Category: Travel
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Flowering Raps Fields
The countryside is gorgeous right now, with bright yellow rapeseed in bloom. I didn’t know until recently that raps oil, which is very popular in Sweden, is just canola oil! The best views seem to be in places that are difficult to access from the highways along the coast, but even around Lund there are…
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On the mend
Lily and I rode the train to Malmö for her Handkirurgi appointment. The hand specialist said the cast could come off- she can use a velcro wrap for a few weeks until it stops hurting and moves easily.Then we stopped in our old Hyllie neighborhood to have lunch at her favorite place from those weeks…
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Arctic Spring – Night Snowmobiling
There was an outing that was on the itinerary that escaped Jen’s attention to detail – a snowmobiling outing after dark with dinner (link). Snowmobiles? Driving them? Not for some of us. Lily and Bryant, however, thought the idea was pretty cool. So, Jen and Hil skipped it, while Bry and Lily revved it. We…
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Kiruna, Background Info
We decided to spend our Easter holiday doing something. In Sweden, Easter (or Påsk, pronounced “poask”) is a very secular holiday, and Holy Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays (so, no work!), and the schools are out for Easter week. So, we took a trip to Kiruna, Sweden. Kiruna is a city of 30k…
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Arctic Spring
We decided the risk of traveling within Sweden was minor and booked a trip to Kiruna, the northern most city in Swedish Lapland. It’s north of the Arctic Circle in Sàpmi (Sami cultural region) taiga forestland with long winters. Traditional Sami foods, cooked over the fire in a làvvu reindeer, moose, lingon and cloudberries prepared…
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Bornholm
A Danish island in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden, Bornholm is still closed to tourism. It used to be a fishing community, but in recent times it is known for biking, hiking and culinary culture. My great-grandfather, Fred, was born there in 1880 Fred’s mother’s family lived there for generations. His father,…
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Påskkäring, Easter Witch
My friend, Brandie, suggested we get out of town for a bit since her husband and daughters are working from home this week due to Swedish guidelines regarding the new covid variant. We drove to the southern most point, Smyghuk but it was under construction so we went to Vellinge Blommar, a huge garden center…
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Kings Park
Spent the day in Malmö while Bryant took his driving hazards test. He’ll post about that interesting experience sometime! Cloudy but warm, 53 degrees. A nice day to roam around, but the kids stayed home to clean their rooms Malmö castle as it used to be… And how it is today, with restorations “Diana” sculpture…
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Dinner and the castle grounds
After a few anxious minutes waiting outside, not quite sure if we were in the right place, we great doors opened and we were treated to warm glögg, live music and a self guided tour of the mansion. It featured a room built to accommodate a very large painting the owners had commissioned, which ended…
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Tjolöholms Slott
Built by the wife of a British-Swedish aristocrat, who died just after building began, this castle has a relatively short history. The Dickson’s wanted a horse farm close to their Gothenburg home. They hired an architect and began construction in 1894, on a stretch of rugged coast just south of Gothenburg. It was a working…