Dreaming in Swedish (part 1)

We had the occasion to take the girls to Sweden while Michael spoke at Way Up North, a photography conference, in October. I always do a little prep before we go on trips abroad - introducing the girls to the culture through children's books, music, and food.  

They have been reading Elsa Beskow books since they were babies and also love Pippi Longstocking. Every year I take them to the Swedish Christmas Market and Santa Lucia pageant in LA and they love the food there. We were off to a good start! But in no way were we prepared to fall so hard for a city. Elodie talks about our time there with such longing and regularly says "I miss Sweden." I can't wait to take her again this year (we are heading back in October and hope to get out of Stockholm to visit the Archipelago.) Here are some of our favorite moments. 

The first few nights we opted for adventure and stayed at on the boat AF Chapman that is moored at Skeppsholmen. This was such a great choice as a central point to explore the many sights on Djurgarden (although not the best sleep for the parents with jet lag!) Most maps of Stockholm have the AF Chapman on it and the girls were always so excited to see the boat and say "We stayed there!" 

We then moved to an amazing Airbnb in Sodermalm. Such a nice way to explore a local neighborhood.

We loved visiting Junibacken, a children's museum dedicated to the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (creator of Pippi Longstocking.) While we were there they had a special Moominland. If you don't know Moomins, they are one of my daughters' favorite characters by Norwegian author Tove Jannson. We spent several hours here and had a nice lunch of potato leek soup and Swedish pancakes. It's amazing that a children's museum actually had decent food. 

We were meant to take a day trip out to the Archipelago but after visiting Skansen one day we decided to take another whole day to explore it. Being so starved for the feeling of Autumn in Southern California, we loved being outside in nature but also being close enough to the city to go back and have dinner when it grew dark. If you have kids, you must visit Skansen. It is an open-air museum and zoo founded in 1891. It's hard to describe as there really is nothing like it here in the US. There are farmsteads and homesteads dating back to the 18th century that were preserved and visiting Skansen is like taking a historical trip back in time. When we visited we were almost the only visitors which I think also made it extra special. 

Next I'll share the restaurants and more sights that we loved!