After spending a few days in Denmark we made our way back to Sweden. Out of the blue we came across the most beautiful seaside town called Mellbystrand where we stopped for lunch and dipped our toes in the cool ocean.
Prior to our trip as we were Googling routes along the way, we found out that the Ikea Museum had just opened a month before. It is in the city of Älmhult where Ikea was born and now lives a museum dedicated to the iconic Swedish furniture giant. We decided to make a stop and luckily for us it was during lunch time so we enjoyed, yet another, meal of Swedish meatballs and chokladbollar (or chocolate balls as my kids call them). They also have an Ikea hotel nearby.
Next stop was a lovely city called Växjö in the middle of Sweden. We made it our home base for a couple of days.
We visited a moose farm where we walked along acres and acres of forestland and tried to spy a moose or two. We were lucky enough at the end of our visit to spot a few lounging around. Because they are used to people they did not charge or get spooked by us, which was quite surprising. They really are amazing animals!
We decided to take a break from staying in hotels so we booked an Airbnb in the countryside of Mörbylånga, in the south-eastern side of Sweden, on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea. The house we stayed in used to be an old general store which the kids found super cool and they ended up loving it the best of all the hotels we stayed in. It was a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of all the busy cities we had visited.
Our next stop on the journey was in Vastervik which is a beautiful coastal town. The property we stayed at was right on the Baltic Sea and of course we had to go swimming in it, along with experiencing an authentic floating Swedish sauna which was pretty heavenly.
We spent the last few nights in Stockholm which is definitely one of my new favorite cities. The vibrancy of this city can be felt everywhere you go. It is a very walkable city and the fashion, arts and design can be found all over.
Good-bye Sweden .. I'll definitely visit again!
Previously: Our travels in ... Copenhagen and Gothenburg