On Thursday, the ASA girls enjoyed a day of rest to prepare their bodies and minds for the Malmö Cup tournament which starts Friday morning. After breakfast, the team embarked on a bus tour of Malmo, Sweden and then crossed the sound and headed for Copenhagen, Denmark.
Our tour guide was entertaining and she shared her knowledge of all things cultural, political, sustainable and also endeared her personal views with all kinds of other humorous tidbits. In Malmö, tour highlights included seeing the childhood home of Swedish futbol phenom Zlatan (known locally as Malmo’s ‘god of soccer’), touring the reclaimed area being developed for the university, passing the opera house and the waterfront, and viewing lots of inspiring architecture including, but not limited to the very modern ‘twisted torso’ apartment building. In Copenhagen, we saw the town hall built in 1908, the little mermaid statue, a cool fountain and sculpture paying homage to the Viking goddess of fertility Freyja, the first Anglican Church in the city, both the Queen’s and Prince’s palaces, and the trendy and fun area of Nyhavn (pronounced new-hound).
One of the funnier references during the tour was about local graffiti which our tour guide referred to as psychedelic frescoes!
After a great day of touring, the team was able to enjoy Tivoli Gardens and amusement park. Tivoli, which is enjoying its 175th anniversary, opened August 15, 1843 and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world. It attracts nearly 5 million visitors annually, our ASA ladies amongst them!
The girls had an awesome time on rides, playing games, and generally bonding. Even the chaperones jumped on the roller coaster! The day was complete with dinner on board a pirate ship and then we headed back to Malmö for a good night’s sleep . . . Back with more soccer tomorrow!
