Malmo, Sweden

Following on from my previous post when I told you about our trip to Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen, I thought I'd tell you what we got up to on our second day there.

You may know that Denmark is connected to Sweden via the Oresund Link. This comprises of a tunnel which goes under the Oresund Strait which then emerges onto a manmade island before continuing across the Oresund Bridge. You can travel between Copenhagen and Malmo by road or rail. The photo above was taken from the top of the Round Tower in Copenhagen which you can read about in my last post. In the distance you can just see the Oresund Bridge. Being so close to Sweden, we decided we should take the opportunity to visit.

The rail journey took about forty minutes from Copenhagen's Grand Central Station to Malmo and cost about £23 for two tickets. Coming back from Malmo to Copenhagen, two tickets cost about £19. It was so easy to use the train, purchasing the tickets from the machines was simple to do and the trains run so regularly that we didn't have to wait around at all. We also used the train to and from the airport, again, without a hitch.

The first place we came to was Stortorget, or Big Square. The Town Hall is situated here and there's also a fountain commemorating the recapture of the region of Skane for the Swedes from Denmark.

The signpost displays the distance to major cities around the world.

Further on and we came to Lilla Torg, or Little Square. It was originally a marketplace but it's now a place for socialising as the buildings are mostly cafes and restaurants.

There's some beautiful architecture here with some of the structures dating back to the sixteenth century.

We walked through Kungsparken, a lovely park in the heart of the city, where we came across this statue of the Roman goddess Diana surrounded by deer.

Coming out of Kungsparken at the opposite side, we came to Malmo Castle. Built between 1526 and 1529, it now forms part of The Malmo Museum. We didn't go inside but we had a walk around the grounds.

The Castle Mill was built in 1850 and put into use from 1851.

Turning Torso was the tallest building in the Nordic region until a few years ago. It stands at 190m (620ft) with 54 stories. We could see it from the castle but we didn't venture any closer.

On our way back to the station we came upon St Peter's Church. It didn't look very grand from the outside.

Inside is another matter though, my photos don't do it justice. This is Malmo's oldest church and it's absolutely beautiful.

The altarpiece was made in 1611 and is one of the largest in the Nordic countries.

I had a pen pal from Sweden when I was a child and I've always wanted to visit the country, so that's something crossed off my list. I enjoyed our day in Malmo but it isn't somewhere I'd visit for a second time, though I would like to see other areas of Sweden.