From Copenhahen, I take the train to Malmö, in Sweden. After a simple control of my ID, I’m in Sweden. I’ve rarely gone from one country to another this fast! Then, I take the bus to the library in order to find my hostel. It so happen that I took the wrong direction. Back on the bus. I finally find my hostel, leave my stuff and run to take the bus. There’s only one walking tour in the city and it starts in one hour!
Malmö, A Small But Charming City In Sweden
There’s no bus! I feel like I’m not going to make it in time. I decide to try anyway and walk to the center. Nobody in sight, but I actually managed to be a bit early. Using the Wifi of a tobacco shop, I book the tour online, to be sure somebody will come.
I finally find the “group”: counting the guide, we are 5. But that’s normal, it’s a small city. Most tourists going to Sweden choose to visit Stockholm. More than a tour, it feels like a walk in Malmö, punctuated by some historical facts. Nothing mind-blowing, but it’s nice and the guide is cool. The tour helps me understand the map of the city.
After the tour, I take the bus to see the Turning Torso. A friend of mine recommended going to see it and the park around it. The Turning Torso is a neo-futurist residential skyscraper. With its 190 meters, it is the tallest building in Scandinavia. Also, it is considered the first twisted skyscraper in the world. What’s nice is that it’s close to the Öresund strait. It’s a pretty park to go for a walk, a picnic, and to look at the bridge that connects Denmark to Sweden.
My Parents Got Scared
I finish my day in Malmö in a spicy burrito restaurant. I don’t have Internet in Sweden, so I use the Wifi of shops. In the restaurant, I turn on my Wifi and get a lot of messages on different apps. My mum asks me if I’m ok. I answer yes, even though my feet are tired. She tells me she was worried that I was in Stockholm.
It was April 7th in 2017. I don’t know if you remember, but on that day, an attacker drove a stolen truck down Drottninggatan, one of the busiest shopping streets in Stockholm. He ran down pedestrians, killed five people and at least other 15 people were injured.
I wonder if that’s ok to go to Stockholm. Some people tell me to cancel that part of my trip. I decide not to.
A few days later in Stockholm, I saw that my hostel is just near Drottninggatan. Had it been a few days later, it could have been me. It’s a strange feeling I have during this whole stay. There are flowers in the streets. I chat with other tourists, and we wonder if visiting Stockholm now is disrespectful of the dead or if it’s the right reaction in front of attackers like that: “You don’t scare us”. To this day, I still don’t know.
Lund
From Malmö, I take another train to the city of Lund. And I’m utterly disappointed. The city is grey, the signs are messy and I get lost. When I finally find a map, I take a photo of it and manage to find the impressive cathedral, the city center and the botanical gardens (that disappointed me as well). Maybe, it was not the right season. April is still pretty cold and wintery in Sweden. I only stay for 2 hours before taking another train to Helsingborg.
Helsingborg, A Coastal Gem of Sweden
In the city, I am particularly impressed by the Kärnan Tower. The tower is the only remains of Helsingborg Castle. 50K the entrance and to go to the top. Inside, there are small exhibitions about History. And at the top of the tower, a beautiful view of Helsingborg. The gardens were also supposed to be extraordinary… But given the season, it’s the same situation as in Lund: everything is dead or dormant.
I wanted to take the bus to see the castle and its gardens, but it won’t be worth the trip. Instead, I walk in the center, which is quite cute, and I buy myself some hand cream (IT IS REALLY COLD). I decide to treat myself and eat a really good pizza with a glass of wine in a nice restaurant. Now, I know that skinka means ham and lök is onion. After my lunch, I go back to the train station walking along the water, and I travel back to Malmö.
Some advice if you want to visit Sweden
- DON’T GO IN APRIL! Seriously, it’s way too cold and you’re going to miss beautiful gardens.
- Maybe give Malmö and Helsingborg a chance.
- If you go to Helsingborg and the weather is nice, try going further because the coastline and the nature reserves are supposedly really nice.
- Forget about Lund.
To see more photos of Sweden, you can visit the gallery Sweden.
