A week after my day trip to Smygehuk my parents-in-law drove down and took us for a road trip around Österlen. It’s one of my favorite memories from last year.

We drove along the road number 9. It’s a smaller coastal road perfect for cruising and enjoying the view of the Baltic Sea. We had a fika in Smygehuk’s harbour and later continued along the road through Ystad to Simrishamn, where eventually we had a late lunch. The weather was quite enjoyable; the autumn sun hanged low, trees and grass already started to yellow.

The best part of the trip was a visit to Kiviks Musteri on the east coast. Since it was the apple season, they set up a small harvest festival: pick your own apples, have a fika and taste the local raw products. Before we enjoyed another cup of coffee and buns in the orchard, I’ve stocked up on apples and äpplemust.

While Kivik’s and Simrishamn’s areas are already quite familiar to me, we’ve checked out some previously unknown stone settings along the village roads.

Jarladösen

Jarladösen (Earl’s Dolmen) can be found behind a farm in Järrestad, close to where roads 9 and 11 join together. The village is famous for its well preserved petroglyph site Dansarens häll, which is located a bit towards Gladsax. We’ve already been there couple of years ago. But not many know about two dolmens hidden behind the buildings – Jarladösen, also known as Kycklinghönan since it resembles a hen, and Jarlafruns dös.

Skärabäcksdösen

Vik’s area is known mostly for close proximity of Stenshuvud National Park. But it’s also recognized for apple farming; orchards look truly beautiful this time of the year. Trees bend under the weight of apples as they ripen in the last rays of sunshine. At the end of the village we found Skärabäcksdösen – it was on my list for a while now, but as we took our time and went where the roads took us, we stumbled upon that one by surprise.

Vitabyhus

On the way back home, cruising through the farms and meadows, I’ve spotted some peculiar structures on the pasture past Vitaby. They turned out to be Bronze Age burial mounds. They are quite eroded now due to extensive farming. Originally it was four of them on the field, but I’ve spotted only two.