Trip to Sweden

We had a fantastic time in Sweden. The babies did incredibly well with all the new experiences, I got to meet some more members of Dan's family and see more of the real Sweden and Dan got to catch up with loved ones after a very long time away.

The Flight

This was the thing I'd been most nervous about but in fact the flight itself went really well.

We woke the babies up at 4:30 am to get the 4:45 taxi for our 7 am flight. They didn't make any fuss and in fact seemed quite chilled out to be up that early and going to a strange place.

It was a bit tricky at first at the airport with all the bits and pieces we had with us but once we'd checked in the suitcases and car seats, things weren't too bad. We went through the airport with the babies each in single strollers and just three items of hand luggage between us. We were able to pick up some formula and baby food at Boots air-side which was very convenient and everything went well.

Once on board, Ella decided to have a bit of an ongoing whine which worried me a bit as I felt sure the other passengers were thinking negative thoughts about being stuck with whiny babies. She turned out just to be thirsty and stopped whining as soon as she had some juice to drink. Take-off was fine with no ear issues. We made sure to have juice and dummies on hand for take off and landing.

Carl fell asleep fairly soon after takeoff with Ella following suit a little later. We actually managed to eat the meal despite having a baby on each lap and all in all it was a really pleasant experience. The staff on board were lovely and very helpful.

Copenhagen / Bridge to Sweden

We landed at Copenhagen airport for our extremely brief visit to Denmark and I believe it must be the worst signposted airport ever. There were no directional signs for anywhere. You only found the sign when you were at the place you needed to be directed to. We somehow found the car rental desk despite this and got our car organised. Then  made our 5 minute walk (our only Danish time) to the car park to pick up the BMW estate they gave us. Once we'd figured out how on earth to fit everything in it, we were off. Dan did well with the Krypton Factor luggage and buggy positioning challenge!

Driving on the wrong/other side of the road posed almost no issues and within about 5 minutes we were crossing the Oresund bridge which connects Sweden to Denmark. It's a beautiful bridge and takes a very long time to cross, not surprising as it is 16km long. It's a stunning piece of architecture.

Sweden

The drive from Malmo to Ronneby where we were staying was lovely.

The babies slept for quite a bit of it and I got to see the Swedish countryside. For Dan it was somewhat of a trip down memory lane. The last time he drove here was sadly for his grandmother's funeral but this trip was in much happier conditions. We were both really looking forward to being able to introduce Carl and Ella to their Swedish relatives. We stopped in a small town called Bromolla for lunch which had a lovely lake.

It was a really hot day but despite Dan's suggestions, no swimming took place. This was mainly due to how much hassle it would have been to find the swimming stuff in the full car boot.

Ronneby Brunn

We stayed in a lovely hotel in a family room which was large enough for two cots and had a curtain to divide the room in half. This was perfect as we could partition the room off once the babies had gone to bed or whenever we wanted them to nap in the daytime. We unpacked the essentials then, as the weather was glorious, we went for a drink on the terrace followed by dinner at the hotel's restaurant.

The babies were incredibly well behaved at dinner despite having got up at 4:30am that day. We even had another hotel guest come over to us to say how well behaved they were and how cute they were chattering away to each other. Proud parents moment.

The hotel was lovely. It had a spa which both Dan and I had a turn at using on our own during the week for some well deserved RnR as well as a huge outdoor fun pool complex which we didn't use but hope to return to one year when the babies are older. It's a very large hotel and it did take quite some time to walk from our room over to the restaurant for breakfast each morning.

It's set in a lovely park, Ronneby Brunn which we explored on the Sunday and had a Japanese garden, its own lake and all sorts of other beautiful features.

All around the park are outdoor barbecuing grills for public use, very civilised.

It was an incredibly warm day. Here's a picture of Ella after Daddy applied suncream all over her head.

Visits to the local area

We made good use of the rental car to visit some places from Dan's childhood, some places which his mum grew up in and places generally of interest to his family history. It was lovely to see these places which I'd heard so much of over the years and to finally have a sense of the area. For Dan, it was very special to relive childhood holidays and revisit places he hadn't been to for a long time. This is the old water tower that Dan and his brother used to walk up to from his grandmother's flat. 

