Driving into Denmark

 Wednesday, September 9, 2026

We woke up to rain but it didn't dampen our spirits as we headed out to the Kalmar Slott (Castle) in Kalmar Sweden, just a few kilometers from our campground. 

We walked through a beautiful graveyard to get there...tree-lined paths and old gravesites.  The misty morning gave an eerie feeling to the area.

Walking up to the castle was just like in the storybooks...a dramatic entrance across a drawbridge and over a moat.  

We were greeted by our guide Thea.

Kalmar Castle's history dates back 800 years.  It sits right on the water and was built as a defense fortress to protect the border.

Later when there was unification of the countries and no need for defense, the castle was used as a prison, granary and a royal distillery!

In hearing about the history, there were so many kings and queens I couldn't keep track of them but did enjoy seeing the king's bed and dining room.

There were some very ornate rooms..the checkered room and the gold room

The chapel is beautiful, and is still in use for weddings and christenings.

After leaving the castle, we headed on to the long drive today.  There is a lot of flat land which is farmland and windfarms. 

  ...And up popped another city of Lund! We didn't have a chance to check this one out.  We definitely need to get to work on geneology to find out if Jim's family is related to all these kings and queens!

.  We approached a toll booth for the Øresund Bridge (Danish spelling), Öresund Bridge (Swedish spelling), Oresund Bridge (English spelling). The toll for our camper van was $145!!  I guess they have to find a way to pay for the bridge.

The bridge opened in 2000 and is the second longest bridge in Europe, connecting Sweden to Denmark.  The bridge goes across the strait to an artificial island, and then into a tunnel underneath the strait, to complete the connection.  The border between Sweden and Denmark is somewhere in between. The total span is 16km long (9.9 miles)....quite an engineering feat and quite an experience to drive it.

 

As we drove into Copenhagen we saw this building that looks like it's bulging!  Another engineer/architect having fun?

We ended up with smashburger dinner from a food truck at the campground, and a game of hillbilly rummy while waiting for laundry.