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Take 3000 square kilometers of landscape with forest and 1000 lakes, sprinkle a few small towns over them and add an archipelago made up of 800 islands - and your holiday destination is ready!
When you think of Sweden in Germany, you usually think of Småland, Dalarna or Värmland.
But there are other regions in Sweden that are less well known but no less attractive - such as Blekinge, Sweden's smallest province on the Baltic coast.
The 150,000 inhabitants refer to their homeland as the “Garden of Sweden”, and this is not only due to its location in the mild south-east of the country, but also to its different nature.
Selma Lagerlöf describes the Blekinge landscape as a “staircase with three steps” in her novel “Little Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey with the wild geese”: The coastal strip with its skerries, small sandy beaches and light deciduous forests forms the first step.
In the middle tier are arable land and numerous lakes.
The last step is at a height of 130 to 170 meters.
With its barren soils, boulders scattered everywhere and dense coniferous forests, it forms the transition to the Småland highlands.
Karlshamn was nicknamed "Sin Nest"
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It's still early in Karlshamn and the air is cool.
A little jogging will drive away tiredness.
The 20,000-inhabitant city on the Baltic Sea coast is still sleepy, and the seagulls are dozing too, their heads hidden under their plumage.
Narrow, cobblestone streets, laid out like a chessboard, colorful wooden houses, old warehouses and merchant mansions from the 17th century.
As early as 1664, the city, which was originally called Bodekull, received its town charter from the then King Charles X and was named after him two years later.
View of Karlshamn: The city of 20,000 is located on the Baltic coast
Source: Per Pixl
The location on the Baltic Sea was excellent because the port was one of the deepest in the country.
In this way, the fortress Frisholmen in the harbor entrance, today's Kastellet, provided good protection from the Danes who wanted to recapture this region.
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At that time, many German sailors and merchants lived in this area, who made a major contribution to Karlshamn becoming a flourishing trading town.
The city grew - despite several major fires and the plague in the 18th century.
Chewing tobacco, which is pushed under the lip as a small ball, is still sold here today.
The settlement of punch factories and Sweden's largest playing card printing company soon gave Karlshamn the nickname "Sin Nest".
The “Äkta Carlshamns Punsch” is still made in town today.
But the residents of Karlshamn also suffered poverty and hunger.
The emigrant memorial in the harbor park "Karl Oskar and Kristin" by Axel Olsson represents more than a million Swedes who set out from here between 1846 and 1930 on an uncertain journey into a new life across the Atlantic towards New York to escape poverty.
The Blekinge Archipelago is a biosphere reserve
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We continue jogging towards the east - always following the small, orange-colored arrows pointing the way.
These are signposts for the ARK 56, a network of more than 500 kilometers of interlinked paths along the 56th parallel that are just waiting to be discovered and experienced by walkers, cyclists and water sports enthusiasts.
The Blekinge Archipelago with its archipelago has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by Unesco in order to preserve the high natural and cultural values for the environment.
It consists of 47 nature reserves, and each one has its own distinctive characteristics and landscapes.
You will also pass Karlshamn's Kaltbadehaus near the harbor, which was awarded the city architecture prize in 2015.
The building, a design by White Arkitekter, is reminiscent of a saucer floating over water.
Here you can swim in the sea all year round and sweat in the sauna.
Mörrumsån attracts anglers from all over the world
For the next stage, the jogging shoes are exchanged for an e-bike.
A short look at the sea, the deep blue that meets the light blue of the sky on the horizon, then with a slight tail wind you head north-west into the interior of the country on the 270 km long Sydostleden cycle path.
After just under an hour, you can suddenly hear a noise that gets louder and louder.
It simmers and hisses, and you hardly understand your own word.
The river Mörrumsån normally flows calmly along its 186 kilometer route through southern Sweden to the Baltic Sea.
Mörrumsån attracts many anglers - mainly because of the salmon
Source: picture alliance / Wolfram Stein
But at Kungsforsen, the Königswasserfall in the small town of Mörrum, it is particularly wild.
This section of the water attracts around 10,000 anglers from all over the world every year, because Mörrumsån is Sweden's best sport fishing water, especially for salmon, but also for sea trout.
The fish migrate up the river from the Baltic Sea every year to spawn in fresh water.
It's a perfect place for fishing - the ancestors knew that.
This is how salmon fishing was first described in 1231.
Because of Corona, the vacationers were mainly Swedes
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The river and the visitor center with shop, exhibition, aquarium, research and science station as well as restaurant and accommodation called "Mörrums Kronolaxfiske" are an international attraction.
The fishing permits are usually sold out quickly, especially for the small island in the river - the best and most popular fishing spot in the region.
Even King Carl XVI.
Gustaf is regularly in Mörrum to fish here.