Ronneby

We saw the house his mum grew up in which is a beautiful house in the historical quarter. We also went to see his grandmother's flat where they spent many summer holidays.A highlight here was the church in which Dan's parents got married and also where Dan was baptised. It's a beautiful church with an interesting history. Inside it is very dramatic and quite breathtaking.

 Less sentimental revisits included the local ICA Maxi supermarket where we bought some Swedish things for Carl and Ella, some chocolate from Dan's childhood and had the best meatball and mash of the week! We puzzled over the punctuation in the name of the smaller supermarket in town though!

Saxemara and Svanevik

Of special mention were the trips to Saxemara and Svanevik. Svanevik (Swan Bay) is an archipelago with a number of houses. It has water on both sides and is extremely scenic. Dan's grandfather on his mum's side grew up here and old censuses have his family resident at 2 different house numbers over the decades. It's also the name Dan's parents gave to their house here in Maidenhead so it's a name I know well. It was wonderful to see the original Svanevik for me. 

Saxemara church is where a number of Dan's relatives are buried and a graveyard he has described to me in the past. We visited the grave of his grandparents on his mum's side and paid our respects to Karl and Elin with Carl and Ella.

It is a truly beautiful spot with a view of the sea and incredibly peaceful.

Karlskrona

On the last full day, we also visited Karlskrona, the nearest main town. It consists of a series of interconnected islands and has sea views at every turn. We stopped to look at the harbour and actually saw a submarine moving around. We assume it was a Swedish submarine, as opposed to a Russian one :-) We also paid the obligatory visit to the statue of Rosenblom, whose story can be read here - The Tale Of Rosenbom
The babies have become quite used to eating out during this holiday, as even breakfast was in the hotel restaurant. They are now experts at perusing menus and sitting well in (of course IKEA) high chairs.

Family Visits

The highlight of our trip and indeed the main purpose of the holiday full stop was the visits to Dan's relatives. I was delighted to meet the people I had heard so much about. Dan was over the moon to be reunited with them and Carl and Ella were happy to be made such a fuss of.

Firstly we met Dan's aunt, Siw, her husband, Lars, their son, Martin and his partner, Frida at their home in Ramdala.

We were given such a warm welcome by them all. I was nervous as I couldn't speak Swedish and Dan was nervous about whether his Swedish was too rusty. In fact we all communicated wonderfully. Dan's Swedish  was absolutely fine and he was able to converse for the entire afternoon, even having political debate with his uncle! I was delighted to find out that Frida spoke great English and so I was able to have conversations even when Dan was in full Swedish flow.

Dan's aunt, Siw was utterly lovely and looked so much like my mother in law, Ulla.

The babies may even have thought they were at Nanna's house. It was lovely to be welcomed into a traditional Swedish home and have a delicious meal with lovely people. I was amazed to see a graduation photo of Dan on the wall too which made us feel at home despite being many miles away. We spent quite a few hours there inside and outside in the garden and Carl and Ella were given fantastic presents from everyone.

Secondly at the weekend we were delighted to be able to visit Dan's other cousin, Mikael and his partner, Cina at their home in Jamjo.

Once again we were given a wonderfully warm welcome and Dan's Swedish was put to good practice. Again, I was delighted to find out that Mikael and Cina could speak English well and so we were able to have conversations in both languages.

We were treated to a lovely barbecue as again the weather was beautiful and Carl and Ella were very excited to be there and to meet Mikael's cat.

We are hoping to meet up with all of Dan's relations again and more frequently if possible, both in Sweden on our future holidays or here if they would like to visit us.

It was a really successful trip which all of four of us enjoyed. We definitely want to make it more of a regular destination in future years. I think it's very important for Carl and Ella to know about their Swedish heritage and for Dan to have the chance to catch up regularly with his family. Think I had better start learning some of the language......