Today, no train problems!
I arrived at Malmö as scheduled and headed first toward Malmö Slott.
Only a block or two away from the train station a crew was doing some road work in an intersection. Yes, those are cars driving through the intersection while the crew works. A similar thing was going on outside of Icelandia a few days ago. I love the lack of safety regulations and general concern in what appears to be an OSHA-free and non litigious society.
This nice old building was just before Malmö Slott. I walked a few more blocks and came upon...
...Malmö Slott. The Slott has been remoded/reconstructed a number of times in its history, as well as used for a number of purposes, including a prison. It holds the title for the oldest remaining Renaissance castle in Scandinavia. It is now used only for the housing of museums.
In the castle courtyard, I found this small exhibit. It is a representation of the cell that Nelson Mandela lived in for the better part of his imprisonment on Robben Island. The interior of the "cage" here had plaques with Mandela quotes on justice and equality hung inside. I'm not sure why it was here, but it was an interesting and sobering surprise.
The Slott tour began with a rather long and, to me, uninteresting anthropological exhibit presumably centering around regional findings and history. I breezed through this section and continued seeking entrance to the castle.
I was foiled again, but this time with an exhibit on Malmö history. I took more time through this section, reading about various stages in Malmö's growth. The gentleman above, for example, was found in Malmö Slott during its preparation to become a museum. The skeleton was found in chains, face down, and, upon inspection of the remains, it was determined that the person suffered from blunt force trauma to the back of the skull. He lies face down in the exhibit, similar to how he was found. Not all history is pleasant.
After the anthropological and historical exhibits, I managed to slip by the incredibly tight security and gain entrance to Malmö Slott!
The King's apartment was well kept and included many pieces of furniture and other artifacts, including an artist and Christian IV's bible.
In honor of George Contreras, as he continues his walk on the Camino de Santiago today: The Turning Torso through a blown glass window in Malmö Slott.
The interior also housed a small art museum with a variety of lesser known artists. I liked this piece, in particular.
The original castle chapel has been converted into a concert hall, but remains beautiful decorated, despite being much simpler than the original, I'm sure. It houses a pipe organ originally from St. Peter's Church in Malmö and this gorgeous wall and ceiling painting in the half-domed ceiling above the stage.
Malmö Slott? Check. Next stop: The Turning Torso.
The Turning Torso is a skyscraper that rotates as it grows towards the clouds. The entire building turns to the right 90°, as a person looking over his shoulder. Hence, the Turning Torso. Upon its completion in 2005 it was the tallest residential building in the European Union. Some of my pictures make it look like its leaning as well as turning, but I assure you it is a vertical, and very impressive, structure.
After viewing the Turning Torso up close, I stopped by Stapelbäddsparken, the largest and newest skatepark in Malmö. It's very impressive, especially for a completely public and outdoor skatepark. Again, something that could never been done in the good ol' litigious U.S. of A.
I headed back toward the train station then continued to the city square, which I found still recovering from the recent festival. The old city hall was impressive, as usual (seen on the left, above).
I took this opportunity, being so close, to swing by St. Peter's Church again, although construction on the front prevented my entrance. Its a gorgeous gothic style church. I'm sure the interior is incredible, as well.
From the square I walked down the walking street through the shopping district. The modernization of these once medieval towns is interesting to observe, and also somewhat puzzling. Above you can see one example of the stark contrast between old and new in Malmö in these commercial buildings on the walking street.
On my way to my next destination I stopped to rest on a bench in a nice, lush park. I overheard some well-spoken English from a group at a nearby bench. I asked where they were from and it turns out there was only one American in the bunch! All were graduate students at Malmö University. The group included design students from Iran and Washington, a conflict and peace studies student from Denmark, and other students from Canada and Norway. Apparently, Malmö has a very large international population and the entire graduate program is taught in English. This group of friends claimed that among the dozen or so of them that regularly socialized, there was only one Swede. Very international!
They were kind enough to help direct me to my last destination for the day:
Malmö Idrottplats used to be the home of both Malmö FF and IFK Malmö. The choice to put in field turf as well as the building of newer stadiums in Malmö for FIFA qualifying led both clubs to abandon Malmö IP, which is now home to LdB FC, Malmö's Damallsvenskan (the top women's soccer league in Sweden) club. I'd already seen an Allsvenskan game with Mjällby AIF, so I decided to observe the fairer sex's version while in Malmö.
Also, LdB FC is now home to none other than...
... ok, so its nearly impossible to tell from this terrible picture, but its Nilla Fischer! Yes, the same Nilla Fischer I met at the Malmö Festival and who plays on the Swedish National team. She was nice enough to invite me to see her play and even offered a ticket.
Tonight Nilla and first place and undefeated LdB FC were set to face eigth place Kristianstad DFF. The match began as most soccer matches do, with a lot of passing. LdB FC began to control possession when, in the 12th minute, Kristianstad scored the first goal on a nice run aided by a defender's stumble that took her out of the play, leaving the attacker 1 on 1 with the keeper for the score. LdB answered with a lightning quick strike off the ensuing kickoff in the 13th minute. Not to be outdone, Kristianstad replied in the 15th minute to retake the lead, 2-1. Kristianstad continued the surprising first half with a goal in the 35th minute.
Trailing 3-1 at halftime, Nilla was unhapy.
Her side continued to dominate possession in the second half, and the pressure finally got to Kristianstad, who were no longer able to hold off the LdB attack or counter effectively. In the 53rd minute LdB struck, then scored the equalizer in the 60th minute to take firm hold of the momentum. The go ahead goal came only 5 minutes later:
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The fifth goal came in the 76th minute on a beautiful corner cross and header:
Despite the rough start, LdB totally outplayed Kristianstad and really dominated possession and kept constant pressure on Kristianstad. It didn't seem like they could possess the ball for more than 30 seconds at a time and the ball was always in their half.
Final score: LdB FC 5, Kristianstad DFF 3.
I passed by the new opera house on my way back to the station for my return trip to Hässleholm. A very full day of sightseeing and walking. I was exhausted! I kept thinking about George walking 15-20 miles each day on the Camino and felt pretty pathetic. Sitting on the train sure felt nice, though.
Love the torso pictures and your thoughts about Geore. Continue enjoying your time in Europe!
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