Stockholm, Malmo, Copenhagen and being a tourist again

I had three nights in Stockholm, one in Malmo and two in Copenhagen and then the riding will resume.

Stockholm was great. I did a walking tour and wandered around for most of the time. The rest was spent dodging rain and relaxing.

I caught a bus from Stockholm to the nice and very bike friendly city of Malmo. When I booked the bus ticket, I was hoping to ride over the Øresund bridge to Denmark, but I found out that it’s cars and trains only. So I got the train there from Malmo Central.

I had camped near the bridge and the Baltic in Malmo at a huge campground. There, I met a really nice Dutch family, the van der Werffs – Peter, Mariëlle, Jitse and Meke.

(Thanks for the spelling correction Peter !)

They’ve ridden many places and were full of great advice. They have a couple of ‘antique’ Kogas and I sincerely hope that my bike lasts as long as theirs. It was so nice of them to come over and have a chat. They even offered me breakfast but my dodgy stomach wasn’t up for food this morning. Thanks folks great to meet you !

The ride back into Malmo was interesting. I rode past a footy field – yep, AFL – and couldn’t believe it. It’s the real deal. It’s right beside the rugby field and a couple of cricket pitches … in southern Sweden of all places.

A quick search reveals that Port Malmo Footy Club is alive and well and playing in the SAFL.

I got the train across the Øresund bridge as bikes aren’t allowed, and went into central Copenhagen. It’s another great walking city. So that’s what I did in between the thunderstorms.

The dark clouds made a nice backdrop for the buildings in and around the old town. The only museum I went to was the Design Museum which I really enjoyed.

Then it was over to the little mermaid. I don’t know why I went. It was as underwhelming forty years ago as it is now. To be fair, it’s nice, but hardly worthy of being a major tourist attraction. The area nearby is far more impressive.

After seven days of very little riding, I’ll hang up my tourist shoes, put on the bike sandals and get going in the morning.