Trip to the North - On our way

Michelle and I traveled to several places in Skåne during her vacation this summer. We had a blast! We got to see lots of cool things and places all over southern Sweden. But when my friend Magnus asked if I would be interested in joining him and the kids on a road trip to Sundsvall, I couldn't help but take the opportunity to see even more of this beautiful country. I was also really excited about immersing myself into some Swedish culture and food for a week.  

Sundsvall is located about 4 hours north of Stockholm, on the east coast of Sweden. Even though Sundsvall is located in the Norrland (North land) of Sweden, it is only about half way to the very top of Sweden. From Staffanstorp to Sundsvall it is approximately 1,000 kilometers. The trip takes about 12 hours but we planned to break it up with some cool stops along the way. 

Our first stop was Grenna. Grenna is famous for their polkagriser. Polkagriser is Swedish hard candy (think of candy canes) that is still made by hand. There are several shops along the main street in Grenna that make the polkagriser and other tasty treats. We stopped in a few and grabbed some knäckerbröd (Swedish crispy bread) and candy for our trip. We even got to watch a candy maker make some polkagriser, it was pretty cool.

After our stop in Grenna we had lunch and traveled to the Cloetta Factory. Cloetta is Sweden's number 1 chocolate and candy manufacturer. I don't know who was more excited to visit, me or the kids. Here are a few pics of the the on site candy store.

Our next stop was FIKA with Magnus' friend Jim. We stopped at Jim's house and had FIKA with his wife and their 3 daughters on the south side of Stockholm. Yes, even more sweets. 

 After traveling through Stockholm (and by that I mean sitting in Stockholm traffic for over an hour) we arrived and Magnus' brother Adreaus' apartment. It was Andreaus' birthday and we were invited to stop by for dinner. They had prepared Swedish meatballs and potatoes. That's right, I have now had homemade Swedish meatballs cooked by real Swedish people in Sweden, take that IKEA! Dinner was fabulous and yes... there were more sweets. 

We arrived in Sundsvall after midnight and I was ready to hit the bed as soon as we landed. I don't know if it was the 16+ hours in the car that made me so tired or the sugar coma I was trying so hard to recover from. All I do know is that I slept great and the adventure was just beginning.