holidays in Sweden, national parks Åsnen and Store Mosse (part 1)

At first, I thought I’d keep this short — just something like, “we spent this year’s vacation walking in nature.” But as I started looking through the photos, I changed my mind and ended up writing several posts. There’s another reason too. Before our trip, we agreed that we’re old enough now not to rush through things, but to really enjoy the moments life offers us. So I decided that my posts should reflect that — calm and filled with beautiful moments. Just like Sweden.

Two years ago, we traveled around Norway, and that’s when Scandinavia truly enchanted us. On our way back, we drove through Sweden but didn’t really stop to explore. This year, we decided to take our time and get to know it better. Our journey began with a van ride through Germany, then a ferry to Sweden. From there, we traveled north through the heart of the country, all the way to Abisko. On the way back, we followed the Baltic Sea coastline, took another ferry, and drove through Germany back home to Slovenia.

Sweden is a land of national parks — they had just opened their 31st park during our visit. That alone shows how deeply the Swedes value nature. We’ve always preferred the outdoors to big cities, so we chose to spend our time visiting a few of these parks.

From Trelleborg, we made our way toward Jönköping, with our first stop at Åsnen National Park. We spent the night nearby, in a forest overlooking a lake. In the morning, as we sipped coffee by the water and watched the sunlight dance on the surface, I thought about how, back home at that exact moment, I’d probably be rushing off to work, going over my to-do list in my head, just waiting for the day to be over. But now, I wanted this moment to last — really last.

Najprej sem mislila, da bom napisala čisto na kratko, nekaj takega, da sva letošnji dopust porabila za sprehode v naravi. Ampak, ko sem gledala slike, sem si premislila in napisala več objav. Pa še en vzrok je. Pred dopustom sva sklenila, da sva že dovolj stara, da ne hitiva, ampak raje uživava v trenutkih, ki nama jih ponuja življenje. Zato sem sklenila, da bodo tudi objave take, umirjene in polne lepih trenutkov. Take, kot je Švedska.

Pred dvema letoma sva se potepala po Norveški in takrat naju je Skandinavija očarala in začarala. Takrat smo se domov vrnili preko Švedske, vendar sva Švedsko samo prevozila in se skoraj nisva ustavljala. Letos pa sva sklenila, da jo malo bolje raziščeva. Najina pot je potekala najprej s kombijem preko Nemčije, nato s trajektom na Švedsko, kjer sva po notranjosti države potovala proti severu, vse do Abiska. Domov pa sva se vračala ob Baltskem morju in spet na trajekt ter preko Nemčije v Slovenijo.

Švedska je dežela nacionalnih parkov, ravno med najinim obiskom so odprli že 31-tega. Že po tem lahko sklepamo, da Švedom narava veliko pomeni. Midva sva vedno raje v naravi, proč ob velikih mest, zato sva raje obiskala nekaj parkov.

Iz Trelleborga sva se pomikala proti Jönköpingu in se najprej ustavila v nacionalnem parku Åsnen. Prespala sva v bližini parka, v gozdu z razgledom na jezero. Zjutraj, ko sva ob jezeru pila kavo in opazovala, koko se sonce lesketa na gladini, sem pomislila, da bi doma ob tem času verjetno hitela v službo in se poskušala spomniti, kaj vse moram narediti in da bi komaj čakala, da bo dan že mimo. Tokrat pa sem želela, da bi trajalo dolgo, res dolgo…

Åsnen National Park is a mix of forests, lakes, and islands. We spent just over two hours hiking out to a couple of the islands. Since the park is in southern Sweden, it’s home to more than just birch and pine — we also saw oaks and other types of trees. Most Swedish parks are equipped with designated fire pits and simple shelters. Firewood is even provided in many places.

Nacionalni park Åsnen obsega gozdove, jezera in otočke. Midva sva za potep do dveh otokov porabila malo več kot dve uri. Ker je park še precej na jugu Švedske, so tu poleg brez in borov tudi druga drevesa, ko na primer hrast. Večina parkov na Švedskem ima prostore za kurjenje ognja in bivake. Poleg prostorov za kurjenje so tudi že pripravljena drva.

Store Mosse is the largest national park in southern Sweden — essentially a vast marshland. It’s a refuge for countless birds, moose, deer, and other wildlife. We hiked a circular trail through the park, which took us about four hours.

Park Store Mosse je največji nacionalni park v južnem delu Švedske, pravzaprav je veliko močvirje. Park je zavetje številnim pticam, losom, jelenom in drugim živalim. Midva sva za krožno pot po parku porabila okoli 4 ure.

From there, we continued north along Lake Vättern. We considered visiting Stockholm, but in the end, we decided to skip it — partly due to limited time, but also because we preferred staying in nature. Instead, we stopped in the village of Gagnefs, where one of Sweden’s last remaining pontoon bridges can still be found.

Nadaljevala sva pot mimo jezera Vättern proti severu. Najprej sva razmišljala, da bi obiskala tudi Stockholm, vendar sva se odločila, da ga raje izpustiva, malo zaradi omejenega časa, malo pa zato, ker sva raje ostala v naravi. Ustavila pa sva se v vasi Gagnefs kjer je eden zadnjih pontonskih mostov na Švedskem.

When we traveled through Norway, we saw a moose — a mother with two calves. We were hoping to spot another one this time, maybe even a male, but it didn’t happen. There are lots of signs along the main roads warning drivers about wildlife crossings, but still — isn’t it wonderful to spend the night like this, surrounded by forest?

Med potovanjem po Norveški sva videla losa in sicer mamo z dvema mladičkoma. Želja, da bi losa spet videla, morda kakšnega moškega spola se nama ni uresničila. Ob glavni cesti je sicer ogromno prometnih znakov, da živali lahko prečkajo cesto. Vseeno, a ni lepo prespati takole v gozdu?