My Western Eurotrip Galore: Sweden - Malmo, Lund, Helsingborg

Fifth Stop: Sweden

 



Fredriksdals

Since we were in Copenhagen, it made sense that we visit its neighboring country, Sweden. Traveling to Sweden's southern region Skane is actually quite convenient. With the Oresund Bridge, it takes only 30 minutes by train from Copenhagen city center to the center of Malmo, Sweden. In addition, the water cross between Helsingor, Denmark and Helsingborg, Sweden is only a mere 4km. Thus, you can also choose to take a 20 minutes ferry from Helsingor to get to Sweden, which was what we did. From Copenhagen Central Station, the ride took 50mins to Helsingor. Then from Helsingor's seaport we transferred to a HH ferry that transported us across the Oresund Sound. There are two other ferry companies plying the route, Scandlines and the smaller (and cheaper) Sundbusserne. If you have done enough traveling by train, then a short ferry ride on the Oresund Sound would definitely be a pleasant alternative. http://www.hhferries.dk/

Skane is pretty much known for its rich farmlands, endless open fields, and scenic countryside. Due to convenience, however, we ended up visiting the larger cities instead: Helsingborg, Lund, and Malmo. We decided to stay two nights at Helsingborg at the Best Western Hotel Duxiana, which is only a couple of blocks away from the dock. Surprisingly, we had one of the greatest Best Western complimentary breakfasts here. The breads were fresh, like ones you can get straight out of the oven, and there were assortments of varied mayonnaise and spreads that I've never seen before. For our third night, however, we decided to head back to Denmark and stayed at the Cabinn Metro Hotel (note: Cabinn Metro is a large hostel with extremely small rooms; not for the claustrophobic) so we could each catch our early flight departing from Copenhagen to our separate and final destinations.

Helsingborg

Karnan

Sofiero Palace

Helsingborg, is a scenic coastal city. We found this town to be fairly quiet, a great place to get away for a weekend and decompress. There are a couple of interesting things to do here. For instance, you can check out some of the historical structures. A walking distance from our hotel is central Helsingborg with Karnan, perhaps the most iconic, at the center. Karnan is the only remaining tower from the old Helsingborg castle. This tower, once a part of a medieval fortress, had guarded this town for over 600 years. This tower is open to the public and you can walk up the stairs for a fee. Before taking the stairs up to Karnan, is the Great Square, which is filled with lavish and elaborate facades, restaurants, and shops to pick up souvenirs. 

About 30mins walk from Karnan, you can stop by Fredriksdals Frilufts Museum. Entrance fee is ~$10. It was about 1.5 hrs to closing when we arrived to the museum. As a result, the place was practically empty, which I liked. Although the place is called a museum, at Fredriksdals you will find mainly rustic surroundings: gardens, farms, and animals. You can take a tour learning about the cultural and historical views of this city. Or you can simply walk around solo embracing the essence of this nice farmland. Though I imagine children would have an absolute blast here, my friend and I actually enjoyed our visit here. We saw historical toilets, sang with the cows, and even fed apples to some hungry hogs! www.fredriksdal.se/

On the second day, we took a bus to Sofiero Palace, once a summer vacation home built by Prince Oscar of Sweden in 1864, now a flower oasis just 5km north of the city of Helsingborg. If you like flowers, plants, gardens, butterflies, and slugs, this is a great place to go. There are over 10,000 plants and various gardens, making this place such a romantic place for dates or to have a picnic. You can actually bring your own basket of food and drinks and lay out on one of the garden areas for a nice lunch or early dinner. Or you can opt for trying the delicacies of the region at the restaurant located inside the Sofiero castle. Besides the wonderful botanical scenery, you can also find many interesting exhibitions and artistic sculptures scattered throughout the park. I enjoyed this visit very much as well. You'll be surprise by how time flies by here. So be prepared to spend your whole afternoon lounging around here.  http://www.sofiero.helsingborg.se/main.aspx?epslanguage=SV

Lund


Swedish salmon sandwich

After Helsingborg, we decided to stop by the small town of Lund for lunch before heading south to Malmo. This location was recommended by friends and I can see why they like this place. There are plenty of boutique stores, charming shops, and a good place to stop for lunch and do some afternoon shopping. One of our great finds here is a chain store called Lagerhaus. There are so many stylish and unique souvenirs and gifts you can buy at this store. There are stores like this similar in the states but of small scale. It's too bad there are not many of these stores in the US. And for lunch, we discovered a side cafe where I had consumed one of my best salmon sandwiches ever. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the cafe but I know it's near the Lagerhaus. But this is Europe we're talking about! I'm sure you will be able to find good eateries anywhere from this part of the world.

Malmo
 

Open air concert

Dinner at Mello Yello

We didn't get the opportunity to explore a full day at Malmo. However, this is definitely the most happening city out of the the three that we've visited. It is a miniature version of Copenhagen, with plenty of restaurants, outdoor cafes, local bars, shops, and open live concerts. There were plenty of options to choose from for dinner, but we decided to grab dinner at the fancy Mello Yello bar. What great luck! Not only did we have an amazing dinner, but we also ended up with having one of the best seats for people watching. What a great way to end the night and wrap it up for Sweden before we headed back on the train to Denmark. http://www.melloyello.se/

TRAVEL EXPENSE: (excluding attraction fees and food):

Train: from Copenhagen Central to Helsingor - ~$16usd

Ferry: from Helsingor to Helsingborg: $3usd on HH Ferries

Hotel: my portion - $132usd for 2 nights at Best Western Duxiana

Train: from Helsingborg to Malmo - ~$13usd

Train: from Malmo to Copenhagen - ~$15usd one way

Hotel: my portion - $45usd for 1 night at Cabinn Metro