Naked men, fermented fish and frogs

Sitting in a hot, wooden room with a naked, beer drinking, male stranger is not something I expected to do when I first came to Sweden. 

Thankfully, Bjorn walked into the sauna first and warned me so I managed to miss that experience. However, once said male stranger had consumed his beer, covered his nakedness and vacated the room (30 minutes later), I was free to experience a sauna - Swedish style.

The sauna room

It’s pretty simple really. Light a fire in the corner and keep it stoked with logs. Throw a bit of water on the coals occasionally to keep the humidity up. When you can’t think straight, walk outside and jump into an icy cold river. Repeat.

The icy cold river with mist just starting to appear

Imagine going from 40 degree super-dry heat to suddenly being plunged into 6 degree flowing water. I chickened out the first time and only went up to my knees in the river. But needing to experience the tradition completely, after warming up a second time, I jumped right in. 

Halfway in the first time

Under completely this time

My skin instantly started prickling and tingling everywhere. My brain went into hyperdrive. My eyes focused on a single object - the ladder out. My heart rate went up to 350 beats per minute…or maybe it dropped to 15 beats per minute. I don't know. I was instantly addicted! In search of a repeat of the hit, I jumped between the steamy sauna and the freezing river a couple more times.

After the hit

Fikka is a very important part of Swedish culture and one of my favourite things. If you go to someone’s place, it’s a matter of minutes before you’re offered coffee and usually some sort of cake, bread or sweets. The coffee comes predominantly in one form - strong and black. (I did choke down one cup of the brew and stayed awake for the next 24 hours. Now I ask for hot water and milk and mix the 3 liquids in equal quantities). 

Fikka can include ice-cream too!

Fikka is as much about chatting as it is eating and drinking and it’s easy to sit down for an hour simply enjoying the time with friends. And you can have fikka anytime, anywhere. If we’re going on a long drive, we often take a thermos of coffee (plus hot water and milk) and something to munch on, and stop at one of the many lakes or rest areas for a break. 

Fikka at a bird nature reserve

Surströmming is not for the faint hearted or for anyone with an oversensitive sense of smell. Everything you have seen or heard about how putrid the smell and taste of this fish is, falls way short. All those youtube videos of people vomiting when a can is cracked open are for real. 

Bjorn arranged for a surströmming party to allow me (and 4 Swedish friends) a chance to experience this tradition. I knew I had every reason to be concerned when I first saw the can. It was bulging, so there had to be some serious chemical reactions going on inside. As soon as the can was pierced, liquid shot a metre into the air and a strange rancid odour filled the air. Mikael and I instantly started gagging, the others weren’t far behind. And the smell didn’t go away! Even the cat had more sense than to get too close.

The bulging tin

Stand well clear when opening

I had to question if this really was fit for human consumption

It doesn't even look appealing

The cat actually looked scared!

This fish has the ability to overwhelm and stick to anything it comes into contact with. A minuscule portion wrapped in potato, creme fraiche and bread was enough to taint the other flavours and ruin normal food. We even washed all our clothes when we got home as the smell of surströmming seemed to have stuck to our clothes. I can tick that one off the list but will be happy if I never have to smell it again!

Sweden is a country with around 97,000 lakes. So it makes sense that swimming is a popular summer time activity. The lakes are beautiful to swim in. The fresh water is so refreshing and the only place for a ‘shower’ when you’re out on a camping or boating trip. We often go snorkelling and watch pike hang motionless in the grass or perch that zap around just out of reach. 

Baby pike (about 5cm long)

Stripy perch with bright orange fins

Everyone seems to get changed in and out of their bathing costumes under a towel on the beach. It took me a while to get used to this, even longer to figure out how to get changed without flashing random strangers. I nearly have the hang of it…nearly.

One of the smaller lakes...at midnight

I reasoned that with so many lakes around, it should be easy to swim in at least 15 different lakes. While I went swimming most days over summer, it was quite late in the season when I finally made number 15. And while it was a lovely, sunny day, the water was only about 17 degrees...

Finally, lake #15!

Midsummers is one day of the year the Swedes really let their hair down. It is celebrated on the Friday nearest the longest day of the year and is to welcome summer and the season of fertility. The tradition states that you collect branches, leaves and wild flowers, construct a maypole and then dance around it singing songs. I personally think this festival takes the award for the quirkiest event I’ve experienced in the Swedish calendar. 

