They claim to be the biggest wildlife park in Scandinavia and I actually hope that it’s not the truth, because I found it to be smaller than I remembered. Of course the last time I went there I was really young and now when I’m old (lol) everything seem smaller to me…

Description of the wildlife park features:

• Around 750 wild attractions
• The world’s first Safari Wildlife Park gondola
• Marine World including the dolphin show Life
• Tiger World with Siberian tigers
• Gorilla Island
• Childrens Farm
• Aquarium (outside the entrance)

The main reason for us going there again was the new dolphin show called Life, which took them 1.5 year to get ready, filled with facts about dolphins and with a message about the life at the earth and the environment, matched with music from ET, Superman, Lejonkungen och Titanic.

I recommend going there when it’s not so very hot summer weather since then the animals are getting too lazy and hide in the shadows to keep comfortable. In the end of July there was a little elephant male born for the first time at Kolmården, so if you go there now you get to see the little one.

The one thing that impressed us the most was the rather new Safari Cable Gondolas with digital guiding in different languages which went around all the park (2640 m) making the best view to see animals up close from above. The only way we did see the lions and the bears, so that was great. You also get really close to the Giraffes since they are so tall!

Kolmården Zoo have had several serious incidents with wolf attacks and even one of the caretakers of the wolfs killed in 2012, so they stopped letting visitors in to the wolfs. Earlier it was possible to buy a wolf visit as a birthday gift. I was even considering it myself once since I got a giftcard that was valid for it.

You do have the opportunity to book a closer meeting with the dolphins instead, but of course that is a more expensive alternative and you are not actually allowed to swim with them, just to have close contact.

If you are going there with kids, I recommend taking a day extra and either stay over the night at the nearby Vildmarkshotellet (Wildlife Hotel) for your own comfort or choose the more adventure way for the kids: the Safari Camp with it’s African style inside Kolmården, bringing your own sleeping bag. That way you get closer to the wildlife – if you are there under the right time during the summer.

If you want another budget alternative; why not stay at another camping area…? You can find campings around Kolmården at the Swedish Camping Map.

How to get there:

if going by car you have about 1,5 hour driving to do from Stockholm, you can follow signs from the E4. Or you can take bus or train, the InterCity train stops at Kolmården station. How to book the best train tickets, have a look at our Ultimate Train Travel Guide.

If flying directly nearby, you have the Stockholm Skavsta Airport or Norrköping Airport which offer good connections to Kolmården.

Be sure to check the opening hours, because it’s shifting depending on the time you go there. The Zoo is mostly open in the summer time or early autumn.

TIPS! Save the entrance ticket to Kolmården since it gives you 30% off at any of the other Parks and Resorts in Sweden – comes in handy if you as an example want to go to the Gröna Lund Tivoli or Aquaria in Stockholm.

You can see more of Lifecruiser Kolmården photos at Flickr.

©Lifecruiser Love Wildlife Parks
 

The worlds first permanent Icebar was built in Stockholm 2002, as well as the worlds first Icehotel was built up in Sweden and not anywhere else! Of course, since then this popular concept is popping up here and there in the world…

The Icebar in Stockholm is located in the Nordic Sea Hotel at Vasagatan, very close to the Arlanda Airport Express train, so even if you only have a short time in the city, you can get there.

All the ice in the icebar: the walls, art, the bar and the tables plus some seats, are made from ice blocks up from the northern Sweden: more exact Torne River in Jukkasjärvi, one of the purest rivers you can find today.

The few seats in there were covered – though who want to sit down in there…? It’s enough butt freezing standing up!

The icebar is re-designed twice a year with different designs. Right now the design is called “Frozen Format”. Our birthday guest we had with us, Jennifer, is from Rio de Janeiro in Brasil and she had never experienced the cold and ice like this before – other from the ice in drinks…

You get around 40 minutes in there, we stayed for 45 minutes and ordered nice drinks twice. You don’t need any longer time in there since you start to get really cold after a while despite the cape and gloves they put on you. We started to jump around in silly dances to keep warm. Whatever you do: don’t wear shorts and flipflops when going there… Ha ha…

If you want a more unusual wedding, it’s possible to get married in there. There are also several other activities there. You will find all the information you need at: www.icebarstockholm.se.

Also have a look at Lifecruiser Icebar Photos at Flickr.

I recommend having breakfast there, a very cool awakening indeed. If you don’t wake up after that, I don’t know what will wake you up!

