Parting is such Swede sorrow

Anyone that has had access to my Facebook, Twitter, phone number or even the end of my voice has had all sorts of Swedish waffling over the past few weeks thanks to an impromptu moment with a bank card, Swedish flatmate and the Ryanair website. Sorry about that. But instead of just getting snap happy, I got a little camera cuckoo, so I thought it might be nice to pop all of our three day adventure into one wee location, and that's right here.

First up was Boras, just an hour outside of Gothenburg: it's my flatmate's homeland and her Mum also lives there, so naturally a visit was in order. Aside from Eva putting other hosts to shame with a fridge stocked full of cider, cheese, a deer heavy main meal and pastries that would make your idea of a croissant quiver, I left my heart to a heated bathroom floor (quite literally, I had to pick myself up off of it). A point to remember: when your Swedish guide tells you that the plane will land in something not too dissimilar to a barn, believe them, you'll panic less when the plane skims over the head of a wee cow. 

Gothenburg is an incredible city, so it was only fair to get all sorts of involved in it on the second day. After bothering Andrea with 'you just don't get this lapping of luxury on a London bus, just look at this button, this is an amazing button' on our journey from Boras to the city centre, we started off at the Botanical Gardens. It was a pretty grey day, but the greenhouse and grounds alike still promised an awesome Autumn charm, and plenty of snaps. Imagine Kew Gardens with a Skandi edge.

We weren't just there to Instagram trees and baffle small Swedish people with my gobby British accent, however. There was a BBY being born. My flatmate's chums were embarking on the first release of their brand new creative publication, so we headed on over to Sweden's answer to Shoreditch, Haga, for the launch party at Rum 26. From talks with illustrator Laura Callaghan and co. to DJs and drinking, Josefine and Sara have done an incredible job of bringing BBY's first release 'Filter' to life. Feminist, creative or just interested in the amazing illustration scene that Swedish has to offer? Snap one up here: http://bbymag.com. While misbehaving in England is cool, apparently so is Petanque in Sweden, so after the launch we headed on over to the Goteborg Boulebar for drinks and shouting aimlessly in a pit of sand and steel balls. I was really quite good at that, even the Swedish people kind of said so.

Having badgered my flatmate about wanting the 'authentic Swedish experience',  on our final day I was handed a pair of wellies and told to get in the car (all very nicely of course, they're not rowdy blonde kidnappers i'll have you know). We drove out to Oresjo and set down an incredible route of rocky lairs, moss covered stone and birch trees, all before popping out to a stone ledge, primed for an authentic Swedish BBQ. Looking out over the Sand Lake with a hot-dog in hand was incredible, and I doubt my lungs will forget the Swedish air, I could have stayed there yonks. The countryside was absolutely something else. Heading back to Boras for a quick stroll around the amazing Textilemusset (Boras is hella famous for its fabric) and dinner in town, there's a natural order to going on holiday, and that's hopping back on a plane home. And yes, funnily enough, they let me back in to England.

I'm all sorts of into Sweden, and i'm so lucky to have two flatmates very eager to grab me by the collar and drag me back (though I'll likely do the dragging). It wouldn't have been the same without Andrea, her mum Eva and all the ladies at the BBY launch. So next time? The Bilar are on me (total inside Swedish joke). Here's to seeing you and your sweet shores hopefully some time next year!