Reservations made & paid!

 

Today I purchased my airline tickets, and made hotel reservations for my upcoming trip to Sweden. I am very excited! I depart on 2 February 2018.

This trip is very special to me, because I only recently learned about my Swedish heritage. It’s a very long story, but basically–in September 2017, I discovered that I am adopted after finding a DNA match on Ancestry.com with one of my three full biological sisters. Until September 2017, I never knew I was adopted because my adoptive parents selfishly kept this vital information from me. I was 40 years old at the time, so it was a very shocking and life-changing experience. One of the other things I learned from my DNA is that I am predominantly English, German and Swedish (I was raised believing I was Italian, Greek and Ukrainian). I’ve been to England and Germany multiple times, but I’ve never visited Sweden. I’ve always wanted to visit Scandinavia,  but never had a good excuse to do so–until now!

On this adventure, I will be traveling alone by choice. I have three young children, and there is no way I could bring them on this trip with me and enjoy it; it just wouldn’t happen. My oldest child is eight years old and my youngest just turned three. I can honestly say that in the past eight years, I’ve not slept straight through the night once–that is not an exaggeration. I am looking forward to the solitude and (relative) quiet this adventure will bring. Honestly, I need this adventure to reignite the parts of me that burned out from the chaos & events of 2017.

My visit will be brief–just one week. I depart from New York on Friday night, and arrive in Stockholm the following morning. After a few days in the city, I will fly north to Kiruna, where I will drive to a guesthouse in Abisko for three nights. This is approximately 120 miles north of the Arctic circle. Many who know me will find this funny, because I am always cold, yet I’m choosing to go there in the middle of winter. What can I say, I like challenges! Ha! Anyway, Abisko is where I will (hopefully) see the northern lights–I am beyond excited for this experience. I can’t imagine what it will be like to see them in person. I am also excited for the opportunity to meet other travelers and locals, and make new friends. The guesthouse in Abisko (feels weird to call it a “hotel”) also has Huskies, so I’m really looking forward to meeting them and hopefully getting lots of doggie kisses from them. Next, I will fly back to Stockholm for the remainder of my visit. I really wanted to take the overnight train to or from Abisko, but since my visit isn’t that long, I didn’t feel like I had enough time to dedicate to the 14-16 hour train ride. I really wanted to do it… Maybe next time!

Some of the things I’m most looking forward to in Stockholm include sailing with great views of the city with Swedish adult beverages (including glogg), a private tour of the city, visiting the Nobel museum, Stockholm city hall, dining at a few notable vegetarian restaurants in the city, and of course, the ABBA museum. Technically, it’s called ABBA The Museum (visit site). How could I visit Stockholm and not go there?! Ha! The museum also offers classes for children and adults, and even has their own app. During my visit, there will also be a temporary exhibit about guitars.

Anyway, this entire site will be dedicated to my trip, and other things related to traveling in Sweden and nearby destinations. This is also where I will share my photos from Sweden. I hope you will enjoy!

Christina