Every year my partner asks me where I would like to go on holiday.

For several years now, I have suggested a visit to Sweden (or anywhere in Scandinavia really) fascinated as I am by the glimpses of beautiful Swedish countryside I’ve seen on television and that certain Swedish sense of style and design.

Also, being past the first flush of youth and in the midst of flushes of an entirely different and less pleasant kind that are aggravated by hot weather, with skin that no longer tans (it used to, but now it just burns) I am somewhat over beach holidays in hot places.

Up until now my partner has prevailed and we have gone to the beach. I can understand it: he works hard and needs to relax; he does not burn, or get hot flushes. And I (mostly) have a lovely time anyway.

But this year, we finally did it. It has been a long time coming, but it was certainly worth waiting for…
We finally went to Sweden!

I can honestly say that Sweden is my new favourite place in the whole world.

Strangely enough Sweden reminded me in some ways of Australia, around where my sister lives in Queensland. The well-stocked, vegan-friendly supermarkets and the separate bottle shops for alcoholic beverages, the sheer s-p-a-c-e to breathe, the open countryside and dense forests. But Sweden is way cooler – in all senses of the word (sorry Australia!)

We flew to Gothenburg and spent a couple of days exploring Sweden’s second city. It was all a bit of a hassle to begin with: we arrived quite late, couldn’t find our Airbnb – which was further out of the city than we had anticipated, near to the old shipyard area which is currently being redeveloped (see map below). And then when we did find it, we couldn’t work out how to get in! Thankfully it only just got dark at around midnight, so at least we could see where we were!

But instead of our plan to dump our bags and head out for a nice dinner and drinks in the city, by the time we got sorted it was too late – so we ended up staying in our room with pot noodles from the only local shop that was still open!

Next morning, once we got our bearings and figured out where to get the tram, we were set. We headed for Haga, the oldest area of the city, with its cobbled streets, elegant wooden buildings and groovy independent shops.The Swedes apparently aren’t in any hurry to get up early on a Sunday morning, so we had time to linger over our giant kanelbulle (cinnamon buns) before the shops opened and the crowds descended.At Cafè Husaren, before deciding on that cinnamon bun (which was as big as my FACE!) I ogled the most incredible selection of cakes, buns and sandwiches… The Swedish definitely know how to breakfast and fika in style!

In fact, they seem to do pretty much everything in style. All of the Swedish people we met were friendly, helpful and laid back. I was particularly fascinated by how elegant the women were, whether young and trendy, or my age or older, dressed for a night out, or casually beautiful in understated linen and cotton summer frocks. Despite all those cakes, they seem to retain their svelte figures, perhaps due to their equal fondness for swimming, cycling and salads!

The shops, cafès and restaurants in Haga were a reflection of a gentrified and stylish version of the Swedish lifestyle…Apart from Haga we didn’t do any of the tourist recommendations. With just a day and a half of actual exploration in the city (and the weather being pretty hot) we didn’t really have time or energy for climbing up to see views or mooching around museums and we weren’t interested in cars (there is a Volvo Museum!) or the thrill rides of Liseberg. We considered a boat trip, but didn’t actually get around to arranging one. It was heavenly just to wander around, stopping where we wanted. The second hand and vintage shops we browsed were excellent – and surprisingly cheap – but as we were travelling with hand luggage only, I was (mostly) window shopping.

It helped that there was no shortage of vegetarian and vegan treats to sustain us…On Monday afternoon, we collected our hire car and set off on the next part of our trip – an hour and a half’s drive north, to the island of Orust.

But rather than rattle on all day, I’ll do a separate post about that. ♥