Sweden Info

Our family lived in Sweden for 18 months in 2014-2015, and during that time we learned a lot that I wanted to pass on to you. Sweden is culturally part of Scandinavia (along with Denmark and Norway).  It is the home of Ikea, Saab, ABBA, Ericsson, Volvo, Ace of Base, H&M, and Husqvarna.

Gothenburg (Göteborg, circled in red) is on Sweden's western coast about a three-hour drive to Copenhagen, Denmark (pink on the map) or Oslo, Norway (pale yellow).  It is the second largest city in Sweden with about a million people in the metro area.

Comparable in latitude to parts of Alaska, Gothenburg has extended daylight in summer and reduced daylight hours in winter.  Thankfully Gothenburg is well south of the Arctic circle, so in winter the sun does come up for a few hours low in the sky before it sinks back down again.  Gothenburg (on Sweden's western coast) is a little more mild than Stockholm because of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, but it's still a lot colder/cloudier/wetter than what we're used to in Virginia. Sweden ranks among the top coffee-consuming nations per capita, so that will help us stay warm.

If you want to see some of our Sweden adventures, click here.

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