Today is December 13—better known in Sweden as Lucia. It's a lovely holiday meant to celebrate the bringing of light into the dark, dark winter. It used to correspond with the winter solstice on December 21 or 22, but these days it coincides with St. Lucia's day on the 13th.
Life in Sweden
Maternity Leave in Sweden vs the US
In my first post about having kids in Sweden, I laid out the basic benefits of having babies in Sweden: generous parental leave; chances for social connection while home with a baby; affordable, high-quality daycare, and more. Now, I want to lay out a theory I'm developing about the benefits of the generous parental leave policy.
Preschool in Sweden: the Basics
Let me start by saying that I never know whether to use the word daycare or preschool when referring to the place where kids spend their early years here in Sweden. I suppose that's because it's sort of a mix of what we know those two places to be in the US. While I will continue to use the word preschool here, do...
Birthday Sail in the Stockholm Archipelago
I mentioned that we went sailing on my birthday as part of the weekend's celebrations, so I thought it would be fun to share some pictures. So much blue! We are lucky to live in such a beautiful place and to have such wonderful neighbors.
Stockholm With Kids: Gröna Lund
Normally I'm quite unsure about what I want to do for my birthday. I always have the vague notion that I would like to see friends and eat good food, but beyond that, no clear idea. This year, however, I knew exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday weekend--outside, having fun.
Visiting the Carl Eldhs Studio Museum in Stockholm
Last week I finally had the chance to do something I've been wanting to do almost since the day we moved to Stockholm: I visited the Carl Eldhs Studio Museum. It's a small museum situated near the top of a hill in a park on the northern end of the city. The first summer we...
Would You Stay at the Ice Hotel?
I know it's still summer for most of you but for some reason today I'm thinking about the Ice Hotel in northern Sweden. The hotel is in the village of Jukkasjärvi, north of the Arctic Circle. Every spring the hotel and accompanying art exhibition melts back into the Torne River from where the ice is harvested. And...
Our weekend on Sweden's west coast
Speaking of summer, last weekend we took a train to the west coast of Sweden to spend a few days sailing with our wonderful neighbors (who we call the kids' Swedish grandparents). Henrik has had his boat Maja for forty-five years! We didn't do any actual sailing (we motored around because we didn't have the best...
Summer in Sweden: the Basics
Let's talk about summer in Sweden. The days are endless, the nights almost nonexistent, and everyone is on vacation. After a dark and grueling winter that seems to last nine months, suddenly the world is bright and warm(ish) and lush again. Swedes use this time to get out of the office and back into nature. For us,...
Having Kids in Sweden: The Basics
This is the first in a series of posts outlining the general structure of life in Sweden for a family. You've probably heard or read about the amazing parental leave policy in Sweden and wondered if it's true. It is. Maybe you also heard about the affordable universal daycare and wondered whether that's true, too. It is. And while these...