edge of precipice. Cows, horses and sheep graze on the surrounding pastures. We were also impressed by the cluster of ancient stones, which reminded us of the famous English Stonehenge. Of course, they are much smaller, but we were still left speechless by the view of the circularly laid stones that have been standing here for thousands of years. We could even walk among the stones, touch them and guess what the purpose of them is. Is this a tomb, perhaps a temple, an observatory?

In the nearby village there was another surprise: a real vineyard. Here, in front of the sun-endowed landscape, the entrepreneurial owner of the estate has grown one of the first vineyards in Sweden. Of course, wine cannot be compared with Slovenian wines, but the fact that you can drink Scandinavian wine is still impressive.

Amazing harbour

The nearest town of Kivik is about five kilometres away. A small port is characterized by a number of ancient, mostly wooden houses, which are now mostly converted into holiday homes. Some souvenir shops and a restaurant with a view of the sea make sure that visitors spend at least some money here. The nearby sandy beach is smaller, so many decide to take a walk or take pictures among the picturesque fishing houses. Predominantly brown houses are lined on the shore. They are mainly intended for storing fishing gear, as mostly they do not have windows.

Following the footsteps of a famous detective

In search of a lively city we went to the port city of Ystad. It is a small town at first sight. A well preserved old town centre gave us a nice afternoon and evening. At first, we were enthusiastic about the summer sales, then we were amazed by the offer of many restaurants, which are dominated by sea specialties. The city is known as the scene of one of the most famous Swedish book detective heroes. Crime novels by Henning Mankell describe the work of police inspector Kurt Wallander. Mankell wrote the first story in 1991 and the stories are also translated into Slovene. Several films were made following the stories in the books. They also filmed in Ystad. But the city with around 17,000 inhabitants is in fact much more peaceful than in detective stories. The town is visited by thousands of tourists every year, even from distant Japan, because of its criminal glory. In one of the restaurants on the main square Stortorget, you can get a hamburger, like a fictitious inspector who also likes fast food. With a little luck, tourists can even take a photo with local police officers in dark blue uniforms, who think it's fun that their city is known after crime novels. They even named their cafeteria Cafe Wallander. Of course, all the Mankell's books are sold in the bookstores in English. Several times a week, you can go on guided tours following the heroes' stories. You can follow his footsteps by yourself as well. In the tourist office there is a handy brochure that will help you retrace his steps (Following Wallander's footsteps). Henning Mankell has a house on the outskirts of the city, but lives in Mozambique.