Our trip to Sweden was one of those excursions I was very much looking forward to, as I had never been anywhere else in the world outside of England and Scotland. All I knew about Sweden was that it was quite expensive, had fantastic nature, long drives, and very cold weather. I have thoroughly planned what I need to explore this time.
I flew to Gothenburg instead of Stockholm. I know we are definitely missing out by not seeing Stockholm, but we decided to see another city instead of the capital. After arriving at the airport, we rented a car and drove to Smogen to explore the wooden pier, take some photos for the blog, and have lunch. Smogen is an old fishing village on the west coast of Sweden. The town is well known for its long wooden pier, which is approximately 600 meters long. It was very windy there and we didn’t really have a good time. You may not believe it, but it was early July and it was so cold in the summer that I was wearing a turtleneck and a jacket. When you come to Smogen, be sure to enjoy outdoor activities such as diving, kayaking and fishing. Unfortunately we didn’t have much time to enjoy it.
After a brief visit to Smogen, we drove to visit a cousin who lives in one of the Swedish cities that made our trip to southern Sweden easier. We stayed there overnight, had a late dinner and got ready to continue our journey in the morning.
In the morning we went to Lund. We really enjoyed how many cute cafes and shops Lund has to offer. We got to visit Lund University and Lund Cathedral and had a great day there.
As for dinner, we are big fans of fresh fish dishes, so we drove to Skanor to eat at the Skanor Fiskrrogeri restaurant. And it was definitely the perfect stop to satisfy our hunger. After a delicious dinner, we headed to the beach to admire the colorful beach houses and soft white sand. Later we went to Malmo and booked a room at Havshotellet Hotel. The owner was so kind and allowed us to choose between two rooms and we decided to stay in the Titanic room.
The next day we planned a day trip to Copenhagen since it was so easy to get to from Malmö. We drove to the main bus station and parked in the parking lot. What I like about Sweden is that technology is very advanced. We’ve loaded up a few parking apps that make it easy to reserve and pay for a spot. You can cancel or adjust your parking time, and pay for the actual parking time. What a novel idea!
In Copenhagen, we enjoyed the famous Nyhavn (meaning New Port) walk, visited Christiansborg Palace and walked to see the famous Little Mermaid. Of course we had lunch at the port. Unfortunately we were not able to visit Rosenborg Castle. Afterwards, we walked to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket Museum. And we definitely couldn’t miss Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli Gardens was definitely the highlight of our trip. I’m not a huge fan of roller coasters, but I loved eating outside and wandering around this beautiful place full of fun activities.
After returning to Malmö we were ready to leave and continue our journey back to Gothenburg. In Gothenburg we decided to visit Universum and do some shopping at Haga a few hours before our flight. I stopped by a vintage store in Haga and bought a pair of earrings. Despite Sweden’s very cold and rainy weather, I loved its delicious seafood, high-tech modernity, and friendlier people.
