Crossing ‘The Bridge’ to Malmö
Alison Laycock
Malmö has been on my radar since way back in 1994 when during my year studying in Tours, France I met students from many countries around the world. One of those was a Swedish student who talked about her university city which happened to be Malmö. Since then, I’ve considered visiting and then of course when I watched the latest (final) series (the only one I’ve watched) of ‘The Bridge’, I knew that well, I just had to cross that bridge especially as I had already planned to visit Copenhagen.
From Copenhagen, you can take the train to Malmö however that would just be too fast for me. Instead, I wanted to take my time noticing every aspect of the Öresund Bridge rather than simply arriving in Malmö in the quickest time possible. It was a foggy morning so once we emerged from the tunnel which starts from Copenhagen, we couldn’t see the bridge ahead of us however I did have the opening credits to ‘The Bridge’ running through my mind which helped.
Of course Malmö is not just about the Bridge, there is so much more to enjoy there.
One morning, I set off to visit the museum and instead found a gorgeous and peaceful walk through a park where I could sit and meditate by the lake. Walking along breathing the cold morning air was also very refreshing as was watching families out walking together. It’s always great finding a beautiful walk in a city.
Later once the rain started, I was happy to find the museum and then overjoyed to find that it only cost 40 SEK to visit many exhibitions in the castle museum and then to also gain entry to the transport museum with the same ticket. The museum offered an exhibition on Bergman and his films and costumes, Depression in Malmö in the 30s, Dreams in Hollywood and the history of the castle.
We could walk through the history of the wars with Denmark, see how the castle had been a prison and also see the effects of the plague. Being able to open the drawers to the prison cells and read the biography of the prisoners, hear the cries of a child suffering through hunger and abandonment and also look up and see moments from the time of the plague, all enhanced the experience.
There was also an art exhibition which showed ‘I live in two worlds’ of Ester Almqvist which was very interesting along with other artists also on show. The nicest thing was probably that you could walk around and look at the art taking your time as there were very few people there at the same time.
The transport museum also had a variety of exhibitions which was very interesting and you will need about 3 hours to see it all especially if you also visit the aquarium, dinosaur exhibition and bird section in the castle museum. All for 40 SEK, great value for money!
Malmö is also an interesting city to walk around as there is always something to catch your eye such as St Peter’s Church (Sankt Petri Kyrka) which is beautiful inside and out. It is free to visit and whether you are religious or not, there are many aspects to admire inside.
You may also enjoy the statues or other items you’ll see dotted around the streets or the centre.