Halmstad

After Göteborg there was this! A two day trip to Halmstad.

I have no idea what Halmstad is in English - if it's called anything other than it's actual name (as Gothenburg is), so I'll just roll with that this time! Halmstad, AKA the City of Hay.

Though it's really more a town than a city.

Ever been there yourself? Ever planning to go? If so here's a bundle of restaurants we considered on the train trip there.

We ended up going to the one of those with the shortest anchor text above, and this one, and they were great!

The place? Some pictures...

First off, this isn't Halmstad.

On the way to Halmstad we changed trains, in Gothenburg, and there is there a store that sells candy! A lot of candy. So we disembarked, bought some candy, and got back to the tracks just in time for the next train...

Now here's Halmstad. Train station. Traditional train station architecture. One of quite a few old stone buildings in courteously pompous; proper and impression-leaving style.

The minigolf course close to the city center was closed for the season, but it had some fun landmark miniatures, like for example Halmstad's castle here, which is in reality just a stone throw away from the real thing.

The real thing was a bit more difficult to capture concisely on photo, or to properly tour. Aside from mostly housing actively used offices, a part of it was open for an arts and craft exhibition, and you could at least walk through the courtyard on your way there.

It's not a huge castle though, you're better off touring Stockholm for those.

The minigolf course was right by an art exhibition too, and there are plenty of smaller galleries around the city. And a real Picasso sculpture in a small park! One of sixteen he donated to various countries around the world. Somehow one of them ended up here.

We visited a cafe, Skånskan, a cozy little establishment that's been active since the 1930's, housed in an even older abode from the 1700's. Here's a picture of the cafe as seen in miniature form within the actual cafe - they seem to have a thing for miniatures here!

They also had some good stuff.

They had a pretty good assortment of old buildings overall, and one small slice of the city wall still preserved at the edge of it, by the Northern gate.

The town square probably boasted a bit more buildings once upon a time, before they scraped the place and built a large parking garage beneath it.

But it's still a pretty nice gathering place, surrounded by medieval churches, expensive restaurants and hotels, by a river bank beneath a line of rolling hills.

Speaking of the river bank: Here's Nissan, as seen from our hotel room window.

Yes the river does predate the Japanese car manufacturer with the same name. Though I doubt there's any actual correlation.

I already linked to the restaurants we visited above, but here's a quick glimpse of our dinner, at the abode with the shortest anchor text, a nice little place right by a somewhat dystopian-looking park with a dancehall that may have been last used in 2018, going by a notice on the door.

It seems the city center's moved, and the more modern Halmstad Arena may be where people gather now, around the modern modern; now trendier parts of this town.

But this particular establishment was still kickin'! And the food was good. Waiting time was around 30 minutes.

The first day we had mist, which I suppose may be a common phenomenon in coastal times during colder parts of the year.

The second day we had snow, which I hear is a bit more unusual...

And a hearty hotel breakfast! 1 of 3 servings here portrayed.

On Sunday morning good buddy Bear went to church, and I headed up the hills behind it, to a gathering of aged architecture with a killer view.

They boast for example the oldest preserved school building in Sweden - a wood and plaster one from a few centuries back. In the North wood's the traditional building material. In the South they had a shortage of wood in old times, so they mixed their timber with cheaper materials.

You can read more about this open air museum here.

If you head up the hills of Halmstad even further, you run into a little observation tower, from which you can see the city town.

Like with the castle, this tower actually houses a few actively used apartments, but the roof's open for visitors during weekends.

What you'd usually head to Halmstad to enjoy though is the beach. So we headed there too. It's a long walk, and you can walk way longer. Sandy, treasure-trove like coves wait just beyond the visible headland here.

Might have to visit this place again when the weather's a bit warmer...

Oh did I mention I set a new record in steps? 31,100 on the second day baby! And no blisters this time - at least no painful ones, though I did end up getting some trouble with my left knee a few days after. OH WELL. Worth it.

My last (recorded) record was in Barcelona.

Overall this was a good trip, and affordable. Cheap train tickets and one hotel night for two booked well in advance. May be the first of a few simple non-international weekend vacations...

So long Halmstad.