Traveling through Sweden

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Åhhhh, it is so good to be back in Sweden! And Norrland! No more summer nights. Coffee and bullar. People sucking in air to say yes. Can you ask for more?

On my way back, I decided to take my time and drive through the country a bit. Since the ferry landed in Trelleborg, my first sites was of Skåne, the famous Wallander area of Sweden. I have to say, Skåne does not look like Norrland.

Skane Country sideWhen I think of Skåne I think of windmills and flat country side. Not like the rest of Sweden. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best. But it was a great excuse for my first fika, or coffee/snack break in Sweden after being gone for so long.

first fikaOf course when I started speaking Swedish, the shop assistant switched to English immediately, as she could tell I had an accent. Well, I didn’t miss that part of Sweden. But with persistence she went back to Swedish when she saw I was not going to speak English with her!

As I drove more north, the scenery started to change. More lakes and ponds showed up, such as this one near the place I stayed at one evening.

pond

The towns I drove by were really cute, with the typical red buildings with white trim.

cutebuildingsI drove by the two largest lakes in Sweden, Vättern and Vänern, and on my way I was told that I must have some rökt sik. It is smoked whitefish and it was oh so good. My stomach didn’t like me so much the next day though.

smoked whitefishI had a chance to see Karlstad, the sun city as I think Swedes call it. A very cute town on the north tip of the largest lake in Sweden, Vänern. We walked around the center, and even though it was a Saturday night, it was pretty empty.

karlstad squareThe bus system was of course impressive, with the bus number and time on a digital chart. I haven’t seen anything like it in other larger cities.

karlstad busI’m not sure why they call Karlstad the sun city, but my friend told me it was because of a waitress a long time ago that always had a smile on her face, making everyone feel sunny. While it wasn’t that sunny in Karlstad when I was there, the statue of the waitress did seem to shine a bit.

karlstad sun statue

I also stayed one night in the small touristy town of Orsa. Very cute, but very touristy. Not my cup of tea, but it was worth seeing the sites.

orsaAll in all, it was amazing to see southern Sweden, and hear what the rest of the country thought about the north. And it was also interesting to see when Swedes started sucking in air. I noticed it when I reached Sollefteå. However, where does it really start? It goes with the question, where does Norrland really start? North of Stockholm? Or is it certain län that are considered Norrland? What do you think?

6 thoughts on “Traveling through Sweden”

  1. I think Norrland starts somewhere around Umeå. (Well, I know it goes down to Gävle, but that is totally in the South of Sweden from my point of view.) Jag gillar din blogg! Hoppas du fortsätter trivas i Sverige. 🙂

    Reply
    • ¨Tack så mycket! I think I will still continue to enjoy Sweden, find out new things, and update the world! Borta bra men hemma bäst! Jag är glad att vara igen i Sverige 🙂

      Reply
  2. “Of course when I started speaking Swedish, the shop assistant switched to English immediately, as she could tell I had an accent.” This was massively useful, when I was in Sweden, whenever I tried to speak Swedish (No matter how basic it was) everyone would always respond in English!
    Looking through these pictures, I really want to go back, and travel through the heart of the country.

    Reply
    • It was really cool, but I have to say Skane was the most unique. As I hit Gislaved it started to be the familiar forest we have in Norrland. But still beautiful and well worth the trip!

      Reply
  3. Hi there. Great post! I am heading to Sweden next week, flying into Goteborg, and am looking for some great photographic experiences. I would like to shoot unique things, caves, forests, etc… I will be renting a car and am staying for 4 days. Do you have any good recomendations?? You can email me if you like at myallegro31@gmail.com. Thanks!

    Reply

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