June 23rd: Halmstad>Malmo

The next morning, we tried out the reindeer rides in the hotel before heading down to the beach.



When people think of beach holidays they think of Spain rather than Sweden. Yet as we found in Halmstad, it has it all:

Sun:

Sand:

Sea:

and soccer:

Hayley sunbathed:

While we played football, first on the beach:

And then in the sea:

Back on dry land we had a go at the arcade games...

got ourselves some ice cream...

...and played a quick fire round of crazy golf.

Concerned that this was starting to look like an ordinary relaxing holiday that normal people do, we packed our bags and left, this time on the train to Malmo. The lakes and forests had gone and the landscapes were rather more mundane.

In Malmo we found another city geared up for the tournament.

After being turned away from the hotel because it was double booked, we checked in somewhere else and were soon back out again. We were here for our final match of the trip, between hosts Sweden and Serbia.

We found a great little restaurant, got some food and Chris showed off his patriotism.

'Sweden 'til I die'

As in Halmstad, there was a great little fan park but alas with the hotel mix up time was moving on, so we walked out to the ground, past tree lined avenues and water fountains.

Malmo had recently built a new stadium, but the old one still stood next door. This was the old stadium, an architectural gem

Around the corner was the new ground, looking more like an airport terminal:

The old stadium from the new stadium:

In common with other modern grounds, Malmo new stadium had little unique about it.

Nevertheless there was an excellent atmosphere, with the locals really getting behind their team.

Serbia, on the other hand, were every bit as cynical as they were when we saw them two years previously in Nijmegen. Two red cards and nine yellows were dished out to the Serbs and that was being lenient. Still, Sweden won 3-1 and knocked them out, so alls well that ends well.