©Lifecruiser Love Icebar
 

We will also escape Stockholm city, this year we will take a roadtrip up to Hälsingland around 250 km from our dear capital city of Sweden. For once the weather forecasts look very promising too. Usually at Midsummer Eve it’s unsteady weather, both sun & rain, making it difficult to sit outdoors eating in peace without getting wet…

If you are in Stockholm and not invited to a Swedish Midsummer Festive event by Swedish friends, it’s still possible to celebrate it either in different parks like Vasaparken and Tantolunden in the city or outside the city by going out in the Stockholm archipelago. You will find Midsummer celebrations in Fjäderholmarna at 1pm, Vaxholm at 2pm, Sandhamn at 3pm and Grinda at 2pm.

Another late option is to go to Skansen.se, the outdoor museum where a lot of traditional celebrations is held. Take the short ferry trip from Slussen to Djurgården. A safe choice, since there will be the traditional midsummer pole and dancing around it as always. Only the dancing could be a tourist attraction in itself, since we look rather silly during some of the dances…

There are some restaurants open too accoarding to the tourist office:

- Oaxen Krog & Slip, Beckholmsv.26
- Sturehof, Stureplan 2
- Villa Godthem, Rosendalsv.9
- Wärdshuset Ulla Winbladh, Rosendalsv.8
- Berns, Berzelii park
- Hermans Vegetariska restaurang, Fjällgatan 23B
- Fåfängan, Klockstapelsbacken 3

Happy Midsummer folks, please sing a snaps song (traditional Swedish singing to go with the alcohol) extra loud – for us!

©Lifecruiser Love Swedish Midsummer

Earlier posts about Swedish Midsummer:

Happy Midsummer 2012
Typical Swedish: Midsummer Strawberries
Swedish Midsummer 2011
Midsummer night light sight
Swedish Midsummer festivities Bromma Church Stockholm
Happy Midsummer Stockholm
Our Midsummer celebration trip 13 facts list
Thursday Thirteen Midsummer
Midsummer flower power love
 

Photo: El coleccionista de instantes

Of course, you will still need a great surfboard and some other necessary accessories, but I believe it’s all in the mind. If you are really determent to succeed and have your mind seet to it, you can make it. It may take you some time, but you will get there if you really want to.

For the beginner, it may be much easier than the regular, oldfashioned way of surfing. Having a paddle to help you out, is more easy. You can start out with flat water SUP and river surf – and of course, there are also good trainers to take lessons from, always invaluable to get a shortcut to the secrets of the sport.

Maybe you will even become a legendary SUP surfer, who knows…? Practise is what makes the skills go beyond imagination…

It’s also a very good reason to travel to other, more surf-friendly places all over the world. Having an interest like surfing, there are numerous places to try out for surfing around the world. You can do it everywhere!

Even here in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, there are some different places where you can rent SUP boards and Stockholm SUP Club lists several events for 2013, the first this upcoming weekend actually, so if you happen to be around, why not have a look at the sport first and maybe even try it out?

Where would you like to travel to do some Stand Up Paddle surfing? I would love to go to Maui, Hawaii… but first I would need some intensive Stand Up Paddle Surf training…

©Lifecruiser Love Surf Sports
 

X2K Train Malmö-Copenhagen. Photo by Hugh Llewelyn

The main train booking site in Sweden is sj.se. To get the cheapest ticket you can, a great advice is to book in low traffic days like Mondays and too book early, because last minute deals are only for retires and youngster under 26. Last minute can be bought the last 24 hours before departure.

Another alternative is to buy the tickets at Tradera.se where SJ is placing their unsold train tickets on auction with the outgoing price as 1 SEK. Book your train ticket on the internet or in the ticket automat at the station to get the lowest booking fee. Also check the different train types, very often the speed train X200 is more expensive.

Personally (and many others with me) I find SJ’s new system to buy tickets more complicated, I like the way it were before when there were normal ticket prices and last minute prices.

There are also the alternative to book with veolia-transport.se, for example between Malmö – Stockholm or Malmö – Berlin. Their ticket system is with fixed ticket rates.

Both the Resrobot at reseplanerare.resrobot.se (mobile app too) and resplus.se are very useful travel tools if you decide to take a train trip.

You can find a list with all the tracks in Sweden at www.jarnvag.net, (info in Swedish) and lots of other information. Especially interesting if you’re a train enthusiast, since they also keep a list of Museum railways (even some steam trains).

If going from Stockholm Arlanda Airport in to Stockholm City I recommend taking the express train arlandaexpress.se to/from Arlanda since the traffic is sometimes not so reliable, with the train you’re always in time. They also use to have a journey time guarantee, so if you’re not in time, check if they pay you back the ticket price.

