Golden mall

Back in May, Pete's mum mentioned about a mall that was going to be built near a train station when she drove past the site.  It was going to be big with modern and beautiful architecture.  There aren't that many malls in Malmo.  Back home, malls are everywhere.  Mega ones or tiny ones.  And they are crowded.  I guess people head to the air-conditioned malls to escape the heat.

This mall, Emporia, that was opened on 25th October is only the sixth mall in Malmo.  We wanted to check it out since it was somewhat close to our place.  It's only a 15 minute bus ride away.  Luckily we didn't go on opening day.  It was really crowded.  Some people were already queueing by 7am.  The opening ceremony was at 10am.  But they were there early for good reason.  The first few people received some really good prizes such as mall vouchers.  The opening ceremony also looked to be grand with red carpets leading into the mall and showers of golden confetti.

The gold was  used, I guess, since that is the main colour theme of the building.  I have seen the building from afar whenever I was at the train station nearby.  But I couldn't really see the colour of the building.  It was only when we visited the mall a few days ago that I could really admire the building.

And it really is gold.  We were there in a quite sunny weather and when I was standing outside the building, the sun shone on the gold tinted glass walls and it shone and sparkled.   It simply exuded affluence, lavishness and opulence.  I literally went ,"Wow!".  The building also has some unique features.  Instead of a regular cuboid building, the top of the building is curvy.  Inside the building, there are lots of unique features as well.  There are lots of benches around the mall for tired shoppers.  Most likely they will be used by husbands and boyfriends as they wait for their ladies.

The curved top of the building.

There are also comfy benches near the toilets.  Again, most probably for the guys to wait for the ladies.  I didn't check the toilets to see if there are a lot of cubicles for the ladies.  Usually the trouble with the toilets is that there are not enough cubicles for the ladies.  We always end up taking a much longer waiting time in the toilet.

There is a section that could have been sponsored by Microsoft Xbox.  A long panel on the wall had some interactive panorama projections on it which is made possible by a number of kinect sensors above our heads.  An open room next to it has eight kinect stations where you can try out the games for free.

There was a beautiful spiral staircase in the middle of the mall.  It was decorated with hanging green vines which gave it an ethereal feel.  There is also a garden on the roof.  We didn't check it out when we were there since it was a cold and windy day, but no worries.  There will definitely be repeat visits in future.  There are lots of stores that I would like to check out - clothing, furniture and knick knacks.  There are also two supermarkets there.

There are not that many restaurants and eateries.  Their food court had only five different sections: sushi, Thai food, kebab, grill, and an American type of diner.  The food is expensive and it was crowded when we were there.  And it was after lunch time.  We were thinking of setting up our food business here actually.  Pete contacted them about it.  But I guess we were too late and all the available space has been taken up.  Anyway, looking at the crowd, it might have been too much for us, newbies, to handle.  Perhaps when we have been in business a couple more years we could start thinking about setting up a joint in a mall.

The view from the inside of the food court.

The day we went, the mall wasn't really crowded.  It was comfortable walking around the stores since we didn't have to jostle with anyone.  Even at the food court we managed to find a comfortable place to have our food.  This is such a change from the mall experience back home.  There, the foot traffic inside the malls is never ending from opening hours till the late (9 or 10pm) closing time.  Also, the mall is not big, compared to those back home.  There are only 240 stores spread over three floors.  But it's enough for me.  I really enjoyed walking around the mall.  It was a nice experience. 

Now if only Pete could share my sentiments about shopping.  He's so guy about it.  Just get the necessary stuff and go home.  Good news, though.  I could always go on my own or with his sisters.  And since it is not too crowded, the positive experience we had there means that he is not opposed to go back there again.  Yay!