the day the king came to town

… it was the 23th of March 2013, my home town Landskrona became 600 years and that means that we would get a royal visit. Our King Karl Gustaf XVI came without his Queen Silva. What we understand is travelling very hard on her, because she have a very bad back since many years back e – so she can avoid travelling she will do it.

We had a days of spring before the big day – nearly no snow left and of course it snowed during the whole night. Just as I thought it would do. Still the morning wasn’t that cold.

The opening ceremony was held in the Teater Park, only 3 min’s walk from my front door and in the middle of the town – just beside the main shopping street. The ceremony started 10.15am – so I left home just 20 min before and I came just in time for be able to see our King walking down our “walk of fame”, all the planks had been uncovered for the King to see while he walk down Trådgards gatan up to the theater and the new stage they have built there for the remembering of the 600th anniversary.
I just got a spot by the entrance to the theater and it’s park .. and about 10 min later the King arrived walking. I think there was around 20.000 out and about for the accusation. Loads of children in all ages – some with homemade Swedish flags.

After all the speeches, singing and declarations was there salutes by riffles and canons that were up to 500 years old. “Soldiers” dresses in uniforms from the 1400 century up today. Loads of smoke and noise, great for all to see how our flag and our army uniforms had developed through the years.

Skåne, Scania, has been Danish a couple of time through the history and even Norwegian – but now been Swedish since 1719. Some of us here in Skåne, want us to be a state of our own – how ever that will work???? We are farmers, cider makers & fishermen – we export Absolut Vodka and our massive “national” construction company “SKANSKA” has become very big worldwide, but that is about it – we have loads of windmill farms, but not enough for cover our usage and we also a nuclear energy station, that they want to close down. Our flag we have already – with the red background from the Danish flag and the yellow cross from the Swedish. But I think we have to keep on dreaming about being our own state – I want to be long to Sweden, because I love my WHOLE country and it’s flag … the most beautiful one of them all.

We also have a very special dialect down here, that everybody else in Sweden claim they don’t understand, but that is only nonsense.

Our “walk of fame” – the placks are of famous Swedes that had a massive impact on Landskrona – the biggest of the them all is Tyco Brahe (1546 -1601), his research has had an impact on … astrology all of us. His data showed that the previous geocentric worldview, ie the earth in the center, could not sue. Tycho Brahe was a proprietary development of this where he kept the soil in the center of the sun and moon revolving around this and other planets revolving around the sun. He was also the one that discovered supernova in the “Milky Way”.

After the ceremony  was over – the King was going to visit one of the schools, just around the corner from where I live. A school that have specialist in giving children from other countries a solid and integrated education.

I went to the bank and visit a couple of shop before returning home as I came to the school the Royal car and all the black SUV’s where still there – he must have been in there for 1,5 hour and I notice that all the kids were outside so I figured out that he was on his way to leave, so I stayed … and after 5 min he was walking against his car.
It was nice to see that they were using a SAAB for his transportation – SAAB, my favorite car that doesn’t excite anymore – after many turns and loads of tossing, where staff didn’t got their pay and no work – was finally bought by the Chinese that now manufacture electric cars at the plant in Trollhättan.

After the King left for his lunch at the Citadellet – our nearly 600 year old castle – still intact and so well kept, I went home.

In the evening 5.30pm was it time for me to leave for my Zumba class … and it start snowing again. The last gallery here is from my before and after my dancing – some leftover barriers from the royal visit where still there.

It was a nice day, even if little cold for the feet to stand still during the ceremony – and it was special to have a royal visit – the first time I ever seen our king alive … I have done lunch for our Queen, when see name our vessel in Kiel to “Stena Scandinavica” – must be about 22 years ago. Then I got a glance of her, but no royal handshake. She are a very tiny lady and so is our king, but he are so handsome.
Have been vote to the best dressed male royalty in the world for a couple of years and he are famous for his ties.

It was a very relaxed day – the day the King came to town – and nothing was over exciting, but still a day to remember.

As cloud has chosen the Swedish Royal Anthem, Kungssången – not to be mixed up with our National Anthem, “Du Gamla, Du Fria”. The Royal Anthem is an anthem to  honor the ruler as king of Sweden. They maybe have to change the words when our Crown Princess Victoria (my post about her from last year) take over the throne.

In all fairness I think the “Kungssången” is more suitable as our National Anthem then the one we have. The “Kungssången” (The King Song) was first preformed in 1844 in Lund, music witthen by Otto Lindblad and lyrics by  C. V. A. Strandberg – it’s also called “Ur svenska hjärtans djup en gång” (From a depth of Swedish hearts one time )

“From a depth of Swedish hearts one time
a joint and a simple song,
that goes to the king!
Be faithful to him and his family,
makes the crown upon his head slightly,
and all your faith in him,
You people of the tribe CELEBRATED!”

The recording was done in 1905 by Edison Military Band, on Edison Gold Moulded Record – very hard to find any information about them, more than it was a band that Thomas Edison started to develop his idea about radio and recording. I don’t have a clue why they recorded the Swedish Royal Anthem and they have also recorded a couple of Swedish folk songs.