These past three days have been a blur of long car rides, lots of Swedish, laughter, and loads of adventure. It’s hard to believe that I have already been here four days but when I think of everything I’ve already done, it’s crazy that it has been less than a week. My host family has dunked me head-first into a Swedish vacation, or semester as they say, and I have loved every second of it.
Sunday morning I woke up to Mamma telling me that my bag was about to arrive! Obviously the day was off to a great start. Since I had slept in late because of my jet lag, the rest of the family was already up and we had my very first Swedish breakfast. Mamma had fixed bacon and eggs and put out yogurt (which is in a carton here!!) with raspberries, bread, butter, and cheese.
Once my bag came, I quickly unpacked and put away all my clothes, and then packed another bag for our little trip to Farmor’s, which is Swedish for dads mom, in Trollhättan. Our first stop along the way was to a zip lining and ropes course somewhere in the woods of Sweden. We turned off the highway, drove a few minutes past some gorgeous scenery, and we were there. They had many different levels of courses all corresponding to a certain color and one giant zip line across a lake at the end.
Just hangin’ at the zip line and ropes course!
The courses were very interesting because you hooked yourself into each course, no one stood on the platforms to help, so when they were explaining everything, my host family had to translate for me. Yes, I fell a couple of times, but all together it was an amazing way to start an amazing vacation. After we finished the course, I had my first Fika!!!
Fika is very unique to Sweden and normally each family has a different meaning to what Fika refers to. My host sisters told me they think of it as having a dessert of pastry, however since it can also sometimes mean sandwiches, they are disappointed when there is nothing sweet! With our Fika, which was cardamom buns, we had chicken, sandwiches, and an interesting drink. You pour a thick, concentrated liquid, ours was made out of black current, and then add water to dilute the substance. I have had these drinks a few times since I have been here and they have many different flavors I still have yet to try.
When we were finished, we piled back into the car and headed off to our next destination, Brahehus. Brahehus is an old house built on the second largest lake in Sweden by an old Nobel. It is now known for its great view and it is easy to tell why. You could see for miles from the window of the house and it was filled with green trees, mountains, and beautiful water. We didn’t stay for long since there wasn’t much to see inside, but we enjoyed it while we were there and were soon off the stop three.
The view from Brahehus, which means Brahe’s house.
My host family then brought me to a little candy shop called Grenna which is famous for creating the candy cane! We each got a candy from the store and watched how they make and package each treat. I also read a little bit of history about how Grenna and the candy canes came to be!
The many different candy cane options at Grenna.
We then walked across the street for some Thai food that we all agreed was not very good, and took off for our final destination, Farmor’s house! Since we got to her house sort of late, we had had some hot tea outside for a little while and then turned in so we would be able to get up early the next morning.
Monday morning we woke up early, had a quick breakfast, and headed out to Smögen, a unique coastal town in Sweden. Jet lag hit me a little hard this day but other than that, adjusting has been super easy and I have hardly noticed it at all. In Smögen we rented kayaks for three hours and explored the cold, yet gorgeous, water around the town. For lunch we had toast skagen sandwiches in our kayaks which was a little tricky since they were very messy. We then visited some islands, saw some jellyfish, and explored the water a little more since our time was running out.
Kayaking on the west coast!
All of the islands were basically huge rocks but it was so fun to run around on them look out onto the ocean from them. After we returned our kayaks, we changed our of our wet clothes and decided to walk on the docks in Smögen.
Fun while exploring the islands of Smögen.
I loved walking around the bustling town and going into shops, passing all the people, and seeing all the different colored houses.
My host sister Anna taking me to see the sights around Smögen.
Birdseye view of the cutest coastal town, Smögen.
It started to heat up outside so my INSANE host family though it would be fun to go swimming in the 63 degree water!!!! I told them that water in Florida is very warm and they insisted that I get in the water too.
The metal stairs leading down the the water were even freezing to me. As soon as I dipped my toes in, I could no longer feel them. I slowly stepped farther into the water until it was up to my knees and I could not even feel my feet. I waited there for so long not wanting to go in but I finally just counted down from three, plopped in the water, and came right back out. It may have been the coldest water I have ever been in and it may have just been a dip but at least I can now say I swam on Sweden’s west coast. After all that commotion, we changed back into our regular clothes and headed to Kungshamn for dinner.
Yes, I was crying in the picture because the water was so cold.
The weather has been absolutely amazing since I have been here so we always eat outside whether at home or a restaurant. In Florida, you could never eat outside in August without breaking a sweat. Once we finished dinner, we headed over the my host dad’s uncle’s house to say hello since he lived very close. When we got back to Farmor’s she had a delicious dessert ready for us. It was made of gooseberries and she had somewhat smashed them so they were somewhat like a soup. You then added cream, sugar, cinnamon, and milk and had the most incredible desert in your life. We sat there talking until the sun had set then played in the street a little on a longboard and roller skates before going to bed to wake up early again the next morning.
Tuesday we headed back to Smögen. On the way we stopped at a zoo called Nordens Arc which works to protect and keep alive endangered animals. The zoo was built into the side of the mountain so it was amazing to see how they create habitats for the animals in a landscape with lots of hills and rocks. They also had many animals we don’t have in Florida since they are able to have animals who withstand cold weather.
We had burgers and ice cream for lunch as we waited to watch the workers feed the wolverines, which was so amusing to watch. After we left the zoo, we kept heading to Smögen until we reached a mini-golf course. The mini-golf in Sweden is so much harder than in the U.S. which is something I wouldn’t have expected. Sadly, I was last but I did have the lead for a small portion of the game so at least I have holes 3 and 4 to myself!! After Ebba claimed her victory, we went and played on the play ground for a little bit. They had this one seesaw like contraption but it went much higher and spun at the same time. Why doesn’t the U.S. have this?? I want one!
Family bonding through mini golf.
Once back in the car, we finally reached Smögen and got some seafood for dinner. We then went into a little candy shop where we were able to choose from hundreds of different choices and put in our own bag. It reminded me of Froyo for candy because you paid by weight. Apparently this is how you buy candy all the time in Sweden, but I definitely got some good and bad candy.
Swedes love salty licorice for some strange reason but it isn’t even slightly salty, it’s almost like pouring an entire salt shaker on your candy. I mean I guess it’s an acquired taste but I’m definitely not a fan of it yet. Our dinner was lovely filled will shrimp, crab, and crayfish.
My first Swedish seafood market!
Right before we were about to have dessert, Pappa heard a boat down at the locks. We all wanted to see the water rushing so we ran down quickly to see the water change levels and the gates open up. Once we got back to the house, we had the blueberry pie Ebba and I had made earlier and talked outside in the garden. My host sisters and I then decided to watch a movie, we picked “The Notebook,” and soon after that we went to sleep.
These past few days have been so busy but the rest of our time here should be pretty laid back. Tomorrow we are going to walk around the city of Trollhättan and we are not sure about what to do on Thursday yet. I will eventually update you on the second half of our trip! Thanks for reading!