Midsummer in Sweden
And why I'm making this an annual event, also taking the car next time.
June always starts with a bang, with my birthday smack dab on day one of the month.
One six six one - my birth date is an anagram. Any numerologists out there? Please let me know if you agree this is as cool as I believe it to be.
What else is great about June? The summer solstice.
For years I’ve had a hankering to spend midsummer in Sweden - based on the photos of girlfriends wearing floral wreaths in their hair and looking happy. Not based on my husband’s spurious information, suggesting everyone would be hammered.
This year, the stars aligned and I saw a space on the calendar, perfect for that girls’ road trip my Swedish friend Malin and I had been talking about for ages. A plan quickly materialized.
I took a train to Flensburg where Malin picked me up at the station. Say what you like about the punctuality of German trains, I’ve had a lot of luck over the years. I booked first class for the seven hour journey and arrived on the nose.
The next day Malin and I left Flensburg and headed north by car to a covered flea market just across the Danish border. Bonus: there’s always free coffee at a Danish flea market. Malin took it upon herself to build the agenda, and boy she did not disappoint! This market was stocked with an incredible selection of lamps from the 1960s and 70s, midcentury furniture, glassware and dishes. Since I was travelling by train, I had to be very selective about my purchases. So I walked out empty-handed but not unhappy.
We stopped at a country inn for one night, a bed and breakfast run by Lone, who greeted us wearing hand knit orange socks and leggings that emphasised her long legs. Lone thanked us for booking directly with her, rather than with booking.com, which takes a huge cut from even from small independent innkeepers. She was about to turn the B&B over to new owners and retire to Copenhagen.
From there we travelled on to Sweden, stopping for the midsummer celebration on June 20. Basically the entire country has the day off to eat pickled herring and new potatoes, followed by strawberries. Most of the women and young girls were wearing wreaths in their hair, many self-made with flowers from their gardens. Malin and I wore floral dresses, as the custom dictates.
A day later the afternoon agenda item was a visit to another country hotel, where an outdoor showing of Mamma Mia was scheduled. We packed up our loungers and set off to a hotel by the sea where probably 100 people gathered to eat sausages and chips, drink wine coolers and sing-a-long to ABBA. A fantastic way to spend a summer evening! I loved it. Grandparents, kids and millennials - it seems there’s not a single demographic in Sweden that doesn’t know the words to “Waterloo.”
The trip ended in Malmö. Originally we intended to visit Copenhagen but hotel prices are much more affordable in Malmö. Flexible as we are, we changed plans and spent time in a city new to both of us. Again, not disappointed. The city is known for its sustainable living ethos, a topic that I find right for our time. Every second shop is either a vintage shop, or a re-made/pre-loved/re-cycled emporium. We barely moved beyond a mile radius of our hotel but the selection of home decor retailers, classic Swedish design, boutiques, charity shops and local brands was off the charts.
A few of the furniture designers we sampled on this trip, either new or vintage: Hans Wegner, Alvar Aalto, Fritz Hansen, Hay.
And some of the clothing designers: Gudrun Sjödén, Filippa K, Ganni, Karen by Simonsen.
We tested a lot of armchairs.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. For a complete itinerary and a list of all the flea markets, shops, restaurants and cafes we visited, sign up for a subscription. I’ll post that content soon.
Thanks for being with me! Tell me about your own adventures in Sweden.
xxAngela