August 4, 2008...(Day 12)...Long Travel Day...

 To The Bat Cave Robin!  Today, was a cool and rainy day. We spent most of it in the car as we had many miles to traverse to get to our next destination, Yngsjo, southeast of Kristianstad, before nightfall. This cave, in Hassleholm, was our only touristy stop.

Before reaching the cave, we stopped in Laholm for lunch, where I had a most awesomely traditional Swedish meal of Kottbullar mos Lingon (meatballs, mashed potatoes, lingonberry/cardamon sauce).  Yum...my mouth is still watering from this meal.

As we left the west coast and entered the south/central portion of Sweden, there was a decided shift in language accents, with a different pronunciation of the letter "R". The speech pattern was slower as well. It is more difficult for Amanda to understand this accent.

The house colors also changed with a shift from the traditional red with white trim, to white houses. There are many more stone and brick houses in this area as well. And, the predominant tree changes to Beech.

Little Brown Bat: There are 7 species of bats that roost in this cave during the winter months, and during bad weather the rest of the year. There were probably lots of bats in the cave with us, but this was the only one that we saw. They truly blend in with the rock.

Jonathan in the Bat Cave: We had to lean forward so as not to hit our heads on the ceiling of the cave in many places. 

This is an old limestone mine which was worked from the early 1100s until 1888. Limestone is rather rare in Sweden, and therefore valuable. The limestone was initially used primarily for stone house like churches.

Several people had the right to mine a certain amount of limestone, which was measured in tjyngar (somewhere between 200 and 300 liters). The limestone was sold in barrels. It was used as rock, and was also burnt to lime, and was a constituent in mortar and white color.

The mine was opened to the public in 1950 for bat tours. It is now a popular tourist attraction.

Laurie in the Bat Cave: The ceilings were low, the light was non-existent without lanterns, and the floors were a tad slippery in spots. We had a great time! Ooh...look out for that bat!

Next stop...Amanda's Uncle Krister's house on the southeast coast of Sweden.