Polar Circle, High Coast and Stockholm

Our time with Ellyn and Wayne continued on to more northern Sweden into Lappland. We stayed 3 nights in Arvidsjaur and during that stay traveled north to Jokkmokk, which is north of the Arctic circle. Up there we saw many reindeer and visited the Sami museum that we found very interesting.
After our time up north we started to make our way south down the east coast, also known as the High Coast. Here we stayed another couple of nights. We were originally going to stay in another stuga but the reservation got mixed-up. Apparently, they had us booked as 4 dogs and 2 children instead of 4 adults and 2 children. Not quite sure how that all happened but it was pretty humorous when we were trying to check in! Luckily, there was room at a hotel and we stayed there instead. On the high coast the girls took their first chair lift ride up a mountain. From there we had a beautiful view and they feasted like bear cubs on wild blueberries.

Another day we took a wild ferry ride to one of the islands just off the coast. It was a choppy ride and while both girls felt sick, it was only poor little Sonja that puked all over me. Yuck! The rest of the day was much better until it started to down pour and we all got soaked, especially Wayne who saved our spot in line to get back on the ferry. Luckily, the ferry ride back to the mainland was not as choppy.
Then it was down the coast again to Stockholm where we spent a couple of days doing the usual touristy stuff. We saw the royal palace, walked along the old cobble-stoned streets, took a canal boat ride, and everyone except Sonja and me visited the Vasa museum. It was by far the most touristy destination on our trip. English was spoken everywhere.

We stopped at IKEA on the way for a break and some Swedish fish

Linnea admiring the crown outside the Royal Palace (2nd largest working palace in Europe)

Listening to the narration on the canal tour

At the Vasa Museum

After Stockholm it was back to the US for the Farfs. We continued our summer adventure traveling west over towards Norway where we would stay for 2 weeks.

Stuga Fever

The next week of our journey we spent staying in a cabin or "stuga" in Storlien. This is a little ski village and apparently where the Swedish royal family has their ski stuga. Ellyn and I went snooping around one evening trying to find it. ;-) Our stuga was very cozy, right on a little pond. Farfar took off a few mornings (once with Linnea) and caught us some little fish in the surrounding lakes. We spent much of our time outside enjoying the beauty of the mountains.

All week we took off on daily outings. Our biggest day was back to Norway to visit Trondheim for the day where we visited the Nidaros Cathedral and for dinner that night Matthew had whale steak!


Many of the days we went hiking in and around Storlien. We also visited the popular ski town of Åre where we took a gondola up to the top of the mountain and played in the snow. It was on one of these outings that we spotted our first reindeer.

Linnea and Farfar in their matching vests on a hike down to a waterfall

At the bottom of the falls

At the top in Åre

On a hike up the ski area behind our stuga