By the numbers
22533 steps
16.55kms
The morning was not too bad, but the weather forecast said
that it would be wet sometime during the day. That I would believe as the
weather can change really quickly around here. I had to get up earlish as I
wanted to get a train to Malmo and have breakfast at the station.
I wanted some more cash so I took some money out at the ATM
next to the hostel. Some men were hanging around across the road mainly trying
to distract me. One or two even crossed the road with one saying hi. As soon as
I had my money they were friendly like and one asked me 'If I would like to see
a surprise'. I said no as I have a train to catch. I tried walking one way that
I realised would make me stuck as they were in front of the train station
access. I ignored them and their words as I stormed the train station. I know
scams and thieves when I see it. When I got back from Malmo I told the hostel
people about it and they had not heard of something like that happening before.
At least they know now.
I thought the train was at 727 and it was actually 737,
which was not that bad, but I still buggered up the time. I got onto the train
without a problem and once the train reached the Sweden side, which was over
the Oresund bridge that crossed the water border between Sweden and Denmark.
The border security checked my passport, which I knew they would check. Once I
arrived in Malmo, I decided to go walking after getting a magnet and a
replacement cable for my charger as that had gone missing and I had only noticed.
Once I arrived in Copenhagen. I bought one made in Sweden, so hopefully it
really does work. I took a walk to a lighthouse that I could see and apparently
the lighthouse is the old Malmo one that was opened in 1878. It was basically
in the city and I took a walk there was another one further up from the city.
The buildings were all pretty cool and I knew my plans for the day didn’t
really have anything to do with being outside. I did notice there were no real
beggars on the street or even within the station, so I do wonder if it is a
Sweden thing. I was actually pretty cold in the wind and there was one place
that I was headed to and that was the Malmo castle.
I was following the map on my phone so that I would not get
lost and came across a park that had a toilet around somewhere on the outside
of what seemed to be a casino, but also on the map there was a cemetery. I did
have the library planned into my trip, but as things worked out, I was not in
town for long enough to see everything that I would have wanted. The castle did
look like a great place to start a tour and I went there from the loo. All I
knew was that I was visiting a castle, I had done no research before I left
home or the hostel, but due to the weather I thought it would be something, I
should do. I soon found out that the castle was actually the town museum. I was
greeted at the ticket booth with ‘Hey Hey’, I think that is the hello in Swedish
as someone else later on got my attention with the same words. The castle
itself was built around 1400s if I have gotten the dates right and was a Danish
building and then there were wars between Sweden and Denmark. Too many wars and
one involved Swedish troops marching slowly over the frozen strait and had
Copenhagen under siege. There is plenty of history within the buildings and the
castle was used as a prison for a little while and after the prison closed the
museum moved in as they had outgrown their current place. Even towards the end
of the war in 1945, the Swedish had white bus’ with red cross signs to save
their citizens in concentration camps all behind the back of Hitler.
Once I was able get my ticket, I was told to put my bag in a
locker. That I was able to do and I placed my bag in the locker and put in my
pin number. I had left my passport in my pocket along with my charger and I
needed my glasses. I was surprised as the museum ended up being bigger than I
thought. There was an aquarium that included reptiles, fish and even a cane
toad from Australia. The instructions even recommended not to lick the toad.
The snakes were a little lively, the little green ones anyway. I came across
their fossil collection and the best part about the museum was they had
displays in English. That is helpful when you are completely lost. They didn’t have
full size dinosaurs though, but they had a small collection of taxidermied
animals where they explained the different parts of an animal from egg laying
to kangaroos. I had to stop for lunch and poured my coffee into a glass as you do probably to the disapproval of the
cafe lady who served me.
They do have a maritime area within the museum, but that was
just down the road and was closed until September. The museum I found was
involved with the refugees during World War 2 towards the end of 1945 as they
had bus rescue plan to rescue all the Swedish and Scandinavian citizens from
the camps. The museum itself was used as a refugee camp. The museum covered
other parts of life in Sweden including sports, which I walked through quickly.
I found that a king once had his apartments in the building and prisoners were
kept and I think executed right until the end of World War One. I did enjoy
wandering the museum, but time was slipping away and I needed to move on. There
was a slight problem when I went to get my bag. The locker door was open and my
bag was still there, but I knew I had locked the door. Nothing was missing as I
have checked and again when I got back to the hostel.
It felt like it was getting colder as I wandered around to
have a look at the maritime museum that was shut. I did see a real windmill and
that was near the garden that was a joint venture with the council to look
after and I am unsure if it involved food items too. I walked past as I wanted
to visit the cemetery before it started to rain. I did feel some drops, but I
thought it was my imagination. The cemetery once I walked into it was called
the old Malmo cemetery, but the information said that wasn’t quite true as
there were older ones in the area and I think they were connected to the
church. It was then it started spitting, so I headed towards the train station
and went around some random corners to find a historic square under the name of
Karl X Gustav staty. I thought the buildings looked pretty cool. Once I headed
to the train station, I needed the loo, which meant I had to pay money and I
nearly got past the attendant when he said ‘hey hey’. The train was running a
couple of minutes late, but along the wall of the platform was a video of a
train carriage going past scenery and some towns.
The train was easier than the one going to Sweden, but no
one checked my passport. Once we returned to Copenhagen, it was trying to rain,
but I checked where the fast train left from that I needed to catch. It was a
fair hike away from the station, but you would hope like hell that it wasn’t raining
or else you would get wet. It was like a spur line that had no shelter. We
shall see what it is doing on the day. I did get my washing done, although the
chick at the hostel has done it for me as it is apparently complex. I have
found some strange supermarket food that was a hamburger kit as you build it
yourself. I think that is pretty cool and at least I am inside in the warm than
out in the cold and wet. My constant sneezing and runny nose has stopped as I
really do seem to get hayfever.
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