Every time we drive back home from Halmstad we see the sign “Danska Fall”, a nature reserve with waterfalls, in the village of Simlangsdålen. Last week we drove there once. It was warm and the water and forest offer nice cooling.
From the Gula Huset it is about a twenty minute drive and that road is also worth it, especially now that the verges are yellow with broom, beautiful. At the parking lot there are various information boards about everything that lives, grows and blooms there, and that is very diverse.
When we get out of the car we can already hear the birds singing. Since there are 2 little people with us, we take the blue route of about 2.5 km and as is customary in our family, we walk the route against the grain. It is a fairytale forest, there are elf benches, and everywhere holes with bright green moss in old fallen trees, gnome holes perhaps?
The forest is known for its diversity of mosses, lichens and plants. We discover places full of clovers, but we do not find a four-leaf clover, but we do find blueberries and we pick them. There are a lot of them throughout the forest. The trees are mainly beech and oak and very old, between 100 and 175 years old. The entire area is untouched because it is mainly left alone. The path is therefore far from smooth, many thick tree roots, stones, the ascent and descent make it a real challenge for children.
And then you hear the water… and it becomes noticeably cooler in the forest. This part is the lowest part of the Assman river, which falls down with a drop of 36 meters. Be careful where possible with your feet in the water. The stones together form a gigantic mosaic through which the river rushes. Then continue over bridges and stairs up to the real waterfall. The water falls down with a roar from different sides, a beautiful sight and very impressive. But it is a good thing that there is a high fence around it. Then down again, with an arc around a forest meadow with sleepy cows and a last bit through the beech forest and we are back at the car.
Back home we discover why it is called Danska Fall…. A sad story. The Danes lost the battle at Fyllebro, the gateway to Halmstad, and fled into the woods at Simllangsdålen. There they were found by the Swedes and forced onto a rotten bridge, the Danish soldiers fell down the waterfall.
