After so many years (decades) in Sweden, this is about as close to Stockholm’s amusement park Gröna Lund I’ve ever been.

Went for a long run this morning along the water in Hammarby Sjöstad where we’ve rented a small aparthotel for a spell. This is our second longer stay in the district and we seem to enjoy it more for each time.

After some research with some surprising data, it turns out that Hammarby Sjöstad is significantly bigger than Malmö’s Västra Hamnen. In fact, it’s much bigger. And despite covering a larger area where almost ten times more people live, it still seems like a lot more thoughtful and smart urban planning has gone into designing Hammarby Sjöstad. Including considerably more greenery, more restaurants and more storefronts for local businesses.

Västra Hamnen is at least a decade away from being completed and still has a lot of really ugly and unexploited former industrial lots, Hammarby Sjöstad is more or less on the finish line.

On the flip side, Hammarby Sjöstad isn’t as easily accessible for folks that don’t live here and as far as I can tell, there aren’t any places where residents or visitors can go for a swim.