Hej Sweden!

As I mentioned in my last post, Jimmy and I recently took a vacation in Sweden. 

Now, a question for you - was your reaction just now "Sweden, why Sweden?!". If so then you're not alone. At least 75% of the folks we've mentioned our trip to have responded with some variation of that question, either assuming the trip must be to visit family or for work (nope), or saying "hmm, that's never been on my list" or simply, "...Sweden?" [in surprised voice]. I have to admit that the folks who simply said "wow that must have been gorgeous!" won a couple of extra points in my book ;).

Because yes - Sweden! Crisp, clean, stunning, friendly, delicious Sweden.

I'll save some of the details for my next post, but in general - we fell in love. With the Scandinavian design, the fresh air, the shockingly clean city streets, the kind and friendly strangers, the contrast of primary colors in the countryside, the 10:30pm sunsets, and the mix of incredibly-old with incredibly-modern. Plus, Sweden is a very easy country to travel in - things are very intuitive and organized, and the folks are very happy to speak English with you. We'll definitely be back.

Our favorite way to travel is to just get in a car and go, and so that's what we did. We rented a car and explored Stockholm, the island of Gotland, Gothenburg, and then returned to Stockholm again.

Here are some photos from our trip, in case you'd like to see...

I have another batch of Sweden pics coming up soon! In the meantime, some fun links about Sweden I've collected from around the web:

     The quirky way that some Swedes say "yes".

     One of my favorite stores in Sweden.

     A Swedish island home.

     and

     Visiting Stockholm on a budget.