This is my final post covering my recent travels to Sweden. For those of you who have made it thought them all, thank you. This trip helped bring me back to life, and reminded me why I love to travel. We have all been in a weird place the last couple years, and it was so wonderful to take a step to the side and just live a little.
For our last two days in Sweden Derek and I spent time with his aunt and uncle, exploring locally and getting prepared to travel back home.
Anne, Dereks aunt, wanted to take us to a town called Vaxholm for a jaunt while we still had our rental car, but we made a quick pitstop at his uncles workplace to see what he does. In Sweden the drivers have to have regular checks on their vehicles to ensure the cars are safe to drive, and Ollie, Dereks uncle, gave us a rundown of what needs to be checked. He even let Derek and I into one of the cars to see how he checks the breaks.
I could tell Ollie was so excited to show us what he does, and that made this moment extra special for me. After this, we headed to Vaxholm.
The streets were quiet, but we wandered for a bit imagining how busy it gets in the summer months. Vaxholm is an archipelago island popular for fishing and littered with traditional red and white buildings. This quickly became a symbol of Sweden for me, as these beautiful buildings were everywhere. With this theme you can imagine my surprise seeing a pink house amongst the red and white, and while it definitely didn’t fit with the rest, it was beautiful in its own way.
We popped into a bakery to grab some kardemummabulle before we left, and on our way back home we stopped by Bogesund Castle which was a short drive from the city center. We could not go inside the castle, but this felt like a good spot to eat my kardemummabulle while walking around the crunchy leaves and staring at the beautiful building.
We kept it simple for the day, as we were scheduled to have dinner with Dereks aunt and uncle at 1800. I wanted to do something nice for them because they were such kind hosts, so Derek and I took them out to a restaurant of their choice. They chose a place called Melanders which is a restaurant, cafe, and also a storefront. They sell fish and other seafood at their storefront, while also making this fish for their menus.
Talk about delicious, my mom said this looked gross, but I had seconds of the creamy dill potatoes.
We came back after dinner and enjoyed an evening fika, where I decided to partake in coffee after dark. Not only did it not affect my sleep, but it allowed me to relax with the family while learning more about how Ollie and Anne met. Fika is a strong part of Swedish culture, consisting of coffee and usually some kind of treat so I had some oat milk ice cream with bananas to accompany my coffee.
What a magical evening.
The following morning we were scheduled to go to a nearby lake where we walked to a farm to have Swedish waffles. This area was adorable, a large lake that people were walking or running around, and the farm in the middle was like a cherry on top. If I lived here I would come run around the lake all the time, ending with an afternoon fika. WITH WAFFLES.
This waffle, just like the cardamom bread, is a prime example of how less is more. You don’t need much to make a dish taste good. I chose strawberry as my topping, as did Derek and his aunt, while his uncle chose blueberry. Paired with a dollop of whipped cream, I could have easily eaten two. Or three.
We spent a couple hours here walking around, playing with the cows, and enjoying the sunny fall day. The yellow trees in Sweden stole my heart, and I couldn’t not stop taking photos of them. These small towns are just as magical as the larger ones.
I have realized that there is a difference between the words travel and vacation. It’s not often that I take a true vacation, but rather I prefer to travel. At the end of traveling I think feeling tired is normal and expected. Seeing as much as possible while traveling is something I have grown to crave, whereas a vacation is somewhere you go to rest.
Vacation in my mind is visiting a resort, a beach, or a tiny island where you don’t do much movement.
This trip to Sweden was certainly to travel. I love the non stop movements seeing new things, and Derek and I certainly packed a lot into our stay. I suppose you could say these last two days were the vacation portion of this travel escapade. I was thankful to have a day to recoup before going back to work which is a must for me, and I am still trying to settle back into real life. Big thanks to Anne and Ollie for being the most wonderful, gracious, welcoming hosts. Anne went out of her way to buy food I could eat (I still splurged sometimes), and Ollie was always willing to drive us when we didn’t have a rental car.
We started as strangers and left as friends. I hope I see them both again someday.
Q: Do you prefer travel or vacation?
Blissfulbritt 
29 thoughts on “Small Town Sweden”
Peg
So glad you’ve enjoyed your travels but I bet you’ll be glad to get back home to your usual routine. I always am, although we don’t travel very far now.
Brittany
Definitely nice to be with my cat and my boyfriend, but I think my soul always longs for new places and faces. 🤪
explorerron
What a wonderful trip! I view travel as a type of vacation. Two types of vacation in my mind. The type where one travels to a destination, whether a classical trip to another country, road trip across all or part of the US, sitting on a beach, cruiseship (that one is not for me BTW), or a backpack trip, cycling trip (basically something extended that does not involve showing up or thinking about work); and one where a person stays home – the proverbial staycation. In both cases, it’s a separation from the day-to-day activities we must or need to do to live/survive – work, doctors appts, running errands for ourselves and others, and so on. The idea is to return home, refreshed and rejuvenated to take on adulting again!
Brittany
Amen! I love your breakdown and I am the same way. Although I once took a cruise to Alaska (my one and only cruise) and my goodness it was wonderful! I don’t care for beaches though.
