Malmö, Sweden: The Long Travel Was Worth It!
In the
middle of the day of going around Oslo to accompany my sister’s friend, I
realized going to Sweden or/and Denmark would be great. I have only been in
Sweden only once in the last 17 months. It was only in the boundary between
Norway and Sweden in the east. Given the limitation of time, I was thinking of
Gøtenborg, but I was thinking it would be better to go to a Swedish city, that
would be near to Denmark, so it would be easy to transfer from Sweden to
Denmark, but still possible to travel to Oslo in less than 8 hours. The choice
was easy – Malmø in Sweden.
Malmø is
the third largest Swedish city, next to Gøtenborg and Stockholm. Its population
stands only at about 250,000. It has been one of the major cities of Denmark
before, but was lost to Sweden. Denmark tried to recapture was unable to do so.
The city has been famous for shipbuilding but has been affected by bubonic
plague in 18th century and the Swedish financial crisis in 1990s.
However, after significant efforts of the residents of Malmø, it has
transformed into a global city that has started upon the commencement of the
Øresund bridge, connecting Sweden and Denmark.
The first
thing, I and my friends did was to see how we can explore the city as much as
possible within few hours before going to Copenhagen, Denmark. Initially, I had
a difficult time deciding where to start, since the city was simply beautiful
and unique. I can see the Scandinavian touch in architecture and scenery, but
with a unique European blend.
Here are
the list of places where we visited:
Malmø Central Station
The area is accessible through Metro train, trains going to
Copenhagen and city buses. The station is unique for its architecture and the
beauty of its surrounding places such as the canal just infront of the station
and the seaside, which is just few hundred meters from the place.
The Knotted Gun
Just few blocks from the Central Station is an original bronze
sculpture, depicting the importance of non-violence. Replica of the said
sculpture is found in the United States, other cities in Sweden, China, France,
Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and South Africa.
HSB Turning Torso
The 54-storey building is the tallest building in Scandinavia
(Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. It has been inspired by the
twisting image of a human being.
Øresund Bridge
The 8-kilometer bridge is the longest combined rail and road
bridge in Europe connecting Scandinavian Peninsula and West-Central Europe.
Daniaparken
The park is one of the oldest park in the Sweden, which gives
a magnificent view of the Øresund Bridge. It has been a site for factories
before, which has been a source of pollution before. Along its coastline, one
could see also the tip of the HSB Turning Torso.
Kungsparken
The King’s Park has been built since the 17th century. It has
been a former residential area, which has been demolished to give way for a
fortress. It has been called before as the Castle’s Park but was changed to
King’s Park in honor of the Swedish King Oscar II.
Lilla Torg, Malmø City Hall and Stortoget
One of the best site in Malmø is the main city center where
one can see the buildings which dates back in the Renaissance period. Huts
which are made of timber are found in Lilla Torg and buildings such as the City
Hall in the Stortoget. The architecture is amazing and very unique.
We only stayed in Malmø over almost 4 hours. It could have been better if we stayed longer. We only walked through the places we visited and every experience was worth it. I would love to come back again in Malmø.
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