We knew we would like Malmo almost as soon as we set foot in it. Not only does it present a lovely face from the train station right on a little canal (our hotel is just on the other side, about 100m away from the station), but we had fortuitously arrived in at the start of the Malmö festival. The festival meant a lot of noise but lots of life in an already lively, pretty town. The gorgeous and very old St Peter’s church is around the corner from our hotel
This fountain was in the middle of events in one main festival venue
This is a new Malmö landmark, the ‘turning torso‘, representing the town’s rejuvenation after the decline of the ship building industry
On our first full day, the weather was miserable so we decided to brave the potential sunday crowds spand go to the Malmö Museer. Good decision! Not only was it not crowded at all, except a little in the aquarium, it turned out to be several amazing museums and art collections all stored in a genuine castle! The aquarium was fun
The modern art was largely incomprehensible but still interesting.
A piece playing on the “swedish tiger” idea
A large and lovely exhibition called “After the bath” showcased swedish interior designs, fashions and ornament through the ages from the medieval period
There was also a small but fabulous collection of fashion from the twenties
Dollhouses from the fun collection of children’s toys through swedish history
Oh and you can go through the actual castle and an exhibition on its history as a prison (which i could get out of fast enough tbh)
But there was still more once we left the castle. A photography room showng this rather disturbing exhibition, and then onto the technological museum. This was pure fun – plane, trains and autombiles, a real live U-boat you could go into, an exhibition on the history of astronomy in Sweden, and a fab little section on modern materials
We returned today in better weather to explore the castle gardens
There is an American Shop in the town, and an English shop selling what sadly are not entirely authentically english products
Today we went to Lund which will be the subject of a separate post. Tomorrow – Stockholm! ( note we had to pay sixty fucking dollars just to reserve seats on the train. No reservation, no entry, even if you have a ticket!)