Malmo, Sweden - Europe Trip 2012

We've been back in the states for two weeks now, but it seems like forever since we were backpacking through Europe. Luckily, lots of pictures were taken and I am so excited to share them with you this week! I'll be posting a different place each day, and sharing our stories along the way. I hope you enjoy them. First stop: Malmo, Sweden!

Malmo is a city in the very south of Sweden, right along the coast of the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Sweden and one of the largest cities in Scandinavia. When visiting Malmo, travelers actually fly into Copenhagen, Denmark because it has a large, international airport, and is only a 20-30 minute train ride to Malmo. We chose Malmo because Alison's parents are currently living there, they've visited before (and they would know where to take us), and who doesn't want to start a trip with a free place to stay?!

Since Sweden is so far north, the sun stays out much longer in the Summer. We only experienced nightfall from 11pm to 4am. Every hour between had enough sun to light the sky (the "sunset" pictures above were actually taken around 10:30pm).

We spent our first day in Malmo walking all over the place! We made sure to see the Turning Torso (the tallest building in Scandinavia), we hung out along the Baltic Sea, and strolled through an amazing park. Since the sun doesn't come out as often, people soak it up in the summertime! People were sunbathing all over the place; parks, waterfronts, restaurants, anywhere they could be outside. It made me realize just how spoiled I am here in California.

After a long day of exploring, Alison's Dad, Curt, treated us all to dinner at a great outdoor restaurant. It reminded some of us of a restaurant in Santa Cruz called Shadowbrook because it had multiple levels and lots of vegetation among the tables. It's only open during the summer months and had a great vibe throughout.

One aspect of the city that really stood out for me was the architecture. There is so much older architecture living among new/ modern technology. I thought the city did a great job of merging the two, without compromising either style.

Our last day in Malmo was much more relaxed than our first. We woke to rain falling on the sky lights and spent the morning window shopping through the city. Since we were carrying everything in our packs I didn't want to make any purchases, so I grabbed the catalogs to my favorite stores instead. The design and style in Sweden is so simple and inspiring; I definitely walked away with a mind full of imagination and creativity.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring a couple of parks and having a picnic near a lake. The sky kept threatening to rain, but it held out just long enough for us to get home. Once home, we packed our things, had one last dinner with Curt, and then caught our over night train to Berlin...

To be continued...

(More photos after the jump)