Southern Sweden

He who travels has something to tell. This saying accompanied us on our trip through dreamlike southern Sweden, and it could not have been more fitting!

I looked into many expectant and excited faces as I boarded our Deluxe coach at the EUROBUS travel centre in Windisch. We were to spend the coming 9 days together and were curious what the trip had in store for us. Our driver Urs Eugster welcomed us with warm words and whetted our appetite for the adventure ahead. The first day was calm, as we spent quite some time on the coach until we finally arrived at our hotel in Ahrensburg near Hamburg in the evening. After a tasty dinner we all went to bed content, but also exhausted.

The next day the first highlight of the trip awaited us – the ferry crossing from Puttgarden in Germany to Rødby in Denmark. The next highlight followed only a short time later, when we drove over the gigantic Øresund Bridge, which connects Denmark with Sweden. On arrival at today's destination, Malmö, our tour guide greeted us with a warm “Hej, välkommen till Sverige”. After a city tour and a walk through Malmö we were all enchanted by this beautiful spot on earth, and we headed to the hotel, where we had our well-earned dinner and fortified ourselves for the coming day. There was a lot on the programme, after all.

After a hearty breakfast we continued our journey. In the “sweet” little town of Karlskrona we enjoyed some free time. This was followed by a visit to the Kosta glassworks, where we could look over the glassblowers' shoulders and of course pick up a pretty souvenir for our loved ones at home. For me, the absolute highlight of the whole trip followed – the visit to the elk park! We were greeted by the owner of the farm in person. We were quite amazed when he pressed a plate with a sausage and a pair of barbecue tongs into everyone's hand. We were allowed to prepare our elk sausage ourselves over a huge grill and tuck into it with bread and a tasty sauce. A tour of the elk park followed, where we could even stroke the impressive animals. Happy and content, we continued our journey to today's destination, Kalmar. Before reaching Sweden's capital the next day, we enjoyed a boat trip on the famous Göta Canal. We were treated to a delicious fish menu and enjoyed magnificent views of the surrounding landscape. Towards evening we reached Stockholm and checked into our hotel, where we stayed for the next three nights. The evening was at our free disposal. Quite a few of us will certainly have tried the famous köttbullar today.

Day 5 of the trip had already begun, and so we set off with our tour guide on a voyage of discovery through Stockholm. The “Venice of the North” definitely lived up to its many promises. After a free lunch break, during which we were able to watch the changing of the Royal Guard, we drove by coach through the enchanting archipelago landscape until we finally took a ferry to the most important and largest island of the archipelago: Vaxholm.
Our native Swedish tour guide showed us this charming place before we returned to Stockholm by boat through the archipelago. Once again the evening was at our free disposal.

On the Swiss national holiday we followed in the footsteps of Inga Lindström. We discovered the cosy town of Trosa, explored Gripsholm Castle, enjoyed a delicious slice of Swedish princess cake at Taxinge Castle and rounded off the day with a visit to Drottningholm Palace, the royal family's summer residence. Today, too, the evening in Stockholm was at our free disposal.

It was already time to say goodbye to the impressive city, and so we set off for Gothenburg. On a city tour we got to know the industrial and sporting city better and enjoyed a breathtaking view of the harbour and the city from the Masthugget Church. We then checked into our cabins on the Stena Line ferry, which took us overnight to Kiel. Under a brilliant blue sky we enjoyed sailing out of the harbour into the open sea, sipping a cool beer or a refreshing cocktail at the bar on deck. We had dinner either in the à la carte restaurant or at the large buffet.

On arriving in Kiel the next morning, many in our group had had the best night of the whole trip. They hadn't slept so deeply and soundly in a long time! Our driver picked us up again and the journey continued to the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, our last highlight on this wonderful trip. After the city tour we lingered at the Landungsbrücken (St Pauli Piers), where we treated ourselves to a tasty fish roll. The next stage took us to our last overnight stay, in Hanover. Fortified by a delicious breakfast, on the last day we set off on the journey home to Switzerland with many wonderful memories (and of course lots of souvenirs) in our luggage. Towards evening we reached the Swiss border and finally our homes.