Malmö’s Top Rated Experience - Cruising the Canals with BookABoat
Originally posted July 2, 2019
WELL, HEY THERE!
Long time no see!
I’ve never been the most consistent person when it comes to blogging, but this time it’s been over a MONTH since I published anything new - (Shameful, I know)!
In my defense, I got some pretty life changing news at the end of May (more on that soon), and the entire month that followed was an unexpectedly hectic, insanely incredible, and truly transformative June.
One of the many highlights of the month was my sister’s wedding in Ireland.
This seaside celebration of family, friends, love, and life deserves a post of its own… so I’ll save that for later, (promise it won’t take another month). For now, I’ll leave you with this shot by the NC legend - Ellie McKinney Photography.
Anyway… after the wedding, my family had planned on coming to visit Andrew and I in Malmö.
I was SO excited to have them here. It would have been the first time anyone has visited me since I moved abroad in 2015… buttttt, my end of May, life-changing news changed these plans just a bit… and by a bit, I meannn… I wasn’t even going to be here on the days they were coming to visit.
Rachel and her husband Najib had already booked their flights to Malmö for a quick post-Ireland wedding, pre Turkey-honeymoon visit, and, by some miracle, there was a 24-hour overlap when I’d still be in town.
Instead of cancelling the visit, we took advantage of the small window of time and ended up having what may be my most cherished evening in Malmö to date.
Malmö is known for its bikes, falafel, and the canals surrounding the city center.
Originally a part of the city’s defense system, they now mainly add to the maritime aesthetic. They also offered up the perfect last minute solution to my “Where in the world should we take Rachel and Najib for dinner?” conundrum.
In the middle of my “packing/cleaning/trying to figure out how to show my sister the best of Malmö in less than 24 hours” frenzy I came across BookABoat.
Launched in 2015 by owners René Nordstrand Heunen and Gustav Widerström, BookABoat is the first self-serviced electrical boat rental company in the Nordics.
“Our idea is to help people to hang out and enjoy life for a moment. We do that by providing splendid and self-serviced electrical boats in the canals of Malmö. Easy, flexible, spontaneous. It is our wish that this service is available for as many as possible, and give everyone the opportunity to create their own new lovely memories.”
These green boats are 100% electric and the booking and boating process was unbelievably easy.
Turns out the newly weds had just been saying to each other that they wanted to get on a boat at some point during their Europe trip, so it really couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.
After our booking was confirmed, we were sent an email with everything we needed to know for the trip. It included an interactive map of the canals, a code to unlock the cabinets at the dock (where we got our lifejackets and seat cushions), and a link with directions to start the boat.
Once we began our trip, we were be able to reference the mobile link to see how much time we had left, (and to add more time if necessary).
On board the boat there were a couple other essentials - Nautical hats!
Rachel popped the champagne in the sailors hat while Andrew called dibs on the pirates cap… and steering the boat… all the while proudly exclaiming, “I’m the captain now!”
We cruised around the canals enjoying the views, the drinks, our last minute picnic, and the company. Believe it or not, though I’ve been living in Malmö for the past 8 months, this is the first time I’ve gotten on the water. I wish I’d done it sooner but am also really glad I waited to share this experience on such a special occasion.
Whether you’re a local or just passing through, I couldn’t recommend this activity or this company more. The guys at BookABoat were so responsive and accommodating in helping us put this whole thing together very last minute. (THANK YOU AGAIN!!)
I don’t think we could have found a better way to spend our one (and only) evening together here, and can’t wait to get out on the canals again before summer in Sweden comes to an end.
To book your trip with BookABoat, visit their website, BookABoat.se.
…and remember, canal rules are just like road rules!
Booze and cruise responsibly… and, (in Sweden), drive on the right!
Disclaimer: This canal cruise was sponsored by BookaBoat, but all opinions shared here are my own.
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