today is sweden’s national day – a national holiday that’s a bit like the 4th of july, but not quite so over-the-top/extreme. mother nature delivered a top notch day, perfect for doing what swedes like to do best: be outside, drink coffee, sit in parks, play, BBQ, be with family, and soak up the sun. it was super sunny all day long, and very, very warm. like i said… perfect.
we stayed home for a while, doing laundry & organizing stuff. but, then, we went to lina’s sister’s home outside of town to celebrate our youngest niece’s second birthday. it was a cozy and uncomplicated. just family, some birthday cake, a chance to catch up with each other, an evening bbq, and games/fun in the yard/pool. well, not me in the pool. the water in sweden doesn’t get bathtub warm like it does in nc. and i’m a cold water wuss.
but, instead of sharing pics of what i did to celebrate today, i thought i’d celebrate sweden’s national day with y’all by showing the two very different, but very much typical, classic sides of sweden: natural & urban. so, here come my photos from last weekend… part of it i spent in the woods and the other part i spent in the beautiful capital of sweden, stockholm.
sweden, today i celebrate you! you’re beautiful, natural, old, simple, and so inspiring. and i’m a lucky girl to be able to call you home. by the way, in case you ever wondered where my loyalty lays, here and now i confess that i am a lover of two countries and i call both of those countries home.
enjoying swedish nature at camp (with my kids from work).
after leaving camp behind, i got on a train & headed to the big, beautiful urban city, stockholm.
hope y’all have had a great week. it’s almost friday and the weekend is upon us! got any plans?!
Great pictures, Liz! Sweden is such a beautiful place!!! I can’t wait to go back someday. That second picture from the top is just soooo Swedish to me… not that the other ones aren’t also. 🙂
thanks, carissa!! hope you get to visit someday soon (though i’ll be in the states then. hehe.) and congrats on graduating!!! 🙂
Happy National Day to Sweden! I have to confess, that I have loved Sweden forever. (I got very interested in Napoleonic France when I was younger and then I learned about the first Bernadotte King & Queen. Such a fascinating history! It’s because of Sweden that Napoleon didn’t take over the whole world!
Also Sweden just seems like such a wonderful place. If I had even the tiniest capability at languages (I don’t, total disaster) I would love to live there for a year or two. Ah, you are lucky.
Hi! Wow. You totally know more about world history and Sweden than I do… I regret that I haven’t studied more Swedish history since I’ve been here, actually. But, present day life kinda took first place, ya know?
it is a wonderful and beautiful country! And the language barrier matters not in the least. I did not know ANY Swedish when I moved here 3 years ago. I took free Swedish classes for immigrants for the first 5 months, and then got myself out in society as much as possible. Plus, everyone here speaks English, and the Swedes love practicing it, so you can get along with English for as long as you want. That may have been the hardest part about learning Swedish. 😉
If you ever get a chance to make a move somewhere like Sweden, do it! It may seem impossible, but there is always a way. It’s all about listening to your soul, being patient, and trusting that all will be well. Because it will.
Happy Monday to you! xo