This trip is flying by!!! Megan and I arrived in Stockholm, after our adventure in Latvia, just in time to watch France take on Germany in the semi-finals of Euro-cup. After dropping our stuff in our hostel, we settled in next door at a restaurant that shares a courtyard with the hostel. They had set up a large screen that was showing the game outside. I ordered a traditional Swedish dish: Meatballs! T’was delicious and it reminded me of the meatballs served at IKEA, which makes sense as IKEA is a Swedish brand (wow it’s all coming together!!). During the game two local Swedish guys sat down next to us and Megan and I ended up talking with them most of the game. It was fascinating to hear about Swedish life and how different it is compared to the US. When I asked them if they could list any downsides to living in Sweden, they paused and had to think for a minute. They finally came up with the weather, and fair point, as it is dark for 8 months of the year. But if weather is the only downside to living in your country then I would say you’re doing pretty well.

The next morning Megan and I joined a bike tour around Stockholm. We figured that because we would only have one day in Stockholm this would be the easiest way to see a lot of Stockholm. While the tour itself didn’t knock our socks off, we did get to see a lot of Stockholm and we biked to the highest point within the city, which offered great views.

View from the highest point in Stockholm

After the tour we grabbed lunch and walked through Old Town. Stockholm was beautiful, but didn’t feel all that different from a clean, put-together American city.

Megan goofing off with not one, but two viking helmets

After finishing the afternoon in Stockholm, we got on a bus to our Airbnb in Idalen, which is on an island in the Stockholm archipelago. It was AMAZING! We stayed in a cottage in the backyard of the home of the sweetest couple ever. After they welcomed us, Megan and I took off on a run to get some exercise and to see some of the beaches! Stunning is the only word to describe it:

Idalen, Sweden

Can you have too many beach/sunset pictures??

After our run, we jumped into the water at this beach!

The next day we set off on our bikes to rent a kayak for the afternoon. Although it was fun, we ended up paddling for our lives as soon as it started to thunderstorm all around us (!!).

Megan in the kayak right before the thunderstorm hit!

After safely making it to shore, we rode our bikes back to the Airbnb in the rain. We dried off in the cottage and decided to have a lazy rest of the day. We made some dinner and then watched a movie.

Luckily the next day was a bit sunnier! Megan and I went for a beautiful hike in one of the many nature preserves. We walked to a lake and back, which ended up being about 5 miles.

After a yummy avocado + apple spinach salad for lunch, we headed down to the local beach for some relaxing and some reading. This wrapped up our incredible adventure off the beaten path in the Stockholm archipelago. Both Megan and I marveled at how easy it was to find a place to stay out in the middle of a random island because of Airbnb. Definitely a positive experience!

Now off to Norway!