TravelAround: Malmö, Sweden

Malmö is the capital city of the Scania district, in the southern part of Sweden. With a population of approximately 300.000 inhabitants, Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden and the fifth of Scandinavia. Once a big industrial area, Malmö struggled with the adaptation to the post-industrialism. The construction of the Øresund Bridge, brought a new life to the region, where modern buildings now coexist with historic area of the city in an pleasant and organized way.

The new area of the city, known as Hyllie is packed with new infrastructures, modern buildings and facilities, including an arena, several hotels and shopping center.

Hyllie shopping center

Global companies like Skanska and Ikea have offices here.

Hyllie water tower, or is it?

Malmö city center is composed by historic buildings, the oldest of which from the 15th century. Beautiful streets and plazas, with no shortage of restaurants and bars will not leave you in hunger. I personally recommend Malmö Brewing & CO, a friendly place, where a lot of passion goes both into food and their beers brewed on site. The barbecue is amazing, with a diversity of meats, sausages and side dishes.

Mälmo Brewing & CO

Travelling to Malmö is simpler if you land in CPH (Copenhagen Airport) and take a train directly from the airport to Malmö Central Station. The trip takes less than 30 minutes and trains are quite frequent (about every 20 minutes). A word of caution though: at the time of writing of this article, a security measure was in place that implicated on a passport control happening before boarding the train at CPH and also on the first stop the train makes in Sweden (Hilly). There the police boards the train and validates everybody’s IDs. Although the process is quite swift, it takes some time and implies in an extra 15-30 minutes on the way to Malmö. No such process exists on the way back.

Spring has arrived to Pildammsparken

As with every northern Europe country I have been, the first sunshine rays of spring, bring the places to life. Esplanades, parks are full of people smiling and enjoying the great outdoors. For me, it was a bit chilly as back home we were already in the mid twenties (25º C+) and in Malmö, I was presented with a polar spring of around 10º C, and consistent winds. The good part of it is that fresh days are great for walking and I had a lot of fun doing it here. On my way to the ocean (you know me… its a basic need to be close to it), I found twisted buildings, light houses in the middle of the city, gardens, and an amazing joy of people, receiving one of the first sunny days of the year.

Spring is definitely here.

Suddenly, when I least expected, I came across a submarine open to visitors! Unfortunately, clock was ticking, and I didn’t have the time for it. Maybe next time.

HMS Södermanland

So what about photography, one would ask? A city with a wonderful mix of modern and secular architecture, water everywhere, lighthouses, harbors, parks… It has a huge potential! the images I have captured are mere scouting images. They deserve the big camera, filters and time, but those are very limited during the travelaround series.

Experience technicalities

Global	[B] – Want to come back with my family
Safety (see GPI)	2 (out of 5) (Lower is safer)
Photographic potential	Architecture, Street, People, Landscape, Industrial
Weather	Sunshine and cold ( May, Spring )
Travel	5 hours, VISA not needed for EU citizens