The first thing we noticed getting off the plane in Sweden was how much cooler the weather was compared to Spain. We were happy to cool down after 4 months in Asia and hot summer at home.
And even though Sweden is part of the European Union, it uses its own currency – the Swedish Krona or “The Crown.” The conversion rate at the time of our visit was pretty easy: 1 USD = 10 Kronas.
In Sweden, we rented a car, which would have been fine except for the fact that we accidentally booked an electric car. If we stayed in the capital, that would have worked since the city has a lot of charging ports. However, we were headed up north where the charging ports become rare. But the scenery is worth the drive!
So, we had to pay extra for a nonelectric car. Also, on the roads they have a lot of speed cameras with proper signing a head of times, forewarning.
Stockholm
Our adventure in Sweden started with visiting the royal family palace. Gustaf the King and his family live in Drottningholm Palace west of Stockholm. The palace is out of a fairytale (a word we will use a lot in Europe), but with swans swimming in the lake, a royal garden, a maze, and luxurious yellow “regal color” palace sitting over the grounds, it is quite the scene and a great start to a beautiful country.
In a way we stayed at Gustav’s palace. Gustav is one of our dearest foreign exchange students. His parents graciously allowed us to stay at their beautiful home, while Gustav himself agreed to guide us throughout the city for the whole duration of our stay there.
We continued our tour of Stockholm by walking the old town. Here, we saw many of the historic sights, museums, and a spectacular waterfront. Highlights for us included:
- Walking the streets of Gamla Stan
- Visiting the Royal Palace (Stockholm City)
- Enjoying “fika” which means a coffee break
- Strolling the shores of Strandvagen along the waterfront
- Going to museum point home of the Vasa Ship Museum, Pippy Long stocking Museum, and the Nordic Museum.
But our favorite part of exploring Stockholm was the food and the variety of vegetarian and vegan options provided in restaurants and grocery stores. This started with a trip to Max’s fast food chain restaurant – a local version of McDonald’s. But, unlike its American counterpart, Max’s had a whole section of burgers, chicken sandwiches and other items which were strictly vegetarian/vegan. We enjoyed our sandwiches very much!
An excellent cook, Gustav treated us to a wide variety of homemade meals, including our favorite sandwich made of walnuts, goat cheese, and carrot bread.
Our journey in the Swedish archipelago would not be complete without really “diving” into the Baltic Sea. Being on the islands of southern Sweden in the warmish August air drew me to the water. I had to try a dip in the sea.
I was expecting the worst, but while the water was cool, it was refreshing. I would gladly trade in my morning cup of coffee back home for this more natural wake up jump into the sea!
Salen
After Stockholm, we proceeded north. The great outdoors of Scandinavia, lush green forests over rolling hills, numerous lakes, and birds – all reminded us of our recent trip to Alaska in Section 15. As we drove north to Salen, the road was mostly highway for the first part, but then it changed. It merged down to a single lane going through picture-perfect towns and the occasional 12-foot bridges, where we had to wait for incoming traffic to cross. Although slightly different, each town had its charm with their reddish color facades known as “Falu Rödfärg,” which began as a mining by-product used for paint.
Salen is home to one of Sweden’s best ski resorts. Staying at a ski resort in the summer may sound like an odd choice, but we wanted to see Swedish nature in all its glory. The ski resort was quite isolated and less busy than in the winter months, but still had plenty to offer. We enjoyed our days hiking, cooking, going to a waterpark/spa in the resort, and of course sauna-ing.
We spent most of our time:
- hiking around the resort on the cross-country ski trails
- hiking to a spectacular waterfall on the Norway side for a day, and
- my personal favorite hiking around the Fulufjallets National Park.
Fulufjallet National Park was home to the largest waterfall in Sweden and a variety of scenic hiking trails.
While hiking, we looked for trolls behind every tree. The park rangers were holding a scavenger hunt on the way to Njupeskar waterfall. The waterfall reaches up to 125 meters and in the winter becomes a popular attraction among the ice climbers.
The park is free and worth the drive alone.
Norway
I mentioned hiking in Norway... Salen is located only 30 minutes from the Norway-Sweden border, so we had to visit. Crossing the border was exciting because instead of the usual check points and big welcome signs all we saw was a different road pavement and the change of a language on the street signs.
We chose our destination by how close it was to the border. Nybergsund was a small town that apparently had historical significance. It served as the shelter for the King of Norway and his family during WWII when Hitler invaded their country. They had an amazing memorial site!
Nearby we learned there was a short hike to the nearest dam in the region and made a short hike back in the woods to see it. The dam was made of wood and was neat to see.
But what made the hike great was stumbling upon a patch of wild raspberries growing nearby. We had a nice and sweet midday snack. Well worth the trip!
Tack Gustav and Sweden and ha det til next time Norway!
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