Another Trip to Helsingøre

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

Ingemar Johansson was the boxing Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1959 to 1960.

Ryan joined us for the ride on the Pågatåg train to Helsingborg and the ferry ride across the Øresund

to . . .

Denmark

Helsingør, Denmark, to be exact

As always, the ferry dropped us off next to Helsingør's great red brick train station.

Havana and Davidoff

I'm guessing that Davidoff is a retired KGB agent who was once posted in Cuba and has now retired to Denmark's simpler life.

Kronborg Castle

I had visited this castle the first week of April and found it quite interesting. Laurie and I returned to it about a month ago but it was too late to enter and really have enough time to see all of its wonders. Thus today, it was time for Laurie and Ryan to share their first Danish castle experience.

William Shakespeare

Of course, Kronborg Castle was made even more memorable by Shakespeare's drama about the fictional Prince Hamlet. The play is set in Helsingør with the Kronborg Castle as the main backdrop. Thus the castle's nickname, "Hamlet's Castle."

Any self respecting castle must have an overabundance of fine art on display. As you'll see, the Kronborg Castle art collection does not disappoint.

King Frode Fredigod

A Queen getting her Crown

The soldier on the right is more than a little skeptical me thinks!

What if we got plumes for our helmets too?

Wood Shop 101, The Art of Inlay

Ryan with one of the many rich Tapestries

Rhinos in Denmark?

Roman sandals are all the rage

this summer for the ladies!

You really should not approach a

lion when he is eating.

Acrobats

This concluded the first phase of our castle tour through the Royal Apartments.

It' a tough life being a Royal and having to live in such squalor, but someone has to rule.

Through the Courtyard and into . . .

The Slotskirke or Castle Church

As usual, the Danish kings opted for simplicity in their choice of pews and woodworking as they meditated on the cross God had given them to bear.

Mad Cow Disease?

The Royal Box

Oh please, you didn't think that the Royal Family would sit with everyone else at a Sunday service did you?

After the Church, we entered the third phase of our castle tour, the Maritime Museum.

Made in Canton, China

He was a Danish sailor who rose to the rank of Captain and sailed his ship to Canton three times.

It looks just like him!

Swedish Emigration to America

It was the hot cruise ticket from 1850 to 1930.

Helga the Masthead

"Let's go that way!"

Gene Simmons in a former life?

As we walked the huge corridors of the castle, we came to appreciate the old blownglass panes that created quirky images of life at Kronborg.

Here are four of my favorites.

Life in a Bubble

Tower Focus

Fuzzy Colors

Fairly Clear Courtyard

Now back in April when I first took this tour, it was way too cold to open the stairs leading up to the tower's roof.

Today we accepted the 115 tight spiral staircase challenge when Ryan yelled "TO THE TOWER!!!"

We popped up through this

doorway to a great view

It was a little windy up there

Ryan Bolland, Tower Conqueror

You have to have Gargoyles

Although these were not as grotesque as usual.

The Øresund in the distance

Holger Danske

You'll find the mythical sleeping Viking Superman revered by Danish children, who will awaken and restore peace and security to Denmark if needed, deep in the castle's dark, damp basement casements.

I wish I knew what the Rune Stone says

I've had this same look on the train several times recently.

Part of the Castle's earthen wall defenses

There is also a moat filled with rabid swans and ducks between the pedestrians and our window, serving as another level of security from the invading Swedes.

"Cannons to the right of me . . ."

"Cannons to the left of me . . ."

Earthen walls, moats, rabid fowl, cannons, draw bridges . . . I Double-Dog Dare you to invade us!

All in all, visiting Kronborg Castle is a great way to spend an August afternoon.

My favorite Scandanavian house color

A half-timbered Danish house in Helsingør painted burnt orange. It doesn't get any better than this.

"Hook 'em Horns?"

Helsingborg's Rådhuset

Back in Sweden, we ate some great Cinese food before heading back to Hässleholm. This is Helsingborg's City Hall and is one of my very favorite photo ops in all of Sweden.

Another great day in Scandanavia indeed!

Now we need to prepare for our last practice of the week. We need more bodies to show up!!!

Practice Continues

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

King Gustav III was assassinated at a masquerade ball held in Stockholm in 1792.

Wallander Mystery #7

Another good read in this Skåne based mystery series by Henning Mankell. Our hero continues his downward slide physically and personally as his detecting and intuitive skills sharpen.

I believe that I have only four more books to go in this excellent series.

We continued to prepare for our Carlshamn game on August 14th tonight. Unfortunately only 15 players attended the workout. As always, the athletes at practice were attentive and worked very hard. The problem, obviously, is that it is hard to establish any rhythm or timing as a team when so many players are missing.

