SWEDEN: Central Station Malmö

Over the long Storebælt bridge, past Copenhagen and then over the Oresund bridge we flew, turning into our destination street at one minute after noon. This is my third visit to Malmö, and it’s five years this month since I first came here with Bondi. We’re here for a birthday party and a graduation, but a good sleep is higher on my priorities today. On our last visit, we stayed at the apartment of Gustav’s friend Hugh, a New Zealander twenty years resident in this city and now running one of its most prestigious medical research centres. It’s his birthday that is being celebrated this weekend, and his apartment is rather full so he’s kindly arranged the use of another apartment across town for guests to use through to Monday. Munson is glad to see Hugh’s apartment – his first familiar environment on this trip – and is glad to settle with his head under the coffee table; Swedish skies are just as liable to fall as any other. The Ascension Day holiday is celebrated in Sweden as well as Denmark so there will be no going out to get items to finish my outfit for the black tie event on Saturday. I had a tux some years ago but that disappeared in one move or another. Before I left France I found myself shining shoes for the first time in a year beginning with 2, so the loss is not one I’ve felt deeply. I’m fortunate that Hugh has some extra coats and dress shirts, so I will only need a black tie to complete the ensemble. It’s a little ironic that I already have dozens of beautiful silk ties from a previous life in corporate work  ending in the early 90s, and now find myself having to buy a new one.

We drove over to the other apartment, which is quite close to the sea, and enjoying a good view of Malmö’s Turning Torso Tower. To simplify parking issues we’ll leave the car there most days and shuttle over to Hugh’s on the bus. There’s no charge for dogs and this route seems to be quite popular with dog-owners as there’s an off-leash park close by. A rottweiler is lying under one of the seats further up the front of the bus but you’d never know. It’s a bit like being in an English pub – dogs lying around quietly with no fuss amongst themselves or with other patrons. One day Australia, one day…