Sweden

Gotenburg and Stockholm

Laid-back and eco-minded, Sweden values sustainability and simple design. Gothenburg was relaxed, with cobblestone streets and cozy cafes. Stockholm blended modern, tech-savvy neighborhoods, world-class museums, and medieval Gamla Stan (the old town of Stockholm). Both cities embraced outdoor activity, stylish interiors, and a cool balance between tradition and innovation.

National Language: Swedish, (English commonly spoken)

Trains connect cities, within towns, trams, buses, ferries, and bike lanes make travel easy.
Famous for meatballs with lingonberries, gravlax (cured salmon), shrimp sandwiches, and cinnamon buns.

University of Gotenburg

Nordiska Museet

The Royal Palace of Stockholm

This was at the University of Gothenburg where we saw studies on estimating added and free sugar intake in Swedish adolescents, opportunities and challenges with the shift to climate-adapted food consumption, and other climate related projects. Climate change is discussed freely.

From the institute we saw some grad students work.

🫒🥂Food🎣🥐

One of my favorite aspects about Swedish life was the balanced diet. In this breakfast (pictured below) I tried traditional pickled herring. Other common breakfast fish is various fish pastes. There is no shortage of dining healthy options. It is more expensive as well.

The dish below is Swedish meatballs, one of the best meals I had on the trip. Served with Lingonberry jam and cucumbers in vinegar.

Public Health Initiatives in the Wild

I could not take a lot of pictures here because it is illegal to photograph children and the park was full, and I did not want to go to jail. But this park was the definition of starting kids young. It had mock bike lanes with children practicing staying in the lanes, little houses, and cribs. Along with other elements such as a rock wall and educational pieces about plants.

The Nordic Museum

This was my favorite museum that we went to. I loved the displays of personal items from individuals of various time periods. There were exhibits on medical tools, traditional ladies' items, and children's outfits. The attention to detail made it easy to follow along and picture how day to day life involved these cultural artifacts.