WEST SWEDEN

Swedish Lagom Culture

Swedish culture is dictated by their notion of lagom, meaning 'just the right amount' or 'in moderation.' Lagom permeates all aspects of Swedish life discouraging the ostentacious, overtly opulent and boastful. Swedes are quiet, polite and prefer to listen rather than dominate a conversation. Their egalitarian and humble approach to life was refreshing and a lesson in utopian society. Spending time in West Sweden is a must for the overworked visitor seeking inner calm. 

The Bohuslaän Coast.

This rugged landscape of West Sweden from Gothenburg to the Norwegian border is characterized by rocky cliffs, skerries, and approximately 8,000 islands. Known for its seafood, the cold and very clean waters of the sea are ideal growing an assortment of crustaceans from oysters to lobster, crab and prawn. Traversing this jagged sawtoothed coastal landscape oft involves traveling as far inland through the Scandinavian coastal conifer forests as it does north/south along the coast. For illustration purposes, imagine holding a cross section of broccoli sideways and tracing a line from point A on the top to point B on the bottom across the asymmetric labyrinth of branches, and indents. Its safe to say there is no straight line. The Swedish farm depicted below was taken while traveling east/west from one coastal town to the next.

The Weather Islands

Beyond the maze of barren skerries of the Fjällbacka archipelago exists a remote rocky cluster of tiny islands that denote the western most point in Sweden.... 

Fjallbacka

It's always sunny in Fjällbacka, unless you read a novel by Camilla Lackberg. Lackberg's grisly murder novels were set in this sleepy northern Bohuslän coastal town. It is from this rocky coastline that I departed for Väderöarna, the western edge of the Fjällbacka archipelago and western most point in Sweden.

Smogen

The red-roofed homes are stacked haphazardly in the Prawn Capital of Sweden. Navigating the jagged, rocky and incredibly beautiful Bohuslän coast  must include a stop Smögen, known for its fish and prawn. 🇸🇪

Skaärhamn