| Southern Sweden does not rate highly
on my list of interesting places to visit. Although there are
occasional architectural gems, the landscape is rather flat and
monotonous, not entirely dissimilar to Denmark...perhaps unsurprisingly
as it all used to be part of the same country! It can be quite
pretty in summer, but generally I would tend to head North for more
interesting scenery. Malmö, once a
thriving industrial city and port, has seen much of its traditional
manufacturing base disappearing, including shipbuilding which has left a
significant hole in the local economy. However, rather than allow
the derelict shipyards to remain an ugly wasteland, they have rebuilt
the Western Harbour as a "Sustainable Community" so far
comprising around 2000 homes, all built to very high standards of energy
efficiency and provided with renewable heat ...and spectacular sea
views.
They are attempting to reposition themselves,
with some success, as a high tech centre, with access to engineering and
academic resources such as Lund University. Indeed, the entire
economy of the region is being transformed since the completion of the
Öresund Bridge in 2000 finally joined Sweden to continental Europe with
a fixed rail and road link.
Lund is a reminder of Sweden's long history,
with gothic cathedral, ancient university and beautiful old houses and
pubic buildings.
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