Sweden blog …

In our Sweden blog we show how we went to Sweden twice on this trip! Once as part of our scheduled trip, and once after we failed in our endeavour to get to Nordkapp! The first time, it rained and rained and rained some more. The second time it was the hottest place in Sweden – awesome, or so we thought ….

Customs in Sweden

I got breathalysed on the way in to Sweden!!! 😉

As you cross the bridge from Denmark into Sweden, you think that all you have to do is pay and you’re away. But no! Just beyond this toll is the Swedish border with their super officious guards …

What a way to start a country! ‘You are very jolly sir’, the customs woman says to me! Well yeah, I’m on a trip around the world, and I’ve just had a top time in Denmark, so yeah, I’m particularly ‘jolly’ today! That’s what I was thinking, but of course I didn’t say that to her!

It hadn’t even occurred to me that Sweden was super strict on drink driving, I think the level of alcohol in your system is something like one eighth of what you’re allowed in the UK. And yeah, we’d been in Copenhagen the night before, which is not exactly a dry city!

‘Where are you going to?’ she asks me. I was laughing, as I was a tad delirious as I’d been kept awake a lot the previous night, due to all the revelry of a Friday night right bang in the centre of Copenhagen.

‘I don’t know how to pronounce it’, I said, ‘Vax-jo?!?’ At that point she leaned almost into the car, and pronounced it properly for me. I laughed again, as my pronunciation was so far from the correct way of saying it. I asked her to repeat it, and she leaned right into the car almost to hear me say it. At least that’s what I thought.

At that point, she says, ‘have you ever used one of these?’, as she reached into her pocket. ‘No, what is it?’, I said. And out came a breathalyser.

‘Christ!’ I thought. ‘I was drinking last night, and it’s only 10am. What is the limit? If I fail, will they not allow me into the country? That bridge was really pricey! Will I have to go back to Denmark? Will I be arrested?’

As you can see, I was confused as to what to expect. Plus, this was genuinely the first time I’d even been breathalysed! Anyway, no way out of this now I thought. Whatever happens will happen!

So I took a deep breath and blew into the little machine … and waited … and waited …

‘Ok, you’re free to go’, she says!!!!!!!! She caught the look on my face and saw how shocked I was, but by then I was driving away! Woohoo, we’re into Sweden!!!!!

So learn the lesson … no heavy drinking before the next border!!!!

The rain in Sweden

Wow it rains a lot in Sweden. I don’t know whether it was just unlucky, but I’ve never known so much rain! And that’s from someone who’s lived in the West of the UK, and has been in monsoons! Mean, it’s just incredible. Not only does it rain all the time, but just as it stops, and there’s a break in the clouds, and you get your hopes up, bang! It rains again!

I spoke to a couple of Swedes who both told me the same thing … the weather is changing! A lot! and quickly! Both told me about the lack of snow over the last three years, and the warner and wetter winters, and the incessant rain in the Summer! So this is a taste of what is to come, I guess!

And not just the amount it rains, but how heavy the rain falls … literally like someone pouring water onto the windscreen at times! It was the heaviest rain I’ve ever driven in, and it was the first time that an entire motorway slammed the brakes on and stopped! Vey dangerous, and not something I’m used to at all! But the rain was so heavy, you couldn’t see out of the window! Luckily I’d chosen the slow lane as I didn’t;t really know where I was going, so I was leaving plenty of space in front of me. But when the tidal wave hit, and it was literally like a wave, I slowed down quickly … but as the passenger window was open a tad, I became aware that the cars to my left had totally stopped dead … on the motorway!

Those cars in the outside lane were being swamped by waves of rain from the other side of the road as well! It was simply incredible! the whole motorway stopped for about two whole minutes! That may not sound a lot, but when you’re just sat there, I can tell you, it’s highly unusual to have that amount of continuous rain on your car! So dangerous, and really quite scary! But very exhilarating at the same time 😉

The Forests in Sweden

If you can picture the biggest forest ever in your mind – welcome to Sweden! If you’re like me, you won’t be able to do this, as I have aphantasia! Relatively common, but not much understand or known about!

Back to the trees – wow, we’ve never seen so many trees in our lives … just unbelievable! Amazing and kind of beautiful, but also kind of monotonous. But, driving in the forests … stunning. Who knew that there was so much hidden in there? From the main roads you’d think that hardly anyone actually lived in Sweden … maybe they all hide in the forests?

However, some of the beautiful deep red houses and barns and farms that you see hidden in the forests are simply lovely!

The Lakes in Sweden

It’s definitely worth going off road in the North and West of the country, as you’ll encounter lake after lake after lake … just incredible. Plus you can bathe in these thousands of lakes that suddenly appear out of nowhere.

The people in Sweden

Without exception, all of the people in Sweden were engaging, courteous and eager to engage in deeper conversation than a standard chat allows for. This was great for us, as the weather hadn’t been our friend at all during our stay!

Just on the people though …. where are they all? I mean, there’s 10 million Swedes apparently, yet everywhere you go is almost empty. It’s great for getting things done, but just bizarre! Perhaps they were all staying in because of the rain? Even Stockholm was just … quiet! Shhh! Quite bizarre!

Anyway, from the people that we did speak to, we found it interesting how particularly proud Swedes are, and in many ways we feel that they have a right to be. On their response to the covid pandemic for instance, in our view, they appeared to make many of the correct decisions, especially compared to many other countries in Europe. We also got the feeling that there was some resentment or jealousy towards their cousins in Norway, and the break-up of the union just over 100 years ago … they compared it to Brexit!

Whether this was a wider view than those we spoke to we don’t know, but it’s interesting as Norway is so resource rich, and getting richer, whereas for Sweden that’s not necessarily the case. Then again, both countries always rate highly in happiness surveys, so perhaps we need a wider set of views?

Our second attempt at Sweden

We came back! Why not we said? After all the rain kind of ruined our initial trip, and it was super hot where we were near – 26°C. On our second trip to Sweden, after falling to reach Nordkapp, we stayed in a campsite called Sandlöfs camping. the owners were really welcoming and chatty … like grey are in Sweden! It was lovely and warm, and the site was super flat for tents. However, it was mosquito and horse-fly hell! Gladly our tent has mesh windows, so the breeze could get in but the flies couldn’t. As soon as you left the tent though – it was like a free for all! Best avoided unfortunately!

Is Sweden worth visiting?

Absolutely, Sweden is definitely worth visiting! It’s a great country, with loads to offer. We only skimmed the surface, as with most of the countries we visit. Stockholm was great, full of history, very picturesque, loads to do, and had an absolutely simple metro system to get around.

But for us, the West and North were the best, and that may be because it’s less flat, and because the weather had started to ease by that time. Everyone we met was super friendly, which probably aligns with them being so content and happy as a nation. They’re definitely chilled! I’d go back there without hesitation – though I’d check the weather forecast first and bring more mosquito repellant!!

Remember we’ve got loads of other info in the main Sweden travel page.