Chapter 05: My First Day In Sweden

Hiking, sailing and making a new friend. Here’s how my first day in Sweden unfolded.

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The days are long in Sweden at this time of year. The sun rises around 430am and sets around 930pm. We went to bed at 1230am the night before and Alex and I decided we would set an ambitious alarm for 8am to get a jump on the day. Despite the light shining bright through the window, when the alarm went off, my jet-lagged body was not feeling as zealous as my mind was the night before. Alex felt the same way, so we both went back to sleep for another hour and a half, which was much needed.

The plan was to take full advantage of the long day by hiking an hour and a half north, then making our way back by early evening to get out on Alex’s sailboat for the season’s maiden voyage, and enjoy the sunset. This was a mild agenda considering Alex’s typical blatant disregard for conventional logic when planning these event-filled days.

Going back to our time in LA, we would often ride bikes all over the city or spend time at the beach, and with the weather around 60 degrees and sunny, there was no doubt we were going to spend my first day in Sweden outdoors. So at 930am it was time to get ready, fire up the Peugeot, and hit the road. 

We stopped at a local coffee and pastry shop for an americano and a pain au chocolat. There’s nothing quite like fueling up for a day of physical activity with a chocolate croissant, but the pastries stacked on top of each other on the counter were too appealing to resist.

After a delicious breakfast we picked up Alex’s friend, Rohat who is from Turkey. Alex and Rohat had moved to Sweden around the same time in 2020 and met via a meetup group for people looking to get out, connect in person, they became fast friends that both enjoyed outdoor activities. Rohat is a super friendly guy and easy to get along with, he was going to be a great addition to our active day.

So we stuffed Rohat in the back seat of our luxurious vehicle, and began our road trip north. On the way out of the city we took a shortcut through a pedestrian area, which Alex claimed was legal. Permissible or not, driving on the sidewalk in a tiny little coupe felt like we were in an extremely slow chase scene from The Italian Job, weaving around innocent bystanders in an effort to escape the city faster.

After leaving Malmö the terrain quickly morphed into a beautiful countryside boasting open fields, farmland, and unique cottages. We drove past vintage windmills, likely from the 1800s if not earlier, fields of vibrant yellow rapeseed flowers, which are used to make vegetable oil, and quaint country villages. The rapeseed flowers are in full bloom this time of year and you see fields of them seemingly everywhere throughout the countryside, and the bright yellow color contrasting the lush green fields made for a very scenic drive.

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Activity 1: Hiking

We finally made it to our hiking destination, Kullaberg National Reserve.The reserve is on a peninsula with some cliffs and elevation which is certainly a different terrain compared to the flat landscape surrounding Malmö. Our hiking mission was to do a loop around the peninsula with a few scenic viewing points along the way. The first stop was to hike down a steep, mildly treacherous, trail to a rocky shore line along the North Sea. Rohat quickly decided to climb up some jagged rocks on the side of the beach and Alex and I had to follow suit. We had fun scrambling around on the cliffs for a while, taking in the views of the ocean on an unexpectedly beautiful day. 

We then continued up some steep steps through the cliffs to another scenic landing above the beach we had just been on. After taking photos on the edge of the cliff, we moved along down the trail where the terrain completely changed. We were quickly back on dirt paths, surrounded by bright green ferns and tall trees. Fresh garlic plants were also in full bloom all around us on this part of the trail, so much so that we were getting strong whiffs of garlic as we walked along the path. It smelled like we were taking a hike through an Italian grandmother’s kitchen. 

Once again, the terrain changed. As we transitioned out of the wooded area into more open fields we passed a hidden cottage tucked away in nature. “Wonder what it’s like to live there?” We all thought as we speculated whether or not they have proper sewage and water infrastructure in such a remote location. Ultimately deciding it’d be a nice escape for a weekend, but too remote to live in, we continued on our trek.

As we approached the tip of the peninsula, we came upon the Kullen Västra Lighthouse, which stood on the cliff overlooking the North Sea. Standing next to the lighthouse was a structure made of a few 4x4 beams and a chain holding a cylindrical cage with some firewood in it, which served as the original lighthouse by simply lighting the fire in the cage at night. After the lighthouse view, Rohat decided he wanted an ice cream and we stopped for a little break on the picnic tables in front of the little ice cream shop. I got an energy drink to combat the jet lag.

As we continued our journey along the coast and through the open fields then winding back into the bright green wooded areas, it dawned on me that the landscape resembled a concoction of the coastline of Maine, the rolling rural Virginia countryside, and the wooded areas of New Hampshire or Vermont. Exploring this beautiful landscape was the perfect way to kick off my time in Sweden.

As we finished up our hike we made our way back to the rocket ship, I mean Peugeot, fired up that beast of an engine, and floored it to a cafe on the water called Ransvik Havsveranda, to fuel up for the second half of our day. I had a shrimp salad sandwich on a croissant which, given my love of lobster rolls in New England, was the right choice. We enjoyed lunch and a beer on the terrace overlooking the ocean, then took off to get ready for our next adventure.

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Activity 2: Sailing

After a quick stop at Alex’s apartment to recharge and gather a few things, we made it to the marina by 7pm, still plenty of time to get out on the water for sunset. The temperature had cooled off in the evening, especially by the water, but that wasn’t going to stop us from taking the maiden voyage of the season, so we all added an extra layer and hopped on the boat.

Rohat has been helping Alex with the boat and sailing with him for the past few years, so he manned the bow of the boat and was on the stern as Alex fired up the engine and we cast off the dock. It’s an older sailboat so the engine was a little smokey as we motored out of the harbor, but that didn’t matter much since the wind was perfect for sailing. We only had to go a few minutes outside the harbor before we had the sails up and we were peacefully cruising along.

Alex has had this sailboat for almost four years now and has kept it at a few different marinas. This is his first year sailing out of Lagunen marina and it’s the perfect location. Once you leave the harbor you immediately see the Copenhagen skyline in the distance over the water, a great view of the Øresund Bridge, and you can look back to see Malmö and its iconic Twisting Torso building.

As we sailed off into the sunset towards a lighthouse in the middle of the sound we took in the peaceful evening on the water. Everything seemed to slow down as we enjoyed the views and shared stories. We executed a few clumsy tacks as the sun began to set and we turned back towards the harbor. My family friends at the Barrington Yacht Club in Rhode Island would likely be embarrassed of our performance, but it didn’t matter, we were having a great time. Except for Rohat, as the pictures show, he clearly was not enjoying himself.

All jokes aside, it was refreshing to have three people from completely different backgrounds, an American, a German, and a Turk, spend an entire day together and have a great time. We laughed a ton, shared stories, and enjoyed the outdoors together. Political opinions and cultural differences, while all topics of discussion, only served to bring us closer together on this day, as we enjoyed mother nature's universal ability to connect people.

The sun began to fall behind the horizon and as we approached the marina we pulled the sails down and motored our way back to the slip. At this point the temperature had dropped quite a bit and all three of us were shivering, so we tied up the boat as quickly as we could, tidied up a few things, locked her up and headed home. I was absolutely exhausted after 12 hours of activities, so we grabbed a quick falafel wrap on the way back and I was asleep on the couch by 11pm. 

What a way to kick off this trip. It was awesome to meet Rohat, and it was super nice of Alex to take us hiking and sailing to show me some of the outdoor activities Sweden has to offer. Looking forward to exploring this area more in the coming days.

See ya when I see ya

-Doug