Generator Hostel provides basic facilities to serve as low cost accommodation. It didn't have towels or toiletries provided, even in a family 4-bed room. So, we decided to refresh in Malmo instead after the train ride. Reaching the train station an hour before, we had some drinks like hot chocolate and coffee, while taking away some yoghurt and pudding for the train ride.
The train stations seem to be built for a different era and definitely can make do with accessibility aid enhancements. For family travelling with heavy luggages, it was a bit of a problem reaching the platform, which required us to wait in long lines and get into multiple cramped lifts, with luggages and a drink in hand. However, the train itself was very comfortable with ample leg room and the rack above having enough space to stow away big suitcases. The aisle was small so by the time we got all the luggages stowed, the train was already a few km away. Another weird feature was that every alternate window seat had the window blocked, so we requested a change of seat to get to a proper view. The train from Stockholm was only half full so it was easy to re-accommodate.
Once we settled in, it was a nice trip on the train enjoying the numerous lakes and changing landscape as we headed south, with more and more leaves clinging on to trees. It was glad to see lush greenery again after a week of white! The train was pushing 250kmph but was incredibly quiet with very little wobbles. The gentle swerving along the sloped banks to make the turns calms us down and lulls us into a nice slumber if we are not careful!. There were a couple of downsides to the high speed train travel though - whenever we passed inside a tunnel, the ears get blocked due to the pressure difference,.and it's way too fast to take photos of the lovely landscape, so we stuck to short videos instead. The train had WiFi but no charging points, so we had to watch our mobile usage. It was a nice and relaxing 4.5 hour ride, and the train had a nice bistro car right next to us (infact I had booked like that deliberately), so we got some pastries and coffee whenever we felt hungry.
When we finally reached Malmo around 2pm, we were greeted by my wife's aunt, whom I have never seen. She took us to our hotel, Hotel Scandic Malmo, about a 10 min walk from the train station, but it seemed like 20 dragging our luggage along brick lined pathways. The first thing that struck us about Malmo was the bright sunlight there, after spending more than a week without much light, let alone brightness.
Being in the southern Sweden, the sun sets "only" around 3.30pm, so we have longish days than we were used to. The walk took us past the church, which was the first building in Malmo, around which the town was developed, as well as the town centre and across a beautiful canal.
After checkin, the kids didn't want to go anywhere so we decided to just tour the town centre which was just a short walk away. We strolled along the streets adorned with Christmas lights before we visited her aunt's apartment and had a nice conversation on various topics and catching up on the decades since she had left India. The conversation stretched on for hours and well past midnight before we went back to our hotel.
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