Geography
A land of lakes and forests, and home of the Vikings, Sweden is the biggest country in Scandinavia. It attracts around 6 million visitors a year. Roughly three times the size of Britain, its population is just 8.8 million. A relatively recent member of the EU, Sweden has yet to commit to the Euro.
Malmö is, with its 250,000 inhabitants, Sweden’s third largest city. The city was founded at the end of the 13th century and is today south Sweden’s commercial centre. You shouldn’t let that put you off however as the city is clean, friendly and studded with pleasant parks (which, on a hot day, are packed with frolicking Swedes in their underwear). For its first 400 years, Malmö was the second most important city in Denmark after Copenhagen. But in 1658, it was handed over to the Swedes along with a massive part of what is now southern Sweden. Despite this, the two countries remain on good terms.
Malmö is also a green city with leafy parks, bathing beaches and marinas. Some three million people live in the Öresund region. It is an area very well endowed with centres of learning; there are three university cities – Copenhagen, Roskilde and Lund – as well as Malmö’s own new college. The area has Kastrup, one of northern Europe’s largest international airports, within easy reach. The new Öresund Bridge, which opened for general traffic on 1 July, is a long awaited fast link between Sweden and Denmark.
Language
Swedish. Sami is spoken by the small indigenous population of Samis, who live mainly in the far north. English very widely (and convincingly) spoken. For the uninitiated, Swedish sounds like a cat trying to gargle with a mouth full of marbles. Actually, it doesn’t sound half as bad as Dutch. Check out a few helpful sentences and their national anthem.
Weather
May to July are the warmest months, and the midnight sun is visible above the Arctic Circle around this time. Stockholm can reach the low to mid 20s in summer, but for much of the year it ranges from 5-15°C. In the north, winter-like conditions can prevail even in summer. Coastal cities can get iced up in the depths of winter and temperatures can plunge, though on the whole the weather is relatively mild, tempered by warm Gulf Stream currents.
Accommodation
Sweden is not a cheap place to visit, but it isn’t horribly expensive. I decided, under considerable duress, to splurge on a good idea for my dearly beloved and booked a 4 star one through the easyjet website.
For about $60 we had a lovely double room, free cable TV and a sauna. Like most hotels in Sweden the breakfast was included and this alone was worth (judging by the volume of cake I managed to put away) about $55.
A couple of good links for hotels:
http://www.hotelstravel.com/sweden.html
http://www.swedenhotels.se/eng/
http://www.busweb.com/hotels/sweden.html
Camping is also easy in Sweden and you can essentially camp anywhere which isn’t private property. This is an attractive option to backpackers especially in the summer when the days are warm and long. Check out a Swedish camp site.
What to Eat
The Swedes eat a lot of fish, usually fried, poached or pickled, while potatoes are the mainstay vegetable. Herring is ubiquitous, often served pickled with onions and mustard, but sometimes fermented (surstromming).
Home of the smorgasbord – traditionally 120 hot and cold dishes – the Swedish version will most likely include salmon, herring, meatballs, salads, pies, boiled eggs, bread and fried potatoes; from all this vegetarians should find enough to keep them happy. Pea soup with pork, reindeer or elk meat, cabbage rolls and pancakes served with a yellow alcoholic punch are also typical. Like the rest of Scandinavia, alcohol is extremely expensive.
Breakfast in most hotels is a buffet style affair which can set you up for the day. A good spread includes breads, fruit, cereal, eggs, bacon, cake and even raw fish! Pay special attention to the endearing little touches that makes Sweden such a fun place to travel in. For example, the other day I saw two baskets of eggs laid out for breakfast. One was labelled ‘boiled for 3 minutes’ and the other was labelled ‘boiled for 7 minutes’.
Places to Eat
I had one of the most memorable meals I’ve had for a long time in Malmo recently. In the central square is a large collection of restaurants. Most have gas burners and offer blankets to allow you to sit out on the patio and enjoy the scenery regardless of the weather. I ate at Victors, where for 633 SEK (about US$50) we had a wonderful three course fish meal with beers. Ultra attentive service, stunning food and a nice atmosphere. What more could you want?
Banks
Bureau de Changes can be found dotted about the place and every street corner seems to have its own ATM. The normal cards seem to be welcome everywhere and can be used in most ATMS – I could even use my Bank Of Brasil Visa Electron Card.
Getting There
Getting there from the UK has never been easier – Ryanair are virtually giving flights away. Virgin also fly to Copenhagen, giving you access to a high speed rail link.
Eurolines and other coach companies run direct services from London but they are about the same price as a flight.
Getting Around
Malmo is a great city to stroll around. To get to the Bo01 exhibition, a free shuttle bus runs from outside the central station. Local buses are clean, affordable and regular whilst trains run to neighbouring countries and throughout all of Sweden. Details of local transport can be found at: www.visit-sweden.com
About the Author
The author currently lives in Cambridge, UK but is more often found hanging around dubious bars in South America or Central Europe. He claims that this is for work and that dragging himself from one bar to another in an attempt to earn a living is poor recompense for seeing the world on expenses.
Recent adventures have taken him from the jungles of Brazil, via Holland and Prague to Scandinavia. When not abusing cab drivers, sending abusive faxes to Air Portugal (or Air Puta as it’s known in the trade) or trying to convince his boss of the unique selling opportunities in Turkmenistan, he can be found at home listening to Miles Davis. He is a regular contributor to BootsnAll and may be contacted at nihon_news@yahoo.com.
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Europe Insiders page.
