Despite adding 2 extra weeks to our Scandinavian adventure, we lingered longer in places we loved and found ourselves running out of time to get back to Frankfurt. Sweden and Denmark deserved way (WAY) more time than what we gave them but we fitted in as much as we could and enjoyed the time we had.
Our first stop in Sweden was the tiny town of Gällivare, Lapland. We were there over the weekend so had a chance to wander their Saturday market where we purchased a large half-round of kaffeost (a traditional food of the Sami – the indigenous people of Sápmi, a region that extends across northern Scandinavia and Russia, and overlaps much of Swedish Lapland). It was a bit like halloumi and the lovely woman suggested all different ways we could enjoy it – particularly grilled like halloumi, dipped in a hot drink, or just as is. It was so yummy! We also bought some Swedish hotdogs, Greek olives, and chocolate Drömbullen “Dream Buns” (giant delicious mallowpuffs), and thoroughly enjoyed being amongst the wee community.
On Sunday we had a great day of skiing at a small ski field called Dundret. Like everywhere we have been, the queues were non-existent and we had a wonderful day all over the ski field. Despite the temperatures becoming more mild, the snow was really lovely. The terrain park had some HUGE jumps so it was really fun watching the antics of the regulars (oh how easily they could pull a graceful back flip) and all of us had a go at something.
This will be the last of the snow and ice on our adventure. In the last 3 months we have used alpine and cross country skis, snow-shoes, ice spikes, ice skates, toboggans, plastic sleds, dog sleds and snow boots to ski, skate, hike, and slide across so many winter wonderlands! SO MUCH FUN!
From Dundret we headed towards Stockholm – it was a long way so we stopped for a swim to break up the trip. We had 2 days in Stockholm and decided to stay in the city to hit some of the tourist attractions, taking advantage of the late night opening hours.
First we went to Skansen – the world’s oldest open-air museum. Whilst a lot of what would be on offer in the warmer months was closed, we had an absolutely wonderful time visiting the animals. Skansen’s website says “At Skansen Zoo we work with education, conservation and research on the animals found at Skansen. We are a non-profit organisation, the zoo’s main purpose is to spread knowledge about animals, nature and sustainability to our guests. Every day.” It was quite clear that the animals were looked after very well and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them.
Despite there being some 500,000 moose in Norway and Sweden, we only had 1 brief sighting and the kids saw none! They were delighted to finally see some of the mighty creatures and observe how truly massive they are, even without their antler (they shed them in Autumn).
Lucky for us, these gorgeous bears had woken up from hibernation in the last week or so. They were still pretty dozy but so very cute!
We waited and waited and waited for the arctic fox to come out of her cave so we were so thrilled when we saw an ear…then a nose…then all of her! The kids squealed in delight!
Again lucky for us, the Mama lynx had 3 kittens a little while ago – they were pretty big already but SO fluffy!
There were lots of other amazing nordic and domestic animals too (not all of them here):
Our next tourist spot was the Vasa Museum – showcasing a total fiasco that became an archeological and historical treasure trove! The Vasa was to be the most powerful warship in the Baltic, if not the world. Construction began in 1626 and she set sail on her maiden voyage on the 10th of August 1628. Unfortunately her design made her too narrow and too shallow to actually stay afloat! Just over 1 kilometre into this first voyage, in view of thousands of onlookers, a gust caught her sails, she listed, water gushed through her open gun ports and within minutes she was lying on the muddy sea bed 32 metres below, drowning 30 people. There she stayed for the next 328 years before she was rediscovered in 1956. It would be another 5 years and a massive recovery effort before the Vasa was finally brought above the waterline, 333 years after she first sank – and this would just be the beginning of the reconstruction and preservation phase! For the next 17 years, the hull of the Vasa was sprayed non-stop with polyethylene glycol with the help of 500 nozzles, to prevent her from drying out and cracking beyond repair. The humidity in the shipyard was then gradually lowered over the next 10 years. Finally in 1990, 34 years after she was rediscovered, the Vasa Museum was officially opened. Because she sank in cold, dark, almost oxygen-free waters, she was extremely well preserved, with over 98% of the original structure surviving and over 40000 objects recovered on or around the ship, including skeletons of people and animals on board, clothing, a sail, tools, coins, porcelain, and 1 gold ring. It was such a fascinating museum, each of us intrigued by different facts or findings, and led to a great discussion about floating and sinking!
We also visited Gamla Stan – the historical island with buildings dating back 700 years. The kids were amazed by the narrow cobbled streets, especially after seeing the special firetruck when we visited one of Stockholm’s fire stations, designed specifically for these narrow streets.
The buildings were gorgeous and there was a lovely selection of souvenir, gift, antique, and second-hand shops…and bakeries selling delicious cinnamon buns. The Swedish have a term “fika”, translated to mean a ‘coffee break’ but it means so much more than that – a chance to sit down with family or friends to relax and enjoy their company, usually with something sweet on the side. We didn’t need convincing that fika is a good idea!
Our last stop was the original IKEA!
From Stockholm we drove to Copenhagen – again a long drive with next to no time to actually visit.
We spent our time in the Nyhavn area with beautiful old buildings along the canal, including the one where Hans Christian Andersen once lived.
When we visit Tauranga, we usually end up at Copenhagen Cones at some stage so it only seemed fitting to have an ACTUAL Copenhagen cone!
Our little mermaid in front of The Little Mermaid, in honour of Hans Christian Andersen.
As we drove south, there were signs of Spring – a joy to see after the long Winter.
We found Scandinavians were SUPER kind and friendly, always willing to help, and had AMAZING English skills regardless of their age. They were, rightly so, proud of their respective countries and were always interested in why our family was visiting a country so far away from home. Many websites had an English option and, if not, the camera function on Google translate was super reliable (and also very useful in the supermarket). We are so glad we decided to include Scandinavia in our adventure and all have a new-found love for this stunning area.
We took our final ferry with our campervan crossing from Denmark into Germany and headed towards Hamburg. Lucas had put in a request to visit Hamburg Miniatur Wunderland, the home of the largest model railway in the world! What a delightful place! 10,000 m2 of model layout, 15,715 metres of train track, 17 “worlds” (both real and imagined), over 1300 trains, over 500,000 lights, and so many scenes filled with over 300,000 figures and many hidden Easter eggs (a term I’ve learned that means something hidden for you to find – Star Wars characters in random places, a ski jump leaderboard featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mickey Mouse, a dinosaur sitting at a cafe table, E.T. and Elliot riding his bicycle above the Grand Canyon, and the Batmobile in an underground carpark beside the Sistine Chapel). We decided that you could visit Minatur Wunderland multiple times and see many, many different things every time!
From there, we headed back to Frankfurt to return our home on wheels. It had been a magical 7 weeks and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the campervan. We managed living in a small space in the winter without too many conflicts (aided by the ample storage so everything had a place), the kids shared their “bedroom” beautifully and did more dishes than they’ve done in their lives combined, we self-catered almost all of our meals, and took very few wrong turns!
From here we will spend a quiet Easter in Frankfurt before flying to Lisbon to begin our month in Portugal and Spain…we are all looking forward to some warmer weather and discarding our snow boots!
Sounds like you guys are having a super fun time!!!