Wild flowers collected for the maypole

Construction begins

Everyone gets involved

Posing for pics

The frog song is the silliest and most well known song of the midsummer festival. We sang the nonsense song about a små grodorna (a small frog) that has no ears or tail and jumped around the maypole with our hands flapping behind us like a tail. 

Our completed midsummers maypole

After midsummers, wild berry picking trips to the forest begin. (This is where allemansrätten is fantastic as you can pick berries almost anywhere). The berry picking season starts with cloudberries (hjortron). These orange-yellow cloud-shaped berries grow in wet, swampy areas and can be hard to find. They have an exquisite taste, like nothing I’ve ever tasted before and go perfectly with wine and cheese.

Wild, swampy areas where you hunt cloudberries

Cloudberries ripening

Best way to eat cloudberry jam

Raspberries (hallon) ripen next. These are a little trickier to pick because of the spikes on the bushes. For me, it’s a small price to pay for being able to eat unlimited raspberries!

Blueberries are next in line. You can pick these by hand or use a berry picker. This contraption allows you to pick lots of berries at once meaning you can easily pick a couple of litres a very short time. And finally, bright red lingon berries are ready. Like the blueberries, these can be picked quickly with a berry picker.

Picking blueberries with the berry picker

Sorting blueberries is not so much fun

We simply freeze the fresh berries and either defrost a few for breakfast each morning or make them into jam. It’s been such a novelty for me to be able to eat as many blueberries as I like and these wild ones have so much more flavour than the farmed variety.

Towards the end of summer, mushrooms begin to sprout up everywhere. Kanterell’s are everyones favourite and it can be a race to get to the best spots to pick them first. And they are so simple to cook. A cast iron frying pan, a lot of butter, splashes of pepper and you’re done. There are so many different species of mushrooms and toadstools growing. A few are edible but many are not, and every year people end up in hospital having mixed up some of the edible/inedible mushrooms. 

They look beautiful, but you can't eat these...

...or these...

...or even these...

So there’s a few of the Swedish traditions and events I’ve experienced in the short time I’ve been here. They have enriched my time here and I've had so much fun participating. I’m really looking forward to spending a winter here and seeing what events pop up that have to be tried at least once (anyone for ice swimming???)

Getting out on the lakes and canals in Dalsland

A 146 year old bridge spanning a 33.5 metre gap, rising about 10 metres above a rocky crevice really doesn’t sound safe - especially for a boat to float over! 

Looking down on the Håverud aqueduct

The Håverud aqueduct is an inspired piece of engineering that was originally built as part of the Dalsland canal system for transporting cargo between Lake Vänern and Lake Stora Le. 

Not a bad 'road' to 'drive' along

It was initially thought to be impossible to build a lock at Håverud, as the rocks were crumbly, the currents strong and the fall from one lake to the next too high. Then renowned lock and railway designer Nils Ericson was called in. He designed and built an aqueduct - a 33.5 metre long free-hanging bridge that spans the river rapids and which water flows across. The aqueduct was officially opened in 1868 and is still in top condition providing safe passage for boats.

About to cross the aqueduct

As railways and roads were built, the canals were used less and less by cargo boats, and more and more by tourist boats. Since the 1970’s, it has only used by tourist canal boats and private boats. 

Loads of flowers line the canals

As do people's boats and deck chairs

We spent a day on the Storholmen, one of the tourist canal boats, traversing 6 lakes, 16 locks and 33 vertical metres. It was a stunning, sunny day and being on a boat gives you a very different view the Dalslands region.

The Storholmen

She's been around for a while!

We started in Håverud - a beautiful little town with plenty to see and do. There is a cafe, a restaurant, a visitors centre, a glass-blowers workshop, a second hand shop and the Canal Museum. The Canal Museum holds an extensive collection of old photographs and drawings from when the canals were built, as well as old machinery, engines and stories of the people who lived and worked along the locks and lakes.

Walking across one of the locks at Håverud

Looking up towards the aqueduct

Gorgeous bright summer homes are hidden away in the trees

The owners of the Storholmen Annika and Sture are super friendly and welcomed everyone on board like they were old friends. They told stories throughout the trip about sites we passed by, the wildlife, fish and birds in the area and of course about the history of Storholmen. 

They also served up a tasty 2 course homemade lunch consisting of traditional Swedish herring, fresh new potatoes, vegetables, roast pork and roast beef. The food tempts your tastebuds and satisfies any rumbling stomach. 

In the dining room

First course...

Second course

No meal is complete without ice-cream!

