Sverige och Danmark |
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2 November 2026 - Malmö
This past weekend I spent in Danmark and Sverige, that is, Denmark and Sweden. It felt so good to be back in Scandinavia! Landing at CPH Thursday night I, of course, stopped in the airport Mikkeller bar. And then took the train to Malmö, where a hotel room was my basecamp for the weekend. Friday morning I needed to work, but I got an early start so I could also have an early end. After walking around Malmö I stopped at the remains of the Malmöhus castle, which houses a museum of natural and human history. The castle was a Danish stronghold when they ruled Skåne, and was involved in the last war between Denmark and Sweden at the beginning of the 18th century. The Swedes let the Danish castle fall into disrepair and tore parts of it down before turning it into a prison. And that it was until the early 20th century when it was converted into the museum that it is today.
For some reason the Mikkeller bar in Malmö is called らーめんとビール, so I couldn't resist having a late lunch there. It's funny how interests can dovetail like that sometime. Being in Scandinavia I had to hit the sauna, and so I spent the rest of the afternoon at the famous one at Ribersborga. It's perched above the Øresund where one alternates between swimming in the cold sea and sitting in the sauna. I brought my swimsuit and towel, but swimsuits were verboten. There was a men's side and a women's side for people who wanted to stay segregated, but also saunas connecting the two. That was a relaxing way to watch the sun go down! And then for the evening's entertainment I went to the symphony to see a performance of Verdi's Requiem. Not as good as Rigaletto, but still quite enjoyable. Afterward I went to a bar hilariously called Pivo, which is Slavic for beer. The conductor and several performers also came in while I read my book, so it must have been a good choice. I stayed out late so that I would sleep in on Saturday, and even discovered some of the bars here have Goose Island! A short aside here, as Goose Island is the first place I did a brewery tour thanks to a coworker at the time, Bethany, who was half my size but could drink me under the table. She knew all about homebrewing, and is part of the reason I took up that hobby.
Saturday was race day number one, but not until 5PM. I slept in as planned, which boded well for the late trainride back home from Båstad after the race. I did get up in time to make the hotel breakfast and then heading to the train station to do some exploring. Skånetrafiken sells regional tickets and the 24 hour ones cost the same as a single ride to somewhere and then back. So I decided to visit Helsingborg for the day. Helsingborg also once had a Danish castle on a bluff above the sea that's mostly torn down. But the tall tower once at the center remains. This Kärnan provides impressive views across the Øresund to Denmark and into the flat Swedish hinterland. The town has some other medieval buildings and the old church was lit primarily through windows and candles, which was moving, as I love fire and I had had several beers after lunch.
Then is was on to Båstad for the main event, the Kullamannen North Shore 20K. It was a UTMB event, which means that distance is not the real distance. I have done their 20K events before at 17 km and 24 km, but this nights was 22 km. I arrived early and was surprised at the lack of changing room considering the price, but I've learned that the first race in a new country is often at least a little surprising. The 5PM start was so that it would be dark for the whole race and the course was along the beach dunes and in the forest. Roots and deep sand can slow one down a bit, as did my need to empty my bowels mid-race, but it was still a lot of fun! On the long trainride back to Malmö I sat across from a lovely young British couple who were also runners and we chatted about travels and travails of running. Fortunately there was a pizza place open late in the Malmö station so I was able to get dinner and then off to bed to sleep before the next morning's race.
Sunday was race day two. I don't think I've ever run races 15 hours apart before, but this one was a 10K through a forest north of Copenhagen in Hillerød. I learned when I got the the Skovmaren start line that the forest was actually a UNESCO recognized forest designed for Danish royalty to hunt in. And the Fall colors made it just gorgeous! One of my thigh muscles was pretty sore from the night before, but I powered through. Afterward I got lunch in Hillerød and headed to see the Frederiksborg castle there, thinking it would a short look like the other Danish castles back in Sweden. But no. Frederiksborg is huge. Not Malbork, but on that scale. And it houses the Danish national history museum, a collection started by the Carlsberg brewer founder. The same brewer that built a house for Niels Bohr to live in. I was there at least 3 hours to see it and I got tired, so I didn't give many things enough attention. Just an impressive place to visit.
My evening plan was to pub crawl Copenhagen, which was rewarding in all the impressive local beers as well the interesting conversations with the locals. You don't want to get a native Greenlander started on Trump! And somehow I made it back to my hotel in the wee hours. Today I have been working in cafés and it's raining, but it's still been a great trip intellectually and physically. I got to run races in two new countries and enjoy all the things I love about Scandinavia.
