Hej from Sweden!
Finally I managed to visit the country where quite a few of my favourite childrens book characters originate from, like Pippi Longstocking or Petterson and Findus. And yeees, I finally been to the real Småland not just the one at the famous IKEA 😛
I travelled, just like to South Africa with Michael, he also provided his massive car which has the functions of a 4×4 and also had a tent attached to it. So we saved massive amouts of time as we just had to “pop” up the tent when we wanted to sleep. So we loaded the car with groceries for at least 11 people :D, a floatable canoe and lots of happiness and caught the ferry from Travemünde to Malmö.
Why Sweden?
First of all Michael has been to Sweden a few times before and really loved it and now wanted to show me some his favourite spots. Additionally it’s a allowed in Sweden to basically tent everywhere you want, this is called the “allemansrätten”. Except for national parks or special nature reserved areas.
Sweden also provides the infrastructure for that kind of camping: often you have a fire place next to lake, even with that metal thing to braai on. Or nice yettys where you can dive into the lake, small shelters against rain, and on one place I even found a string to dry laundry. Also benches and tables are often avaiable and perfect to prepare a yummy camping meal 🙂 We travelled through the South of Sweden, including the amazing island of Öland.
Some tips when camping with your car
How to get there:
- If you want to save some time, and you don’t want to cross Denmark to reach Sweden, catch a ferry from Germany.
- The southermost province of Sweden (Skane), is not really good for wild camping, lots of lakes are hardly accesible or there are signs which forbid camping.
How to find nice spots:
- When you want to camp next to a lake: Check it out on google maps first and see whether there are private houses or whether it’s accesible for a normal car
- Leave nothing but footprints: Bring garbage bags and leave the site where you camp as clean as you found it.
What to bring:
- Take WARM clothes with you, even in summer nights can be really cold in Sweden (brrr we had 4 degrees one night!)
- Be prepared for TONS of little flys that sting you 🙁 They don’t show any reaction towards Autan, so either you buy some strong anti-fly stuff in Sweden itself or get a hat to at least protect your head.
- Bring a cooking possibility and a small fridge you can attach to your car’s electricty. Depening on where you live, you should bring the groceries you want to cook with you as Sweden is quite an expenisve country. Especially with alcohol! Tip: Lunch is often cheap in Swedish restaurants, you get a buffet and often only pay around 8-10 Euros!
How to get your stuff clean:
- Get a biological friendly soap that can be used in natural waters without harming the animals or environment. This soap will be your best friend: You can wash your dishes, clothes and yourself in the lakes then 🙂
- Drive to one of the many offical camping sites and ask if you can purchase a “shower card” (in big sites: just walk in and see if you can shower for free :P)
This kind of holiday is perfect for people who love nature, Sweden is perfect for hiking, fishing or horse-riding. Although I haven’t been to the USA or Canada yet, sometimes when we were driving along for hours without meeting another car and passing by some small villages which are right next to the street, I could get a feeling for what it’s must be like to live in a huge country.
In my impression Sweden is definitely a “Nature country” not so much for visiting cities. The cities I liked were Kalmar and Malmö, and the small towns on Öland. In general the Swedish people are super friendly and like to help you out, if you get anywhere in Sweden go to a bakery and try out their sweet stuff it’s super yummy.
Never stop exploring! <3
