Sweden {The End}

Our last night in Sweden was pretty low key.  We spent the evening at the lake house with some cocktails on the patio, chatting with Bengt and really just taking in this most beautiful view.  Sunday morning we woke up at 4:30am to a beautiful fog over the lake which made it almost worth it to wake up that early.  We headed to C's parents house where they drove us to the train station to begin our long journey home.  By the time we finally made it to the Copenhagen airport we were starving so we had a last {expensive} lunch of smørrebrød and clinked our glasses to a most wonderful trip.  I'm so thankful I got to spend these 16 days with Christian, seeing where he came from and exploring new places together.  It definitely was something I'll never forgot!  Now, when is our next vacation?? :)

this morning fog was so beautiful

a home away from home

lunch at the airport - so delicious!

the most wonderful travel partner ever :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Sweden {Tiraholms Fisk & Homemade Waffles}

We wanted to make the most of our last full day in Sweden {Saturday} so we headed out to lunch at Tiraholms Fisk, a restaurant Christian has been talking about since almost the day I met him.  We wanted to take his aunt and uncle to thank them for so graciously allowing us to stay the week in their beautiful lake house, and this little day trip did not disappoint.  To get to the restaurant on the other side of the lake, you take a very small open air "ferry" that pulls about 8 cars at a time across the lake by underwater cables - it really is pretty awesome to witness.  After the ferry ride we drove out to the property which is comprised of a restaurant, shop, fishery, and hotel and luckily we had made reservations because for being a very remote place to get to, it was hoppin' on the holiday weekend.  Christian and I started out with an appetizer of cooked eel {I definitely preferred the smoked we had earlier in the week} and for my main course I got the barbecued xander with a side of fries, which was so fresh and delicious.  After lunch we walked around the property a bit, then made our way back to our side of the lake via the pulley ferry.  We ended the afternoon at Christian's parent's house for traditional waffles and coffee with fresh jam and whipped cream {a tradition I can definitely get behind} before heading back to the lake for our final night of the trip.

 eel

pia, anders, maggie, christian, me, bjorn, and mia

the sweetest little ferry

at his childhood home

and pia's childhood home as well!

waffles and coffee

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Sweden {Midsummer Part II}

The second half of our Midsummer celebration was just as fantastic as the first.  After resting a bit we spent the evening outside walking along the water, taking pictures and playing with sweet Lettie. It started to get a little chilly so we headed inside just in time for a delicious bbq dinner of Portobello mushrooms, pork loin, pearl onions, and potatoes paired with delicious Spanish Rioja - I was so full but so happy :)  After dinner we all sat around and feasted on strawberry cake with cream and coffee while we watched the rain pouring outside - luckily it stopped just in time for us to bundle up for our midnight boat ride back to our side of the lake.  It was such a perfect day and I can't wait to celebrate many more midsummers with these lovely people :)

 bjorn bbq'ing a delicious dinner

 florence - the life sized flamingo i desperately wanted to take home

 delicious dinner of portobello mushrooms, pork loin, potatoes, pearl onions, and salad served with rioja

 dessert

 a little bit of rain before we headed back home - luckily it passed before our boat ride!

 love all the candles in the windows

 riding back at midnight and still light out

xoxo,
stephanie marie