Welcome to Malmo! Wandering the main boulevard
My first day out exploring Malmö began after my visit to the Migration Agency to get the bloody residence permit done. But it was over in a jiffy so now onto exploring the City! The green bus stop (I caught bus 31) right opposite the Agency can take you to Malmo Central in about 30-40 minutes (SEK18.50 for one-way ticket. My poor wallet.)
On the plus side, buses in Sweden, or at least the Skåne region are suuuuuuper comfortable. You have to wear seatbelts for safety even though majority of passengers don't - it's better to look dorky and be safe rather than be fined or crash or something!
What do I see here? A USB charging port, you guess tentatively?? YES INDEED - I understand now why transport fees are so goddamn expensive. There are USB charging ports on the bus! I managed to get my phone from 88% to 97% on the bus journey, so not too bad aye! (But always bring a power pack with you. Just. Always. Pro-tip).
Ahh... my love, a USB charging port on the go
Malmöhus Castle:
The exterior of Malmöhus Castle is both underwhelming, yet impressive - built in 1434, it's Scandinavia's oldest surviving Renaissance Castle, built by Eric of Pomerania, then King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (once unified). Malmöhus Castle was situated in a strategic location of immense importance - where the west side of the City could be protected from warring enemies, but where shipping traffic and trade towards the south of Oresund could be monitored.
The present appearance of Malmöhus Castle appeared following a significant reconstruction in the mid-sixteenth century, when King Christian III ordered a modern fortress to be built in the same site as the Renaissance Castle and county governor's residence.
Once a Danish mint in the Middle Ages, then a court party house in the Baroque, then a prison in the 19th Century, Malmöhus Castle is now part of Malmö Museums, the largest museum complex in Southern Sweden.
Part I: The Natural History Museum:
Honestly, this museum is a strange place. They have a range of taxidermied animal displays - I went to see the bird "exhibition" first but after a while I kind of got turned off looking at stuffed animal corpses. Just isn't my thing - I'd prefer to see them alive and interact with them ... from a distance.
Wild boars
Red Deer
Snowy Owl - the #1 bird birdwatchers want to spot out in the woods in Sweden
A Peregrine Falcon - I've never seen this bird before!
Flamingo - honestly it was this display that utterly turned me off the rest of the exhibitions. I think I found the juxtaposition between animal (corpse) and the fetishisation of the lights and colours and props to be... distasteful. Seeing it just rubbed me the wrong way.
Great Bustard with chick (sleeping)
I've never seen or heard of this bird before either, and it was both an interesting yet confronting experience to see this display (on camouflage) because of the poses of the animal and the thought that these birds needed to be killed purposefully in order to be preserved this way. They are such beautiful, majestic birds.
Part II: The "Aquarium":
The Aquarium was a weird mix of both natural history displays, conservation/preservation efforts (particularly with frogs) and a display of marine life from across Europe and Africa. A strange mix of things kind of conglomerated together under the label "Aquarium". I think I enjoyed this part of the museum the most - looking and saying hello to the delightful fish species I'd never encountered before!
"Warning with Colour" was the title of this "exhibit"
Spotted!
A piranha! First time seeing them in real life
I think this was a puffer fish - when I said hello it started puffing up and swimming away WHOOPS
These are Garden Eels (otherwise known as Heterocongrinae) - I find them utterly adorable! When food floats past they "jump" up and eat, and when predators arrive they smoosh back into their holes
Ah, yes. Lizard friends!
This reminded me of a part of Roald Dahl's"The Witches" where the main narrator is offered a cool snake as a present... from a nice, gloved lady wearing pointed shoes...
I had a Harry Potter moment watching this snake - look at it's enlarged belly!
Damn! I forgot to take a photo of the wall label of these guys but they're definitely a form of sting-ray. Look at the underbelly of this little one! Adorable!!
Part III: The Castle (with Ingmar Bergman Exhibition)
I found this to be the least interesting part of the museum - I'm not too interested in film so it's not my thing, but the place does a good job in terms of displaying the exhibitions on offer and the way they curate how information is released through sound, wall text and labels.
So here's where the castle gets a bit confusing - the Ingmar Bergman exhibition kind of stops halfway through and you can segue to this Cannon Tower to look through some portraits and read about the significant individuals whom took part in Swedish/Danish history throughout the ages, and then make your way back to the rest of the Bergman exhibition.
Random knight armour pointing you to the Cannon Tower
Path of the Cannon Tower
Path leading back to the Bergman Exhibition
More Bergman costume exhibits in the portrait room
Costume + puppet exhibit
My special find for the day: a portrait of Queen Hedwig Eleonora, who built the famous Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm! By artist David Klocker Ehrenstrahl c. 17th Century
Lunch:
I got lunch at Raw Food House, read my review here!
St. Petri Church
I think this is the church to see if you stop by Malmo - it's a 5 minute walk from Malmo Central Station and it's a lovely warm 700-year old church building to explore in, with many hidden gems inside! This is the oldest surviving church and the oldest brick building in Malmo. Both Apostles, Peter and Paul were chosen as 'Patron Saints' when the church was consecrated in 1319.
The Entrance - don't you feel like it's the 15th Century when you see those doors?
The Pulpit - funded by Magistrate Engelbret Friis in 1599. Made from sandstone and black limestone, made by carpenters Daniel Thomisen and Jorgen Stenhugger, painted by Hans Mahler. It is decorated with relief paintings depicting six scenes from the life of Jesus: the Annunciation, Birth, Last Supper, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension (left to right)
The Main Altar + construction work to reinstall a new organ!
The altar stands at 15m tall and is one of the tallest wooden altars in Scandinavia. Made from ornamented, painted and gilded oak, it was crafted by German-born carpenter Hendrik Konnicke and the sculptors Jacob Kremberg, Otto Statius, Curt Snedker and Ollrich Svarfer, completed in 1611.
The middle section, decorated by oil paintings by Malmo artist Pieter Hartman depict, from the bottom up, the Last Supper, Crucifixion and Ascension. The name of God - Yahweh - is also written in Hebrew at the top.
The main church organ located above the entrance to the west porch of the church behind the pews.
The facade of the organ is a Gustavian design from the late 1700s. It has 5500 pipes and 74 organ stops.
There are different chapels located throughout St Petri's Church - the one which I managed to see is the Merchant's (Kramarkapellet) Chapel.
This Chapel gives visitors of the church some idea of what the entire building might have looked like prior to the Reformation. On the ceiling you can make out grotesque figures of human and animal chimeras, jesters and animals playing music. There is folk humour weaved throughout the motifs too. Funny old men and rough but jovial human faces are rumoured to be self-portraits of the builders (not an uncommon practice within the Middle Ages).
This Chapel was dedicated to Saint Jorgen, and build in 1442. The Chapel paintings appear to have been painted within two different periods: 1460 and 1500. Despite some inscriptions, the artist remains unknown to date.
Today, the Merchant's Chapel is used as a baptistery. The decoration of the baptismal font dates from 1601 and consists of six reliefs, all of which relate to the practice of baptism. The basin is a single piece of hammered pure silver from 1919.
The Baptismal Basin
Ceiling detail of the Merchant's Chapel
Highlights of the Day:
- Spotting frogs and seeing multiple new species of fish at Malmohus Castle
- Dessert at Raw Food House - will def be back!
- Stumbling into the Merchant's Chapel in St Petri's Church - it's definitely a sight to see
- Charging ports on the bus!
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