🇸🇪 Sweden 🇸🇪

 

Sweden!!

Finally. I have been dating a swede for 6 almost 7 years now, married to one for 2 years (officially) and had not yet made it to Sweden. Felix always said he wanted to wait until we had plenty of time to be there hence waiting 'til our 2 year adventure. We called it our honeymoon but really bits throughout this vanlife journey has been like a honeymoon. Most of the Sweden trip was really visiting Felix's family but we did get the last 3-4 days in Stockholm for a true honeymoon experience and it was just stunning. 

Felix starting strong in the photo documentation game, at the airport in Copenhagen. 

Our first stop was to stay with Felix's Aunt Stina and her husband Göran! She lives in the southwestern part of Sweden so we flew into Copenhagen, Denmark, and took a train close to her to pick us up. Stina made it for the wedding just a couple of months ago so it was nice to feel like we had already gotten to know each other some. 

She had the most adorable home with the best back porch for dinners, games and coffee. 

A classic Swedish meal is apparently Swedish tacos which I ended up having on multiple occasions. They are basically ground beef tacos which I found funny because I grew up eating them all the time as a kid as well. 

I went straight to the photos! With Felix growing up in Sweden, although his dad does have some photos in CA most of his childhood photos were here. I mean look at this cutie. 

Same face he makes in the sun or around any bright light haha. 

Planning to re-create this outfit for him. 

Stina had some very neat vintage decor and furniture as well as an old room for making rugs. 

I feel like the most prominent thing Felix tells me about his childhood is how he just would wander around in forests and eat berries all the time. It was hard for my Texas born mind to comprehend what that would really be like, but I learned pretty quickly! It was crazy. Everywhere we walked there were cherry trees, blueberries, raspberries, new berries I had never heard of. It was incredible.  

The amount of spice Swedes can handle. 

Possibly one of the most fun and entertaining parts of Sweden was the grocery stores. I can't exactly explain why, maybe it was the insane amount of Lösgodis (pick your own candy), treats for Fika (coffee and treat time everyday for Swedes), new names, great bread or that Felix was so excited every time to show me the food he always ate. 

A classic. 

Thick and chunky. 

We mostly just spent time with Stina, helping her around her house and yard, sleeping off the jet lag and played games however we took one day to go explore the larger beach town nearby called Angelholm. 

They had a super fun park for kids/adults in the forest. 

The park had animals, food trucks, walking trails, a high-line adventure course, museums and the most impressive public toilets I've ever seen. 

Just a typical street. 

A classic Swedish snack! Felix had made me something similar recently. They love their fish, dill and lemon!

The river through town. We had the pleasure of watching 2 very drunk Swedish boys attempting to kayak down the river while going in circles and blasting Felix's favorite Swedish artist, Hov1. 

Felix used to play a game called Finans with Stina when he was little and he loved it which I find hilarious and very typical Felix to love a game about stocks, dividends and financial times as a child. So we whipped it out! It is actually quite fun and basically a better version of Monopoly. Felix liked it so much we actually bought one to bring back with us. 

Then we got a couple of days with his Uncle Pelle and his partner Siv! They were lovely hosts and amazing cooks despite being in a recent motorcycle accident causing injuries to both of their left feet. We stayed at the house his grandmother grew up in which they call Fredriksborg (its a common thing there to name houses apparently).

The house!

Walking trails everywhere, this was a loop right behind the house. 

And next, a series of Megan eating berries. 

Megan eating 

Megan eating cherries. 

Megan eating 

And now a series of Megan and Felix posing at all the different places for Fika on the property. 

Bugs are out Fika. 

In the woods Fika. 

Morning sun by the house Fika. 

Afternoon sun by the house Fika. 

No one knows I'm taking a secret Fika break Fika. 

Greenhouse Fika. 

Basically the property was not short on places to have an afternoon treat and coffee and Felix has a lot of memories of taking Fika with his grandparents here. 

We continues just exploring the land until dinner. 

