Summer Week 8: Sweden Part 2!!!!

Hello I’m back for part 2 of our Swedish adventure! 

On Wednesday afternoon we reached our final Airbnb that we stayed at for the rest of our trip. It was a beautiful house on the water in a town called Nättraby, near Karlskrona. The house and the view were stunning! 

My sisters and I went to pick up groceries and we ate dinner out on the deck. 

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying time at the sea, in the hot tub and chatting (and dancing) on the deck! 





On Thursday we woke up and the plan for the morning was relaxation!! There was reading and yoga and swimming and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. 

Later that afternoon we all headed to Karlskrona. We walked around the city (there was a big festival going on) and went on a boat ride. 





After the boat we walked to Curry and Pickles, an Indian restaurant. It was not very busy and we had a great meal there. 


We saw some wildlife on the drive home and enjoyed drinks and the sunset out on the deck. 



On Friday morning we were treated to an INCREDIBLE double rainbow. It wasn’t raining (at the time) so we were able to just stay on the deck and marvel at the beauty. 

Then it was time to head out to a day trip to Boda. It poured at various points of the hour plus drive, but we still enjoyed seeing the charm of the southern Swedish countryside. 


In Boda we went to the Glass Factory, which was a long and storied history of glass making in Sweden. It was a very cool museum, and we got to see glass makers in action! 



On the way back to Nättraby we stopped at a very charming little cafe, where I got a DELICIOUS halloumi panini. 


Once we got back we had some time for swimming in the Baltic Sea and relaxing in the pool!


We had dinner reservations that night back in Karlskrona at Restaurang Bette. It was another fun and delicious meal! I had a Buratta appetizer (sooooooo delicious) and a fried artichoke and mushroom entree. 


When we got back the sky was putting on a show! 


Saturday was our last full day, so Jenny and I decided to stay at the house to relax while the others went to see some beautiful gardens. Later we made taco salads for lunch. 

Our last activity of the trip was a wine tasting and dinner at a local vineyard to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday a little early. It was SO fun. We tasted delicious white wine and chatted with local Swedes who were also in the tour. 





Later we “Americans” stayed for dinner, made by the winery owner and tour guide. He was a one man shop! It was cod, which I had never had before, with potatoes, peas and the most delicious white wine “gravy”. I’m really not a fish person, but I was able to eat more than half the fish by mixing it up with all the other delicious things on the plate! 

I’m so grateful to my mom and John for doing the bulk of the planning, along with Laura and Mari. And all of us had such a special trip with memories we’ll treasure forever! 


Laura, my mom and I were the first to pack up and head out early Sunday morning. We left at 6:45am for a 2.5 hour drive to Copenhagen and then an 8 hour flight to Minneapolis! Thankfully all the travels went smoothly and I was home with my family by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Very tired, but home and happy. 

Click here if you’d like to see about 16 minutes of video clips taken randomly over the week in Sweden! 

Timehop Tuesday

I have a couple birthday girl Timehops and some camp girls Timehops!

Who knew that when she was a tiny one turning two at camp, that ten years later she’d be helping to care for her little cousins in the same spot! 

Summer Week 8: SWEDEN Part 1!!!

Hej från Sverige! Hi from Sweden!  While I’m home now, I wrote this post midway through the trip so I could remember everything! So here is part 1 of the Swedish Adventure! 

Last Saturday night my sisters and I flew overnight from Minneapolis to Copenhagen to meet our mom, Uncle John, Aunt Jen and Aunt Margie for our big Sweden trip!!

We landed around 10am Sunday morning Sweden time (3am MN time), after maybe sleeping 2 hours on the plane, and took a train from the airport in Copenhagen to Malmö, Sweden! We walked to the hotel and were able to freshen up while the rest of the group was at church.

Our first stop was for some coffee and treats (cold chai and kannelbullar- cinnamon bun for me) at a little cafe near our hotel. 


Then it was time to explore Malmö! The architecture was lovely and some of the signs made us giggle (utfart means exit).


Here we all are in Malmö!



Our first stop was a large museum, with lots of old artifacts, paintings and art. We also stopped at a technology museum, too! 


Since Laura, Mari and I were surviving on fumes and very little sleep, we walked to a food hall and had an early dinner. I had a veggie Philly cheese sandwich and potato smash with an Aperol Spritz. Delicious! Laura got tacos at Maya Cantina.  


In order to not fall asleep at 5:30pm, the three of us walked to get gelato and then stopped at a little candy shop. We were then all asleep by 7:30pm and I got over11 hours of sleep that night! 


On Monday morning I woke up and went for a quick walk around our hotel. It was a lovely morning! 

Then it was time for coffee in the library and a delicious breakfast at the hotel! 


After breakfast we spent some time reading and looking at the stories and art on the walls of our hotel. So much fun history at the Hotel Tunneln in Malmö!


We rented 2 cars and left Malmö to travel to Göteborg, about 2 hours north. On the way, we stopped in Lund to go to Kulturen- a cultural museum all about how southern Swedish people lived throughout history. It was an awesome museum! 

Then we made another stop in Helsingborg for lunch. We sat outside at a little cafe called K Grand. I ordered what I thought was going to be a grilled cheese sandwich with a salad. What it was, was actual grilled cheese on top of a delicious mango chutney and barley. I loved it. 

We walked a bit around Helsingborg and down to the water. Another lovely town! 

By late afternoon we made it to our destination for the next couple days- Göteborg! We stayed at an awesome Airbnb apartment and I got the cute little kid room.


We went to the grocery store nearby to pick up some food. Check out the cheese selection! And my favorite thing was finding the tube cheese. Yum! 


We spent the evening relaxing and snacking in the apartment. 


Tuesday was our full day in Götenborg. Laura had booked us walking “Fika” tour with our own tour guide, Pascal. Fika means coffee break, so the tour started at one cafe for coffee and a treat. Then Pascal walked us all around the city, telling us tons of interesting facts and historical nuggets about the various neighborhoods we walked through. 

We ended the tour at another stop for one more drink- most of us decided to try coffee lemonade, which is exactly what it sounds like! And actually pretty good! We also got little bao buns for a light lunch from a food truck near the cafe. 


After our tour we went back to the Haga neighborhood for shopping and then found a spot for an afternoon cocktail! 


That night we walked to dinner at a very small restaurant called Bord 27. It was charming and delicious! I ordered corn gazpacho and potato cakes, which were both amazing and flavorful. We ended the evening hanging out in the apartment and trying the Polly candy we got on the way back. 


On Wednesday it was time to leave Götenborg and head about 4 hours south towards Karlskrona. On the way we stopped at another very charming town for delicious pizza- Värnamo. 

Then we stopped briefly at a town called Ekeberga! At the church, there were musicians playing lovely music in preparation for a future concert. We walked around the area and, of course, had to get photos in front of the Ekeberga church sign! 

This is the end of part 1! Our tour of Sweden will pick up when we made it to our delightful house on the Baltic Sea!