Fancy following in the footsteps of grizzly Scandi dramas The Bridge and Wallander? TV fans can now have themed tours of Denmark and Sweden


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Since The Bridge disappeared from our screens in February in a flurry of betrayal, dead bodies and elaborate plot twists, it's been a frustrating time for fans of Scandi Noir.

What was in the files that Danish detective Martin Rohde saw that related to the childhood of his blunt-speaking Swedish colleague Saga Noren?

Is Martin himself guilty of murder?

And does the temperature ever rise above freezing in this corner of Scandinavia?

Scandinavian drama The Bridge takes its name from the five-mile bridge across the Oresund, linking Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmo in Sweden

The good news is that we won't have to wait too much longer to find out.

Filming for a third series of the BBC4 hit is under way, so there was only one thing to do - head to the scene of the crime.

The drama takes its name from the five-mile bridge across the Oresund, linking Copenhagen and Malmo.

In the first series, a body is found at the point on the bridge where Denmark and Sweden meet, which is why detectives from both countries are brought together to solve the case.

Our base for the night is a 1960s motel, the Scandic Segevang, just outside Malmo - it's where Martin stays when his wife kicks him out after discovering he has been unfaithful.

Those who sign up to The Bridge tour visit the Copenhagen's colourful harbour of Nyhavn

In The Bridge, it's a symphony of misery, augmented by depressing decor, despair and Martin's haunting visions in the subterranean swimming pool.

In reality, it's a clever, chic budget hotel, filled with thoughtful Scandi furniture and views of the forest. 

In the morning, happy families tuck into a generous breakfast buffet before heading out into the sunshine.

BBC4 drama Wallander was  adapted from the Swedish novelist Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels

BBC4 drama Wallander was  adapted from the Swedish novelist Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels

Once in Copenhagen, visitors on the tour are able to visit popular tourist sights such as the Royal Palace

By and large, there's a lot of rain, snow and sleet in The Bridge, and the drama certainly doesn't showcase the architecture of the two cities.

This is mostly by design, according to scriptwriter Hans Rosenfeldt, when I track him down in Malmo.

We meet in the Ribersborg, a cafe at the end of a pier which is the site of a pivotal scene in the first series when Martin realises just who might be responsible for a series of murders.

Over coffee and cinnamon buns, I subject Hans to a police-style interrogation. What's happened to cuddly Martin?

Will Saga, his glamorous but decidedly non-cuddly colleague, ever get a boyfriend, or even master the art of small talk?

Malmo's city centre includes Lilla Torg, a square filled with half-timbered houses, bars

Will we be seeing more of Saga's vintage mustard-coloured Porsche and leather trousers?

The next series will apparently be about responsibility and notions of family while also delving into Saga's childhood.

I hoover up the dramatic crumbs as eagerly as I've been devouring the tasty cinnamon buns.

Then it's time for a tour designed for Bridge obsessives.

We start in Malmo, a powerhouse during medieval times, when its wealth was built on the herring trade.

The gorgeous city centre includes Lilla Torg, a square filled with half-timbered houses, bars and happy Swedes celebrating the weekend in the early autumn sun.

Malmo is Sweden's most multi-cultural city, a legacy of its ship-building days.

That industry may have dwindled away, but now it's also a showcase of cutting-edge, sustainable architecture, especially the Western Harbour. It's apparently where Saga lives (alone).

Our bus takes us past some of the buildings that feature in the second series, including the site of the Malmo police station that is actually part of a hospital, and has a exterior that's dark grey/blue.

'The designer is very into this colour,' says our guide, as we head off to a street in the same muted palette.

Then it's time for the highlight - a trip across the bridge itself.

Malmo is Sweden's most multi-cultural city and is a key destination on the tour offered to fans of Scandinavian drama, The Bridge

Malmo is Sweden's most multi-cultural city and is a key destination on the tour offered to fans of Scandinavian drama, The Bridge

There's a slow incline as we head out from Malmo, and before we reach the central area we pick up a key bit of information with which we can share with less informed devotees back home: the actual border is a few hundred yards further along, and a simple sign denotes we have now reached Denmark.

Once in Copenhagen, we eschew such commonplace tourist sights as the Royal Palace and colourful harbour of Nyhavn in favour of the modernist architecture of the Copenhagen police headquarters and the trendy harbourside building that serves as the home of IT entrepreneur Julian Christensen in series two.

Most of The Bridge is actually filmed along the Swedish coast in Ystad.

This cute town - population around 20,000 - regularly sees some of the darkest fictional deeds unfold in its streets.

Most of The Bridge is actually filmed along the Swedish coast in the town of Ystad

Most of The Bridge is actually filmed along the Swedish coast in the town of Ystad

The real police investigate one murder a year here on average, but thanks to Henning Mankell, the creator of local detective Kurt Wallander, dozens of fictional ones have taken place in its cobbled streets.

The tourist board has a handy map with blood splashes to denote the area.

And the body count is set to rise alarmingly.

From this month, Kenneth Branagh will be dusting down his weariest expression to film Wallander in one studio, with Saga striding around in The Bridge in the next one, while both will make regular forays into the Ystad and Malmo and nearby countryside for location shoots.

The locals are pretty blasé about these incursions - many of them have acted as extras and don't bat an eye at one of the full-scale Bollywood film productions that regularly turn up here either.

The Wallander industry is kept low-key, largely because Henning Mankell has refused to allow commercialism.

A Ystad cafe that features as the diabetic detective's favourite tried to introduce a Wallander cake.

Mankell refused, but you can find it today - a family called Wallander gave the cafe permission to name it after them.

A conspiracy of sugar, cream and Scandinavian baking excellence, it would have been a crime not to experience it.

GETTING THERE

Double rooms at the Scandic Segevang (scandichotels.com) start at £75 per night.

The Bridge Tour costs around £33pp. For more information, go to visitskane.com/en.

Return flights to Copenhagen from Heathrow with SAS (flysas.co.uk) start at £110pp.

 



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