His great uncle Albin seemed to have a unique and artistic eye which I loved, he made this door below with decorations around it and on it. 

Then dinner time! Pelle and Siv are amazing gardeners and alot of the food we ate came straight from their garden. They are currently renovating the big house and staying in a small cabin so they created an outdoor kitchen attached to the cabin. 

We spent a day at their other house about an hour away which was also very beautiful but I unfortunately did not get any pictures aside from these pictures on of Felix's grandmother Anne-Maria in the middle and his grandfather Karl Erik on the bottom right. 

We stopped by the apartment his grandparents lived in too! In a small town called Rimbo. Both of his grandparents have passed away for those who don't know. 

The next stop after our time with Pelle and Siv was Norrtalje! The town Felix grew up in where his mother Helena and his friend Lucas still live. 

The apartment Felix grew up in which Helena still lives in is in an incredible location with the forest right behind it and a lake super close as well as seen in the next pictures. 

Everything in the town is bike-able, so we took off for dinner that night! 

Some hilarious Swedish words when translated to English. 

Slut means "the end", Felix said this was his favorite ice cream...

Utfart means "exit" for cars specifically haha. 

The ping pong table in his apartment that he spent many house with Lucas!

After a day in Norrtalje, we spent the weekend with Lucas since he had the time off and we had a good weather window to go to his summer house!

Lots of time working out by the water, in the water and on the water! It was lovely. 

Lucas, the grill boy. 

We found these old necklaces of Felix's while at his mom's place and loved wearing them. 

Dinners outside always during Swedish summer! Lucas's brother and mom.

We took a sunset boat ride at about 10:30 pm...

Then the next day we took the boat all the way into the town/habor of Norrtälje during an American Car festival that they were having. 

Lucas's brother Victor gave Felix and I terrifying rides on his new jet ski! 

To finish the weekend we actually had a party that Bob (Felix's dad) put together! He decided to fly in to spend time with his friends here and have a little marriage celebration for us and it was beautiful and fun to get to know his Swedish circle. 

His close buddy Rand has an incredible house/land that he has created into an immaculate garden, pond, greenhouse, bee hive, chicken coop, hot tub, fire-pit, tree-house - it was fascinating and so fun to spend time there.  

Rand and Bob!

Since we could walk everywhere, we walked to the party then stopped by the grocery store where Lucas was working on the way home!

We got to spend the next couple of days with Helena! We did lots of biking through the town to different view points, old schools Felix went to, amazing lunch spots, lakes and some old favorite spots that Felix use to frequent. 

I even got to ride Felix's bike from childhood! I have short legs okay..

View of Norrtalje. 

Hands down the best lunch and deal we have had. 

Unlimited salad, bread and juice, amazing meal, free coffee/tea and cookies all with a view of the city - for $13 and the best part..no tipping. Tipping is much less common and often restaurants are set up like this one where you order up so you don't have a server. 

We spent the afternoons at Helena's playing Finans! I dominated 2 games in a row and Felix hasn't wanted to play since. 

The next day we took a morning Ferry to a small beautiful island, walked around the town and explored, had lunch then took a bus back! It was a really great way to see more of the Archipelago and some smaller, countryside homes and towns. 

A very old windmill on the island.

Back in Norrtälje! We went for a late afternoon run before dinner and it started raining on us so I jumped in the lake! Felix did not join me..

Another day, another bike ride, amazing lunch spot and some more water!

We spent another day/night with Lucas in his immaculate apartment! They played a computer game they used to play all the time as kids and now Felix is hooked again. 

I spent a magical morning by myself (just doesn't happen very often) meandering the town, shopping and stopping at cafes for treats and tea.

The best cinnamon roll I have had in my life.

I had to buy this outfit combo for Sweden pride obviously.

My cafe spot when it started raining. 

Felix and Lucas then met me for some miniature golf which ended in us hiding under the trees from torrential rain.

But we got vouchers and went back the next day!

We fit in one more night at Rand's after taking a yoga class with this group led by Shanko who we met at the party.

