After two great weeks in Houston visiting with family and friends, we made our way to Sweden. We decided to try out the new low cost carrier from Iceland, WOW Air! We had to bring in our own food and entertainment. It worked great! Short layover in Reykjavik and then onward to our destination. It took us 29 hours door to door.  

Our Plane

 We arrived home happy and exhausted. The first few days were a complete blur as we adjusted to the time difference. Luckily, we have an amazing view from the backyard to help us enjoy the fresh air and cooler temperatures. The river that runs behind the house is Klarälven. It’s the longest river in Sweden with 446 km.

Morning viewJet lagged Sunrise

To deal with the jetlag, Vanessa worked on a puzzle she bought 17 years ago in Rome at the Vatican Museum. A thousand pieces of Sistine Chapel and probably one of the hardest puzzles she has ever done but it is finished, and it looks beautiful. Now, we don’t have the heart to break it up and put it back in the box. Soren fought the jetlag by building a stone stairway down to the river with his younger brother. The occasional dip in the river helped with the heat.

Missing pieceThe last piece is always the hardest

Rock steps

Sweden experienced a heat wave just before we got here. But we were lucky to be greeted with the cooler temperatures that we long awaited. We have been enjoying riding our bikes along the converted railroad track and going on hikes in the nearby forest.

Straight and narrowThe old narrow gauge rail road, originally built to transport ore. Break time

KlarälvenHiking in the forest along the river

We have made ourselves useful, and we have been picking several kilos of red and black currants in the garden. Many also made their way directly to our stomachs including the gooseberries and blueberries.  

Blueberries for breakfast Black CurrantsFor Lunch

Red CurrantsFor Dessert with Ice cream

And so continuous our relaxed days, spending perfect days with Soren’s parents and his younger brother who happens to be on vacation this week, enjoying the backyard and loving the Swedish summer.

Swedish SummerTypical Swedish country side. Next week, we head over to Northern Italy for two weeks and we’ll be visiting with some long time friends we have not seen in a while. If you have any recommendation for things to do or things not to miss, please do share. We’ll be in Lake Maggiore (2 days), La Spezia (5 days), Verona (2 days), Turino (4 days).

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