The Suspicious Dane and the Military Storage
When I bought my farm in Mörrum, the barns were already rented out to the military, who stored some kind of equipment there. The farm had been vacant for a while, so the military had hired a neighbor to “keep an eye on things” — making sure nothing was stolen or suspicious.
When I moved in, I really hoped they would continue renting the barns. I needed the extra income, and I certainly didn’t have any use for those 600 square meters. But they were hesitant… because I was Danish.
I thought it was ridiculous and wondered if they actually believed I was a spy. What interest would a young Danish girl have in stealing from their storage?
Eventually, they agreed to continue renting — on the condition that the neighbor would keep watching over the barns.
That was a decision I came to regret.
The neighbor showed up at all hours, sneaking around the buildings. Many times, I was in the stable when he suddenly appeared, creeping in the dark, giving me quite a scare.
One time, I had a good friend over who often helped me with stable renovations. We were joking around, laughing at something, when suddenly… there he was, just standing there watching us.
That was the last straw.
I told the military they either had to tell him to stop — or move out. They chose to dismiss him, since by then, they had apparently realized I wasn’t a threat after all.
My parents and I often joked about burying a bent pipe in the yard, pointing it at the barns to make it look like a submarine periscope sticking out of the ground — just to see if the military would show up in full force.
It was right around the time a Russian submarine had been spotted outside Karlskrona, and the newspapers were full of stories about it.
When the military finally moved out a few years later, I was dying to know what they had been storing. I’d imagined weapons, cannons, or explosives — judging by how protective they had been.
But no… it turned out to be old bicycles and tents. Stuff nobody wanted!
But the “keep an eye on that wild Dane” attitude didn’t end there.
My house was right next to the main road, so everyone passing by could see who came and went. I had a big house and often had friends over, which certainly didn’t go unnoticed.
One Saturday night, I was hosting a party. A few cars were parked in the yard when suddenly, around 9 PM, someone knocked on the door.
One of the guests peeked out and looked terrified: “It’s the police!”
We weren’t playing loud music, and the neighbors lived far away, so I wondered what was going on.
Outside stood three policemen. I recognized one of them from before.
“Well,” he said, “we’ve been talking about you making those arm protectors for us, and since we were passing by, I thought…”
“No,” I said, “you didn’t think at all. You just want some coffee, don’t you?”
“Well… that would be nice,” they replied.
So I invited them in, and we ended up having a wonderful evening together.
But I couldn’t help but laugh to myself — I knew exactly what the neighbor would think:
“Oh, look at that Dane! She threw a wild party, and the police stayed the whole night. I wonder how many got arrested?”
Yes… I’ve had a lot of fun in my life!
