Wander & Nest

Ok so now I get it! Spring and summer in Sweden are/will be amazing! We’ve had a 2 week heat wave that filled Gothenburg with sunny skies and temps in the mid 20s Celsius (70s Fahrenheit). Plus all the green is back on all of the trees and plants, seemingly overnight! It’s been an incredible transformation of this city. I really had no idea how green it could be a few weeks ago.

Even with amazing weather, I’ve been feeling a little blah lately. It’s hard to pinpoint one thing as though I could fix it, but definitely it’s a combination of complicated feelings about this wild year of travel coming to an end in just a couple short months, and anxiety about the massive transition we have in moving to France this summer and all that brings, and the constant grief over never ending painful world affairs, and just being exhausted from life with a toddler which is both amazing and so difficult at times…. I know this isn’t that most uplifting blog content, but I want to be real and not paint a picture of perfection all the time. So, thanks for reading.

After bouts of taking time to be sad or process, I find it much easier to actually enjoy the incredible outdoors here in Gothenburg. We finally made it to the botanical garden, well a tiny fraction of it because it’s massive, and wow! Mara loved running barefoot through the grass and chasing quack quacks before peacefully sitting with them at a fountain. We went to a great little cafe/restaurant in the garden and had snacks, drinks, and ice cream. It was so nice and all within walking distance of our apartment in the heart of Gothenburg.

Another activity we had been waiting for warmer weather to try was a visit to the Gothenburg Archipelago. There are so many islands to explore, so we started with one of the closer and more populated ones in the southern Archipelago called Styrsö. A single tram ticket took us all the way to the island, including the transfer to the ferry. The southern islands are mostly car free (except for some official service-type vehicles), so people are getting around by foot, bike, golf cart, or three wheeled scooter. The island was so beautiful and for the first time since leaving, we were reminded of New Zealand. We had a nice lunch at one of the two cafes on the island, splashed around at the closest little beach, then walked across the island to a swimming spot while Mara napped in the backpack carrier.

The swimming spot was this really beautiful meeting of the rocks and the water. There wasn’t much sand (I guess sandy beaches aren’t so common in Sweden), but the rocks were a cool alternative that the Swedes essentially treated as sand. People were sunbathing all over on the rocks and dipping into the water from the well established ladders from piers or rocks. There were a few places to walk in from the rocks into shallow water and we found a sandy area where Mara could safely splash around (note to get mara water shoes for the rocky shores). We stayed on Styrö way longer than we thought we would and had to hustle a bit across the island to catch the ferry back. Mara was clearly not happy about getting out of the water!

The next day we met up with a family from Mara’s daycare who invited us to join them at the annual minivarvet (mini marathon), an event that runs parallel to the Gothenburg half marathon, but exclusively for “runners” under the age of 6. It was an amazing event at the huge park near us, Slottskogen. For about $10 we registered Mara and she got her race T-shirt, a banana for a pre run boost, and her race completion medal. There were 2 very cute 200 meter tracks set up with race times starting approximately every 30 seconds. The volunteer high school students staffing the starting line raised the rope and let kids go every time just a few were gathered. Mara and her friend Kaan had a blast while me and Kaan’s mom tried to keep up and keep them on track. Mara only laid down twice in the 4 minute run haha.

The big race also has tons of activities sponsored by companies. It really felt like a pre/post marathon fair, except instead of goo energy pouches and anti chafing balm samples, there were balloons, bounce pads, and bubble leaf blowers!

After the marathon events, Kaan took a nap while his parents enjoyed a drink at the park cafe. Mara, on the other hand, did not nap, so we got lunch, ice cream, and sat under a tree to enjoy the view of the lake and quack quacks.

One of the things we’ve really loved about these subtle cities is the accessibility of all of these activities. Everything is within walking distance or easily accessible by public transit, nothing is ever very crowded or prohibitively expensive, and of course families with small kids are welcome everywhere.