We only have three more practices until our next game, so things have to turn around in a hurry!

On a very positive note, it turns out that Ryan Bolland is all that I thought he would be as a coach. He communicates well with our players, knows the fundamentals of the game and has a passion for coaching.

What an asset!

To see a nice article on Ryan, go to the NorreSkåne sports page at:

http://www.nsk.se/article/20100803/SPORT/708039807/1125/*/stannar-sasongen-ut

Växjö Revisited

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

The Swedish Royal Family (Bernadotte) originally hails from France.

NEWS BULLETIN FROM MALMÖ: This just in from NorreSkåne's top investigative reporter, Johan Hammarqvist. The Malmö dancing policeman first reported here about ten days ago was a hoax! He was actually part of a promotion for an art exhibit. Johan even dug up a YouTube video of moves that could only have been learned at the Blue Oyster Club. Enjoy . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_61s62WKVio&feature=player_embedded

Växjö Skyline

I let Laurie pick today's activities and she decided that it was time to leave Skåne for the train ride into mysterious Småland. Her city of choice today was Växjö because of their famed glassblowing shops known collectively as the Glasriket.

This would be my second trip to Växjö. As with Ystad last week, this time Växjö was much more alive with people and activities on a nice Summer day.

The skyline dominating Domkyrkan

a.k.a. The Växjö Cathedral

"I've got your back!"

"Eve and the Apple"

Glasriket in the Domkyrkan

More Glasriket in the Domkyrkan

Even More Glasriket in the Domkyrkan

Esaias Tecner

Bishop of Växjö

1824-1846

I just liked the colors

Rune Stone circa A.D. 1,000

It was discovered in 1813 in the eastern chapel wall of the Växjö Cathedral. This Rune Stone had been hidden from view for hundreds of years under the plaster.

The Rune Stone's translation which starts at the head of the serpent: "Tyke - Tyke Viking erected this stone in memory of Gunnar, Grim's son. May God help his soul."

Adrian?

A flowery tribute to Carl Linné

This world reknowned Swedish botanist is also known as Carl Linnaeus.

A time out by Växjösjön

I could have said Lake Växjö but the Swedish name does have SEVEN dots.

Vilhelm Moberg

The author of "The Emigrant" series of books, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, hails from Småland.

In Växjö they have the Utvandrarnas Hus or Emigrant House which is a museum with displays on the emigration of over one million Swedes to America between 1850 and 1930.

Closed on Mondays.

I hope our roof in Camarillo is still O.K.

A Magical Old Windmill

As it turned out, all of the glassblowing factories and shops are in the villages that surround Växjö. Without a car, we were not able to get out to see them.

Surprisingly, there was very little blown glass for sale in town. Even the Smålands Museum which is known for its extensive collection of pieces from Sweden's 500 year old glass industry did not cooperate. Our guide book said they were open until 19.00 but when we got there at 16.40 we were informed that the museum closed in 20 minutes. They had a few glass trinkets for sale in their gift shop but nothing caught Laurie's eye.

Financially, I lucked out.

Toasting to David Lassen?

Limhamn-Kristianstad Game and a Magical Home

SWEDISH FACT-OF-THE-DAY:

United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961.

August 1st and the Swedish flag flies proudly

Today marked the return of American football in Sweden on a very limited basis after a six week Summer break. Only one game on the schedule today, a Week #2 make-up game between Limhamn and Kristianstad. The originally scheduled contest had be postponed due to heavy rains that led the people in charge of this very nice multi-use facility to rule it unplayable back in May.

I opted to take the train to Malmö and meet Ryan Bolland and Shawn and William Cordeiro who were driving to the game at the stadium. I did this so that I could do a little shopping for a few small items I need for my Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk in September. On this leisurely one hour ride, I like to bring a book along and read to pass the time away.

Not today.

July is the traditional Summer vacation month in Sweden. Tomorrow will be the first working day of the month of August so people were coming home in droves today.

Besides the usual traffic that includes travellers with suitcases heading to Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport, today every backpacker in all of Sweden was returning home from a camping vacation as near as I could tell. It was SRO, so I stood and watched people tripping over backpacks, luggage, strollers and people who were clogging the aisles.

No reading today but a lot of jostling!

I didn't find what I needed as most stores in Malmö were closed so I headed to the stadium.

Upon entering the stands, I ran into Ted Flanagan, the Head Coach of the Ystad Rockets and a good guy. We had a long talk about the future of American football in the Skåne region and what positive changes needed to come about to help the sport thrive. By the time Shawn, William and Ryan arrived Ted had agreed to talk with us at a future date to discuss Ystad's excellent Junior and PeeWee program's organizational structure. Ted was more than happy to help Shawn in his efforts to get both of these teams off the ground for the Hurricanes.