Last night in Norrtälje! We splurged and grabbed a drink at a nice place by the water.

Norrtalje at sunset.

I mean the whole town is just idyllic.

We had one more day with Helena where we visited the church that Felix's grandparents are buried at and Helena showed us the church since she attends it now and is a part of the community.

The actual key to the church.

It was beautiful.

Then a last night at Frederiksborg again!

Felix and I then headed out for our time in Stockholm! We upgraded from the van just a little bit for our honeymoon and stayed at an adorable hotel called Kung Carl right in the heart of Stockhom. It had a rooftop terrace that we thoroughly enjoyed, beautiful interior space and bar, the best free breakfast I have ever had and our room was perfect with lots of windows and space.  

Our first Stockholm adventure was a soccer game! We got some Korv, Swedish/German style hot dogs then took a subway to the game. 

Even Stockholms subway stations were immaculate.

It is hard to capture in pictures how intense and crazy this soccer game was. I have never seen soccer fans this intense. Apparently The team playing, AIK was Felix’s archenemy team as a kid and they are known to have pretty wild and intense fans. Felix wanted to cheer on the opposite team but we booked tickets without specifying team and we were right in the middle of the AIK fan base and it was HEATED haha, constant yelling, “cheers”, flags were burned, ribbons thrown onto the field to prevent players from kicking corners kicks, fans running onto the field and trying to throw things at the other fans - it was chaos. The game was even paused for about 45 min in order to get the crowd under control. Needless to say, it was extremely entertaining despite the game ending in 0-0 and Felix and I successfully cheered for the other team in secret without anyone beating us up.

Yes, those are flames behind us. 

We strolled through the area by the stadium, then made it back in time to watch the sunset on the roof terrace!

Started to feel like our honeymoon!

Morning Felix haha. 

THE most amazing breakfast buffet. 

The next couple of days we basically walked around different beautiful areas of Stockholm, on the first day we ran/walked around the island Djurgården, had lunch at a greenhouse/garden spot and went to a science/technology museum.

Same or different word?

Just some street views. 

The following day we walked around Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Sweden. It was like stepping back in time as you walked along the tight alleys, cobblestone streets and unique architecture. The area itself dates back to the 13th century, but most buildings were from the 1600s and 1700s.

Another incredible lunch. 

Best dinner of our lives so far! The entire experience was just so perfect. I picked a waterfront restaurant and we had to wait for a table but the spot they placed us to wait had the best view of the harbor with a nice breeze and lots of fun people watching and amazing cocktails! We didn’t want to go inside and give up our spot but inside they placed us at our own little elevated loveseat table (totally different than all the other tables that were kind of crammed together) . Basically we felt like royalty and the food was the best meal I had there that I will be trying to replicate!

The night stroll home was the cherry on top!

Our last day we walked to an open air museum called Skansen which was huge and had tons of different areas that portrayed different times of history in Sweden. It really felt like you were in each time frame or area of Sweden they were replicating and often the buildings themselves were transported to the site.

Our favorite building on the walk there,

The Nordic Museeum.

The backside faces the water and has incredible architecture.

Live glass making at Skansen, a core memory for Felix.

Always Fika

No caption needed

For our last night we took a sunset cruise with dinner! It was fancy and fun and the perfect way to end our time in Stockholm, aside from eating our meal we spent most of our time on the top back deck or the very front taking in all the different areas of surrounding Stockholm we passed.

Gröna Lund, the famous amusement park by the water.

And that’s a wrap! I have had a hard time describing Sweden to people when they ask me and I think it is just because there were so many different little parts to our trip spent with different people that it was a lot of beautiful, little moments that led to an overall impression of Sweden that was just so relaxing, green and peaceful, full of water and nature and eating amazing fresh yet simple food while getting to know Felix’s family and friends from Sweden better - all leading to me getting to know Felix even better than I already do, which is the best honeymoon you could ask for. I am just so grateful to have finally experienced the culture that Felix grew up in and shaped him.