A Day Trip to Sweden: The historical University town of Lund

24th May 2014

The transport sagas continue! I bought a ticket online on Friday to take a Swedish SJ train to Lund, about 50 minutes away from Copenhagen over the bridge in to Sweden. The ticket was quite a bit cheaper than the equivalent Danish train for the same journey (DKR 150 for myself only), was non-refundable, and, it was an express train. A contact in Sweden said that tickets for bikes are purchased from a machine at the Station. So, all good! Well no, I get to the train station with plenty of time to spare on Saturday only to be told that bikes can't be taken on Swedish SJ Snabbtag (Express) trains!!! I didn't want to risk leaving the GT in front of the train station all day and so I bought another ticket for 343DKR (which included a ticket for the GT). Hmmm...an interesting start to the day!!!

The weather forecast predicted a few showers and so I was well prepared with a backpack full of clothes just in case.

Image:footage.shutterstock.com

The train departed (0831) on time, the journey itself being relatively uneventful, apart from the rain that is, which had started to come down while crossing the Øresund Strait over the nearly 8km Øresund Bridge, the longest road-rail Bridge in Europe separating Denmark from Sweden.

Image: Ecobuddhism.org

  


A combination of condensation on the windows and the rain outside hampered viewing of the Middelgrunden wind farm, built in 2000 and comprising 20 wind turbines that between them generate 40MW of power, about 4% of the total energy needs of Copenhagen.

As is usual on these trips, first things first, and a coffee was in order before venturing out to see what Lund had to offer this day tripper. Though the rain had stopped, the wind was still strong and quite chilly for this time of the year. Maybe, this chill is normal - It is Scandinavia after all! My attention was drawn to a cafe along a cobbled street that had a youthful-looking German Shepherd sitting attentively with a young couple, who like me were also out for a coffee.  It transpires that this 9 month old dog called Ipsilon (an identifier more than a name!) was bred by the Swedish military and was about to be examined over the coming weeks as to his suitability for military service. 

Having had my fill of coffee and a tea cake I cycled around a little to get a feel for Lund, with its ornate cobbled streets and historical buildings. It's not surprising to learn too that Lund is the second oldest town in Sweden dating back to around 990AD. The Cathedral, one of the main attractions on offer, dates between 1090 - 1145 and site of the old University, another must see, dates back to 1425. The University in its current form is a little more uo to date, with a history stretching only as far back as 1666. Talking of the University, I didn't spend any time at the site of the current University buildings but the old ones were certainly worth viewing. 

This photo more than one of my friends will appreciate, is the site of the Institute of Philosophy where perhaps noted philosophers such as Samuel Pufendorf known for his natural law theories might have been seen. 

The main University building (seen below), more reminiscent of a Grand Palace than a University building, was not built until toward the latter part of the 19th Century. It was inaugurated in 1882 by King Oscar 11. 

Calendar: C. 1380

Having walked the grounds and tree-dense park of the old University, I made my way to the Lutheran Cathedral located only a short distance away on the other side of the park. Construction on the current Cathedral was completed in about 1145 though a Cathedral existed pre 1085 in Lund, perhaps even on the same site

Of particular interest (for me) in the Cathedral was the Astrological clock calendar dating back to about 1380.  The detail that can be seen in the clock is amazing. 

Patrick Andersson Antikvariat

Following a quick snack lunch I walked along Gråbrödersgatan browsing in the numerous Antikvariat book stores, including Patrick Andersson's and Anders Olsson's next door. Of course, I didn't leave empty-handed having settled on a copy in German from Patrick's shop of August Stringberg's early 20th Century classic 'Kloster/Einsam', two auto-biographical novels written in Stringberg's later years prior to his death in 1912. 
The afternoon was drawing on, surprise surprise, and, if I wanted to head out of town to explore some of the surrounding countryside I knew I'd need to get my skates on - ell, get on my bike anyway. The weather, which by this time was alternating between threatening and clear, remained dry allowing me a couple of dry hours in the saddle. Sadly, no mountain bike trails could be found, although I did find myself venturing down a bridle way and in to the oncoming traffic comprising several horses and riders! We exchanged pleasantries, each keeping some distance between horse and bike. On returning to Lund, there was just about enough time for a coffee to round off the day before catching the train back to Copenhagen.