Hello from Sweden

Well, we landed safely in Copenhagen, Denmark and made our way to the train that would cross us into Sweden. The trip takes only 20 minutes, and is across the Oresund Strait via the Oresund Bridge, the longest border crossing bridge in the world. The weather was exactly as we had left it in Seattle, wet and foggy. A hypnotizing train ride nonetheless.

Upon our arrival in Malmö, Monika's cousin Tommy picked us up and we drove the short distance to Lund. After settling in, having a beer and crashing out on account of the wicked jetlag, we were ready to explore the town the next day. So, we boarded an incredibly clean and punctual public bus (a Mercedes-Benz) and were transported to the city center in less than 10 minutes.

The streets are all cobblestoned, and cars aren't allowed in the town center, excepting business owners and residents. The above picture shows a typical street. I asked cousin Tommy if what we were seeing was the "tourist" section of town; it sort of had that appearance to me, what with all the people shopping, sitting outside in the square, bicycling to and fro, etc. He assured me that no, the entire town was like this, and what we were seeing was the everyday business of the town's residents, which number about 100,000.

Thus assured I would not stick out like a sore thumb (until I opened my mouth, I soon learned), it was time for some fast food. Cousin Tommy and I bought Swedish hot dogs from a Danish hot dog cart (go figure). As you can see, the bun has a hole into which the hot dog is placed. After some wonderfully raunchy jokes about how those buns are made, we ate our dogs and moved on.

Lund has been around since about 900 AD, and as such there are many artifacts to be glimpsed both in its museums and public places. Here's a picture of Monika with a runic stone on the grounds of Lund University:

After quite a bit of walking, it was time to sit a spell and have lunch in one of the many outdoor beer gardens. A couple or beers and a smoke later, and we were on our way for some more exploring.

Next up, the region of Skåne, and the Baltic Sea. Until then, remember: smoking kills!