Tag Archives: Malmö

The Swedish Frontier

(Malmö, Sweden)

Malmö and Copenhagen are in two different countries but, thanks to the Øresund bridge, are now considered to be part of the same metropolitan area. Both Sweden and Denmark are part of the European Union; they are also both part of the Schengen Area. Many people live in Malmö and work in Copenhagen. You’d think that it would not be a hassle to travel from Copenhagen to Malmö. But you would be wrong!

A medieval square in Malmö…and a very large lamp

During the height of the recent refugee exodus in Europe, Sweden was considered to be a desirable destination. It has an extensive social security system and indicated that it was willing to accept refugees. Malmö was the chosen point of entry, given its proximity to central Europe. However, Sweden is not a huge country in terms of population and eventually they decided to restrict the flow. To do this, they decided to hire security personnel and place them on the platform for Malmö-bound trains leaving from Copenhagen. As a result, I had to show my passport and be closely scrutinized before being allowed in the boarding area for the next train to Malmö from Copenhagen.

The main square in downtown Malmö

Once I was in Malmö, however, it was clear sailing.  My hotel was right across from the train station; in turn, the hotel was only a block or two from the centre of old Malmö.  It appeared to be very clean, prosperous…and just a little bit cheaper than Copenhagen.

My soup at La Soupe, Malmö

My last full day in Europe was, once again, rather cool and gray.  Eating out for an entire week was starting to lose its lustre.  However, stumbling upon a cosy restaurant called “La Soupe” was just what the doctor ordered.  It specialized in soup, of course, and I had an excellent tomato/lentil/chorizo soup that blasted away any travel weariness.  It came with some sweet black bread and was supplemented by a warming mug of tea and a chocolate ganache for dessert.

Exterior of “La Soupe” in the French Quarter of Malmö

I had some success at a record shop called Folk å Rock (which I think means “People of Rock”) and decided to wander around the area to the south and east of the historic core.  I had read a vague description of it as a neighbourhood of cheaper restaurants; in reality, it was where many refugees appear to have settled.  It was quite different from old Malmö and it reminded me of entering one of the ethnic neighbourhoods in Toronto.

I visited this record store in Malmö

I had already visited lots of museums and castles in Copenhagen, so I spent the rest of the day doing some shopping and sending a few postcards.  For my last meal, I found a restaurant close to my hotel where I thought I could use up all of my  remaining Swedish coins…neither Sweden nor Denmark use the Euro.  The restaurant was a Thai place and I enjoyed a very tasty Tom Kha Gai soup there.  Alas, I won’t give its name (or any free advertising) because I think they tried to scam me with an extra charge that didn’t appear on the menu!  They never did give me a receipt.

An excellent Tom Kha Gai at a Malmö restaurant that shall remain nameless

After that, I think I felt more ready to return home.  The next morning, I caught a train to Copenhagen’s airport (only 20 minutes from downtown Malmö…and no security check before boarding the train!) and used up my remaining Danish currency there before my connecting flight to Amsterdam.

Hockey Night in Malmö

(Malmö, Sweden)

One of my goals on this trip was to see a professional (ice) hockey game.  This proved to be difficult in Denmark, as there does not appear to be a professional team based close to downtown Copenhagen. However, with Malmö, Sweden, now easily accessible by bridge (you used to have to take a boat), I had another option.

The Swedish Hockey League (SHL) is one of the top professional leagues in the world. While it is a notch below the NHL and Russia’s KHL, it nonetheless features some premier hockey talent and a very dedicated (and knowledgeable) fan base. On November 24, I was able to watch a regular season SHL game between the Malmö Redhawks and Brynäs IF.

Malmo Arena - shortly before gametime
Malmö Arena – shortly before game time

As with European soccer, the crowd was enthusiastic and did not rely on gimmicks to get into the spirit of the game.  The hardcore Malmö supporters were in a standing area at one end of the ice, complete with drums!   Actually, I suppose there was one gimmick:  the Redhawks came on the ice at the beginning of the game through the mouth of a giant inflatable hawk:  lasers and explosions were in abundance.

Here come the Malmö Redhawks!
Here come the Malmö Redhawks!

Malmö started off the season strong but had been faltering of late.  Against Brynäs, they definitely controlled most of the game but had a very hard time scoring on David Rautio, the talented Brynäs goalkeeper.  In the second period,  Brynäs took the lead on a goal that the goal judge missed because it went in so quickly.  A look at the video replay confirmed that the puck did in fact go into the net.

The opening faceoff
The opening faceoff

Going into the third period, Brynäs was holding on to a slim 1-0 lead.  Things looked even worse for the home team when Malmö took a five-minute major penalty for a check to the head in the third period. However, they managed to kill off the major penalty and take one last run at solving the Rautio mystery.

The diehard Malmö fans in the standing room section
The diehard Malmö fans in the standing room section

With four minutes left in the game, Malmö finally scored on a rebound to tie the game.  Brynäs took a penalty shortly afterwards, on a scary play that saw a Malmö player crash into the Brynäs goalkeeper (and net) at high speed.  On the resulting power play, Malmö scored on another rebound with just two minutes remaining and the home crowd was rewarded with a narrow victory.

Malmö on the attack!
Malmö (in red) on the attack!

While the skill level was very high, I thought that the players had a tendency to forego shooting opportunities when they were close to the opponent’s goal.  There might have been more goals in this game if the forwards had shot the puck more often rather than trying to make that one final pass close to the net.  If you want to see the highlights, they are currently located at this link.

Malmö Redhawks celebrate their dramatic victory
Malmö Redhawks celebrate their dramatic victory

It was great fun to see the game and I will definitely try to catch another one if I am ever in Europe during the winter months.  I went to a Swiss League game about 10 years ago and that was a little crazier (probably because thousands of spectators from the visiting team made the trip by train and were not feeling much pain by the time they arrived in Zürich).

Stay tuned for more on the actual city of Malmö!