All The Swede Things

SOUTH F THE TOURISTY SPOTS, THERE IS SKANE, JUST A LITTLE MORE NORDI AND HIKER-FRIENDLY, A D JUST AS CHARISMATIC. NITIN CHAUDHARY, OUR MAN IN SWEDEN, HAS ALL THE DETAILS

- Nitin Chaudhary

Say Sweden and the first thing that comes to mind is frigid winters. For a few months every year, though, the snow melts and the frost evaporates, the greys and the blacks metamorphose into striking colours, trees begin to bear leaves again, and the sun remains a constant on the horizon. A remarkable transformation takes place each spring and summer in Sweden. Short-lived, albeit playful, summer hatches an escapist mood, and is much yearned for by the Swedes. Tourists travelling to Sweden between June and August will find packed outdoor cafés, streets throbbing with performers, and stately parks interspersed with picnicking families.

First-time visitors usually gravitate towards Stockholm and its idyllic archipelago. With its cobble stoned Gamla Stan, royal palace, museums (the Nobel Museum and ABBA The Museum, for instance) and an abundance of blue waters surrounding its city islands, Stockholm is a safe bet to experience the allure of Sweden. However, it is the less visited, low-profile, southernmost part of country—the Skåne region—that offers a wider spread of Nordic charms.

Skåne—Scania in English—is Sweden at its most continental, a gentle reminder of what’s to come further south in Central Europe. It covers 3 per cent of Sweden’s area but is home to 13 per cent of the country’s population. Its counties are separated by sweeping stretches of land full of blooming yellow rapeseed flowers in the summer. Elsewhere, there are untarnished white sandy coastlines and numerous trails that snake through the forests. Skåne provides alternating, at times contrasting, views of Sweden compared to the capital. It is not a weekend destination to be browsed in a rush, but meant to be savoured piecemeal over at least a few days, if not a few weeks.