The Beauty of Sweden
I’m embarrassed to say that Sweden wasn’t on my list of countries to travel to when I was growing up. I was unfamiliar with the culture, people, and country, which made it irrelevant in my mind. But, I was blessed to know the daughter of a Swedish woman. My mother is best friends with the mothers of Eleonor and Samantha (the 2 girls I traveled with). Eleonor Wright is one of my very very best friends, and she grew up going to Sweden as a child! When I went to study abroad, Eleonor, Samantha (another one of my best friends), and I made the plan to travel together for 3 weeks after my program ended. We decided to travel throughout Sweden, visiting various cities and Eleonor’s family! I am happy to say that experienced Sweden in the best way possible, in the city and countryside! It is truly a beautiful country with amazing food, people, and landscapes. This blog will be highlighting the cities we traveled to! Put it on your travel list RIGHT NOW! You won’t regret it. 🙂
24 Hours in Stockholm
After an exhausting (but amazing) 2 weeks traveling through other countries in Europe, we were in dire need of a home cooked meal. We flew to Stockholm from Naples, Italy with the plan of staying with Eleonor’s family friend. We landed fairly early in the morning, so we decided to take a couple of hours for sightseeing before getting picked up. We left our bags at a store using the app Bounce (10/10 for these moments), and walked around the city. The picture at the beginning of the blog is me laying in the Riksplan, a garden in central Stockholm. Surrounding the garden is the Kungliga slottet, which is the Royal Palace and official residence of the Swedish monarch! We spent the morning sunbathing, laughing, running around, and resting after the crazy travel pace we had been going at for 2 weeks! It was a super refreshing morning. We then got picked up by Annika, Eleonor’s godmother, and drove to her house in the suburbs of Stockholm. Annika, our host, was the most gracious and hospitable host ever. She made us the BEST meal after weeks of eating out, and took us on a walk to a beautiful lake by her home. The picture to the left is her dining room with the meal. Swedish people are interior design gods. Its proven! We had the most relaxing time with Annika and her family, and I cannot thank them enough for their hospitality. We slept early, since we had a 7am train to catch to go to Gothenburg! Annika had us make sandwiches for our travel day. She’s the best. ❤️
24 Hours in Gothenburg
After our amazing 24 hours in Stockholm, we journeyed to a city called Gothenburg. We met up with Eleonor’s aunt Christel (one of my favorite people ever!!) and her daughter, Hanna, to see a bit of the city! We spent the beginning of the day walking around the city and exploring! The city was very beautiful, with distinct red roofing on many buildings. We walked around Haga, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, which is known for its picturesque wooden houses and cobblestone streets. It was a very charming and laidback area of town. It was actually Hanna’s birthday, so we went mini golfing and out to dinner to celebrate. To the right is a picture of Christel, Eleonor, and Samantha on a train in the city. The public transport was very easy and convenient to take in Gothenburg! After a full day of exploring, we set off for our final leg of the trip to Norra Uvö, to Eleonor’s family’s country house in the Swedish countryside! The drive from Gothenburg to the country was about 4 hours, so we talked and napped on the way!
48 Hours in the Swedish Countryside
We arrived to Norra Uvö late at night, and were greeted by Phillippe (also one of my fav people ever). We settled down, cleaned up, and had the most restful nights sleep of our trip thus far. The next morning, we had breakfast with our hosts, and took a walk around the area. The house is situated near a lake, so we also took a boat ride around. There were so many cute, red houses along the waterfront! It was both grounding and refreshing to be in nature and quiet after the craziness of out trip. We spent the next two days hanging out with our hosts, playing games, and relaxing. It was honestly the highlight of our trip. Our hosts cooked the yummiest food that I still crave to this day, with fresh, healthy ingredients. We also had “fika time” every day– which is cherished Swedish tradition that involves taking a break to enjoy coffee, often accompanied by a sweet treat! It became my FAVORITE time of day! Eleonor and I even jumped into the lake, when it was 50 degrees outside! It is one of my fondest memories.
24 Hours in Helsingborg
Whew! We’ve covered so much Swedish ground already. Our last stop of Sweden (and Europe for this trip!) was Christel and Phillippe’s homebase, Helsingborg! We arrived in the city in the morning, and had a nice lunch in town. We then walked around the city, and stopped at a cafe for fika time! We had my favorite dessert Princesstårta — a traditional Swedish cake with fluffy whipped cream layers and cake! We had dinner overlooking the water, and ate yummy seafood. It was the perfect end to the trip. After being an adult for 5 months, it was nice to get taken care of…. they were truly the best, most attentive hosts! The trip ended with this beautiful sunset to the left. Sweden made sure to see me off the right way. We flew out of Copenhagen, Denmark the next day. Twas a dream!
Sweden was the most refreshing, quiet, and serene stop on the trip. I will forever be grateful to Eleonor and her family for taking such amazing care of us and showing us their beautiful country! That was my Sweden trip, thanks for reading!
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Hej då!
Cristy 🙂
