Wallander and the First Skåne Trails 01

Originally posted in Facebook Nordic Noir Location group July 1 2021

In search of Kurt Wallander (and his NN peers) 1.0

Day 0 - Entry 1.1

We arrived early, too early to be sane, to Lund. Which is our basecamp this trip. Why? Because it was 1/3 the price for the rooms. Standard type of hostel rooms with a touch of Space 1999s Moonbase Alpha Wibe. We rent a room of our own. 1/3 of the price.

There is another reason why LUND. The daughter and I will go to different places, meet different friends. And Lund feels close to everything because of Pågatåget (comuter train). We bought the summercard so now we dont have to spend a fortune going evereywhere.

Remember, Scandinavia is expensive, especially Norway.

Lund is an old medieval city with lot of that flair. A 1000 years old Cathedral among it all.

Together with Uppsala, Lund is is like Cambridge and Oxford.

University cities. There are faculties everywhere, I guess Chief Inspector Morse should do fine here?

What book based crime fighters

roams in the Streets of Lund?

Cecilia Sahlström and K Arne Blom are the most notable writers.

Sara Vallén and Morten Dahl-Nielsen is their heroes.

I've read Cecilia Sahlström's Vit Syren (White Lilac) and I egna händer.

Cecilia Sahlström's Vit Syren is translated to english with the title White Lilac

The pictures are a first look and feel impressions of the City of Lund.

Lund's University

The Cathedral

The Cathedral

Lundagård

The Hostel room in Central Lund

Nordic Traditions Valborg

April 30 in Sweden 

In the old times the Witches went to Blåkulla on their brooms last night of April. 

Today we in Sweden call that day Valborgsmässoafton. Probably we imported the tradition of lighting a bonfire fire on that night from Germany, way back.

Today we celebrate is in a multi layered celebration. Some makes it a family celebration taking the kids to a bonfire where there also a bit of a mini carnival going on. Definitely there will be a fire and someone singing. In the working class parts of Vällingby where my kids used to lit the fire back then, there was always a cover band and some local rapper on a mobile stage. Candy and other kid stuff. No one really had a Student cap on. I guess because of the poor level of education of the area.

In other parts of Sweden like in the student city of Lund with its University, there are people dressed up in their evening dress, student cap on and singing the traditional songs.

For many young Swedes it will be the first time they get drunk.  And very drunk according to the police reports.

In Uppsala the Valborg celebrations is taken to a whole different level.  Worth a visit to watch. Unfortunately my old photos from it is of such poor quality so I post some videos from the net to show.

Styrofoam boating down the Fryrisån and the Champagnegalopp run down from Carolina Rediviva to glasses of Champagne at the student pubs etc. 

God Valborg på er alla!

Traditional Bonfire

The Kids Valborg

Student cap on!
Official ritual in Uppsala

Champagnegalopp at Östgöta Nation (Student Fraternity Event)
Uppsala

Traditional song event in at University of Lund

Former Students Choir get their annual 15 minutes.

The Nordic Noir Big Five

Trailing Nordic Noir Locations there are some more iconic than others.

And it seems like there is a bit of consensus around this big five.

Bron/Broen

Öresundsbron between Malmö and Copenhagen. Best seen from the Malmö side.

In Nordic Noir circles I guess the Bridge is as well known as the Golden gate bridge in San Francisco. The series was as innovative and influential for the World of crime fiction as Henning Mankell's and Stieg Larsson's novels. The Killing Tv series. A bit darker and more Noir than most else. To many NN lovers this is the location no1 to pass.  

Mariagatan 

Ystad, Sweden

Mariagatan 10. (or11), Ystad

Before Kurt Wallander moved to a house by the sea. Kurt lives in an Apartment building in a quiet part of Ystad. At Mariagatan. 

In the Books Mankell places him at an address. But never pinpoints the apartment.

In the Christer Henriksson series the filmmakers choose the building on the opposite side of the streets. So I guess as in the Mikael Blomkvist case, both have to go as a hit. 

Mikael Blomkvist's apartment building. 

Stockholm Sweden

Bastugatan 1

The building is on the Island of Södermalm in central Stockholm. on walking distance from the Subway stations. The address is really divided into two houses. One amazing brick building and one more anonymous yellow. Most people and internet posts suggest it is the amazing one to go for. But reading novels and watching the Swedish film versions. You get the impression that it is the more dull part of the house.

In the English version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, they choose to use the even more fancy building across the street. It takes a minute to walk to Bishop's Arms, Mikael Blomkvists local Bar, 

Politigården Køpenhavn

Copenhagen Denmark

Polititorvet 1

Try to imagine one Copenhagen crime story that don't have the Politigården as an exterior shot. Forbrydelsen, Broen, Kastanjemanden you name it. 

Often is the interiours very different between the different series. But the Exteriours is always the same. After the Øresunds Bridge this is maybe the most Iconic building. There is a 10 minutes walk between Politigården and Rådhusplatsen.

Køpenhavns Rådhus/The Copenhagen Town Hall.
Copenhagen Denmark

Rådhuspladsen 1

The Danish Tv series Forbrydelsen took TV crime series to a new level.

And in many ways is another of the big Noirs in Nordic Noir. And the Copenhagen Town Hall at Rådhuspladsen is under the suspicion of being a scene of a terrible crime. And the man that is more suspected than anyone else is the Politician Truls Hartman. The location is in the middle of the city. And as a common tourist you might pass it numerous times. For us trailers We stay a bit maybee Imagine a scene with Sara Lund and Truls Hartman. 

Also visit.

Christiansborg 

Copenhagen, Denmark

For those of you into Borgen you can also visit Christiansborg known from the series Borgen.

And suposed to be a location in Forbrydelsen ll as well. The Danish parliament, Folketinget.

Martin Beck's apartment building 

Bergsunds strand 31, Stockholm

In the Peter Haber series Beck lives at Södermalm. 

In Sjöwall/Wahlöös books he lives in Bagarmossen at a non mentioned adress.

After the divorse he moved to Köpmangatan in Old Town, Stockholm.
But in the Haber series he walks out on his balcony to have a chat with the awkward neighbour who asks if Beck should fancy a Stänkare (a wee dram).

#nordicnoir #nordicnoirlocations #nordicnoirbigfive

Under construction

Under Construction! 

This is a blog more public than the Facebook group named Nordic Noir Locations.

This blog will be following in Nordic Noir crime writers footsteps. 

Visit places Like Ystad, Öresundsbron, Sandhamn and sort out which is the real house Mikael Blomkvist lives in. Why is there different versions of Mariagatan? All such issues worth to investigate.

But also explain some of the Nordic ways and tradition. With a focus on my native Sweden.

I started to do my trails during the Covid Pandemic so I was restricted to places in Sweden and easily accessible Locations, without too much risk at stake.

My aim is to broaden it to the other Nordic countries in time. This is a hobby of mine and I really don't have any budget doing it. So it will take the time it takes. 

You can look upon it as sort of a Travel guide or just a way to get to know the Nordics a bit better.

The Facebook group is updated every Friday, some Saturdays and some other days. How often this group will be updated I don't know yet...

Mariagatan in Ystad, The tower House is the apartment in the novels, probably on the floor below the tower,  On the same street, opposite is the Henriksson series apartment.