The cold ocean met the land as a thick fog blanketed the surrounding pastures where the sheep grazed contently under the fog-shrouded sun.  The land rose dramatically out of the sea and rolled on further into Sweden.  Upon the peak of the seaside precipice a monolithic stone Viking ship marks the site of King Ale’s final resting place, at least according to local legend.

59 large sandstone boulders outline the frame of a 67-meter long ship.  The ship itself is a remarkably accurate astrological calendar and it all dates back to roughly 1400 years before present day.  Today, instead of intimidating Viking, you will find the quite quaint seaside hamlet of Kaseberga, which is only about 15 kilometers east of the large town of Ystad.

If in the area, this merits a visit with a picnic lunch.  From the parking lot and campground in town, the stones were a gentle walk of (I estimate ten minutes…with my three and one year old walking along, it took us quite a bit longer).  There were grazing sheep in a neighboring field, but an open gate joined the two fields and there was no shortage of sheep droppings to test your agility.  The stones lie on atop a bluff looking out over the sea, though the fog was so thick when we were there, we were barely able to see the water.  K spent his time knocking on each rock on the landward side calling out to the dead Viking king until he was able to identify which stone contained the king.  M wove in and out on unsteady legs until he spotted the sheep nearby, which seemed to be much more fascinating to him then the large rocks propped up in the dirt.