Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Europe, 6 June 2012 -Lund


Today's adventure was a train ride to Lund, Sweden. On the way to the train, we stopped at the Russian embassy so Ron could pick up their visas for their trip to Saint Petersburg next weekend. We then met their friends at their hotel to join us on this adventure into Sweden.

The Group in Lund
After walking to the train station, we boarded the train for Lund. The route is through the tunnel and over the bridge we had seen and sailed past twice. We arrived in Lund and walked from the train station into the old town center. Our interesting luck held, as most places were closed for a national holiday, at least the third city we had visited during a major holiday.

Lund Cathedral
When we arrived at the cathedral, it was not yet open for sightseeing as a service was in progress. So we continued our walk and returned a bit later. This is a very interesting building, begun in the eleventh century, and one of the few stone buildings in the city. Most are brick, as is true in most places we visited in Scandinavia.

The cathedral has a wonderful mosaic in the apse, a new free-standing organ near the chancel, ancient wood choir stalls for the monks, and an interesting crypt under the chancel. There are, of course, several graves in the crypt, as well as a small organ, and the original altar from the eleventh century. It is amazing and very interesting to be in a church that has been standing for about 1000 years!
Apse
Altar





Choir Stalls (for monks)
Astronomical Clock
11th Century Altar in Crypt

Crypt













Lund - lunch restaurant on left






Thatch house in Museum

After lunch in a middle eastern restaurant, we continued our exploration of the town. We planned to go to an outdoor museum where many old buildings had been assembled for display. Since it was a national holiday,  museum was open for free,  Ron and Vonnie didn't even need their membership. We spent a couple hours wandering through while there was entertainment on the stage, children playing in the play area, and all the  buildings open for viewing. There is a typical (I think) wooden Scandinavian church with a sharply pitched roof (to dump the snow). It had all the usual appointments of a medieval church, including an interesting small organ.
Old Church
Church Ceiling

Interesting typical brickwork
From there we walked back through town to the train station for the trip home to Copenhagen and Hellerup. We left the group and got off the train in Copenhagen city center to do a little final souvenir shopping for the girls. After going several blocks the wrong way on the main shopping street, we walked back and finally discovered a souvenir shop (with the help of a clerk in H&M) many blocks from the train stop. But we accomplished our goal and finished our gift shopping. We returned to the train to complete the trip back to Ron & Vonnie's.

On arriving back in Hellerup we enjoyed a typical Danish dinner prepared by Ron and Vonnie. It was a festive evening with them and their friends. Then it was time to pack for the trip home.  

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