Sweden Archives - THESE TINY STORIES

Gränna & Visingsö (Sweden Pt 3)

May 30, 2016January 21, 2018TravelGränna, Sweden, Visingsö14 Comments

We spent some time with friends in Sweden, who took us on a day trip to Gränna & Visingsö.

Gränna is full of charm! It’s in Småland on the eastern shores of the lake Vättern, about 40 km north of Jönköping. The main strips features traditional Swedish candy stores, with an abundance of troll folklore.

Just a ferry ride away, Visingsö is an island in the southern half of the lake Vättern in Sweden. Visingsö lies 30 kilometres north of the city Jönköping. It’s also home to the Näs Castle, which was the residence for the Swedish monarchy in the 12th and 13th centuries.

My clothing for this trip is proudly sponsored by SAIL. Follow my adventures on sail.ca.

Bankeryd buttercups (Sweden Pt 2)

May 25, 2016January 21, 2018TravelBankeryd, Jönköping, Sweden14 Comments

About three hours south of Stockholm is Bankeryd, the second largest locality situated in Jönköping Municipality of Sweden.

The area is primarily farms, and typical Swedish red homes. The area is green for as far as the eye can see, and while you drive the open roads, you will commonly see the buttercup flowers in blossom.

According to swedishlapland.com, “In the low altitude areas – vegetation is richer than in the high altitude areas. The glacier buttercup (Ranunculus glacialis) is a mountain plant that grows between rocks in high altitude areas – preferably 1000 mamsl (meters above mean sea level), a very barren biotope.”

But more than anything, it is just plain beautiful.

My clothing for this trip is proudly sponsored by SAIL. Follow my adventures on sail.ca.

Stockholm & Vaxholm (Sweden Pt 1)

May 24, 2016June 11, 2018Travelfeatured, Stockholm, Sweden, Vaxholm10 Comments

I have finally arrived in Sweden! After taking a more than five hour flight from Toronto to Iceland, we touched down at Vasteras airport – just 80 minutes outside of Stockholm.

We stayed at the beautiful, waterfront Hotel Diplomat in Stockholm. Our room had a courtyard view with a small balcony, but we had no problem viewing the water while eating our early morning breakfast. This hotel is top notch; it’s exactly what the photos depict. Clean, historic and perfectly situated in old Stockholm.

We also used our evening to explore Vaxholm, located in the city’s archipelago. Our hotel was right across from the Cinderella Viking Line ferry (NOTE: each way will cost you about $25 CAD per person). “Idyllic archipelago town with many well-preserved wooden houses from the turn of the last century, painted in the archipelago’s typical delicate pastel tones. Vaxholm has numerous charming restaurants, cafés and shops,” reads the visitstockholm.com website.