Thistles and Kiwis
Sounds like you had a great time in Sweden.
Brittany
I did. I did! A beautiful country indeed.
dfolstad58
I enjoyed your post and the pastry looked like it had poppy seeds which I like. I have been to Sweden only once and I know there is much more to discover. It seems like you found the best part though. In the small town you can discover the charm and heart and it was shared from your new friends. Did you bring home a waffle maker like theirs? I have done both – vacations and travel. Perhaps it is about energy and right now I need a vaca-vel and that would be perfect.
Brittany
The pasty was covered with cardamom! It was SO good. Famous throughout the country. I did not bring home a waffle maker, but if I had I’d eat them everyday.
vacavel is the best word!
dfolstad58
Cardamom♥ Nice.
Leann
I really love your travel posts! Makes me want to get on a plane or boat and go see the world.
Brittany
Thank you! I love writing them, but more so I love to live them. I hope you can explore somewhere new soon.
Roy McCarthy
Nice report and pictures from a lovely spot Brittany. In answer to your question, I’m no fan of travel but I like blogs like these to bring the world to my door 🙂
Brittany
Thank you Ron, I’m happy my posts can give you a sense of travel from the comfort of your home.
niall
What a wonderful end to a fabulous trip!
Thanks for sharing it with us. For some reason you are the third person recently that I follow on WordPress or YouTube that has spent time in Sweden this year. All 3 very different trips, maybe the universe is telling me I need to go too 🙂
Brittany
How funny! Sweden must be a hot spot this year. You could compile all the things you learned from our three trips and make the best, most amazing trip of all!
niall
If I tried to do half of it I’d die! One guy did a 10 walking trail and the other guy did a 7 day canoe trip from Sweden into Norway. Yours was jam packed too! It’s been very nice to ride along and enjoy the journeys virtually though 😊
Brittany
WOW!!! Their trips sound so amazing. That’s my goal for my next trip abroad, a multi day walking trail.
artycaz
Very enjoyable read, thank you. It was good to see your photographs too. The waffles look amazing! We have sourdough pancakes regularly now & they are delicious.
Brittany
Thank you! I still dream about those waffles.
Allie Zottola
Okay, I am going to be dreaming of that waffle! It looks divine!
Brittany
The waffles were dangerously light, I really could have eaten more!
Pree
The waffles! The weather! The cows! What a wonderful way to wrap up Sweden!
Brittany
YES, yes, yes. You are on the same page my friend!
Diane
Fun to read about your time in Sweden! We will be going to Sweden for the first time next June (already a postponed trip 2x since 2020).
I would love to find out about the place you had the waffles…the lake area. Sounds so fun!!
Thanks 🙂
Brittany
YAY for your upcoming trip! The lake area is called Rönninge by-Skavlötens naturreservat, and it’s within the town of Täby.
Täby is just a very short drive north of Stockholm. We parked in what appeared to be the main area, and it was about a 15 minute walk towards the farm area with the waffles. I believe the lake trail makes a full loop, but I don’t know how long the loop is.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/sweden/stockholm/ronningesjon-runt?u=i
That link takes you to the full loop I believe, and you cannot miss the farm area when you come upon it. The waffle area is within the Kaffestugan, and you’ll see photos of waffles!
Diane Dahlin
Thankyou so much Brittany! Will be staying in Stockholm for the first part of our time in Sweden, so I think we may just be able to go there! I also have (quite a lot) of food sensitivities… And traveling can be so difficult when it comes to eating… I love what you said that when you travel there are no food sensitivities, ha! I’m telling my brain and body that now, and will keep reminding myself of that as we prepare for our trip 😁 Thanks again, Diane
Brittany
I totally get it, whenever I travel I try to keep it mostly “on track” with what I would normally eat (I don’t want to feel AWFUL by the end of it), but I do allow some splurges. Some are worth it, and some are not! It’s all about the trial and error for me. Did the waffle leave me feeling great? NO, but was it worth it? YES! And the discomfort passed within a few hours. I also whole heartedly believe the ingredients in Europe are MUCH better than where I live in America, so it helps me feel less like I am hurting my body.
I hope you can come back and let me know how your trip was, or e-mail me! I’d love to hear what you got into.
Diane L Dahlin
Thanks Brittany! It was fun reading through your trip reports about Sweden! Thankyou also for being honest about your anxiety too, I really appreciate when people/bloggers etc are “real”. You seem like a real sweetheart!
Have you been to Sweden before? This will be our first time to Sweden (and Norway). A trip of a lifetime! It’s hard to know where to go in Sweden. As of now, we plan on Stockholm, Dalarna County for Midsummer’s and then the archipelago. I hope that’s a good plan…but it looks like so much of Sweden is just so charming! It’s hard to decide! 🙂 If you have any suggestions for a first timer, I’d love to hear. But, I wish you all the best! Thanks! 🙂
Brittany
This was my first time to Sweden! It was too good of an opportunity with my friend having family there. I don’t have too many other tips, but I think your plan sounds good. There are so many parks and nature reserves throughout the country you can always find something to do. I hope to return in the warmer months so that I can go north! I’d love to visit Norway soon, it’s high on my list.