While the blazing sunshine has made a comeback, it feels like summer is starting to come to a close here in Sweden as people return to Stockholm from their countryside cottages, a few more students are present around the campus, and my email inbox no longer remains empty for weeks at a time. The summer holidays over here are very much centred on July; this year, as everyone deserted the city for the month, I had an arrival from the UK to join me for some exploring. Despite a need for 2 weeks of quarantining on his return, Tom (my brother) made the trip across to Stockholm, facemask in place, for a 10-day visit.
On Tom’s arrival, we headed straight to the car hire spot to pick up our trusty Skoda for the coming week. After an initial day of catching up, decontaminating Tom’s stuff, and picking up supplies, we put the car to good use. The next day we were blessed with sunny weather so drove over to Bogesund peninsular, about 45 minutes north of Stockholm, for a woodland and coastal walk, a couple of Baltic swims (warmer than expected), and a trip across the bridge to Vaxholm for ice creams – the first of many over the coming week.
 | Bogesund dip
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|  | A sunny stroll
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|  | Vaxholm stop-off
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On Friday morning, it was time to set off on our journey west.We’d decided to explore a stretch of the west coast of Sweden, just north of Gothenburg, known as the Bohuslän coast. The landscape over there is in stark contrast to the calm, green wooded shores found here on the east coast; it is immediately clear that the west far wilder and hence more rugged than what I’ve become used to. The West Coastline is peppered with bare, rocky islands and islets overlooked by bright red and yellow little houses, clustered into towns and villages with a vibe reminiscent of south Devon. In my mind, the Bohuslän coast combines the rugged landscape (and rain!) of western Scotland with the holiday feel of Devon’s quaint villages.
We took our time heading west, spending the first day exploring the eastern shore of the 135 km long lake Vättern. First stop was a small town near the north of the lake called Motala; it turned out that this is where I should have been headed next July to start the cycling element of the Half Swedish Classic but unfortunately, due to Covid-19 this has to be postponed by a year. Aside from the many cycling references and a sunny café, the main attraction in this little town was the motor museum. I will admit I was sceptical at first - old cars aren’t generally my cup of tea - but I’m actually glad that Tom was a tad more eager to enter. Alongside a huge range of cars through the ages, the museum was packed full of various retro technology, including radios, TVs, gramophones, and mobile phones, quite the blast from the past!
From here, we continued down to Vadstena, a sweet little medieval town centred around a moated castle (pictured below) with small cobbled streets, a glassworks, and a monastery. We ambled in the sun for a while and peeked into a few of the historic sites (unfortunately unable to go inside due to Covid), before heading onwards to Gränna, another little town, further south, slotted in between high cliffs and the shore of Vättern.
Gränna is most famous for its production of candy canes (polkagris). Its few cobbled streets were lined with sweet smelling shops where candy was being rolled and sold. A child’s paradise. After an icecream and a stroll we were back on the road for our final leg of the day to find a spot to set up camp for the night.
Sweden has a right to roam (Allemansrätten), meaning it is possible to wild camp pretty much anywhere; something I was very keen to make use of, despite the slight fear of ticks!
After rejecting the first spot we found as it wasn’t quite wild enough, we bumped our way down an overgrown track until we met the shore of a little lake with a pitch that fit the bill. Just out of the trees was a flat grassy strip allowing our tent to be perched just a few short strides from the water’s edge. With camp
set up, we went for a quick dip then lit up the BBQ and gave the family a call (it may have been secluded but we still hadn’t escaped strong 4G) before turning in for the night.
We awoke early with the swift return of the sun, packed up and hit the road again to complete our westward travels. Little over an hour later, we hit Gothenburg and I got my first taste of Sweden’s second city, somewhere I’ll have to return to once cities are fully up and running again. We parked up in the industrial docks and made our way through the historic Haga district (at that point deserted as the city hadn’t yet fully awoken) and found LE GBG café (left)
which had been recommended for a brunch spot. After munching our way through avocado on toast and a mound of spiced apple and coconut pancakes (yum), we headed up the nearest hill to take in a view of Sweden’s more laid-back, hip, and gritty city. A short stroll later, we were back in the car to find our first Bohuslän coast stop.
