Jeff: Denmark and our first two days in Sweden

Next morning we did a short run before embarking on what we named “Bridge Day”. Bridge number 1 was called Den Nye Lillebaeltsbro, our only free crossing. We parked up just underneath the start of this bridge where we found a nice viewpoint and picnic benches to have some breakfast. This crossing took us to a place in Denmark Middelfart which Catherine found rather amusing. 2^nd Bridge to cross was Storebaelt. We again stopped beforehand as there was a nice stop to explore around and get some good pictures of the bridge. It had a nice walk down the coast and we watched a couple of local swimmers brave the waters. This crossing was very impressive however Catherine wasn’t impressed when she had to jump out at the toll booth as we soon found out that the bridge doesn’t recognise foreign numberplates. Luckily for us and our wallets we had a ‘biz’. A little device which could be used in the same way and meant we could cross this bridge at a total cost of £33.67 rather than the PAYG amount which costs double that.

We wasted no time heading for our final bridge, the famous Oresundsbron bridge. This was the one built in 2000 and cost an eye watering 2.6 billion euro’s (To build, not to cross!). It started with a lengthy tunnel before emerging out of the Oresund Strait. It’s the longest bridge in Europe running nearly 5 miles excluding the 2.5 mile tunnel. It had a little island in the middle which was dredged out of the water. Only biologist were allowed on this island once a year to check out the wildlife that had emerged. The usual birds and insects but also strangely enough there were white rabbits here! Much to our delight the number plate recognition worked and we were in Sweden! We very slowly creeped past the customs officer who looked busy breathalysing a car next to us. The officer asked us to wait so we did while traffic built up behind us. Couple of minutes later he sent the car to another officer and approached our van. Not interested in our passports, he asked us where we were going (Sweden), where we had come from (Denmark) and where the van was from (UK). Unsure what the purpose of these questions were but he seemed satisfied and we went on our way. We were planning on exploring Malmo in the afternoon but not wanting to rush, we found a nice spot an 15 minute drive away which allowed us to chill and plan a nice cycle into the city tomorrow.

The next morning we headed into Malmo on our bikes knowing it was around a 16km cycle. Now we normally prepare with planning the route but the signs suggested that we could follow a long distance trail which should take us into the city but this wasn’t the route our planning apps were taking us. Deciding to trust in the trail we headed off through the woods which took us down some fun hills and we popped out near the next town and the trail continued through several towns and straight into Malmo (no sat nav needed). Once we arrived we were starving so we headed to a farm to table vegan café for breakfast and a tea/coffee. While the menu had loads of healthy things I had to have the Apple pie pancakes while Rich had a healthy Spirulina bowl.

Once we were full we decided to head out into the town to go mural spotting which is always a favourite thing for me to do. There were loads dotted around the city but we managed to see a few using a map someone had done online. We then headed to see the Malmo castle which is a red building which was built in 1434 and has been fought over many times since. In the park nearby was a lovely old windmill which we cycled to next to have a look at. Finally we went to look at the turning torso building which is a twisted skyscraper

Now it was starting to get really warm at around 24 degrees so we decided it was time to try the traditional Swedish sauna and cold baths so we cycled down to the sea front where the Bath house was located. This was going to be an interesting experience as it was split male and female and was completely naked. There are specific rules you have to follow as well. We paid and decided to meet outside in an hour, which turned out not to be long enough but as we only had 1 padlock meaning I had both phones we couldn’t communicate so we had to stick to the original plan.

I think we had different experiences of the bath house as we all know Rich is happy being naked and has no issues with it. He managed to try a couple of different saunas, use the hot tub and swim a couple of times in the sea. I also tried a couple of saunas but the first one I walked into was the one and only mixed one (men and women) which was a bit of a shock to me. Once over that I did also try swimming in the sea but didn’t get time to use the hot tub (which wasn’t that hot, more of a warm tub). The bath house was on a pier so you get great views over the sea front and it’s a really calming and we both decided we would go back and do it again (in fact we are already planning a visit to another bath house).

Next up was the 18km cycle back to the van and this time we used the map to get us there and it was a harder cycle as there were more up hill sections but we made it in just over an hour and we had a snack before heading to the next stop for the night.