To travel locally within Stockholm County you can go by the subway. Timetables for the Stockholm subway can be found at sl.se and it goes rather far out in the suburbs. Make sure you get the right ticket card to lower your subway ticket fee’s, because buying only one ticket at the moment, is going to be expensive for you.

There are available SL cards I recommend that’s valid from 24h up to 7 days (and beyond if you plan to stay for long), but if you’re going to do sightseeing which includes a lot of museums and other attractions, I do recommend to get the Stockholm Card from the tourist office. It’s worth it and makes things a lot easier.

©Lifecruiser Love Train Rides

Other train travel related posts at Lifecruiser:

Travel News: Arctic Circle Pass by SJ
Where to go by train from Madrid
How to find cheap holiday deals from Sweden
 

Stockholm Old Town waterfront

Stockholm don’t feel like a big capital city, more like a romantic city just like Venice with it’s old architecture and canals, except that Stockholm don’t have the gondola rides. Instead there are plenty of boats in the city, since it consists of 14 islands combined with many different bridges. It’s also both very green and clean, one of the cleanest capitals in the world.

There are several guided boat tours to take, as well as opportunites to hire a boat or kayak and paddle your own "gondola" and sing romantic songs for your beloved one to make this day perfect. If you don’t bring your love with you, there is always the chance of meeting someone (there is a high density of singles in this city!). Why not take an old steamboat cruise, if you want a more unusual boat cruise?

Stockholm is a city with surprisingly many restaurants because the Swedes are very fond of international cuisine, but I suggest that you find yourself one in the waterfront where you can sit and enjoy the sea breeze while different boats is passing by. Perhaps a romantic boat cruise in the evening where dinner is served aboard.

The city has numerous green parks, so if you want a more budget alternative, you could buy something to eat in a local grocery stores or covered markets, there are plenty of ready-made dishes, salads and delicacies to bring with you outdoors and have a picnic somewhere nice.

A very popular picnic place is out on Djurgården, where also many other attractions are located, such as museums, Kaknästornet (tower with great views), Skansen (outdoor museum), the amazing Wasa War Ship museum – and the amusement park Gröna Lund if you are up to a rollercoaster ride and other terrifying rides.

If you want some exercise that is not too exhausting, there is different walking tours in the city, like the ABBA city walk, Millennium tour, rooftop walks or ghost walks in the evening darkness. Or why not rent a bike from one of the many bike stands?

Stockholm is a wonderful city to explore by your own, very safe and not too big to get totally lost within either. Your chances to get a perfect day are big, but as usual: it’s your own choice to have fun or not and remember, if you’re coming here: don’t forget to tell me about it so I may help you to experience that perfect day!

Some special dates to visit:

• Around the 20th of April: the pink cherry tree’s in bloom in the Kungsträdgården making a fantastic flower walk path which gets many Stockholmers out of their winter hibernation to enjoy the spring sun and an icecream in the park.
• 6th of June: Sweden’s National Day, mostly in the Kings Garden with some performances and tents with food and drinks. You could also get a glimpse of the Swedish royals passing by if keeping an eye on their schedule.
• Second Wednesday in June (June 12, 2013): The Archipelago Steamboat Day (actually in the evening only), departures from Strömkajen. Check with Stockholm tourist office to verify date and available tickets out to Waxholm.
• Midsummer Eve Celebration, June 21, 2013: If not invited to a Swedish Midsummer Festive event by friends with family, the best choice would be to go to Skansen, the outdoor museum where public traditional celebration always is held as well.

Of course there are many other dates where special events may be hold too, but these ones above might be the most special or traditional ones.

©Lifecruiser Love Stockholm

 
This post is part of the initiative "100 cities to home swap before you die" from Knok.com.
 

The idea of a Viking Ice Race popped up when visitors from the skating organisation from Holland visited Sweden after their Eleven Cities Tour (Elfstedentocht) of 1997 together with the winner of that years competition. An investigation started which later did show that the only route possible of a Swedish skate competition is just the route Uppsala-Stockholm, because it’s there the safest ices are with not so much open water.

To skate between Uppsala and Stockholm had been a classic route for all kinds of ice skaters for many years already before the Viking Run started for the first time in 1999, organized by the Friluftsfrämjandet organization and the Swedish skate association including other sponsors.

In 2013 it’s scheduled to go off at the 10th of February around 8am at Skarholmen, Uppsala and finish in Hässelby, a suburban of Stockholm. The Viking Run race is probably the worlds longest recurring ice skate race that take place on only natural ice and not on a special built up or artificial ice track.

