Nine Things We Fell in Love with in Sweden

Back in August, we took a family vacation. A very special vacation. We were invited to join our niece and her fiancé in Sweden for their wedding. The wedding, the trip, reuniting with our family it was all so magical. I’ve been dying to share all the details with you. So I thought it would be the perfect time to do just that.

In total we were in Sweden for a total of seven days. A few days spent in Gothenburg and then a long weekend for the wedding at Aras Estate and Gardens. You can see some gorgeous photos of Katie’s wedding on her instagram page.

I will say many of our favorites revolve around food. Ha! Ha!

Fika

Fika is the idea of slowing down and enjoying a sweet treat with coffee or tea. At the wedding we had fika before the sit down dinner and it was so lovely. All the desserts were so delicious and yummy. Here’s a peek at some of them:

In the city of Gothenburg we fell in love with the cardamom buns and the cinnamon buns. We have versions of these in the US but find that the Swedish versions are lighter and not as sweet.

If you’re local to Scituate – Knead in Scituate Harbor makes a lovely cardamom bun. I was craving one when we got back.

Haga in Gothenburg

Haga is the old town in Gothenburg. We loved strolling the streets and peeking in the shops. I actually wish we had a bit more time here. I loved this little gallery:

This shop sold clogs and I came home with heeled ones (3rd from the bottom). I just have to wait until I don’t have vertigo to wear them.

I also loved this little antique shop:

Shrimp Sandwiches

I LOVE shrimp. No one in my home likes it though so I only have it when I’m out to dinner or when we have friends over. I was so excited when I saw a shrimp sandwich on the menu at a traditional Swedish pub. It is small shrimp served with dill mayonnaise on rye bread. It was soooo good but soooooo BIG. I couldn’t eat it all.

The Countryside

We fell in love with the nature preserve where the wedding was. It was jut so gorgeous. From beautiful wild flower meadows to walking trails and more. It was so quiet and peaceful.

Old growth forests and giant trees:

Forests carpeted in moss. I couldn’t help wondering if fairies were real here…

We went on a 5 mile walk and it was so beautiful.

Smörgåstårta

We made these for the wedding and spent several hours creating them. Smörgåstårta is a savory Swedish cake made with fish, meats, or vegetables and frosted with mayonnaise or cream cheese mixture to look like sweet cakes.

We had so much fun making and decorating them. They were delicious.

The Lake

A lake was a short walk from the wedding venue. I have never seen a lake quite like it. It was crystal clear and it felt like it had a sandy beach rather than dirt.

The air was so clean and the vistas of the tree line majestic.

Swedish Breakfast

Each morning we enjoyed a traditional Swedish breakfast. One morning in an elegant room at the main house. My favorite was crisp bread (knäckebröd) and the hard cheese, the Prost cheese. We returned and went straight to Ikea to stock up on supplies. Ha! Ha!

Swedish Seaside

On our last day we were able to visit the seaside and it was so beautiful. It took my breath away.

Swedish Weddings

Of course, our very favorite part was Katie and Torin’s wedding. We really got to know everyone over the long weekend leading up to the ceremony and feel like we have an extended family in Sweden now. The decorations, the fairy lights, the dancing, the photographs, the conversation. It was all so very special. We were so very happy to be a part of it and it was wonderful to reunite with our English side of the family.