Monday in Malmo

After farewelling Dr M in Copenhagen I caught the train to Malmo. Previously this trip would have been taken on a ferry, but a long road and rail bridge now joins Denmark and Sweden. From the bridge you can see quite a few of the wind turbines that are mounted out in the channel. This week the bridge celebrates being open 10 years.

I arrived in Malmo without any plans of where to go for the night and wandered around the railway station but could only see hotels that looked beyond my budget. So it was back into the station to use the computers to find somewhere to go - and found that while the regular price of the "Elite Hotel Savoy" was probably above budget, the online, last minute, discount rate for the standard single was under $100 (inc breakfast & internet) and quite acceptable. It got even more acceptable when the man at reception gave me a double upgrade (from standard, past superior to deluxe). He said it was because he liked Australia, but I think it was because I told him that I liked Sweden better than Denmark.   

 I started Monday with a Canal tour of Malmo. This took in the old section of town as well as the industrial part of the docks. Malmo used to be a very busy port prior to the bridge being built - now shipping has practically disappeared and new industries are starting - to the left: wind turbine components in front of a very old warehouse. In the rear left you can just see the famous building "turning torso".

Malmo is sometimes called the city of parks. I went wandering through a few of them after the canal tour. I personally would call it the city of fountains as they are everywhere! There were quite a few within the parks (usually featuring a naked body or several) and there were many throughout the city areas. One square - Gustav Aldofs Torg (about the size of Martin Place?) had no less than 7 fountains.   

After the park wandering I headed to a chocolate cafe / factory /museum called  "Malmo Chokladfabrik" which has been in operation for 120 years. This is the only chocolatier in Sweden making chocolate from the cocoa bean stage. It was small, but filled with history about the chocolate company - including chocolate molds, chocolate tools and packaging from through out the years. There was even a chocolate violin that was over 50 years old (now looking a bit sad - what a waste!). Unfortunately, they don't make chocolates in the middle of summer, so I couldn't see the factory in action, but I did indulge in a delicious local version of an iced chocolate and sample some of the chocolates (including several single origin  samples, cardamon flavour, and salt liquorice flavour - not good this last one).  

Then it was goodbye to Malmo as I boarded the train for Gothenburg.