Leaving Skåne with a last step-over in Kivik to enjoy the sea and a refreshment in the insanely hot Swedish summer we were heading towards Karlskrona. Most famous outside Sweden nowadays probably for the Soviet submarine diplomatic conflict in the 80’s when a Soviet submarine ran ashore just outside Karlskrona at one of the hundreds islands. Most present when being in the city though is the Swedish naval base. Interestingly enough it was moved here from Stockholm back in 1680 as it offered a better strategic position to keep the Danes at bay. Who would have thought that back then Sweden was the dominant power in the Baltic sea region.
Kivik
Karlskrona
As we spend midsummer in Karlskrona, the city was basically empty and we nearly the whole beach for ourselves. Learning from previous roadtrips around midsummer we bought enough food and drinks, especially beers and aquavit beforehand as all restaurants and stores are closed at Midsummer Eve. We didn’t sing any snapsvisor (basically one of many Swedish drinking song) but other than that we had the same results.
The day after we continued further north towards Kalmar. The city which was the place for multiple bloodshed between Sweden and Denmark. Although it is at the east coast of Sweden, back in the days it was basically a border city to Denmark as both Skåne and Blekinge (the area around Karlskrona) were Danish.
Admittedly we didn’t see much more than the castle and the park close by it as we preferred to have a calm day – as traditional after Midsummer Eve.
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