There are actually several different races:

• The Vikingarännet 80 km start in Uppsala
• Tjejrännet (Women Race) 35 km start in Sigtuna
• A short race of 15 km start in Kungsängen

The race got it’s name from following the ancient Viking transport routes on lake Mälaren, but you don’t have to be a Viking to participate. All types of skates are allowed and I actually hope for some participants to choose similar skates as the Vikings!

Yes, even the Vikings did skate, but their skates were made of animal thigh/shin bones, had no shoe and were attached by leather strings only. At just one spot on the Swedish island Björkö, in the Viking town Birka, they found 70 skates together.

In this year’s vikingarännet there are more participants from other countries in Europe, like Great Britain, Belgium and Holland (last years winner) of course – so obviously this Swedish competition starts to be more known around Europe’s ice skaters.

If you have the opportunity to get there, there are plenty of places where you can see the ice skaters swooshing by. Or why not sign up for the race? Go to vikingarannet.com to signup or get more information.

Sign up for a distance that suits you, read the rules properly (ex. Ice prods are compulsory), prepare yourself to skate strong as a Viking, hope for great weather reports and have fun racing!

Lets hope the cold weather will continue, so there will be great ice’s for skating, you never know with the Swedish weather…

To get there:

From Europe there are low budget airlines like Norwegian.com or Ryanair.com to fly you to Stockholm, but I would try to get a Norwegian flight in the first hand, because you will arrive at Arlanda airport, which is much closer to the event than Skavsta airport where Ryanair arrives.

I also recommend that you take the arlandaexpress.com into Stockholm City Center or if you are going to Uppsala, take the special flightbus 801 between Arlanda airport and Uppsala. Also have a look at the arrivalguides.com and look up either Stockholm or Uppsala to get more start info about the two cities.

Special thanks to:

Anders Tysk, secretary-general and one of the originators of Vikingarännet for replying to my request, providing me with more information and pictures from the competition to use when writing this blog post.

©Lifecruiser Love Viking Ice Run

The Viking Run (Vikingarännet) 2013 Map, (click to see details)

You will notice many scenes from Disney films, that is because it’s an old tradition in Sweden to show Kalle Anka (Donald Duck in Swedish) at 3 o’clock in the afternoon at the Christmas Eve day.

Enjoy the peace and happiness of the holidays, where ever in the world you are. We spend this Christmas in Stockholm, Sweden this year. Next year it will be somewhere else!

©Lifecruiser Love Swedish Christmas
 

Earlier Swedish Christmas posts by Lifecruiser:

Christmas Tree Gifts 2011
Swedish Heart Pepparkakor for Christmas
Santa Travel Speed Need
Merry Christmas 2009
Christmas Dinner Delights 2008
Swedish Christmas Dinner Preparations 2008
Different Christmas 2007
Merry Christmas All Bloggers 2007
Some Swedish Christmas Gifts
Christmas Street Market Stockholm 2007
Wordless Christmas
Swedish Christmas Traditions
Christmas Eve is here (2006)
Christmas Preparations (2006)
Lucia with Glögg & Lussekatter (2006)
Lighten Up Christmas (2005)
 

Rather often, there can be very nice winter scenes in Stockholm with snow a while before Christmas, but equally often it can be melting away just right before Christmas Eve making all kids (and us!) very disappointed.

So there is no wonder that many Swedes has begun to spend the Christmas holidays abroad and especially New Years Eve – but it can be tricky to found the right trip since everyone want to go! It increases the prices a lot too.

This year, we have decided to stay at home during the holidays, because we’re busy fixing things in our new apartment and need to be able to relax at home for once. Our next trip will start some time in February-March instead…

©Lifecruiser ♥ Christmas
 

The Scandic Victoria Tower Hotel is designed by the architect Gert Wingårdh, 117 meter (384 ft) and did cost SEK 600 million (around USD 90 million) to be built. The hotel building is totally covered in glass – I just love this unusual patterned architecture!

My photo above doesn’t quite do it justice. I don’t exactly love it less when also discovering that the inside interior is decorated with design furniture from Vitra, Montana and Flos…

If you happens to be nearby: take the elevator up to the skybar at 34th floor and sit down and sip on a glass of Champagne with a view over Stockholms Silicon Valley.

This is the tallest hotel building in Scandinavia, but the tallest building in Sweden is actually Turning Torso in Malmö which I also adore and wrote about earlier.

©Lifecruiser Love Victoria Tower