Östervärn

Copenhagen and Malmo 5/5
Great excitement today, we went to Sweden for lunch – took the train across the water to Malmo just because we could. We’d been told to take our passports but not sure why, maybe in case we got stuck there, but there was no way a whole train-load of people was going to be checked. The trains run approximately every 15 minutes, a journey of around 45 minutes.

We walked a short distance to a small square and Ellie spied KFC so that was lunch sorted, and I have to say they were an awful lot more efficient that KFC Tahuna. Upstairs where we ate there was a beautiful old fireplace/heater and a notice saying the building dated from 1816. A pretty posh KFC.

Justyna had heard of a design museum (she is an interior designer) and was keen to have a look, it was very close by in an older part of town, lots of old buildings including one bright yellow with a very wonky floor, and another brick building with a lovely façade dated 1525. I found stone cats but they were too heavy to take home and too expensive at about $300 each. However I did find a nice blue glass cat which found its way into my bag so I was happy. On the exhibition floor one item stood out, a dress made in part from a lifejacket and two sleeping bags, it wouldn’t have been out of place at Wearable arts.

So that was Sweden, and the 40th country on my list – 42 countries for Pete.

We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting then saw Jon on his way to the station and airport, and I got on with catching up on my writing.

Random stuff and photos around Copenhagen and Malmo
Some observations:
• I saw the word ‘Stenhuggeri’ next to a yard full of blank tombstones of all kinds, looked it up on line and yes, it’s a quarry with an emphasis on tombstones, but the word looked quite funny……
• As did the word ‘BAD’ in a shop on a set of shelves full of rather nice towels and other household items
• In another shop called ‘Normal’ which has a wide variety of household goods but mostly cosmetics, beaty aids, soap etc (Palmolive hand soap pump pack the equivalent of less than NZ$3) – here I saw baby dummies/pacifiers right next to a big stand of condoms. Is there a message in that?
• In central Copenhagen there are wide cycleways, the bike is certainly king here with all sorts being seen such as cargo bikes and we’ve seen a few with a fairly big box on the front filled with six or seven little kids. The lanes are a bit like St Vincent Street – footpath, bike lane, parking and then the roads which can be quite narrow with all those extras
• We’ve been woken at 7am by VERY noisy rubbish collectors dragging the big wheely bins over the cobbles in the yard and yelling at the top of their voices
• The 8am church bells across the road sounded MUCH nicer
• Along the railway sidings I saw workmen with big paint rollers covering over lots of tagging with plain grey paint, a very good idea but I wonder how long it will last before the next lot?
• There are a lot of roundabouts on the roads, really well kept with flowers or well-trimmed shrubs. Also small green spaces at crossroads or grassed road dividers at this time of year with spring flowers, very pretty too with lots of daffodils. There doesn’t appear to be the nonsense we had in Nelson with the ‘dangerous’ tidying (or not tidying) of roundabouts.

End of random stuff and time for bed.Read more