i know. it’s been a almost a week since i’ve gotten back from my road trip to southern sweden for a big, family weekend, and i haven’t posted any pictures yet. my excuse? i have been sooo busy since getting back from the road trip… pulling an all-nighter to watch the election in the states (i gotta say it one more time: WOO HOO!). working a long 9 hour day the next day. preparing a sermon to preach. and a weekend full of work – i was at the church every night all weekend long. but, i survived & got everything done. whew.
and now it’s monday. and today, my day off, i’ve got a little bit of time to squeeze in a post featuring some road trip pictures. so, you’re in luck today. here come some snapshots from my long weekend about a week ago. i gotta get it done now because my love & i are off to stockholm next weekend, so there’ll be even more photos to share soon. i know. rough life, huh?
november is a super busy month for us!
day one: southward bound.
after a about four-ish hour drive, we finally entered the southern part of sweden, with it’s beautiful fields and trees. of course, the golden november sunshine made it all that more gorgeous. we settled into our hostel, with it’s typical southern sweden house style, and then headed over to lina’s aunt’s home to meet up with the rest of the family. after an evening of catching up, sipping wine, and eating a yummy dinner, it was back to the hostel for a good night’s sleep… or not.
when we went into the building & stuck the key into the lock in our room’s door, it didn’t unlock. nothing happened. the key wouldn’t budge. lina tried & tried. then, lina’s dad tried & tried. then, i tried & tried. then, lina’s uncle tried and tried. nothing happened. at. all. and it was 11 pm. gaaahh. we were all exhausted, and now this. however, we kept our spirits up & joked about it as much as we could. luckily, there was a locksmith who was nice enough to come out late & save us. so, finally at 1:15ish, we had no lock on our door, but we were able to crawl into our bunk beds and catch some zzz’s before the big family dinner the next day.
day two: the day of tons of family & a big goose (or turkey, in our case) dinner. it was like a little mini-thanksgiving for me!
day 3: the do-nothing day
on our third day, we were recovering from family day before… much like how it feels on the day after thanksgiving in the states (without all of the black friday shopping craziness, of course). it rained off & on, which it had done all weekend so far; but the sun peeked out just enough for us to play some games outside (which the kids all arranged) and take a walk at sunset.
over the weekend swedes celebrated all saint’s day. it is actually a pretty big thing here. family members & friends visit the graves of loved ones and light candles. if you happen to be lucky enough to be in a city where there is a large cemetery, the candles are overwhelming and absolutely beautiful. since we were in the country, there were only a very few candles lit on the graves. still, it was a really good chance to take a cozy walk with my love in the cold, and wander around the church grounds. a beautiful evening.
day 4: first, a little shopping & lunch in a super rainy & cold helsingborg.
and then… DENMARK!
of course, on this day, the day of our little road-trip-within-a-road-trip adventure, it rain like crazy. and was cooooold. but, being the hearty swedes that we are (ok. i’m not so hearty & strong. i’m a cold weather wuss), we didn’t let the weather stop us. nope. we took the 30 minute drive from the country hostel/lina’s aunt’s house to helsingborg, sweden. there we wandered the wet streets, did a little shopping, and at lunch at a thai restaurant. and then came the highlight of the day… a ferry ride to denmark!
yep. you can pay about $10 and hop on a ferry to head across the water to denmark. it’s only a 20 minute ride and the boat leaves every 15 minutes or so. now, if you have read my blog for any length of time, or if you know me, (and my love), then you know that part of our heart lives in denmark. we love it there. denmark has been special to me for a very long time. and having a chance to pop over there, even for a few hours one afternoon to a tiny harbor town, is the perfect little denmark fix. ok. yes i would give anything to have a weekend in copenhagen and a weekend in odense (where i used to live – another story for another day), but still, the little town of helsingør, denmark was just perfect that day.
we wandered the tiny streets, warmed ourselves in a funky cafe – with hot cocoa and colorful marshmallows! – and i soaked in the danish accents everywhere i went. it filled my soul. then, it was back on the ferry & back over to sweden by nightfall. loved it.
day 5: headed home
after four nights in the hostel and four days with family, it was time to head back north again. of course, on this, our last morning, the sun was shining brightly. go figure. but, it was time to say goodbye to our cozy little swedish hostel home. time to say goodbye to the peaceful sea. and time to say goodbye to the southern swedish countryside. it had been a great, cozy weekend and a fabulous chance to get away from our routine.
yes, this road trip has come to an end, but another one waits in the wings… and, as i said before, in 3 days we’re headed to stockholm!
Great post! Sounds like a great time, and I’m glad you got to have an almost-Thanksgiving 🙂 Thanks for sharing, and for the great photos! You keep making me want to make my way to Sweden!
do it! come visit! oh, and no fear… i’ll be cooking a real american thanksgiving here for friends & family. can’t wait! 🙂 and, as always, thanks so much for reading!
That looks and sounds like an absolutely amazing weekend! I was blown away by the pictures, especially the ones of the Skåne landscape. David and I went on a weekend vacation up in Door County, Wisconsin, in August and had a similar experience: it was a very brief getaway, but SO refreshing, beautiful, and fun.
thank you, carissa!!!
For some reason, any time I see photos of Scandinavia, I think of the song “Summer on the Westhill” by Kings of Convenience? You’ll have to give it a listen & see what you think?
Great photos Liz- thanks for taking us along on your little road-trip!
🙂
oh my gosh. it is a beautiful song!! thank you for sharing it! the song really captures what i saw & felt on my road trip. looove it!
Such an atmosphere of coziness here 🙂
totally cozy. the swedes have mastered the art of coziness due to the darkness, i think. 😉
LOVE the photos! I’ve been living in Gothenburg for nearly 6 months now, and have yet to make it south. My boyfriend and I took a day trip to Osby in Skåne to pick up our puppy, but I was too excited about the little fur ball to pay any attention to the landscape. Your photos are beautiful and make me want to give it another go.
And yes, I agree with the “WOO HOO!” of the election results. It was a nice thing to wake up to in the morning. 😀
Love your blog! Can’t wait to see more!
hey corin! thank you so much for stopping by & commenting! it’s great to “meet” another expat living in sweden. and i absolutely loooove gothenburg. yes, the south is fantastic, so make your way back down whenever you can. the summers are especially nice.
now, gotta go over & check out your blog. 😉
xo
that’s a lovely tree picture!!
what a scare it must have been, being locked out of your hostel room! good it worked out, even though it was late at night.
oh, I believe I know that danish town. Perhaps my family took the ferry from there to Sweden when I was six years old…. mhmmm, gotta ask them!