A walkaround Malmo Sweden

Hiding out in the magnificent library of the hotel: because it was really raining, we decided to wait before venturing outside. Not knowing where to go and realising that the weather might not cooperate, it was finally decided to head off to the insides of the largest Mall in Town. Not wanting to buy but just comparison shop. I must confess to a major error that I committed in the last post. When talking about prices I used the Danish Kroner as the baseline. Fortunately, for us, the Swedish Kroner is worth less against the Dollar than the Danish one. We are saving money already!!

Reaching the Mall we were not surprised by anything new. The prices were acceptable, the finish and quality of stores was good and the occupancy rate was about 90% - very good.

Town Hall

King Gustav

Anyway back to the morning walk, passing through one of the Squares, we passed the Town Hall and the Statue of one of the King Gustavs. Walking to the Mall we crossed over one of the many bridges that cross the canal. This one was decorated with public art - a string of bronzed shoes and boots. There must have been a story behind that. The one and a half mile walk to the Mall was on a closed street that has been pedestrianised. With the population of Malmo living in the five storey buildings that line the streets of the Downtown one can appreciate the fact that people who live downtown don't need cars - just bicycles. The weather had taken a real turn while we were  in the Mall - a sudden rain storm, which led us to have an extended coffee break. Finally the weather turned and we set out, in bright sunshine, to find the Folkets Park. The site of the Municipal Midsummer Festival. The origins can be read here - the Wikipedia explanation. The Swedish ritual is explained here.

Back to the hotel the next job was to decide here to eat. This event had been complicated by the holidays - Midsummer. It seems that the hospitality industry does not want to cash in  I guess the cooks want to have a day off too. With half of the selected places shut we didn't have much of a choice. So we settled for  sport bar in the Central Station. This building deserves a shout-out, the repurposing has been truly wonderful.

Tomorrow the weather will cooperate and we will explore the older part of the Town and maybe take in a boat ride.