Escape to ��å�Ա� for food foraging and outdoor recreation

Only a 30-minute train ride across the Øresund Bridge from Copenhagen is ��å�Ա� – the southernmost region of Sweden. For hundreds of years, its geographical position made ��å�Ա� the epicenter of the frequent Dano-Swedish wars, until the last peace treaty between Denmark and Sweden was signed in 1720. These days the rolling plains and fertile cereal fields are better known for outdoor activities and natural beauty than epic battles.

Along with its prime agriculture, the adventure and nature offerings are robust: you can forage for wild mushrooms; ride water bikes on a tranquil lake; and even sleep overnight on an organic farm. You may even run into a couple of shops where bottles labeled apple must are distinctive: ��å�Ա�’s popular, non-alcoholic beverage made from pressed apples.

If your curiosity is piqued, here are several ways to escape into nature in this bucolic corner of Scandinavia.

Biking on a lake

Lake Sövde in ��å�Ա� is a quiet body of water, which makes it an ideal place for fishing, wildlife observation, or simply taking the scenery. It was that sense of calm and stillness that inspired Seamus McManus to take advantage of a unique opportunity as the owner of . These water bikes are the first of their kind in Scandinavia, and allow visitors to explore Lake Sövde at a leisurely pace without causing as much commotion as a motor boat might.

From the water bike, you can see local fishermen, country homes which flank the lake, and native bird species feeding off the water. After you're done burning calories, McManus hosts a vegetarian picnic lunch on a bench by the lake, which could include local herring from a local fishing village with seaweed caviar, deviled eggs, and a type of bread local to ��å�Ա� called skandki kavring.

A blue and white wool yurt with geometric blue decorative border around the door and along the top of the yurt, as well as around the peak of the yurt, and a blue door with a pink, yellow, and green intricate knot pattern stands in a bright green forest in Skane, Sweden — Traditional wool yurts from Mongolia make for cozy glamping in Skane, Sweden © Nyrups Naturhotel / �ϰ��ϲʿ��¼

Sleep in a wool hut

Handmade of felted wool in Mongolia, the offers an electricity-free escape deep in ��å�Ա�’s Swedish beech tree forest. The experience was created by Camilla Jönsson, co-owner of the hotel, who will not only give you a tour of the property but also show you were to find the ingredients to cook your own meal together with your neighbors, outdoors over an open fire. Leave your cell phones in the car and enjoy a moonlit walk back to one of the six wool huts on property. It can get quite dark so don't forget your oil lamp!

A group of eight to ten gathers around wooden tables in a forest grove, holding beverages and watching the smoke rise from a large metal cooking tripod in the center of the frame. Suspended from the tripod by three chains is a metal fire pan with burning logs. In the distance, another raised fire pit burns brightly. — Foraging and outdoor cooking can be part of your Skane culinary experience, like this gathering with Edible Country Lunch © Natur Hotell

Forest bathing and foraging

In addition to running Nyrups Natur Hotell, Camilla Jönsson is also the owner of , an ecotourism guiding company which organizes culinary experiences in ��å�Ա� as part of the tourism board's Edible Country offerings that feature Michelin-starred cuisine. If you ever wanted to experience living off the land, try foraging in the forest and mix natural ingredients in a meal over an open fire. The excursion in ��å�Ա� features a menu composed by fabled chef Titti Qvarnström.

On your excursion, you will create the meal with a personal guide who will show you where to pick mushrooms, fruit, and edible plants including dandelion, acorns, bluebells, mantles, and wild blackberries. You will learn how edible mushrooms grow near birch trees, and the secret to sourcing wild nettles, long favored by practitioners of herbal medicine.

is another Swedish research and nature-based recreation and outdoor company that offers mindfulness courses in nature. You can go hiking, canoeing, kite surfing, and yoga with Force of Nature, as well as take advantage of their forest bathing offering. Forest bathing is a surprisingly simple activity in which you walk slowly while taking in the sights, smells, and sounds of the forest – and it's been shown to reduce stress and even blood pressure.

Island-hopping in West Sweden

Viking villages and museums

Long before ��å�Ա� became the epic battleground between Sweden and Denmark, it was home to vikings. You can learn more about the region's early history in the town of Höllviken in southern ��å�Ա�. The was built on the site where King Erik Emune once defended ��å�Ա� against the Danish troops in a battle. Reenactments are part of the experience, as are arts and crafts you can participate in, like silversmithing and cheese making.

In the late 1980s, the was discovered, and showed many similarities to the Danish circular forts of the late 10th century, similarly called "trelleborgar." This style of fortified compound can be traced to a Viking king known as Harold Bluetooth, who strove to unify the Danes and convert them to Christianity around AD 980. The fortress was reconstructed, and you can now travel back to that era to see first hand what a Viking farm was like with longhouse, pit houses, a smithy and a garden.

There are also reenactments by at Trelleborgen that give a glimpse into everyday life. The property has a museum where you can learn about the excavation and the reconstructed fortress before you try a Swedish fika, or break for coffee and snacks, in the café. During the first weekend each July, there is also a where Viking enthusiasts can trade, sell their crafts, fight and have a wedding.

Live on an organic farm

In a region with as much rich farmland as ��å�Ա�, its no surprise that agritourism is a big draw for visitors eager to meet pigs, cows, and sheep in a beautiful setting. Head to the organic farm of located south of the city of �Ѳ��ö, the largest city in ��å�Ա�, to get a taste of Swedish farm life for yourself – literally. There's an on-site eco-restaurant, and the owners pride themselves on the ingredients being 100 percent organic and sourced on-site.