Back in September, after HiveFest in Netherlands, I went to Denmark for a few days to visit my friend from Taiwan who is now living in Sweden. Confusing right? Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Taiwan!! It just shows how connected our world is.
Elva was my language exchange partner when I was living in Taiwan. Each week, we'd meet up for a couple of hours for a chit chat, an hour in English and an hour in Mandarin to help each other improve our language. A few years ago Elva met a Swedish guy who was studying in Taiwan. Soon he returned home, then Elva went to visit him, coincidentally at the peak of Covid, though I don't think they had planned it that way. I have been meaning to visit Elva for a while as I've never been to Sweden, and since I was going to Amsterdam, it made sense to roll two trips into one. She lives in Malmo, which is only half an hour's train journey away from Copenhagen, and that's where Denmark comes into the story.
The train ride from Copenhagen to Malmo was a nice experience, but that shall be for another post.
Malmo is pretty boring (I didn't say that)
Ever since I said I'd be visiting, Elva had prewarned me that Malmo is pretty boring and there isn't much to do or see. That's fine I said because my objective wasn't sightseeing. We hadn't seen each other over nearly four years, and as fate would have it, our friendship took us half way round the world. It was lovely to see Elva again after such a long time. We went for a stroll around the older part of town, and true enough, that didn't take long, an hour or so. 🙃 It was a nice walk though.
Turning Torso
We had an afternoon to kill before dinner time, and Elva suggested that we do a boat ride along the canals. It sounded like a fun thing to do and we could get to see a bit more of Malmo without walking. Perfect! 
We went for more walks first as we needed a supermarket to get some food for a picnic on the boat ride. This time we went to a newer part of the city by the harbour. This area was such a contrast from the older part we had visited earlier on in the morning.
One building that really stood out for me is the Turning Torso, you can see clearly why it's called that. Standing at 190 meters tall, the Turning Torso is the tallest building in the Nordics when it was completed in 2005. The twisted design was the first in the world when it was built and it twists 90 degrees from the base to the top source
BookaBoat
Time for our boat ride now. The boat ride is fully self service, you book and pay everything on the app, turn up at your reserved time and they send you a code to activate the electric boat. They say you don't need any experience to operate the boat. Just as well, as Elva had only been on it once with her boyfriend and his friends. Whereas hubby and I, can't even swim let alone operate a boat! The dock is by this bridge, the newer part of town is ahead of us, the older part behind, in this image.
Before getting on the boat, we have to collect life jackets and cushions from the lockers (they text you the key to the lock) and spent time reading all the instructions carefully. To be fair, it wasn't that complex but you just want to be sure before you get in the water.
There's also map so you know where to go. There are three suggested routes, a big loop, a small loop and the marina area, which potentially could take you out to the sea to Denmark. Not recommended!! We booked the boat for two hours and Elva was very gung ho. She suggested we go to the marina first, then do the small loop and finish off with the big loop. All that was doable within two hours - according to the map. Since we were all novices, I suggested maybe we should do the big loop first and then see how we're doing for time.
Source : BookaBoat
And you know what? I'm glad we did that, because the three of us were such idiots. It took us ages, like 20 minutes just to undock the boat and get used to the levers to manoeuvre directions and speeds. At one stage our boat was going round and round in circles 😂🙈
Once we figured everything out, we were on the roll. It was an absolutely lovely way to spend time around the city. The boat was big enough for 12 people. Personally I think that would have been a little on the squashed side, but great for sharing costs. You can go as fast or as slow as you want. We did it the slow way and cruised along the canal, admiring the various viewpoints. When asked, Elva didn't know about many of these places even though she's been in Malmö for over a year. You're hopeless, I told her!!
So sadly, I can't tell you anything about the landmarks. I'll just show you the view along the way. A bit of this, a bit of that and a bit of me.
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My day trip to Malmö turned out to be a really lovely day, catching up with friends, and the boat ride which I really enjoyed. If you're ever in Malmö with a group of friends with a couple of hours to kill and want to relax, I highly recommend it. Plus, the best thing about this trip, I get to pin a new country on my Pinmapple map!!
You can checkout all my travel post on the Pinmapple here or click on Mr Pinmapple below
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It has been a beautiful trip for you. As a traveling lover I really enjoys the Malmö trip. Even though we have not heard anything about the landmarks from you, we are still happy to see this great blog.
Luckily I have these photos to remind me of the trip even though I had no idea where it went!
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Riding in that electric boat if I don't have someone who is familiar I won't dare😂.
Yes, I am bit adventurous but not in the water, I can't swim! (Such a shame from someone who grew up in an island).
Yet, if I am with friends, then why not.
Have a safe travel.
I was quite worried at first, but since I had a life jacket on and we were in the city center, everything felt very safe. Definitely a good experience
That looks like was a really awesome time. The town looks beautiful even if it is boring. The fact that you got to go boating eliminates the boring factor for me right off the top. It is also cool that you were able to take a picnic with you to eat on the boat.
They had quite a big table in the centre so people could bring snacks and drinks on board and have a little party, minus the dancing of course!! The whole business model is very neat, I think they should roll it out for more places
That is really cool! Thanks for sharing this! I agree, it would be neat for them to have something like that in more places.
A lovely place to explore on a boat. The weather looks fine as well. Such a pretty place.
!PIZZA
Really nice tour story, thank you for sharing it with us.
