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Category: Product Reviews, Sweden

Book Review of ‘Wintering’ Following a (long) Swedish Winter

I saw on social media someone sharing a post that referred to the book Wintering by Katherine May. I had not heard of it and I was in the middle of a dark, cold and what felt like long Swedish winter and so this book peaked my interest.

We moved to Sweden in December 2023 and everything was covered in thick white snow. This continued for several months, and coming from England where there is little snow, it was a novelty for us and made everything look beautiful! This year, however, we had cold temperatures but little snow, which was a shame. Part of living in a country with four proper seasons is experiencing those and this just felt a little flat without the snowy sparkle.

Now I won’t lie I found this winter tough. When I saw this book I promptly bought it after seeing it described as being:

‘a beautiful read’

‘The book explores how to embrace life’s challenges and quiet seasons’

‘This book will inspire and calm your mind, reminding you that these dark times will pass and there is no harm in taking the time for yourself.’

What Is Wintering?

So wintering can be different things to different people but in the context of this book the meaning is described as:

‘Wintering is a poignant and comforting meditation on the fallow periods of life, times when we must retreat to care for and repair ourselves. Katherine May thoughtfully shows us how to come through these times with the wisdom of knowing that, like the seasons, our winters and summers are the ebb and flow of life.‘

My Thoughts

This is not my usual type of book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were so many instances in the book that I felt I could relate to. The opening book is dedicated to all who have wintered. Every individual will almost certainly relate in different ways, and the various examples in the book really illustrate this.

My key takeaways were:

  • wintering is the active acceptance of sadness
  • lean into the things you love
  • live the best life you can with the parameters that you have
  • there are times when everything seems easy, and times when it all seems impossibly hard and that is ok
  • to remember that our present will one day become a past, and our future will be our present
Category: Sweden

Learning To Speak Swedish With SFI

I started using the Duolingo app to learn Swedish precisely 621 days ago and let me tell you that judgemental little bird got me hooked fairly quickly! A friend sent me a video of a comedian doing a bit about Duolingo and I was watching thinking damn that is me! If you are on Duolingo check this video out and tell me you cannot relate!

Fast forward to us actually moving to Sweden and because of my Duolingo streak I thought I would rock up and be having conversations in Swedish. This was not the case and I soon learned that being able to tell someone that the wolf was going to eat the ant was beyond useless!

Do You Need To Speak Swedish?

I will say the Swedish approach to language is impressive and children start to learn English from an early age, meaning that most people speak English and whilst this is great it makes it hard to learn more as everyone is so happy to speak English. It is also normally preceded by them saying sorry for my bad English – I am from Essex and most of the time I think their English is better than mine!

So do you need Swedish? Well I have met some people who have lived here for years and do not speak the language. However, my preference was that if I am moving to a country I felt it important to make the effort to learn the language.

Swedish For Immigrants

Sweden holds courses for immigrants called Swedish For Immigrants (SFI) and for this you need your person number so once we had that we started to look into it but there is, unsurprisingly, a wait for a space.

You can apply via your local Kommun and need to wait for a response as your application is processed.

SFI is the national free Swedish language course offered to most categories of immigrants. Immigrants who have emigrated to Sweden are entitled by law to Swedish language education, which is amazing and as I said earlier I feel it is important to make the effort to learn the language.

We were called back in August to attend an introductory session about the course and at the end there was a test (Duolingo had not prepared me for this)! It was 4 or 5 pages and mostly a passage of text with some following questions and I was surprised at how much I could read and answer. Then on the final page you had to write a letter to your teacher and there were bullet points of specific information to include. There were 2 I did not understand but I managed to complete the rest. This did manage to secure me a spot on the course so I was very pleased!

The course has a weekly class on a Tuesday evening for 2 hours and then in addition to that there is homework, revision and it uses a platform called Lunis where there is a requirement to complete a minimum of 5 hours in the online platform.

How Is It Going So Far?

First of all I am that geek that used to love buying new stationery at the start of a school year so that was the first thing I did! On top of my new notepad and folder I was then given:

  • Lyckas Med Svenska Textbook – Succeed With Swedish Text Book
  • Lyckas Med Svenska Övningsbok – Succeed With Swedish Exercise Book
  • Lyckas Med Svenska Skrivhafte – Succeed With Swedish Writing Booklet

It is early days but I have had 2 lessons so far and it is slightly overwhelming I must say. Most of the class have been learning since March so I am definitely behind everyone – in the first lesson I asked if I was in the right place as I felt that everyone seemed to be almost fluent!

There is no English, or other languages, everything is in Swedish and I am hoping the sink or swim approach will force me into using Swedish.

In the second lesson there was a test, which I am waiting on the result of, so fingers crossed!

It is full on and feels intense but onwards and upwards!

Önska mig lycka till!

Category: Cycling, Fitness, Hiking, Running, Sweden

Exploring The Beautiful Nature Reserves In Sweden

Sweden as a country is covered in 70% forest, which is 28 million hectares according to the Swedish Forest Industries Association. It also has almost 9% water coverage with over 95,000 lakes. You quickly get the picture I am painting that Sweden is like a natures playground and one of the reasons we fell in love with it.

When we arrived we quickly looked at where the local nature reserves and forests were and soon found we could download an app for our Kommun that is like a nature map and shows lots of information about cycle paths, hiking paths, canals, lakes and much more. This has become like our bible when deciding where we should explore next (and the dog loves it too).

Sjöbo-Knäppan

Sjöbo-Knäppan was the first that we visited in the height of winter and it was like a winter wonderland with everything covered in a white blanket of snow. It is on Lake Boren which is a short walk from where we now live.

The parking is limited but there are picnic areas, toilets, easy access to the lake for swimming (in warmer months) and the trails are all clearly marked with one being a boardwalk path in the trees.

Håleberget

Håleberget is our local favourite. We attempted to go in the winter but the steep winding road up to it that clearly had no one else make the attempt, judging by the snow, changed our plans. It is a short walk (two routes available) basically up to the top and then back but worth the views for sure.

The only thing I would say is that the road to the car park is single track with no real space to pass so in the summer when more people visit I would imagine this could be a problem?

Fålehagen

We actually looked at a house in the woods that is in the middle of one of the trails of Fålehagen forest and in the winter when we visited there were they were in the middle of putting in the ski lines for the winter cross country skiers.

At the car park there is a center where you can also hire skiis to use on the trails.

There are also MTB trails and frisby golf here, whilst it is also right next to Motala Golf Course.

Karshult 

Karshult is round the corner to where we now live so super convenient. In the winter the fields that the trails pass were super deep with snow so made a short walk feel tougher than it should have!

Råssnäsudden

Råssnäsudden is very near Varamon beach (the largest fresh water beach in Europe) and a perfect short walk for our ageing dog. The trail follows the water line out to a small picnic area and back.

There is ample parking and there are also running tracks there too.

Omberg

We wild caped at Bokskogens when we went to Ekopark Omberg, which was a small area for 5 campervans that overlooked Lake Vattern. It was stunning with a short stairway to access the lake for swimming, fire pits, firewood, shelter and several picnic tables. We have cycled up Omberg on the Tjejvattern and Halvvattern events so had seen the stunning views from the top and the hiking and off road bike trails. We hiked from where we camped on the trails to Omberg Touristhotell, that we cycled past on the previously mentioned bike rides. We then hiked back into the park to the viewing station at the highest point of the park, Hjassan.

Tiveden

Tividen is hands down our favourite so far. We wild camped in our camper van at Sorangs Bergsjo fishing lake. It was a beautiful spot with a little jetty, fire pit, firewood, shelter and picnic table. We hiked the Trehorningsrundan trail, which was a 9.5km loop around the lake and stunning.

This is definitely one we want to go back and spend more time at but the walks are a little long for our doggo to join now.

Blå Lagunen Skanninge

So not a nature reserve but I had seen some videos of a stunning blue lagoon in Sweden and when I checked the location found it was only 12 miles from where we live. So……..it would have been rude not to explore and see if we can find it, and we did!

No car park as such but there is a layby on the nearby main road and it is a short walk on an easy trail to get to the lake. I will admit I was a little worried it would be one of those social media versus reality and we would arrive at a small grey puddle, but I am pleased to say I was wrong. We could see the lake through the trees as we approached and the colour was visible immediately (maybe more green than blue but still stunning)!

I am looking forward to exploring more of the natural beauty here!

Category: Cycling, Hiking, Running, Sweden, Van Life

What Is There To Do On The Göta Canal In Sweden

The house we have purchased in Sweden is a 5 minute walk to Lake Boren, which joins part of The Göta Canal, also known as ‘Sweden’s Blue Ribbon’.

Borenshult Lock

This morning is the annual docking at the dry dock where the boats go out for the season. This is a 200 year old tradition where they add the water to the dry docks where boats are stored and there just so happens to be a cafe next to it, Mallboden, that sells tasty food whilst you watch it all unfold and they were actually the ones that told us about the docking today.

A Bit About The Göta Canal

The canal was historically the main waterway from the east to the west, starting at Söderköping on the east coast. The canal navigates some of the gorgeous Swedish countryside and goes past Lakes Roxen and Boren before joining the Vattern.

We knew of the canal from our previous visits to Motala to see friends and participate in the Vatternrundan bike ride. Now we have moved here and been exploring we were intrigued as to how far the canal is and where it goes.

The canal has 58 locks over the 190km distance that it spans and there is a lot to see and do with full information on this website. Given the distance of the canal this means that it also boasts the longest avenue of trees with circa 10,000 trees and as they need replacing there are around 50 trees per year planted by sponsors and should you be interested in being a sponsor you can find more info here.

Gota Canal

What Can You Do On The Göta Canal?

You can hike and cycle the towpaths or take a boat along the canal and even better it is completely car free!

There are events on the canal, including:

  • guided bike ride or you can hire bikes or ride your own and there are routes available here
  • boat trips on the canal and on the lakes that it passes
  • cruise on the canal over 3 days
  • rent a kayak or canoe
  • Kanallopet run in May with options for 5km, 10km or half marathon distances
  • stand up paddle boarding (and in the past there was a race for this, which could return)
  • part of the canal had an event for skiers in the winter as a one day event

There are many food and drink stops too, that include:

  • Mallboden – their tarta Flambé is one of our favourites and they also have a few pitches for motorhomes right next to the canal as well as hostel accommodation
  • Camarda – this is an Italian deli, which is on our list to visit but comes highly recommended
  • Cafe Baltzar – this is located in an old shipyard, which also has shopping and above a museum
  • Tva Sma Hus – this is located where the canal joins the Vattern and a perfect stop for an ice cream
  • There are many more to choose from here and I would love any recommendations you might have!

More Info…

There is a lot of information about the canal available on the West Sweden website here.

You can also divert from the canal to neighbouring towns to explore, for example it is 24km from Tividen National Park, which is one of the favourites we have visited here so far.

Category: Sweden

Purchasing A Property In Sweden As Expats

We are Swedish homeowners! And it reminds me a little of the house from the film Up (in a good way).

A lot of people don’t know about this and lot of people do, including some who were surprised we purchased so quickly after arriving in the country.  BUT, we have been coming to Sweden for years (as I have mentioned before) and we knew what we intended to do well in advance. Plus lets face it if we give it a few years and it is not for us then we are simply on to the next adventure (although I doubt that will be the case).

The Process

I thought I would share some information about the house purchase itself as it is different to what we were used to in the UK.  Some of those differences include:

  • When houses are listed they can appear with an estate agent as upcoming in the future or on hemnet.se where you can search by your criteria and area.
  • We were recommended an estate agent by a friend, SvenskFastighetsformedling, who we met with, gave our criteria of what we were looking for and they add to their database, which then emails us properties that match for consideration.
  • They mostly operate by open houses where they have days allocated and book time slots for viewings.
  • The seller must complete an inspection in advance and when you look at a house that is listed you can view this report to see everything that is right and wrong, or needs work, with the property.
  • The investigate also acts as an insurance should there be issues further down the line.
  • The purchase itself is like a bidding system and you can see the other bids on the property as this progresses.
  • If you are successful you must pay a 10% deposit within 10 days of your bid being accepted and paperwork with the estate agent.
  • The estate agent also acts as a solicitor so no need to source your own for this. 
  • As part of the process the estate agent will liaise with the bank to ensure the process is smooth and everything is in order for the day of completion.
  • The seller must thoroughly clean the property and the buyer must sign this off/approve ahead of completion.
  • The buyer and seller must agree what is to remain and what is to go in advance otherwise the seller must remove within 2 weeks of completion.
  • On the day of completion, the seller and buyer is present at the estate agents to complete the documentation, read through of the contract, signing and transfer of monies.

Completing The Purchase

I was actually in the UK when the completion date came around so my husband dealt with it all. He had to go in and sign papers with the sellers for the handover and as the estate agent managed the liaison with the bank the monies were sorted and keys passed over.

We found the entire process very efficient and it was less than 3 months from start to finish.

After completion we also received an email from the estate agent informing us that as part of their service, we get something called property value. This means we can follow the development of the value of our new home. Once a month, they will email us with an updated value based on how prices are changing in the local housing market.

What Is Next?

We are planning to renovate the property we bought and have met with an architect who has completed drawings after discussing our requirements with us. This was hugely useful as we learned a lot of the rules that are in place in Sweden, and she could advise on how to change some of the ideas we had for the better.  The plans have been submitted for approval so fingers crossed!

We have met with a builder, and are in the process of getting quotes and arranging what will be done when.

Exciting times so watch this space and I will share more of the renovation project as it develops!

Category: Sweden

Logistics Of Moving From The UK To Sweden

I have had a number of messages asking about the logistics of moving from the UK to Sweden, in particular asking about the process and what was required. As I mentioned previously, Brexit made this a lot harder and more convoluted than it would have been some years back.

I can also only speak from the perspective of moving to Sweden and would note that each country could have its own nuances so it is not a one size fits all for EU countries.

Why Sweden?

I mentioned in my last post that Sweden is somewhere we have travelled to for around 10 years and every time we go, we love it a bit more. We always spoke about ending up in Sweden and after spending a month there last June we finally thought why wait? 

I was very transparent about my intentions of moving to Sweden with my boss and thankfully he is very understanding, also with experience of living abroad. There was no pressure on my side to retain my role, definitely not a ‘I want you to find a way of me keeping my job’ sort of situation, which is not really my style anyway. However, my company is owned by a larger group who have a business in Sweden and this makes it very easy to help with this sort of move. The company in Sweden had a role advertised doing my job, I was interested in this, applied and was successful.

The group engaged with an agency who assists with the permit process and we worked with them through the various stages required.

Ahead of the move my husband and I collated all of our respective documents to produce at arrivals in country and in the various offices so we had everything organised and ready (yes pretty geeky I know, but very helpful it turned out!).

Obtaining An EU Blue Card

I have been with my company for over 25 years now and my role and position meant I qualified to apply for an EU Blue Card. There are some additional requirements you must qualify for including:

  • being a citizen of a non-EU country
  • hold a valid passport (which you will need to present in person at the Swedish Embassy)
  • have comprehensive health insurance that is valid for care in Sweden for at least 3 months
  • having received an offer of employment for highly-qualified work for at least 1 year
  • at least 5 years professional experience
  • a salary that is at least one and a half times the average gross salary in Sweden

Your employing company also has some requirements as follows:

  • to have advertised the role for at least 10 days
  • agree employment conditions and salary
  • provide details of the above to the Swedish Trade Union

My EU Blue card is valid in the first instance for a 2 year period (and although it is an EU card it is only valid in the country of application, in my case Sweden), which will then require renewing. Part of the process included an application for my husband to receive a permit (dependent on mine) that allows him to work in Sweden also.

Biometrics in Sweden

Part of the process on arrival to Sweden, following residency/permit approval, is to secure an appointment at the Migration Agency and complete biometrics. You need to provide certain paperwork including:

  • valid passport
  • EU Blue Card approval
  • get your photos taken
  • get your fingerprints taken

The above is then processed to create a Resident Permit Card that will be sent and usually takes up to 2 weeks to arrive. This card is proof that you are approved and entitled to reside and work in Sweden.

Civic Registration

Once the Resident Permit Card is received, you are required to present this to the Skatteverket and complete documentation that is part of the Civic Registration. The Civic Registration starts the process to obtain a personnummer. And this is KEY!

The Swedish Personnummer

This is your personal identification number and as I said above it is key and I cannot stress that enough! We knew before moving that this number was required for a lot of things but without it had no idea how challenging things would be.

As an example this is required to open a bank, obtain insurance, buy a property, get memberships in shops, get a mobile phone and pretty much everything else you can think of hence me saying it is key (not an exaggeration)!

Swedish ID Card

Once all of the above is complete you can then apply for your ID card. This is something that requires an appointment with the Migration Agency again, which you need to pay for this in advance of the appointment. It can then take up to 2 weeks to receive this (we are in this process right now) and you will receive a text message to let you know when it is ready for collection.

This card is the Swedish national identity card, which alongside a passport is an approved document for official identity. We actually found that once we had the personnummer and went to open a bank account that we need the ID card also so again a very important, and necessary, thing to have!

