Ale's Stones in Skane

Image from Visit Sweden

I learned about Ale's Stones while watching a Swedish TV series based on Henning Mankell's legendary police inspector, Kurt Wallander.

I love the Wallander's character -- so flawed, so human. There's something else I get from watching these shows. It helps me get past the violence that is part of the drama.

While Kurt interacts with fellow cops like the smart but unkempt Martinsson and the crusty CSI expert Nyberg, I get to bathe in the language of my forbears. My paternal grandfather originally came to the US from Skane. Later they settled in rural Alberta.

From what I see on this show, Swedes can be abrupt, and they can be uncommunicative. But the veteran Wallander, well aware of his personal weaknesses and scarred by emotional losses, is also brilliant at talking to young colleagues Isabelle and Pontus, who work through their own pain as the old guy earns and holds their trust.