Whether the king's love for the small town of Blekinge is the reason that Princess Adrienne, his granddaughter born in 2018, bears the title of Duchess of Blekinge?
In any case, Blekinge was never a duchy before.
This cyclist uses his break for a little petting
Source: www.visitblekinge.se/Nature by Andreas
"This year, however, the rush wasn't quite as big," says Håkan Andersson, head of Visit Blekinge, the regional tourist information office, neither in Mörrum nor anywhere else in the province.
"In the first half of 2020, 56 percent fewer tourists came to Sweden from abroad than in 2019. Nevertheless, we had a good season in Blekinge, as Swedes who would otherwise love to travel far away were now increasingly vacationing in their home country," says the 59-year-old.
He looks calmly into the future: "Blekinge is also being discovered more and more as a travel destination by German holidaymakers, and I am optimistic that they will holiday in Sweden again in 2021."
With the e-bike it goes to Sölvesborgsbron
After a fish lunch, we continue on the bike towards the west, past the small idyllic bay Pukavik and a stop in Norje.
Known as the place where the Sweden Rock Festival usually takes place, it is worth taking a break at the Norje Boke Camping.
Back on the bike, the e-bike fights its way against the strong wind - and the next highlight will soon be in sight: the Sölvesborgsbron, at 760 meters the longest bicycle and pedestrian bridge in Europe.
It was completed in early 2013 and with its arched design is an attraction - also for the Swedes, who like to hold a fika, the popular coffee break, at the seats on the bridge.
The Sölvesborgsbron is the longest bicycle and pedestrian bridge in Europe at 760 meters
Source: Getty Images
The giant bridge made of steel, iron, screws and wood weighs 700 tons.
“Kiss stops” are available for couples.
But also those who do not kiss should stop in between, because the view is really picturesque: on the one hand the city center and the marina of the small town of Sölvesborg with around 8,500 inhabitants, on the other the Ljungaviken district on the Listerland peninsula with its beach and golf course.
A stroll in the historic old town is worthwhile, including a view of the 13th century St. Nicolai Church.
If you have a few days left, you should leave Blekinge and drive the Sydostleden to the southern end to Simrishamn.
The path leads almost exclusively along the picturesque coast, where the blue of the sea meets the lush green of the land again everywhere.
The salty air and the strong Baltic Sea wind are free.
Source: WORLD infographic
Tips and information
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Arrival:
By ferry to Trelleborg, then by direct train to Malmö in 35 minutes.
The Öresundståg train connection runs every hour on the Malmö – Karlskrona line.
Stops include Sölvesborg, Mörrum, Karlshamn, Bräkne-Hoby, Ronneby and Karlskrona.
From these train stations continue by bus to the Blekingeleden hiking trail, blekingetrafik.se.
The 270 kilometer Blekingeleden hiking trail connects Sölvesborg in the west and Bröms in the northeast in twelve stages, visitblekinge.se/de/wanderweg-blekingeleden
Corona rules:
Due to the high number of infections, the Federal Foreign Office has issued a travel warning for all of Sweden.
However, there are no restrictions for EU nationals when entering Sweden.
All border crossings are open.
There is no mask requirement, however distance and hygiene rules apply.
Social interaction has therefore been tightened in almost all provinces, including Blekinge: people should stay at home, refrain from spending time in closed spaces such as shops, shopping centers, museums, libraries, swimming pools and fitness studios and limit themselves to essential shopping trips in supermarkets and pharmacies .
Private parties and visits to restaurants should also be avoided.
"Don't go to the gym, don't have parties - cancel it!"
The Swedish government is introducing tightened measures in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus as the number of infections increases.
The Prime Minister addresses the population with an urgent appeal.
Source: WORLD
Accommodation:
“Hotell Humbla” in Sölvesborg, a villa with a large garden, double rooms from 113 euros with breakfast, hotellhumbla.se;
Apartment in "Hälleviks Havsbad", 200 meters from the sandy beach Östersjön, from 600 euros for one week and four adults, hallevikshavsbad.com.
A large selection of hotels is also available at visitblekinge.se/en/hotel-in-blekinge
Nature guide:
If you want to get to know the biosphere area in the Blekinge Archipelago, you can download the free “ARK56” app.
Here, nature fans can find out everything about the various routes on foot, by bike, in a kayak or on a boat, ark56.se
Bike
tours:
The national cycle route Sydostleden is 270 kilometers long and leads from Växsjö to Simrishamn through Sweden's southeast, sydostleden.se/de.
Bikes and e-bikes can be borrowed from Ingvar Ryggesjö's travel shop.
He also has a transport service for bikes, travelshop.se
Information:
visitblekinge.se;
visitsweden.de
Participation in the trip was supported by Visit Sweden. You can find our standards of transparency and journalistic independence at axelspringer.de/unabhaengigkeit.