How much did you pay for boat trip? I am curious.
🅖ᴏᴏᴅ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ✔
🗳🅨ᴏᴜ ɢᴏᴛ ᴍʏ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ ✔
🤜🤛🅖ᴏᴏᴅ ᴊᴏʙ✔
I'm ashamed to say I didn't pay anything as I forgot to ask Elva how much it cost to pay her back our share 😳 Been feeling very guilty about it since we left, have to buy her a big dinner next time I see her
LOL, well next time you have to invite a nice dinner (and ask someone how much cost those boats please) .
That drain cover looks cool!
Funnily enough stad is spelled exactly the same way as in my laungauge. Does that make sense? It means town...
Etc.
Die stad van rose... The city/town of roses.
I've never seen a subway system aswell, that looks pretty neat!! And scary at the same time😂
!PIZZA
!LUV
I just googled the word stad. I can understand it being a common word in the Nordics, then maybe it filter down south to Dutch. Maybe that's how it got integrated into Afrikan as well?
Linguistic is such a fascinating subject!
The trains were very efficient in Denmark and Sweden, will be posting about it soon....
I also wish to meet my hive community members. I live in Pakistan and hive community members mostly live in America and other countries. The real fun is when we meet friends, spend time with friends and have a lot of fun. Some time ago we also went go to the mountain area and we also did boarding there. Your city is very beautiful and these trees add to its beauty. Thanks for sharing your happiness with us.
I believe there are some Pakistanians on Hive as well, hopefully you will come across them sometime to expand your network on hive.
Wow that is cool that it is a self service boat and look at you using that fancy formatting!
Learning from the best Sara!!!
This environment is sooo beautiful, I love boat rides tho am always afraid because I don't know how to swim but I always go on my life jacket and enjoy my ride, you really had a wonderful tour and your beautiful.
Thanks for dropping by!
I've never been, but it doesnt look that boring !!! Pics look great - plus it looks like you had lovely weather there !
!LUV
Good weather always makes a lot of difference. I'm sure with Malmo being one of the biggest city, they have a lot of offer, Elva's is just quite hopeless!!! 😄
Certainly not a boring place for me. The thought of traveling a new place is already very exciting for me.
I am glad that you were reunited with your friend! 😊
It's always nice visiting a new place, I'm of the opinion there's always something to explore and see
same case here. 😊😍
So nice that you could go from the Netherlands further and could visit Elva.
Great catching up after a long time.
Sometimes life changes and brings friends together in other places. It’s fun 🤩
And glad you did have a nice day even though it’s a boring place hehehe 🤭
Great captures @livinguktaiwan thanks for sharing.
I'll say it for you. Malmö is pretty bland! I just wanted to go under the tunnel so at least it had a reason for being!
Wish I'd known about the boats though...
Taking the train across was another big bonus for me, even though I didn't get to see a lot, it's the thought of going under sea from one country to another that's interesting
We are strange creatures us humans, we always tend to think of our home towns as "boring", yet to visitors it can be quite the opposite, Malmo looks pretty neat.
Amazing that you have kept in contact for 40 years, I haven't a clue who I was hanging out with so long ago!!!
Totally agree, most people don't appreciate their own town or get used to places that they see day in day and don't think much about it. That's why sometimes it's interesting to read people write about say even London, as some see it very different from us.
It's 4 years, not 40!!! 😄
Where the hell did I get 40 from? Sheesh too much gin !
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I had to smile when I read that Malmo is boring - I have heard that and have never visited. However it is nice to see it - it looks nice. The best part is that you could meet your friend and explore somewhere new.
Meeting up with my friend was certainly the best thing, otherwise I may not have gone to Malmo, it is a bit random to be honest 😄
Wow, what a unique trip! It's so cool that you guys get to operate the boat yourselves.
It was certainly a very nice experience, glad we did it, as I would have never considered these type of activities
Sounds like a lovely trip! It's fun to see the real Turning Torso in your photo here. I got a mini one from a King's cake exactly 1 year ago, and it's Three Kings' Day / Epiphany again tomorrow!😃
What a coincidence!!! So they baked the Turning Torso in the King's cake? Is that from Sweden as well? The little hedgehog is really cute!
That was from France, and they also celebrate it in Belgium by baking a bean in the cake. The one who got it would wear the paper crown included in the package.
Love the views from the boat. I wish I could also do it soon. Happy New Year!
Happy new year @afterglow !
I've been to Sweden many times, but have never been to Malmö. On one of the photographs, it looks very similar to one of the islands in the Stockholm area, Vaxholm, on another one it looks like they used the very same bricks as the palace in Old-Town's Stockholm, or a banking institute or something.
Looks like you had fun, after visiting the Netherlands! And you're absolutely right, when you're around, you gotta take advantage of the opportunity while it presents itself. The weather seemed to be pretty Sunny as well, I think it was pretty chilly during HiveFest in the Netherlands, no?
Oh oh oh! And have you seen the 'The Knotted Gun' statue?
The Knotted Gun..... I had to google it to confirm, and yes, I have seen it!!! But not in Sweden. It was exhibited in London many years ago, and I remember at that time, thinking what a powerful message it sends. I tried to find the photos, not sure where they've gone....
That doesn't look boring at all :) I love the self serve boats!
Yeah, that electric boat is going to run out of juice eventually - probably sooner rather than later 🤣🤣🤣
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