Fifty minutes north of Gothenburg, spread across a couple of rocky islands, lies the small town of Marstrand, a popular destination for Gothenburg’s holiday makers and owners of swish yachts. Being a sunny Saturday in July, we were a little late to find a parking spot (think Salcombe in high season), so after 30 minutes of circling the tiny streets of this little town, settled on a space a few kilometres from the ferry across to the more attractive side of town. Once across, we took a look along the picturesque waterfront, stopping off for a shrimp sandwich at one of the many waterside cafes then once again, headed for higher ground. This time, we skirted along the cliffs, admiring the views over the many rocky islets and colourful villages that were scattered along the coastline below and finally, at the peak of the hill we met the impressive Carlstens Fortress with its great vantage point for observing the surrounding sea.
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Musselbaren
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Aware that we had a reservation booked in for that evening, we continued onwards to Lyckorna, our resting place for that night. This time we’d opted for a tad more comfort and booked a teeny cottage (stuga) in a very friendly couple’s garden. From here it was just 20 minutes’ walk to the restaurant ‘Musselbaren’ (no prizes for guessing what this place served!). The West Coast is renowned for its fantastic sea food and this place didn’t disappoint. We opted for the classic mussels and chips; scrumptious, fresh mussels came by the bucket loads, we munched our way through two pots each while watching black clouds gathering on the horizon – a sign of what was to come the following day.
We awoke to the pitter-patter of rain, not ideal for a planned coastal day. Not letting our spirits be dampened, we drove northwards once more to another picturesque coastal village: Smögen. Despite the dark grey sky and persistent drizzle, the charm of this village shone through. Bright painted huts stand side by side along a wooden boardwalk and after our morning coffee, these started to open up to reveal boutiquey shops, art exhibitions, and eateries. We popped our heads into a few of these then, given the weather, abandoned our plan of a boat trip and continued up the coast to Fjällbacka, a small fishing town overlooked by Vetteberget peak and made famous by the crime novels of Camilla Läckberg. As ever, we headed straight for high ground, walking under some boulders, wedged in to ‘Kungsklyftan’ – a cleft in the rock – then up to the top of Vetteberget to take in the murky view, definitely not able to see the promised Norwegian mountains on that day. Back in town, we tucked into substantial prawn sandwiches while replanning our nights stay. The forecast storms did not make the thought of wild camping too enticing, so we instead booked a tiny stuga out in the middle of nowhere on the edge of a lake.
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Our little stuga
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The final day of our travels we made our way back across to Stockholm, stopping off in the surprisingly picturesque and historic city of Örebro for a Thai lunch along the way. Tom’s original plan had been to fly home the following evening (Tuesday) but due to Covid, his flight was moved to Saturday instead. We took Tuesday slow with a trip to the shops then dropped off our trusty car and walked back to mine. The rest of the week we were both working during the days, Tom at my place and me in the department. We met for lunches in the nearby parkland or at Lappis beach if we wanted to include a quick swim and on Friday evening, walked into town for my somewhat belated birthday meal at Waan Thai. Come Saturday lunchtime it was time for Tom to head home. We walked back into town under intense sun and stopped for icecreams (rum fried banana and fig with liquorice root for me) at my new favourite spot: Snö, before I waved Tom off, face mask in place, on the airport bus.
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Bogesund picnic with Emil
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It was so great to have Tom over during these uncertain times to do some exploring within Sweden, something I’d done terribly little in the two and a half years I’ve lived here! I think he was quite shocked at how lax the regulations are over here and how we have to keep reminding ourselves there is a global pandemic going on around us. Since his return to the UK, I’ve been back at work, polishing my manuscript and preparing for all the online teaching which commences at the start of September. I’ve spent much time cooking and picnicking with Emil, including our first attempts at crumpets and souffle and a boat trip across to the nearby peninsular of Bogesund for a sunny evening swim. Felicity and I have decided to take up a new sport: Swimrun, where you alternate between swimming and running, carrying everything with you along the way, so swim in trainers and run in a wetsuit. I think we look a little odd as we train along the coast next to where we live, jogging past people on evening strolls with goggles on our heads and safety buoys strung around our waists!
I’ve missed being able to pop home this summer to catch up with family and friends but I hope everyone is staying well and I’m keeping my fingers tightly crossed (or my thumbs tightly held – Swedish equivalent) that I can make a trip across in the near future. For now, I’m just enjoying the end of a chilled summer before a proper workload hits again next month.
set up, we went for a quick dip then lit up the BBQ and gave the family a call (it may have been secluded but we still hadn’t escaped strong 4G) before turning in for the night. 
which had been recommended for a brunch spot. After munching our way through avocado on toast and a mound of spiced apple and coconut pancakes (yum), we headed up the nearest hill to take in a view of Sweden’s more laid-back, hip, and gritty city. A short stroll later, we were back in the car to find our first Bohuslän coast stop. 
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