Experience Helsingborg, Sweden

By complainwall on August 15, 2013 • ( 2 Comments )

If you ever get a chance to visit Helsingborg in South of Sweden. Then this little blog might help you on your way to decide what to do when you come here.

Helsingborg is a city on the west coast, it has lots of beautiful places to visit. I am going to show you different events that happens in the city along with places you have to see while here. The best part is that it is all free so there is no excuses to not visit these places!

Light festival – with lights everywhere

You can personalize your own candle it makes a boring graveyard candle more appealing

Outdoor DJ warming people up in the freezing night

Lets start off with the light festival which is usually during February. Its nice to walk around in the city when its dark but still lighted up with candles everywhere you go and different instalments to show the light effects on the buildings. Its fun to know what you can do with lights that can brighten up a freezing winter night.

Outside the tunnel of light

Mosaic glasshouse

When the spring is here the flowers will show up. In Helsingborg there is a street leading to the city called Hälsobacken. Here you can walk among Rhododendron flowers in different colours. Usually in the end of May and beginning of June they will be blooming. Helsingborg is really a spring and summer city, so enjoy while it last because the summer is short in Sweden!

Hälsobacken with Rhododendron

Old man is smelling the flowers

Walk down to city and pass this wonderful flowers

Sofia Källan “Sofia’s source” is the only part left of the old well facility and is Sweden’s only natural salt source.

Pond near Sofiakällan

Wonderful and colourful Rhododendron

: Vikingsberg park near Hälsobacken

Summer has entered. The flowers really turn this city into a wonderful blooming city. Lots of colours and lots of trees captures the heart of the city center. With spring and summer comes the prom for the high school students and then the graduation day few days after. Here is some pictures of how it looks every year in the beginning of June.

Before prom the students gather in front of the Cultural House Dunkers.

After the prom comes the graduation day. It is the happiest day of a student’s life, finally they are finished with school at least until they start in University/collage. Graduations day is usually on a Friday in the beginning of June.

Finally they graduate!

You do not have to be related to the students to come and watch it. Anyone who want see the students run down the stairs with their white dresses and caps and their boards can do so.

It starts at 3 pm on the graduation day and then the students starts from the place near Kärnan (old tall fortress). Then they have to go down the stairs to the city and walk 7 rounds around the Magnus Stenbock statue (man on a horse near city hall building).

The reason you should walk 7 round around the statue is because it is said that it will bring you luck and good fortune if you do so on your graduation day.

Student’s graduation day

Very happy students

When midsummer comes people from Helsingborg can celebrate it at Sofiero park or in Fredriksdals park. Midsummer is when Swedes celebrate and welcomes the summer with lots of herring and potatoes and snaps (shots). It is free to visit both Sofiero on midsummer eve and Fredriksdals park at midsummer eve and midsummer day. So if you have not been to these two places before here is a chance to get in to the parks and see the rest of it all for free. Otherwise it would cost around 60-80 SEK to enter the parks.

Midsummer pole in Sofiero

Music entertainment for the dances on midsummer in Fredriksdal’s park

Even if it rains Swedes will still dance and sing around the Maypole/midsummer pole

Folkdress

Dancing and singing around the Maypole in Fredrikdsdals park

Everyone can join the dance!

Midsummer flowers in the hair

Herring, egg, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumber, sour milk, grass onion, and something to drink is typical midsummer food.

Autumn time:

When September comes the Mikaeli market (harvest market) will be held at Fredriksdals park. In the gallery you can see pictures from that event:

Welcome to the Mikaeli Market, it is a harvest market.

Bird houses

Old style

Special cake from the area of Skåne (scania) called Spättekaka. Made of eggs.

Nice style

Visit the press museum

Voila and you get a print

Lovely color made from dipping them in a pot of herbs

You get to know all about apples

Peaceful

During the autumn the leaves on the trees start to change and Helsingborg becomes a colorful city. There are some parks and forests which are extra beautiful during this time and worth visiting. These are the forest near Olympia, Väla skog and Pålsjö skog. They are all free to visit and good for a outdoor walk. all round the city there will be lovely trees, so it is not even necessary to find a park.

This tree is near the hospital

Forest near Olympia

Its nice to walk among these big trees

You can make your own path

Good for jogging

Take romantic walks in the forest

Lots of ways to choose from

Its great to walk here

This look like a bird

Colorful leaves everywhere you walk in the forest near Olympia

Halloween feeling, even if Swedes are not that keen on celebrating it.

At the end of the year there will usually be little snow. You can try sledge riding down a hill. It is fun! You can try skating indoors, or sometimes in the South of Helsingborg they will even make a ice rink where you can skate. The sun goes down at 3 pm, and it becomes dark very fast. This is how it looks during winter time: