The Start of winter in Sweden

Average 4+ Minute Read 

 

     My last day home was nice and relaxing went disc golfing with my pup Bali and the weather was perfect mid 70's and warm! I stopped by Polar Pro to pick up a few of there new accessories, my favorite I have been using for the last few days being The Trippler (pictured to the right). This accessory is a genius idea since its always nice to have a tripod with you when trying to get some nice time lapses' or timer shot of yourself. And beyond that the stick can be used for selfies or close up shots. A nice Mexican food lunch was last on the agenda before heading to the airport, wont be having that for awhile.... Got to LAX and all checked in before giving mom and dad hugs and kisses and headed on to my first flight! The 10.5 hour flight to Paris was actually pretty good, during dinner I watched the movie Wild which is a true story of a lady who hiked Pacific Crest Trail solo! I had the whole 4 seat row to myself, so I sprawled out and took a very much needed 5 hr nap. Landing in Paris at 2pm local time with just enough time to find my way through the security and a 40 minute walk to terminal 2F. Another 2 hour flight and I finally landed in Stockholm where the outside temp was a mere 3º Celsius (38º F).
     These first few days here spent with Elin have been quite cold more like freezing for me at least since it is 3x colder than home where I left. But none the less we have been out and about having some fun! The first full day was spent going into the city which is about 20 minutes away by bus then train/subway into the middle of the city. First stop was a nice lamb and mashed potato lunch at her work Krogkonst (Krooge-con-st) compliments of the owner Anders. My first time having lamb and it was great, most meals here in Sweden are accompanied by a salad bar and bread you can self serve, love it. Hitting the city was also nice to try out my new camera a Sony a6000 Mirrorless, after finally getting to use it in an awesome environment like Stockholm I already love it! It has one of the fastest auto focus' on the market, LCD screen and view finder, built in flash, WiFi capable to transfer images to your computer and phone straight from the camera. So be ready to see some awesome pictures on my trips from now on!

     Of course my lady Elin went on a little grocery shopping spree before I came and got my favorites :). Dr. Pepper, Lagunitas Pale Ale beer, Macaroni and Cheese, pancakes, and chicken nuggets haha, all found in the local store on the American shelf. So last nights meal was chicken nuggets, fries, salad, and some beer haha it was great and very thoughtful of her :). This morning was spent trying to get more information to hopefully book our planned trip to the Austrian Alps during new years. There is a lot to look into because there are many different ways to get there but its the cheapest to book everything with an included booking agency. It is possible to book a bus from Sweden to Austria and back, 7 nights in a nice hotel near the lifts, the hotel includes continental breakfast and dinner, also included in the package is a 6 day ski pass! These packages depending on the quality of the hotel range from 1,000-1,300 USD for all that I had just listed, ya its a great price just have to book the right one.
     We needed to get outta the house since there was less than 3 hours of sun left, Elin suggested a nice walk about 25 minutes to the tallest part of the island here where I have been staying and she grew up, Lidingö. The lil mountain that we walked and hiked up is a small ski slope when it starts getting cold enough to make snow, which will be very soon! The slope is very small about 500 yards long but with beautiful views of the surrounding islands and waterways. On our walk back to get some lunch the sun set just before 4pm and it will start setting even earlier as the winter goes on....
     Only a few more days before the adventure to the Shetland Islands which will be a journey to say the least :) but can't wait to see somewhere that not many people go to and definitely not many people even know about!

Top the small ski slope on Lidingö, Stockholm, Sweden!