Social Insurances

My company sort out insurances that cover life and accident, and long term sick, however, the Swedish system requires registration with Forsakringskassan who deal with social insurances and this is required for areas such as medical and dental. Again a very helpful service that directed by to a form on their website (5456) that you submit with relevant paperwork required ie contract to determine if you qualify for Swedish social insurance in order to receive compensation, a certificate or an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card).

I was unfortunate to lose a filling and when trying to book a dentist appointment was asked if I was registered for this as it is a system that means part is paid by Fordakringskassan (if you are registered and qualify) and part my myself.

Bringing Pets Into Sweden

We have a dog who is almost 14 years old and she is part of our family. I find people who have pets get it and people who don’t, just don’t. Honestly I lost count of the amount of people who asked if we were taking April. Of course we were! There was no question there at all and leaving her was not an option.

Sweden being a country that you can drive to from the UK (with ferry crossings obviously) meant that we could drive April rather than putting her in the hold on a flight, which was not something we were comfortable with (she is old and has seizures and we thought it might be too stressful for her). We were also taking our camper van and so the drive over was something that would be done with the van regardless. There were still requirements we had to have in place as follows:

  • dogs must have either a tattoo ID number or microchip and April has the latter – they will check this at the borders and without you will not be able to proceed
  • dogs must have a valid rabies vaccination that has been done at least 21 days prior to travel – again your vet will provide a certificate with this you need to present
  • must have a health certificate that can only be completed by certain vets and you must then travel within 10 days of completion and present at migration on arrival

Vehicles In Sweden

My husband drove our camper van over and we hadn’t actually decided if we were keeping the van or not but it has been great in the snowy weather so we are and there are certain things we are required to do in order to keep the vehicle in Sweden including:

  • Verify the origin
  • Arrange for an inspection
  • You are then allocated a registration number for the vehicle
  • Roadworthiness test
  • Register the vehicle with the Swedish Transport Agency

Swedish Information Available

Sweden are a very organised country and there is a lot of information available online as below:

  • Migrationsverket – this is the Swedish Migration Agency, which is a Swedish government agency that processes and approves/declines applications in relation to both temporary and permanent residence in Sweden.
  • Skatteverket – this is the Swedish Tax Agency, which is a Swedish government agency that is responsible for both national tax and population registration.
  • Swedish Embassy – this is the official website for the embassy and they cover a number of areas including travel advisory, passports, visas and migration services.
  • Forsakringskassan – this is the official website for Swedish social insurances and they cover a number of areas including what is required if you are moving or newly arrived in Sweden.
  • Transport Styrelsen – this is the website with all the information about taking a vehicle into Sweden.
  • Visit Sweden – this provides information about taking a pet into Sweden, plus we were informed by our registered vet in the UK what was required.
Category: Sweden

A Bit Of A (Big) Life Update

Oooooh where to start?!

I guess back in July when we sold our house in Essex, packed up and left our family home of over 22 years. If you know me you will not be surprised that there were a lot of tears. We made that house what it is and have so many happy memories there, so leaving was difficult.

We moved out to Levels Green, Farnham in Essex – I didn’t even know there was a Farnham in Essex! We were planning to short term rent but in our naivety, and having never rented before, we quickly found out that short term renting is basically 12 months and we were looking for a 3 month or so lease. Add in a dog and it became almost impossible! However, we found a converted thatched barn and fell in love with the quiet countryside (as did the dog). The owners were lovely, as were the neighbours and locals and it is somewhere I would definitely recommend, so if you are interested check it out here.

So where are we now? In Sweden! Permanently. As I type this, I have a huge grin on my face. Sweden is somewhere we have travelled to for around 10 years and every time we go, we love it a bit more. We always spoke about ending up in Sweden and after spending a month there last June we finally thought why wait? And the rest is history.

Saying the rest is history makes it sound a simple process but of course with Brexit there was a visa/work permit process, the logistics of moving our entire lives from the UK to Sweden (and with a camper van and a dog) and of course it has been EMOTIONAL! But we have some great friends in Sweden and they were the best in answering a lot of questions and helping, way more than we could have ever hoped for and we are eternally grateful to them!

We are also extremely grateful to our family and friends back in the UK for all their support.

Get ready for Sweden spam (sorry not sorry).

Nu borjar aventyret – now the adventure starts!