They tell you Sweden is close, that you can see it from Denmark just by looking across the Baltic Sea. They aren’t kidding. We got on a train at Central Station in Copenhagen, yawned to unpop our ears as we went underwater, and got off 30 minutes later in Malmö, Sweden.

Turning Torso. “A magnificent white building that touches the clouds.”

With this as our guide, we visited Malmöhus Castle to see the art museum and walk through the old castle structures. We looked out to see the Turning Torso tower, a combo residential and office building designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Though not bustling as it might be in warmer weather, we walked across the square known as  Lilla Torg. We ate Greek food for lunch and got lost trying to find the skatepark (Stapelbäddsparken). Our last stop in Malmö was Sankt Petri Church, Malmö’s oldest building. After a break from the rain/hail and a coffee/hot chocolate at Malmö Central Station, we got on a train to Helsingbørg.

Our first experience with Air bnb, we successfully piled into a cozy apartment just outside of central Helsingbørg. Dinner was a cheeseburger (yes, I broke my vegetarianism) and sweet Belgium beer. The most striking thing we saw was the night-scene at the train station. At 10pm (22:00) the three bars and McDonalds were packed full with people 25+. When we left at 1am (01:00), these bars were closing and I don’t know if the night continued for the locals. We headed back to the apartment for a long night’s sleep.

On Sunday, we went back to Helsingbørg Central Station in order to catch a ferry that runs every 15 minutes, transporting people between southern Sweden and Helsingør (Elsingør), Denmark. The ferry trip is 20 minutes long. There are bars, restaurants, duty-free shopping, and a smoking room on the ferry. It might as well be a floating mall.

Kronborg Castle. Also known as Hamlet’s Castle. Helsingør.

Like the good little adventurers we are, having done no research before taking off for the weekend, we were happily surprised to learn that Helsingør (Remember this is in Denmark, not to be confused with where we had come from in Sweden. That was Helsingbørg.) is the home of Kronborg, popularly known as Hamlet’s Castle. For those who don’t know, Shakespeare’s character of Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. Theater groups often use Kronborg for on-sight performances of the play.

Queen’s Hallway

The highlight of the trip, we got lost walking through the Royal Apartments (King Frederik II and Queen Sofie’s bedchambers), the massive ballroom with black and white tiled floors, a room of tapestries and history of the monarchy, and my favorite, small round corner rooms illuminated by sunlight (can you believe it!?) that overlook the water and fortress walls lined with cannons.

My favorite part of the castle was the Casemates, a dark creepy walk underneath the main castle and through the fortress walls where soldiers would stay during longer sieges and attacks. A huge statue of Holger the Dane can be found in these caves. Legend has it Holger the Dane will rise to defend his country when it is threatened by a foreign enemy.

Continuing this trip’s theme of royalty and castles,  I bought these postcards at Hamlet’s giftshop:

Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II and the Prince Consort Henrik, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie

HRH Crown Prince Frederik and HRH Crown Princess Mary with their children. Oldest to youngest: HRH Prince Christian, HRH Princess Isabella, HRH Prince Vincent and HRH Princess Josephine.

Lasting observations:
– Danes do not jay-walk. They wait for the lights to change at crosswalks, even when there are no cars in sight. It’s a New Yorker’s nightmare and takes some getting used to. Swedes do jay-walk. Sometimes cutting it a little close and just missing being hit by a car or bike.
– It is a lot harder to buy alcohol in Sweden than it is in Denmark. The boys were disappointed to find that we had gone from a country without open-container laws (you can walk around with your open beer anywhere in Copenhagen, except for when on the bus) to one where when we tried to buy wine in a bottle labeled “Merlot,” it was alkoholfritt. (Guess what that means in Swedish?)
– As a student in Copenhagen, if given the option of living in southern Sweden or Helsingør, Denmark, pick Sweden. It is a shorter commute.
– I did not eat or even see Swedish fish (the candy) while in Sweden for less than 48 hours. I did look online to confirm that Swedish fish are indeed Swedish. They were originally developed by Swedish confectioner Malaco.