For ease of travelling with kids, Sweden is nirvana. English is widely spoken by multilingual Swedes, some with a better handle on my only language than I do. Even in small remote towns, people can pluck an English speaking person from somewhere when needed.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Ease of ‘free from foods’– Lucas couldn’t have wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts or oats. In other countries I needed to seek out specialist health food shops then translate the labels to safely feed Lucas. Forget about choosing the route for tourist attractions, some places were visited for the likelihood of a ‘free from’ food shop. Each shop I’d laden myself up with a ridiculous amounts of purchases. The frenzy was fuelled partly by Lucas’s uncontainable excitement about all these new foods he could eat, and partly by concern when the next shopping opportunity would be. In Sweden I just walked into everyday supermarkets and bought Lucas’s food alongside my own!
Excellent Healthcare – a comfort net you don’t plan to use. When Lucas was laughing I noticed a brown spot on a molar tooth. I was mortified when I confirmed it was a cavity needing filling (by probing it with a toothpick)! Surely only toddlers drinking fruit juice and eating sugary sweets non-stop had teeth problems. It turned out to be weak enamel related to his dietary issues, which was a worry in itself. One thing I didn’t have to worry about was the standard of the dental care Lucas received, it was impressive.
Swedish Lapland – an Arctic wonderland of the Northern Lights in winter; the sun shining after Midnight in summer, and the Sami culture.
The Ice Hotel in Kiruna!! – I went without Lucas on a previous trip but still had to mention it here.
Stockholm – One of the of beautiful cities of the world. We stayed part of our time with Christina and her family, who we met at the Falun copper mine.
Huge range of kid friendly waterparks and museums, of which we only visited a few.
Stockholm
1.Vasamuseet – The Wasa sank in 1628 in the harbour. It has been hauled from the the sea and beautifully restored.
2. Junibacken – This museum was created around the books of Astrid Lindgren who wrote Pippi Long-Stocking. We had so much fun, the highlight being the train ride through animated book scenes!
Ostersund
1. Moose Garden in Orrviken
2. Large swimming pool
3. Jamtli – Great museum including touch displays
Mora
1. Dalarna Horses by Nils Olsson – the workshop was a lot of fun and the painted horses are very Swedish
2. Vasaloppsmuseet – the visit to this museum following the history of the very famous cross country skiing event, was for me. In denial that day about what was reasonable to expect from a toddler, I got annoyed with Lucas when he didn’t sit still and quiet during the educational movie. The staff felt sorry for Lucas, giving him presents and sympathetic looks. Not one of my finest parenting days but it’s funny looking back.
Falun
Falun coppermine – fascinating and education and a tiny bit scary (for me). We met the lovely Christina and her family, who invited us to stay with them in in Stockholm.
Ostersund
1. Waterpark – the best I’ve ever been to with wave pools, pirate ships, waterfalls and water slides. You can snorkel in one of the pools and see live fish that look as though they’re swimming with you, but are tanked. A terrorized Lucas leapt into my arms and tried to scramble on my shoulders after I’d put his mask on and convinced him to look into the water. I forgot about the magnification of the water-they must have looked big enough to eat him! Oops.
2.Slottet castle – we only saw this from the outside but it was a lovely place to relax outside
3. Staying with our friend Cecilia who we met in Norway, and her family.
