Breakout Sweden
The room is dimly lit and filled with objects, locked drawers and cabinets that at first glance seem unrelated to each other. With these conditions we proceed into the next room – and in the end will deactivate a missile that is set to obliterate Helsingborg. We will avert a third World War and disarm a bomb to prevent it from blowing us up. How much time do we have? 60 minutes.
This is what we face when we are let into the game Zero Hour, one of the rooms at Helsingborg’s newly started escape room: Breakout Sweden. There are three different rooms in the game center with missions that are to be completed in teams. You won’t get anywhere without cooperation.
The mission we receive is to infiltrate the rogue state Konvetski’s high quarters. By solving riddles and finding clues we are going to get through three small rooms in order to save Helsingborg – and ourselves. The time is running short, the stress level is rising, and the adrenaline is elevating.
The founders behind Breakout Sweden in Helsingborg are Emmanuelle Texier and Shahar Mor, two students from Lund. After having played at a similar game center in Stockholm, they wanted to bring the experience back to Skåne. They wanted to contribute culturally in Helsingborg. With the exception of cafés, cinemas and restaurants there isn’t that much to do, they say.
– We felt that there was something missing. It is a different kind of activity that everyone can take part of says Emmanuelle.
The game center is newly opened. During the last five months, Emmanuelle and Shahar have spent all their free time building and renovating the 120 m2 sized hall.
– It has been five very fun months. Whenever we haven’t been at school or at work we have been here. It has been a sacrifice, but it has been a lot of fun.
In the future they want to expand, and be able to have more rooms. They also want more people to discover the fun of escape rooms. – Most people who have been here so far have tried it before in other cities. Our goal is to get more people to discover escape room. This is for everyone.
We escape room-testers didn’t make it the whole way. We saved Helsingborg, but not ourselves. The hour inside the rooms went by extremely fast. After the last ten, very stressful minutes, we heard the bomb. The adrenaline slowly began to decline.
Afterwards we were very happy with the experience. If you want to do something different in Helsingborg, Breakout Sweden and its escape rooms are definitely something we can recommend.
Let art light up the autumn darkness
Take a stroll into Dunkers kulturhus, situated in the center of “The Pearl of the Strait” – Helsingborg. For those interested in art and culture, this is the perfect place to visit. Don’t let the autumn weather and darkness stop you from exploring art. Nathalia Edenmont’s naked and colorful photo exhibition “Through the eyes of Nathalia Edenmont” will be showing this autumn at Dunkers kulturhus. Homeless EU-migrants are depicted in Anna Bank and Birgitta Witting’s art exhibition “Sorry att jag finns” (‘Sorry I exist’).
Take a trip over the strait
A classic trip for the visitor or the ones living in Helsingborg is to take the ferry over to Denmark and back with a one-way ticket. For those who want to see more there are lovely daytrips to Helsingør. Make time to visit Kronberg castle where Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet is depicted. Later you can visit central Helsingør for a bit of sightseeing and restaurant-going in our neighbor country.
Landborgspromenaden
Helsingborg’s finest stretch of road is by Landborgspromenaden. Starting from Sofiero, there is an eight kilometer walking route into Kärnan in the city center. A walk where you can let go of the stress of your studies or the exam that is coming up. Enjoy a refreshing landscape, beautiful parks and a view of the strait.
DON’T MISS:
- Take a break from studying or from the walk and visit one of the many cafés in Helsingborg.
- For those interested in sports, and possibly those supporting Helsingborgs IF, the team will be fighting to remain in Allsvenskan.
Text by: Beri Zangana and Jesper Hultin. Translated by: Rebecka McKinnon Forsell