There are a few things that make up a typical summer in Sweden. Long, bright nights. Ice cream. Weeks off from work. Coffee outside as often as possible. Fresh strawberries and whipped cream. And a visit to the Swedish archipelago. No matter if it’s a good summer (hot sunshine + blue skies) or a bad summer (rain + temps in the 50s), these things are still enjoyed by most people at some time – if not all summer long. And, this summer I’ve already checked them all off. Multiple times, I think.
I started my 4 week summer vacation with a trip with my love to the archipelago on the east coast of Sweden. It’s a place I’ve visited many years before, and a place Lina has visited all of her life – except the summers I dragged her away to North Carolina for the summer. This special place in the archipelago is about a 20 minute drive through tiny, windy roads through the forest to the sea. It is an old church camp with an old (haunted, I think) yellow house, a few cabins, and a field for tents and rvs. Lina’s family (and others) have come here every summer since the 70s. It is a super basic, rustic, simple place where it’s easy to get back to nature, let go of everyday life, enjoy some silence + alone time, and sit for long hours talking with others.
As I mentioned, I’ve been to this archipelago camp for years. You can look through blog posts of years past at the end of this post, if you wish. Otherwise, just keep reading here to see this summer’s archipelago week.
This year we stayed in the yellow house. We pushed the beds together, fought off mosquitoes, and enjoyed tons of quiet, sleepy moments of rest. We carried water in buckets from the sea to use the toilets in the bathroom building. We cooked in teams for the whole camp. We jumped in the cold Baltic water twice. I soaked up the sun, drank a lot of coffee, laughed a bunch, sang camp songs, took a few walks, watched the moon every night, and slowed my pace to vacation mode.
And just like that, the annual trip to the Swedish archipelago was over. Usually we pack up and head home, but this year Lina + I have packed another set of suitcases so we can continue on and roadtrip through the south/southwest of Sweden! So, we crammed all of our dirty, messy, unwashed, un-showered bags + selves into the car and headed off on a roadtrip! It felt so amazing to be able to begin another adventure after a week of rest + relaxation.
So, hang around… and see where we end up!
How are you doing? How’s your summer? Or winter? Sending love your way. We’ll talk again soon!
xoxo. liz.
Oh my goodness Liz, you’ve been blogging like crazy! I’m only catching up now and am looking forward to the rest of your posts. In any case, your archipelago photos are as gorgeous as always. Even more stunning actually if that’s possible. I’m happy you got to unplug and take a break here this summer again. xx
Thank you for going through all of these posts! I just had to document + share – we were able to get to experience so much this summer. Just the kind of stuff we love. <3