Simrishamn

As planned we left Åhus relatively early, before 8. It was overcast and a bit 'hazy' all morning. Enough visibility (even the small Swedish marks were quite easy to find from 2 miles away), but not crystal clear like the past few days. The wind was quite light and the sea a bit choppy but not too bad: a bit of water over the bows every now and then. After just over 4 hours we reached Simrishamn. This is sort of a strategic harbour for us 'Baltic Navigators' as it is either at the end of the beginning of the 'Hanö Bukt', with Karlskrona or Utklippan at the other end. The South coast of Skåne with Denmark beyond, lies in front of us now. One day to Ystad, one day to Gislövs Läge and then probably Rödvig in Denmark although at the moment it seems that Sunday will be a day of (enforced) rest in Ystad. After that, it looks like we have some nice weather with light winds coming our way.

Back to Simrishamn. The most remarkable feature is the St Nikolai church. The first part of it was built in 1161 and it is still standing. The church never burned down and was never ransacked, which is very unusual. It also means that it (or rather part of it) is now more than 850 years old. To put this in perspective, that is well over twice as old as the oldest building in South Africa, the Castle in Cape Town. It was then a small chapel, used by the eel fishermen. Eel is still a big thing around here, the Skåne east coast is known as the eel coast.

Here is an external and an internal shot of the St. Nikolai Kirke:

Location:Strandvägen,Simrishamn,Sweden