Skövde

Summer of staycation

I don’t think anyone have missed that the summer of 2020 was different. Plans – that for us was taking us over the the ocean – were cancelled, and we had to make lemonade out of corona-lemons. So instead of Spain, Boston, Las vegas (!) and Jacksonhole Wyoming, we stayed in Stockholm, visited Skövde and Kristinehamn. It turned out better than we hoped.

Quick facts: Skövde is the birthplace of Tess, and has a mountain (yes, a mountain). Kristinehamn is in Värmland by Swedens biggest lake – Vänern.

Trip highlights: Rooftop pool, private pool, swimming in pools (I think you see the pattern).

Points: Local Beer 7,5/10 points, Strawberry margaritas 10/10 points, Summer overall points: 8/10 points.

Lets start at the very beginning..

.. it’s a very good place to start. Frozen strawberry margaritas in our Vitamix, lunch at Vaipo and a drink at Urban delis’ rooftop. That’s a great start. Add some minigolf to that, and vacation in Sweden wasn’t half bad.

The Winery hotel

We decided to start our vacation properly with a staycation at the Winery hotel in Solna. They have a great rooftop with a pool, a bar and a sundeck. Need we say more?

We stayed one night and just hung out on the roof, had a nice dinner in the restaurant and repeated the rooftop hang the next day. Had some great wine, they are experts after all.

We packed up a rental car and set the course for Skövde. Well there the plan was to visit Tess family and show Alex more of this fantastic city. We played padel, ate nice food at restaurant Lena (yes, Tess mom), visited the neighbouring city Hjo for a lovely lunch and just enjoyed the weather.

Alex looking happy at lunch. Post first beer.

On a visit to a friend Tess and her mom was greeted by puppies! We wanted to take one but didn’t.

Kristinehamn

After Skövde we set the gps to Kristinehamn and a week in a cabin by the lake. Re-routing us because of road work, we got to see the scenic route and Alex got to see more of Sweden – aka more forest.

Our week in Kristinehamn was the warmest and sunniest one in the whole summer. How lucky? The cabin was right on the lake and had – most importantly – a heated pool. We enjoyed a lot and met friendly neighbours who helped us inflate our giant pineapple. We also discovered that värmländska (local dialect) is very hard to understand, for one of us.

I also did some public service by researching champagne-related difficulties.

And we grilled. A lot.

Stockholm

Back in Stockholm we booked some bucket list items to look forward to at end of summer. One was a visit to a fine dining restaurant with a 6 course menu called Ekstedt. This was a great experience, good food cooked over fire and very fancy wine. Ekstedts has one Michelin star and it really was an experience like no other. 3 hours and 6+4 extra courses later we left very happy and full.

Ekstedt.nu

Minigolf & botanical garden

Before covid closed down places for the second time, we supported our favourite minigolf course and had some dinner and a game. A very nice and fun way to spend an evening.

Tess and her friend also went to a very (for us hidden) beautiful botanical garden i Stockholm. Thank you Graciela for showing me this paradise in the city.

Poster

We decided to create a poster from this summer vacation that highlighted the best part, and for us that was Kristinehamn. So many beautiful sunsets and perfect weather. It was really hard to pick one but after a lot of deliberation. This is the poster that hangs on our wall.

Thank you for reading and lets hope 2021 opens up the world in a safe way.

Also, I (Tess) am selling some posters, not from our vacations (except the penguin one, and the Northern lights) You can buy them here. Its very cool, and scary. But mostly cool.

Hugs!