A Beautiful Detour and a Wall of Color

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It was a bright sunny day and a new destination was on the horizon. After breakfast we took the metro to the airport and rented a car for the remainder of the trip. Oslo was our destination and we had all the time in the world to get there before sunset, after all it was the land of the midnight sun! Driving wasn’t an issue as it was a left hand drive system and google maps our friend! Highway E20 from Copenhagen took us through the Oresund tunnel and bridge to the city of Malmö in Sweden. An engineering marvel would be an understatement for this brilliant genius of structural engineering that connected two countries together and facilitated trade and cooperation. Part of the bridge is an underwater tunnel which connects to a manmade island called Peberholm and continues as a cable stay bridge to Malmö. Never a great fan of bridges like my husband, but this one piqued my curiosity like none before and after reading up on this bridge’s history and construction, I am now a member of the fan club too You can read more on my new found interest at https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/how-and-why-oresund-bridge-was-built From Malmö, it was northbound E6 all the way. Our aim was to stop at Gothenburg which lies halfway between Malmö and Oslo but we took a detour instead and headed towards the Sofiero Slott (castle) in Helsingborg. Unlike the slot’s we’d seen in Copenhagen this slott looked more homely encompassed with many hectares of greenery all around and no cobblestones in sight! This was the summer residence of King Gustaf Adolf and when he died he left it as an endowment for the people of Sweden to enjoy. It is indeed a visual treat in a beautiful and peaceful setting. We saw so many senior citizens in the park gardens enjoying being in the midst of nature. The Sofiero slott and surrounding gardens were famous for their tens of thousands of rhododendrons in 300 different varieties and colors. Unfortunately, it was past the blooming season when we visited Sofiero but a walk down the rhododendron gorge brought back memories of Daphne Du Maurier’s novel ‘Rebecca’ and her description of the rhododendrons as she saw them - a wall of color. We missed seeing the wall of color but my mind did conjure it up quite vividly. It was easy to imagine being in Du Maurier's fictional estate 'Manderley' but unlike the author's portrayal of its gloom, Sofiero estate was lively, the aroma wafting from its cafe; inviting and the rooms were decorated as lived in. The path down the gorge led to the sea shore. Across the waters, on the other side was the town of Helsingor (Elsinore)in Denmark and its famous castle Kronborg slot was visible from where we stood. Shakespeare’s famous character Hamlet, was an imaginary Prince of Kronborg slot. We were on a tight time budget and had to head back on the road but the peaceful and serene ambience of Sofiero Slott and it’s beautiful landscapes will be remembered by me fondly forever!

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Photos

the official Sofiero slot brochure/guide - here you see the wall of color!
a nature lovers paradise!

Across the waters is Kronborg slot
Across the waters from Sweden's Helsingborg is Helsingor (Elsinore) in Denmark famous for its Kronborg slot