(continued)
The landscape in Scania is very
flat. In the 19th century a forest was planted to protect Ystad from the sea eroding the coast. The
Ystad sandy beach is endless, it just goes on and on, mile after mile after mile just outside town. I read on some site it's the longest in Sweden. Here and there among the dunes there are deserted bunkers from WW2; I used to jump from them onto the sand.
This tree, a kind of willow, is strongly associated with the Scanian landscape, but I also miss the lovely
common beech (picture not from Scania but it looks the same) which doesn't grow as high up as Stockholm.
I must tell you Sweden's got its own Stonehenge and it's nearby Ystad. It's
Ale's stones, and if you're interested you can read more about it
here.
Back in Ystad, there's a 13th century
Franciscan monastery with a herb garden and a rosarium, and I think that was where my beloved duck pond was as well. I've never been back but I've often thought I'd like to see it all again - guess the BBC is taking care of that for me now...