Sweden Midsummer Kids 5 & 9

Posted by MER (PNW) on 11/06/22 02:09 AM

Hello
We plan to take our children ages 5 and 9 to Sweden for approximately 10 days. We plan to fly in/out of Stockholm then go to Vimmerby (Astrid Lindgren fans) then to Dalarna for midsummer (possibly stop at Orebro castle on the way) then back to Stockholm. We will travel by train and don’t want to over do it with kids.

Would you recommend staying one or two nights at Astrid Lindgren World? Are there any suggestions for train transportation logistics? Does anyone have any must see/do (activities) kid suggestions? Our kids love Swedish themed (Viking, Norse, gnome) books.

Thank you for any advice :)
M

Posted by Badger

Uppsala, Sweden

11/06/22 11:26 AM

6970 posts

Would you recommend staying one or two nights at Astrid Lindgren
World?

Good question. Spending two nights there will allow you to have a full day there, but you can also do it as a one night stay. Partly depending on where the next stop is and how long it takes to get there. And apart from Astrid Lindgren's World, Vimmerby itself is a charming town.

Are there any suggestions for train transportation logistics?

Buy your tickets in advance for longer trips, for local trains there is often a fixed price and no reserved seating.

Does anyone have any must see/do (activities) kid suggestions? Our
kids love Swedish themed (Viking, Norse, gnome) books.

For Viking history, Gamla Uppsala should be on your itinerary. And if you are in Uppsala, make sure you stop by the Uppsala English Bookshop, and independent bookshop only selling books in English. They are a pretty good selection of Scandinavian books in English, including children's books. There is also a reconstructed viking village outside Norrtälje that might be fun, but I've never been there myself so I can't comment on it. https://www.storholmen.org/ Gnomes are not very Swedish though.

Posted by MER OP

PNW

11/06/22 07:39 PM

5 posts

Thank you so much! This information is very helpful and exactly what I was hoping for. We love supporting independent bookstores. I believe Tomte are Swedish gnomes :)

Posted by Badger

Uppsala, Sweden

11/06/22 08:35 PM

6970 posts

Glad to hear that you are appreciate the information. I guess I should have posted a link to the bookshop as well, http://bookshop.se . They have a branch in Stockholm and just opened one in Gothenburg. But the one in Uppsala is the original and biggest. And in my opinion the best, very helpful and knowledgeable staff.

I guess you can translate tomte as gnome, but I've seen many other translations. And to be honest, it is probably better to call them tomte in English as well.

Regarding train travel, buy your advance tickets from www.sj.se and avoid third party ticket sites. And Visby can also be a good place to make a stop.