If anyone reading this does not know much about Sweden, you will soon learn.  Lately I have been a bit obsessed with this culture,  it’s  “Lagom”  lifestyle and all that is the simple life.  For further reading I suggest Niki Brantmarks book  ” Lagom, Not Too Little, Not Too Much: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life. “  A gift I received from my mother after I returning from this trip.  I finished it in 3 days :)

The Swedes are all about only using what you need, not taking extra, minimalism, eco materials, organic foods, a clean home, not working to hard, the importance of family and balanced living.  I am a huge supporter of all of this, and am happy to learn a thing or two from this great country in Scandinavia.

That is why it was perfect timing when my friend Patrick invited me to spend a long weekend in Stockholm with himself and 10 other friends to celebrate his 30th birthday.  We stayed all together in an Air BnB apartment with great views for 3 nights.  It was as if we were a large and lively family under one roof.  It was busy, but incredibly fun and inspiring.  Come to think of it now, almost all of us that were there work in some creative field or another, I guess that is why we got along so well.

I have only been to Sweden once, in Gotherburg in 2014,  and was and still am stocked about this place.  Its colours, architecture, friendly people, hip fashion, great food and happy simple nature have so much to offer.  Stockholm is a city made up of 14 islands, all connected by bridges, subways, ferries and trams.  The 4 main ones downtown are full of interesting architecture, a mix match of many styles, old and new, something that I found sensational.  Stockholm seems more like 4 small cites all connected rather then one large one. It is much larger then I had imagined before visiting, and is growing like never before.  However it’s harbours, shopping districts, quiet parks, bars, restaurants, and hillside paths are great to explore on foot, just make sure you are wearing good shoes.  There are a lot of cobblestones, the kind that are very round under foot.  My health app on my phone informs me that we walked 64 000 steps in 4 days.  That is about 30 miles or 48 kilometres!

We were blessed with incredible weather, 4 days of sun in April. A very rare occurrence in Sweden, so I did not make it into any museums, this I will have to do next time!  A few things to be sure you check out before you go is the exchange rate, they use Swedish Crowns, and you can almost only pay with debit or credit card everywhere.  Even at places like the bakery and the cafe where your purchase could be very minimal.  It is also important to inform yourself of their alcohol policy.  Alcohol is extremely expensive in Sweden, because of the laws and regulations regarding it,  so please pay attention to what you purchase!

Below you will see a variety of images from the many islands, and architecture of Stockholm.  If you don’t already know, I really like rooftops :)  Thank you to Patrick and Sophie for organizing the trip, and to all of you great people I had the pleasure to eat, dance, chat and laugh with.  You all made it so special!  Patrick you were right when you said that when you put your like minded creative friends all together, great things happen.

It was a blast, a trip I will never forget.  Enjoy!