It’s a bit of a rush to get a seat at the front of the boat to start, but after the canal gates are opened at the first lock and water sprays up all over you, it gets easier to nab that elusive front row seat! 

Water beginning to flow through the gates

Some locks have 2 levels and boats move forward in stages

Watching one of the larger locks fill

It’s a tight squeeze to get into some of the locks - the Storholmen is just big enough to fit, and some delicate manoeuvring by Sture made sure we squashed in. 

Squeezing into a lock

Just enough room on each side too

There are several times where the road traffic is stopped and bridges raised for the boats to pass through the canals. If you ever have to wait for a boat to pass through a lock, it’s best to just sit back and enjoy the spectacle. (It’s pretty relaxed here in Dalsland and having to wait for a few minutes every now and then is no great discomfort!)

Waiting for a road and rail bridge to be raised

There is a manually powered lock at Beterud. This is one of only two locks on the canal that must still be opened by hand. 

A young lock-keeper for manually opening and closing the lock gates

The areas around the locks and canals are beautiful

A beautiful little summer house is situated right alongside lock 18 and is reputed to be the most photographed summerhouse in all of Dalsland.

The pretty little summerhouse at lock 18

Stunning scenery - especially on a hot, sunny day

Our trip ended in Bengtsfors where we caught a traditional railcar back to Håverud completing our scenic circuit through the heart of Dalsland.


The lakes are also a huge drawcard for kayakers and canoeists - especially as there are campsites set up everywhere for people to use. And it’s not just the cruisy holiday makers who traverse the lakes and locks. 

Canoeists on the lake

The Bengtsfors Kanot (Canoe) Marathon is a 55km gruelling canoe race that attracted over 400 competitors this year. Competitors follow a circuit paddling across 4 lakes and lifting their canoes from lake to lake each time. From an observers viewpoint, the hardest part of the whole race looks like it is trying to get back into your canoe each time you change lakes! 

The leading bunch - going strong after 20km!

Competitors emptying water from their canoes

Rene Olsen from Denmark has won the race the last 4 years and he was unstoppable again this year, beating his nearest rival by a measly fraction of a second! The first 4 paddlers finished within 13 seconds of each other which I find that quite amazing after 4 hours 23 minutes and 28 seconds in the water! 

There are several different classes to race in

The looks on the faces show how gruelling the race is

We were watching the canoeists near the halfway point at Skifors. You can imagine it was a bit busy with a constant stream of canoeists moving from lake to lake, supporters yelling encouragement and marshals handing out bananas and controlling traffic. 

Two guys in an old canoe appeared going against the flow of canoeists. Their canoe was loaded up with backpacks, tents and food and they looked so out of place in the midst of all the hype. They didn’t seem concerned though - rather they looked a bit confused by all the people standing around cheering them on...

Spectators at Skifors

The two guys going against the flow of traffic...

The largest lake in Sweden is Lake Vänern. The local myth is that a chunk of land was carved out of Sweden creating Lake Vänern, and then dumped in the Baltic Sea near Stockholm creating the island of Gotland. Lake Vänern actually feels more like the open ocean than a lake, especially when the wind starts blowing. 

Kristian and I did a sailing trip on Lake Vänern with some friends Simon and Victoria on their yacht. I so loved getting out sailing again - it’s been a few years since I have! We sailed a couple of hours south of Åmål to an archipelago of islands and moored up in a sheltered bay at a tiny island named Björkön. 

Åmål - our starting point

Simon and Victoria's yacht

There we simply relaxed. Dinner alongside other boaties, circumnavigating the island with the light of the super full moon to guide us, a late night bbq on the beach, being rocked gently to sleep (actually, I was so tired, I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!), a brisk morning swim to wake up, more yummy food for breakfast…it was pretty idle weekend!

Moored up in the bay at Björkön

 Hiking around the island in jandles!

Pretty view of the bay with the super full moon

Bath time!

Bbq on the beach

On the way home, the wind was blowing about 12 - 15 knots from directly behind us. With both the mainsail and gib up, we got a reasonable amount of speed up. I was in control of the tiller for a while. It felt great having to concentrate on the sails, the wind direction, the waves...and trying not to accidentally gybe. (I did gybe once by mistake but thankfully everyone was fine!)

It was a little cool after a swim

If you ever make it to the Dalsland region of Sweden, you have to make an effort to get out on the lakes and canals in some way. Be it in a canoe, a canal boat, a yacht, a fishing boat, a homemade raft or under your own power swimming, it’s an experience you won’t forget.

Life rings and ladders are in many popular swimming and boating spots