This year I had the chance to do a course in Sweden, the topic was epidemiology so I absolutely loved the thought of getting some new knowledge but also, I jumped straight on the opportunity to visit a country I had never been to before.
We normally travel as a couple so doing a solo trip once more was quite exciting! So my first day I landed in Stockholm late at night, I found my accommodation and just slept through until I had to take my train the next morning. Destination Ekenäs.
That morning, and after travelling to South East Asia I was quite excited to see a 7-Eleven in Stockholm!
My itinerary was long-ish, but looking at the length of Sweden I was glad it was within reach of Stockholm. The plan was to travel from Stockholm Central to Nyköping and then get a bus from Nyköping to Ekenäs, where the accommodation was within walking distance of the bus stop.
Southern Europeans notoriously see Northern Europeans as the next level of organised transport countries, well, this stereotype quickly faded when my train was delayed nearly 1h.
Once on the train I got to meet one of the other students attending the course, so it was good to not have to figure the rest of the trip out alone.
Once we arrived at Nyköping, we promptly jumped on the bus opposite the station and drove through the countryside straight to a makeshift stop in the middle of a dual carriageway, where we met another student. So three of us now to figure out the last leg, the walk to Ekenäs Herrgard.
A quick walk from the road, we arrived at the mansion and it was stunning. The gardens were beautifully manicured and the setting was completely isolated in the countryside.
After getting to meet each other, we met our hosts in the mansion, a middle-aged woman and a young man who will cook for us and provide us with many Fika (Swedish coffee and cake breaks) during our week-long course.
Throughout the week, we were fed home-cooked Swedish food varying from traditional meatballs, to herb-crusted salmon, pasta and so many delicious biscuits and coffee. We felt like a big family together living in that mansion (and sharing rooms). In fact, our room was not isolated so we had to walk through another bedroom before reaching ours (oops!)
Every day, we would do an afternoon walk around the countryside and some would swim in the nearby lakes (not me, as I am a chicken).
The countryside walks could have been the most peaceful part of the week, however, mosquitoes in Sweden are VICIOUS! I had never seen so many mosquitoes in any given location to the point that walking through grass would materialise dozens of them at once.
The week finished with me joining a fellow student on her trip back to Stockholm where we visited Vasa Museum, a museum displaying a 1628 ship that sank in its maiden voyage as it was built to narrow to be able to navigate.
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