I would have loved to have lots of time to visit Sweden. In my original plans, I had allocated at least three days for seeing and experiencing Stockholm. Unfortunately my plans changed and I didn’t have time to make it all the way to Stockholm. But I was able to get a taste of Sweden by taking a day trip to Lund, Sweden from Copenhagen.

Whilst Malmo, located just across the bridge, is the obvious Swedish day trip, a few of my friends had recommended Lund as a Swedish border city with much more to offer. I had actually intended to visit Lund in the morning and then Malmo in the afternoon, but I was in a bit of a travel rut during my time in Copenhagen.

Hence I just didn’t have the energy or feel up to stopping in Malmo on the way back to Copenhagen from Lund.

If I’m being perfectly honest I wasn’t completely enamoured by Lund. The town was cute and there were some things to do, but as the day progressed I felt more and more like my trip to Lund was about ticking Sweden off my list rather than experiencing a wonderful city.

It was just the kind of place that usually wouldn’t be on my list without the novelty of visiting another country as a day trip. I definitely want to see the real Sweden by making a trip to Stockholm one day.

 

Oresund Bridge

 

To get to Lund you’ll need to hop onto a train. You usually need to get yourself to the airport first (by train or any other method that is easiest from where you are staying in Copenhagen) and then change to a train to Sweden at the airport.

The airport is located basically on the edge of Denmark, and within sight is the Oresund Bridge.

 

The Oresund Bridge is so incredible that it looks like something of the future. This car and rail bridge connects Denmark and Sweden (who were previously only connected by ferry). The bridge is made up of an actual normal looking, albeit huge bridge that then seems to disappear into the water. It seriously looks like the bridge to nowhere.

But the bridge doesn’t actually end by rather turns into an underground/underwater tunnel when you arrive at the manmade island at the end of the bridge. It seriously doesn’t seem real. I was strangely excited by the futuristic nature of the bridge, which is surprising given my usual detest for modern architecture.

It was a quick stop in Malmo before our train continued on to Lund. All up it took less than an hour to arrive at our destination.

 

Lund

The first thing I did when arriving in Lund was head to the tourist information office. When I’m visiting small towns, I always start here as they can provide the best information on how to plan your day. They were able to provide me with a map and a pamphlet that even had a self guided walking tour set out on it.

 

Lund Cathedral

This is by far the biggest and most beautiful site in Lund. It was definitely in need of some tender love and care, the whole cathedral was so black. It obvious hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, or maybe never. But this seemed to add to the character of the cathedral, giving it a spooky theme. I expected it to be haunted.

 

The University

Lund is a university town and most of the town is dominated by the university. Every second building seems to belong to the university and the city is full of students- lining up for coffee, flying past you on their bicycles or “studying” on the garden benches.

I passed by the university quadrangle, that was looking a bit worse for wear given that the supposedly beautiful fountain didn’t have a drop of water in it (a rather mean feat considering it was Sweden in March).

But my favourite university building was the university library. Unfortunately it wasn’t open for visitors because of exam period, so I had to content myself with admiring it from the outside. I even decided to sit a while in the gardens out of the front of the library, reading my kindle and eating the bagel I had picked up earlier that morning in Copenhagen.

 

Some cute traditional buildings

As I was walking around Lund, following the map and tourist guide but also not really following it, I stumbled along this neighbourhood of cute, old and traditional buildings. One of these buildings was Lund’s oldest grocery shop (according to my tourist guide) that was housed in a building constructed in the early 19^th century.

These ended up being my favourite photos from the day!

 

The Botanical Gardens

March isn’t really the best time to be exploring Swedish gardens. But I can only imagine how pretty the gardens must be in spring when everything is in bloom. I contented myself by watching the few ducks on the water and chilling out with my kindle once again.

Weirdly, the park was almost deserted. The lack of people around and the grey weather had me remembering all of the Scandinavian crime shows that I’m so obsessed with. My imagination surely run away with me!

 

Saluhallen

This was my last stop in Lund. I’ve talked before about how I love wandering city markets. They are the best spots for people watching, for seeing locals in their natural environment (ha!), and for finding great produce and food.

This food hall was full of some delicious looking cafes and stalls. Unfortunately I was still so full of bagel that I couldn’t even thinking about ordering something from the hall.

 

From Saluhallen it was a short walk back to the train station to catch my train back to Copenhagen. Once again I was astonished at how I could manage to get from one country to another in less time than it takes me to get into the CBD of Melbourne from my suburb back at home.

And the Oresund Bridge didn’t get old the second time around!

The Verdict on Lund?

If your plans for Sweden extend to Stockholm, I don’t think it’s worth making a special visit to Lund. I enjoyed it, but it surely isn’t the best day trip I have ever done. But I’m still counting Sweden off my list of countries, with the promise I’ll return one day to experience it for more than just one day.

Where Should I Stay in Copenhagen?

If you are a budget traveller or are just looking to make some friends, I always recommend staying at hostels. As I was staying with friends I haven’t stayed at a hostel I can personally recommend, but I have heard great things about Generator.

AirBnB is also a great option if you are on a budget or looking for a bit of space.

For all of your bookings, whether hostel or hotel I always recommend Booking.com, specifically because most of the time you can make a reservation without a deposit and many bookings are fully cancellable and refundable. I love being able to lock in my accomodation early, but then shift things around if my plans change!

Booking.com

 

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