Sweden

Most people know it as the land of meatballs, Abba and Volvos. I am here to tell you it is sooo much more than that! What started as a joke at a dinner party last March turned into the Scandinavian trip of a lifetime. Ashley was my lovely partner for the journey and we managed to fit 3 countries, 3 capital cities and tons of action into 12 days. This blog specializing in Sweden is the first of subsequent blogs detailing the trip. I hope you enjoy a few words about our Scandinavian adventure!

We arrived in Stockholm exactly 12 days ago, having a vague impression of Sweden and only knowing a few key phrases of the language. It was an overnight flight from Washington Dulles on Lufthansa- which was perhaps the easiest flights either of us had the pleasure of enjoying. I mean, on-demand TV, beer and wine with great German cooking, what else do you need for a trans-Atlantic flight! We had our first taste of public transport getting to our hotel in Sollentuna, Ashley was stoked about that and having packed so light, good job!

We arrived at our hotel, which was a Scandic (highly recommend them!) It was in a suburb of Stockholm and directly next to a shopping mall. First impressions of Sollentuna were exactly what we expected; very modern, clean and accessible. Our hotel:

The next morning we awoke to Ashley’s birthday and a magnificent breakfast buffet, one which would really set the tone for the rest of the trip. Continental Europe breakfasts are really the best! This one had an armada of different breads, sliced meats and cheeses, sliced cucumber and tomato, 6 kinds of marmalade, all sorts of yoghurt to dump over muesli and hot items like eggs and little sausages. It was a feast for more than just the tummy! After over-eating at the buffet (we learned quick how to eat conservatively!), we had to make way to downtown Stockholm- because that’s where our ferry boat would depart for Finland in the evening. Stockholm really is a beautiful city:

We caught a quick (but expensive) taxi to nearby Gamla Stan, which is the oldest part of Stockholm and where the city was founded. Carl Larsson was born there, but more on him later.

We had sweets and coffees at a nice little shop that was owned and run by a charitable organization. The photo below shows the side entrance to the old royal palace, where we happened to see the “changing of the guard”.

There are many bridges linking Gamla Stan to the modern city. I guess it needs to be mentioned that Stockholm is actually an archipelago and much of the city is surrounded by water. New architecture meets modern Swedish design here:

We got a really great view of it from our cruise and entering into the Baltic sea. Ashley and I:

The view from the top deck on the cruise ship was spectacular. Later, we had the seafood buffet for dinner andI think Ashley enjoyed it very much (it being her 25^th birthday). The sunset came quickly and the local folks were trying to get back there homes via ferry:

That night we slept kinda rough, I have never been on a cruise ship (and probably won’t go back). We were anxious to get off and walk around Helsinki. It worked out perfect our next Scandic hotel was right next to the ferry terminal and within walking distance of the downtown area. Helsinki is mentioned in further detail in another blog.

I would like to continue with Sweden because after visiting Finland and then Denmark we arrived once again. We picked up the rental car and the next day paid a very important visit to a Swedish icon- Volvo! Ashley and I both drive Volvos, so it only seemed right to visit the factory. Let me just mentioned that in Sweden there are Volvos everywhere, even pimp-daddy Volvo S60 limos:

The parking lot was full of Volvos, and Ashley was pretty stoked!

I enrolled us in the Blue Train factory tour , which was more than an hour and was just what it sounds like; a small train that wound through the actual Volvo assembly plant. Volvo owns other assembly plants around the world, but this one in Torslanda is the origin for much of the vehicle models, including S60s (Ashley!) and S70 (me!). It was a shame we couldn’t take photos inside the plant (to protect trade secrets), because there were some really cool parts like the “Marriage Point” where the chassis is mated to the car body. This assembly plant was a mechanical engineers dream; mechanized processes were everywhere- including robots doing welding, raising/lowering work surfaces and patented features to make assembly like workers jobs a little easier. Ashley just getting on the Blue Train:

After the tour ended, and we exhausted from our search for sweet Volvo streetwear (we never did find cool Volvo t-shirts, like the one that says “Everything is better with a Volvo”), we headed north along the Bohuslän Coast. Our next destination was Stromstad, a beautiful little town on Sweden’s northwest coast and just south of the Norwegian border. We booked a neat little hotel called Hotell Krabben, which had nautical themes and was run by a nice family.

Stromstad was so quaint, we ate dinner right by the water at a Thai restaurant:

The harbour seen from a rocky perch above town:

The sun set nicely as a few last sailboats trickled into the harbour:

The next day, after yet another scrumptious Swedish style breakfast, we headed further north. Our destination was Lake Siljan, a favorite vacation spot for Swedes and some cool attractions. The drive up was super scenic:

Lake Siljan, seen from the shores of Mora:

The north part of Lake SIljan:

Sweden is unbelievably forested, everywhere there are spruce, pine, paper birch and the occasional larch. It was especially neat to see how much active forestry is going there too. Just from the highway I could spot different silvicultural treatments, clearcuts, tree planting and tons of natural regeneration. The landscape could be compared to northern New England or the Pacific northwest, with well-worn mountains interspaced with lakes and rivers.

We took an excursion about a hundred kilometers north to Sweden’s smallest national park. It is called Hamra and contains a thousand hectares of forest that date to the 17^th century! It was a mix of low-lying sites and clearings, containing all kinds of organic matter, the club mosses were particularly colorful:

A 450 year old forest is quite a diverse one if you look closely. There are living things everywhere, filling it in every nook, every cranny and every niche. It is amazing to see how well intended nature is. The vegetation here was characteristic of many of the high mountainscapes I’ve visited, this is likely due to the northerly latitude, very cool!

This shot came out so well it is now the background for my computer:

We returned south to stay at our favorite B&B of the trip, the Langshyttans Brukshotell. The host couple of the place were so lovely and accommodating, I wish we had gotten a photo with them. They had a restaurant formerly in the Stockholm harbor on a boat, but the boat sank and the insurance company told them they had no water damage. So they took the opportunity to move out to the country and start a very cool, small B&B. The husband is the chef and he prepared a quick salmon plate for each of us that was splendid. I think Ashley and I were REALLY spoilt by all the salmon the entire trip!

The lovely little inn:

It was sad to leave our new friends at the Brukshotell, but we had more of Sweden to see! Our next stop was the Carl Larsson (pronounced Carlarsson) residence. For those who don’t know him, he was a very influential Swedish artist. During his time in the late 19^th and early 20^th century he pioneered new ways of family life and believed in people living productive/fulfilling lives.

We got a tour of his house, the interior design was quite far ahead of its time! Carl put personal touches on everything and we were able to see his wife’s wonderful tapestries she made, his handwriting on things and even his reading room full of books from the period. Sorry no pictures from the inside of the house, but outside was just as nice:

After getting our fix at Carl Larssons, we drifted south to Stockholm. Everyone knows of Ikea, but who has been to one in Ikeas country of origin? The third Ikea to open is south of Stockholm, and also happens to be the biggest one in the world, opened in the 1960s. We didn't buy anything home furnishings because it was all the same as at home! We did however eat at the restaurant, cheap and delicious Swedish cuisine. On the way north to our hotel, we made a quick pit-stop in downtown Stockholm, just in time to see a romantic sunset set over the old city. Look for those photos and more (I don't have them at this moment) in an update to this blog shortly. I also have a few concluding words about the wonderful Scandinavian country that is Sweden.