Edi Hilla

We have watched so much Nordic Noir over the past decade that crossing the bridge from Copenhagen to Malmo, Sweden this morning felt strangely familiar. I half expected Wallander to hop off at the station along with others who commute between countries  (many on a daily basis), or to hear of the discovery of a body at the mouth of the tunnel…

Just 25 minutes from our station to the centre of Malmo: third largest city in Sweden. No wonder the thought of travelling for 22 hours to get to Europe horrifies so many locals. Inconceivable when country hopping can be as casual as a 25 minute train trip across the second longest bridge in Europe.

Did Malmo feel different from Copenhagen? Absolutely. We exchanged a capital city for one half its size. Sort of like leaving Ipswich for the dizzy delights of Rosewood: no comparison. And in Malmo, we found the perfect place to revisit some time in the future. It may have been luck, but the locals were impressively friendly, the coffee – perfect, the accompanying ‘fresh out of the oven’ cinnamon bun – beyond superb and the exhibitions at the Malmo Modern Art Museum – poignant.

Somehow Miss Moneypenny (Rosewood fine arts teacher) failed to instill a deep knowledge of the Albanian arts scene in her students  – I’m sure she too rues her deficit. But, the exhibition today of Edi Hilla’s beautiful paintings was enlightening, and an insight yet again into the effects of war, repression, and civil disruption. Albania was a harsh, dictatorial state effectively ruled by Enver Hoxha until his death in 1985, and a rigid police state until quite recently.  Additionally, the work by Taiwanese artist Lee Mingwei – with an invitational participatory base, was deeply moving. Both worth crossing the bridge for …

Both of us would gladly stay longer – as a service to our many readers of course! We would go back to Malmo, Brno, Gdansk etc in a flash. We would be willing ambassadors, wandering new towns in order to raise the locals’ awareness of the Jewel on the Bremer.  We would love to continue our search for the perfect coffee. But instead, tomorrow the lady and I start our journey back to the Homeland … 22 hours to bridge the gap, as they say in the Nordic world.

Better let you go Farquhar, bags to pack …

FC-S

Swedish heroes seem rather more stout than their Polish counterparts. Perhaps that is why their horses also tend to be rather thickset?

Aaah- The Swedish moose, – everywhere!