Adventures in Sweden

Before I talk about my weekend, I'd like to start off saying that Tivoli was AWESOME.  Strangely

Tivoli at night

enough, only two other people (out of like 30 or so) wanted to go on all the rides too.  We ended up buying the all-ride passes and going on all the best rides at least twice.  There were no lines and everything was so close that walking from ride to ride was super easy.  As an avid thrill ride-goer, I was delightfully surprised at how good/fun some of them were. I had an absolute blast.  One of the rides was a typical "The Swings" ride where you're raised high in the air and travel in a circle.  The view was breathtaking- all of Copenhagen could be seen from the top.  We went on again at sunset and I don't know if I've ever seen a more beautiful sight.  Unfortunately, they pat you down to make sure you don't bring a camera, so I couldn't get any pictures.  But it will be something I remember always.

So like I said before, I decided last minute to use some of my birthday money to take part in a school-

Rönneå from the canoe

sponsored "adventure trip" to Southern Sweden.  It was incredible.  We left early Saturday morning on a coach bus, took the ferry from Helsingør (where Hamlet's Castle, Kronborg Slot is located)  to Helsingborg, and continued to Rönneå where we were able to canoe.  It was BEAUTIFUL outside; I actually wore a tank top.  (I was at the point where I thought that would never happen in Scandinavia.) We rowed for about 3 hours and saw the cutest little cottages and some big beautiful houses.  The
Swedes really know how to landscape, I'll give them that.  There were also many ducks and birds.  Some old guy called out to us from the land at one point and asked what state we were from (apparently he had been calling out to each duo that can gone by and deduced we were American), and Jen and I said "New Jersey".  He then said, "Oh... the gangster state!" It was strange, but funny.  Anyway, as much as I enjoyed canoeing, I think I prefer single person kayaks better... more personal control.

One of the Nimis Sculptures

After canoeing, we headed over to the hostel for lunch.  The hostel was located in the middle of nowhere Swedish farmland, but it was really cute and clean.  Jen and I were even able to get our own room.  From the hostel, we went hiking in Himmelstorpsgården, a wooded area next to the water.  Our destination was Nimis, a really cool collection of climbable driftwood sculptures that actually started a war and are now considered on the land of their own micro-nation, Ladonia.  Fun fact- ANYONE can become a citizen, and one can become "nobility" for the price of about $12 USD.  I strongly considered getting dual citizenship.  We laid out on the rocks for a while, found some blue baby jellyfish, and then hiked (up a steep incline) back to the bus.  We then had a BBQ at the hostel and roasted marshmallows around a bonfire before going to sleep.

The next morning, we left the hostel and went to the Kullaberg Nature Reserve.  This is on the Kullaberg Peninsula, and includes hiking trails, cliffs, pebble beaches, a golf course, and more.  Splitting in half, I was in the rappeling group first.  We first practiced on a baby cliff, making sure to get the hang of it.  Our next task was the nearby large cliff with a stunning view of the land and sea.  I was

Jen rappelling down the big cliff

able to rappel down this cliff twice- the second time being much more fun, as the first time my braid got caught in the rope about 3/4 of the way down, prohibiting me from moving further, and I thought I was going to have to find a rock to saw it off or something.  After lunch, a few of us stumbled across a golf course and met an older Swedish couple who started talking to us.  It turned out they were famous- they'd been on the Ed Sullivan Show 8 times as trapeze artists and toured with the Beatles for 4 months, also opening for The Jackson 5 when "little Michael was just 12 years old".  Jen and I took a picture with them, but as no one can seem to work my camera (it's really frustrating) we found out too late that it unfortunately didn't take correctly.

We then had an orienteering competition, which was basically a navigational scavenger hunt.  Armed with a map and a compass, we had to make it to different areas and then completely various tasks quickly upon arrival.  This was actually rather difficult, as

Vaniljhjärta

we had to climb up and down steep rocky slopes.  Some of the views were spectacular, and though treacherous (and dangerous, with my clumsiness), it was well-worth it.  Once all the outdoorsy stuff was done, our last stop was to Flickorna Lundgren, a cute little outdoor bakery where we tried delicious traditional Swedish vaniljhjärta and cake.  Overall it was an absolutely fantastic weekend with perfect weather and tons of fun and fresh air!

Be sure to check out all of the pictures here!