In just under 40 minutes by the high-speed train, Malmö is a coastal city in the southern part of Sweden that can be easily accessed from Copenhagen across the iconic Oresund Bridge. It is the perfect day trip destination from Copenhagen, especially with the fuss-free commute (quite unlike the tussling through the crowds and long wait for buses when I do a day trip from Singapore to Malaysia).
Taking advantage of the early sunrise in late spring, we boarded the train to Sweden early in the morning and alighted at Triangeln station in downtown Malmö. There are many trains running daily between the 2 cities, so you don’t have to worry about pre-booking the tickets in advance.
9am – Malmö City Library
On the way to the planned brunch spot, we walked from the Triangeln train station to the Malmö City Library (Malmö Stadsbibliotek). The huge public library comprises 3 interconnected buildings – a castle, a cylinder, and a modern glass extension which I was there for. This striking new extension is also called the “Calendar of Light” designed by Henning Larsen, for its large, floor-to-ceiling glass panels allowing natural light in the library and offering tranquil views of the surrounding greenery. Perhaps the best library visit I’ve ever had.
10am – Brunch at Atrium
We then moved on foot to Atrium for brunch, passing by the Slottsparken park. The full review of my brunch experience can be found in the separate post here.
11.30am – Walk along Ribersborgs Open-Air Bath
Post-brunch, we walked towards the sea where Ribersborgs open-air bath (Ribersborns Kallbadhus) is. It is one of the few historic places in Malmo that has been preserved. We did not swim or have lunch at the restaurant but took in the lovely view of the open sea and shore.
12.15pm – Coffee at Nordic Style Coffee Laboratory (Closed)
As we headed back into downtown Malmo by public bus (also another fuss-free affair), we made a stop for coffee at Nordic Style Coffee Laboratory, which…. unfortunately has closed its doors just 3 weeks ago. Definitely a sad news for me, because I had a very good cup of coffee there. The café featured a different coffee every week from roasteries in the Nordic region, and mine was from Kafferaven in Gothenburg, Sweden. The light roasted coffee had tasting notes of red currant, candied citrus, and winegums.
1pm – Lunch at Nostra
On the way back to the train station, we dropped by for lunch at Nostra, a brunch café. We ordered a main dish and a few pastries and coffee to share. Their Focaccia Florentine 2.0 (SEK 135, SGD 18.4) featured 2 poached runny eggs, cold smoked salmon, spinach and hollandaise sauce on sourdough focaccia. I loved that it was saucy and umami without being too heavy on the tastebuds. We also had their Flat White (SEK 46, SGD 6.3), Cardamom bun (SEK 38, SGD 5.2), Cannoli Pistachio (SEK 36, SGD 4.9) and Cannoli Hazelnut (SEK 36, SGD 4.9), but I felt that I’ve had better pastries in Copenhagen.
2pm – Shopping in Downtown Malmo
Just before heading back to Copenhagen, we did some shopping around the station, though there was nothing much in particular.
Malmo may not be as exciting and trendy as its neighbour Copenhagen, but I loved that the atmosphere was lazier, more relaxing, with less people and buzz. I also noticed that the prices/cost of living in Malmo were also a notch lower than the Danish cities.
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