Sweden Part 1

We’ve just got back from a wonderful few days in Sweden. We stayed at a couple of different places; a treehouse on a farm called @traktforesthotel and a water chalet on a lake at a Swedish vineyard. 

We flew Manchester to Gothenburg and then hired a Volvo. 

We took a two hourish drive into the countryside to stay at Trakt Forest Hotel. Along the way we passed so many roadside wildflowers. In particular the foxgloves lining the roads along with the Cow Parsley was very pretty! 

When we arrived at the Trakt Forest Hotel we checked into one of five tree houses built on the farm. These were so peaceful up in the forest and felt very private and not overlooked. There were a number of different experiences you could tag onto your stay. We added the outdoor sauna to ours. You could kayak at a local lake or take a forest bath. They all sounded wonderful but unfortunately time didn’t allow us to do all. 

Our treehouse was beautifully designed and made. With all the interiors created by students in the local area. We had a big windows looking out into the forest from the sitting area and you felt as though you were sat in nature. I enjoyed sitting on the floor cushion and spotting red squirrels scuttling up the trees! 

The day we arrived it was about 27degrees and we walked through the farm land and passed the wild flower meadows to the lake. It was about 1k from our tree house. Here we were greeted with a wood burning sauna and a lake all to ourselves. I enjoyed some locally made elderflower and apple juice while we were there. While my husband enjoyed sampling some of the local beer. We enjoyed doing the cycle of sauna and then swimming in the lake. I had never done wild swimming before but I was so eager to try it! Even if I wasn’t sure about my feet touching anything. 

We spent some time just sat on the bench listening to the bird song, looking at the reflections in the water and watching the different coloured dragonflies. 

The sauna was a great spot for reflecting, reviewing and making plans. With no distraction’s we thought about the goals we had set as a family for the year and where we were in achieving these. 

After our sauna we then headed back to the treehouse to get ready for our evening meal. This was served in the main building of the farm. It felt so homely with nature pieces on the window sill, wildflowers in jars and a warm family friendly feeling. There was a set menu (no choice) which was great for giving us the opportunity to try new dishes and flavours we may have not originally picked ourselves. All the food served was locally sourced and produced. It was all served so beautifully with nature taking a big part in the design of the plates. 

The Swedes appreciate the sunny weather when it arrives and we were invited to take our Rhubarb crumble out into the garden. Here a Swedish family  with little children were sat playing in the long grass and in the sand pit. There was such a relaxed feeling. 

We wandered back to our treehouse after our meal and fell asleep under the tree top canopy as our bedroom had a ceiling window. 

The next morning nature and daylight naturally woke us up which was perfect. A breakfast basket was delivered to our treehouse and we sat outside to eat it. This was such a treat as we listened to the birds (we heard a Tawny Owl and a Woodpecker). Everything was homemade from the farm and the coffee was very strong! 

After breakfast we took a hike around the forest and we didn’t see anyone at all. As we walked we listened to birds and admired the wildflower meadow we passed. 

We then headed to our next stay which was about 2 hours away. We stopped halfway for a picnic (made up of sandwiches from the sourdough we had at breakfast!). 

I will follow up with a post about the second part of our trip next week. 

During our trip I enjoyed reading through some Scandi Living Magazines and also the book There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather. It’s inspired me to de-clutter our home and play spaces. We’ve accumulated so much in the last few years that it makes life unnecessarily cluttered and complicated. I don’t need lots of choose each day of what to wear or a 5 step skin care routine. Oliver doesn’t need so many toys- he’s quite happy with just a stick! So I’ve set ourselves the task of de-cluttering and simplifying all parts of our live. I already feel so much better for doing it. Any money from the things we sell on Vinted (stuff!) will  go into our memory making fund. 

My husband has been inspired by the simplicity of Swedish design and in particular the natural elements combined with Japanese interiors. This is something we will be exploring more too.