Wow it’s been over a year since I last travelled internationally! I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I started travelling again in October, albeit a short trip to Toronto. This trip to Sweden was so exciting and packed with uncertainty – not just with the Covid cases and regulations changing every week, but also with holiday schedules of my friends. I tried to see as many people as I could, and I was happy that I managed to catch most of them before I had to fly back to Canada again. I also made some new friends during the journey that helped me a lot!

I landed in Stockholm first and had one night there before going to Malmo the next day. Christmas spirits were up in the air, and because I stayed right next to Centralstation, there were tons of shops of stores open for holiday shopping. I was quite lucky that it was dry when I arrived, and I settled nicely into my hotel room that was very welcoming and soothing after a long flight. I forgot how tiring those flights could be! The next morning, the sun came out and made a beautiful sight.

When I arrived in Malmo it was already close to midnight and the only thing open was McDonalds, so I took a short stroll through the city center to find food. In all my time at Lund I never explored Malmo, so this was a good chance to be somewhere new. Malmo has a bigger city vibe, but with Christmas lights, it feels as cozy as ever. The rain came down during my stay here and made the days extra dark, but I went to a wedding, met some lovely people there who got me home at 2 am, and had ramen for lunch with an old friend who still remembers me. That’s all I’m grateful for.

After spending two days in Berlin for Christmas, I came back to Stockholm but also didn’t stay long before I moved onto to Gothenburg for a day. I also had never been to this city and I enjoyed the train ride thoroughly. Swedish countryside was covered in snow at this point, so it looked like a winter wonderland that people sing about and paint. I was used to being spoiled in Lund, Malmo and Stockholm with lots of English for foreigners, so I was caught off guard in Goteborgs where there wasn’t much English around. But I eventually found my way and found warmth in the rainy days here too, staying with friends and their two fluffy dogs. I joke that I’ll never get a photo of Sweden in the summer.

 

Then I was back in Stockholm for a night before heading back. Despite the cold, rain and dark, I still enjoyed every bit of Sweden like I did almost 7 years ago. My friends have grown up, moved, entered different stages of their lives, but still we remember our school days and each other.

Back in Canada I got hit by the Covid virus and was knocked out for a few days. I am still recovering, and perhaps I won’t step foot on a plane in a long time, but it was good time to rest after a long busy year, full of bus rides, ferry trips, planes, trains.