Malmo faces Copenhagen across the water, and for most of its history it was the second city of the Danish kingdom. Skane, the southern province of Sweden, belonged to Denmark until 1658, and the old centre of Malmo, with its big square, its brick Gothic church of St Peter and its castle, still has a faintly Danish look. In the twentieth century, the city built ships and cars, and when the shipyards closed in the 1980s it fell into a slump. The comeback has been spectacular. Old docks became housing and parkland, and the Turning Torso, a twisting skyscraper by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, finished in 2005, now stands as the city's emblem.
The Oresund Bridge, opened in 2000, links the city to Denmark by a road and rail connection about sixteen kilometres long, with a bridge on the Swedish side, an artificial island, and a tunnel on the Danish side. Crossing it on a motorcycle is a memorable ride, with the sea stretching out on both sides and the wind pushing at the bike. Tolls are charged, and motorcycles pay less than cars. The crossing takes ten minutes, and on the Danish side the road leads on to Copenhagen, and the chalk cliffs of Stevns Klint, a UNESCO site, further south.
Riding in Malmo itself is easy. The city is flat, with cycle lanes, and drivers are polite. Swedish law requires headlights on at all times, which motorcycles do anyway, and speed limits are enforced by cameras. Fuel is available throughout the city, and Arlov, a suburb just to the north, has stations on the main road. The countryside of Skane is open and agricultural, with large fields, white churches and old estates, and roads that run straight and gentle, with sharp wind from the Baltic or the Oresund.
The food scene is lively and international, with a large Middle Eastern community, and falafel is a local obsession, along with excellent cardamom buns. The Saluhall market, near the canal, has stalls selling everything from smoked fish to pastries. Little Torg, a cobbled square, is a nice place to sit with a coffee. The best season is from May to September, when evenings stay bright until late. Winter is dark, damp and windy.