No need to reinvent the wheel here and it will be good for both of our programs to have another active club at these levels in Skåne.

TACK SÅ MYCKET TED!!!

Kristianstad (5-0) at Limhamn (3-1-1)

The big question today for me would be how both of these teams would respond to the long layoff. Neither team looked as sharp as the last time I saw them each play but that was to be expected. Still, it was a hard fought, see-saw battle.

Canes scouts hard at work

Limhamn had their chances but could not cash in.

In the end, Kristianstad does what good teams do, they found a way to win a close game at the end of the contest on a day when they were not at their best.

The key play was a late Fourth Quarter, 4th and 4 decision to go for it at mid-field. Not only did they get the first down, they picked up about 20 extra yards to set up the winning TD.

Final score: Kristianstad 17 - Limhamn 13

While the rest of Division I Södra gets underway next weekend, the Hurricanes have a bye due to Oskarshamn folding their team at mid-season.

SAFF WEEK #8 RESULTS

SAFF Division I Södra

WEEK #8 RESULTS:

This was a make-up of a scheduled Week #2 game

Kristianstad 17 - Limhamn 13

BYES - Carlshamn, Ekeby, Hässleholm, Lugi and Ystad

SAFF DIVISION I SÖDRA STANDINGS

Kristianstad C4 Lions 6-0

Ystad Rockets 4-1-1

Limhamm Griffins 3-2-1

Lugi Vikings 3-3

Hässleholm Hurricanes 2-4

Ekeby Greys 1-3-2

Carlshamn Oakleaves 0-6

WEEK #9 GAMES:

Saturday, August 7

Kristianstad (6-0) at Carlshamn (0-6)

Ystad (4-1-1) at Limhamn (3-2-1)

Ekeby (1-3-2) at Lugi (3-3)

BYE - Hässleholm

After the game we loaded up the Cordeiromobile for the one hour drive to the country home of Katerina Cordeiro's parents for a BBQ.

Welcome to Bondegård!

If I understood it correctly, this large farm was first documented as a property in 1570. The original house was built here in 1658. This structure and a subsequent one would eventually burn down as prophesized by a gypsy. Actually she predicted it would happen three times so there is still a little fear of fire in the air.

In 1892 the current "Big House" was erected by the bachelor owner to impress a girl living across the way. They never did get married so now he had a huge two story house plus an attic to contend with. His answer was to simply live on the ground floor and close off the two top unfinished floors.

Our hosts, May-Britt and Torgny

In 1991, Katerina's parents purchased Bondegård. When they moved in, it had sat empty and still mostly unfinished for nearly 40 years.

As fate would have it, Torgny is a master craftsman and artist as well as a now retired Swedish Army colonel specializing in logistics. A match made in heaven!

The result has been an incredible country home.

A Picturesque Farm Building

I believe that pigs were housed in the stone basement area and farm equipment was stored upstairs.

William and the farm's ancient rock wall

What a great spot to dine on BBQ cuisine

The Old Chicken Coop

After yet another great meal where my attempt at moderation failed miserably yet again. Then we were in for a real treat with a tour of the "Big House."

Now remember that May-Britt and Torgny have done about 95% of the restoration and creation with their own hands!

The Parlor

The Old Wood Burning Kitchen

To William's left and out of sight is a modern kitchen. The wood burning kitchen is now mostly for show but a few years ago a freak storm hit Skåne knocking out all the power to the farm for several days. As a result, the old stove was recommissioned and saved the day!

Its nice to be artistic

The Formal Dining Room

Torgny's version of The Fortress of Solitude

All of the woodwork from ceiling to floor was done by Torgny himself!

Relax Torgny, you deserve it!

He has been retired from the military for about six years now and his study was my favorite room in this incredibly spectacular, warm and beautiful country home.

Shawn holding up a box

with Torgny's Cubans

"Put the box down gently and nobody will get hurt."

Torgny is talented, amiable and enjoys a "puro" from time to time. What's not to like.

When it is all said and done, this is the best part of coaching Euro Ball, the wonderful people we have met that open their homes, families and hearts to us.

In Sweden, LIFE IS GOOD!!!

GOOGLE ANALYTICS FOR JULY

In July, the blog was visited 5,374 times by 2,973 people, about 175 hits per day.

Vistors hailed from 88 different countries this month with hits from the United States, Sweden and Italy leading the way.

My favorite exotic hits the last 31 days came from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.

I'm big in Zimbabwe!