Swiss Tourists in Stockholm

Hello and welcome back!

Can you believe it's UBC time again? Where did the time go?

Anyway—I'm ready to rock'n'roll and happy to reconnect with you all!

If you just stumbled in and are wondering, "UBC—what’s that?" Welcome! The Ultimate Blog Challenge is a writing event that encourages participants to write and publish a post every day. It happens four times a year, and July marks the third round this year.

So, what will I be writing about this time?

This spring, we took our very first trip to Stockholm, Sweden, and I’ll be sharing just a few sightseeing highlights. But more than that, I want to reflect on the cultural impressions that really stuck with me.

To clear up a common confusion right away: 

🇨🇭Switzerland and 🇸🇪 Sweden are not the same country. 

If you’re a hockey fan, this becomes clear every year at the Ice Hockey World Championship though they didn’t meet in the final this time. We (Switzerland) won silver, Sweden took bronze—still a win in our books!

I just realized I dedicated a whole post to this mix-up two years ago.

Why Stockholm?

We have the modern school system to thank.
Back in my day, a class trip meant hiking to a remote hut in the Swiss mountains, cooking dinner over a wood stove, and playing outdoor games.

Colin? Last year, his class went to Dublin, Ireland, where they explored the city, visited the Guinness Brewery and Trinity College, and enjoyed dinners in pubs.

This year, since he’s in the only class where a few students take Swedish as an elective, they decided it was time to go where people actually speak the language!

Over several weeks, the class prepped by listening to Swedish music, yes, beyond ABBA and Roxette, reading a novel set in Sweden, and sampling foods like kanelbullar, the beloved cinnamon buns.

And how did we end up going to Stockholm too?

Glad you asked...

Colin is proud of his sustainable lifestyle.
Let’s set aside the fact that he plays ice hockey (in cooled arenas, no less) and appreciates being driven to practice and games. In return, he refrains from eating meat and avoids airplanes most of the time. And honestly, I support him!

So, he and a few classmates decided to “sacrifice” part of their spring break and travel to Stockholm early by train. So far, so good.

Then it got more ambitious: Some students wanted to take their bicycles, ride the train to Gothenburg, and then cycle the 470–555 km from there to Stockholm. That’s roughly 292 to 345 miles!

Colin was out. He did his research:

“Between Gothenburg and Stockholm in April, you can expect moderate rainfall, about 30–40 mm over 6–12 rainy days, with Gothenburg generally wetter than Stockholm. Temperatures range from 3°C to 15°C, that's 37°F to 59°F. with increasing daylight.”

Not exactly ideal biking weather.

Now Colin was the only one left planning to take the train, and as parents, we were wary. Given the Deutsche Bahn’s reputation for delays, what if he got stranded en route, needing to find (and pay for) accommodation?

Since I had taken Colin to Madrid, Spain, earlier this year, it was my husband's turn to take some time off. They turned it into a train road trip, with stops in Berlin and Hamburg, a rare and wonderful chance to bond.

On the Thursday before Easter, we reunited at Stockholm Centralen (that’s the main train station). I flew in. Just 90 minutes and very convenient.

What happened to the cyclists?

They were unlucky. Despite sending their bikes from Switzerland to Gothenburg well in advance, they didn’t arrive in time. The group spent days stuck in rainy Gothenburg, waiting for updates from the shipping company and questioning their choices.

When the bikes finally arrived, they had just three days to complete the ride. Pride (and maybe a bit of stubbornness) kept them from hopping on a train to Stockholm.

In the end, all’s well that ends well: On Easter Monday, everyone met up at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm—rested airline passengers, exhausted cyclists with soggy luggage, and Colin, who’d spent a few lovely days exploring the city with us.

More about our Stockholm adventures coming up soon; stay tuned!

Have you ever taken the slow or unconventional route to a destination, and was it worth it?