Sweden (2018)
Sweden, you are beautiful! I found out that ‘the middle of nowhere’ actually exists; it’s a three hour drive from Stockholm, there’s perfect silence only broken by bird song and there are forests and lakes and knäckebröd and no people…
The area around Borlange is a great place to recharge. We stayed in a wonderful cabin in the forest near lake Noran.
On the way from the airport, make sure to stop at Delikompaniet Handel & bistro with a terrace opposite a small supermarket in Balsta. They bake their own multi seed knäckebröd and pies. Their Caesar salad with shrimp is famous. We brought an entire blueberry pie to the cabin and it was gone within a day!
Buy food before you get to the cabin and make sure you have everything you need, because the nearest shop is 15 mins by car. And, trust me, you don’t want to use your car for a while. Enjoy the silence, the bird song, walk 5 mins to the lake over age old paths and enjoy a refreshing (!) dip if you dare. One evening we brought our dinner, carried a table to the lake and had an amazing private dinner.
Another evening we had dinner in deserted Borlange. Lilla Parken is a cute restaurant with a lovely garden and amazing food. We had some kind of a tapas platter (huge!) as a starter and a delicious lamb rack for mains.
On the way back to Stockholm you can stop at Mans Old restaurant. They have a nice terrace by the lake, however, nothing compared to our own private lake experience…
I only spent one evening in Stockholm, but spent it well, on the terrace of the best restaurant in town: Sturehof. We chose the menu and were served various plates of delicious food: knäckebröd of course, shrimp croquettes, beef tartare with caviar, a delicious fish and a pecan pie for dessert.
Sweden is nature, good food, friendly people and lots of peace and quiet.