Countryside around Stockholm - recommendations?
Jul 14th, 2009, 05:24 PM
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Countryside around Stockholm - recommendations?
I am planning a 9 day trip to Sweden for next month. It is for myself, my husband and our 16 year old daughter. We have never been there before. I have booked the last 4 nights in the Stockholm Sheraton and plan to see all the usual sights around Stockholm...or as much as we can reasonably fit in, in 4 days!
But for the first 4 nights, I would like to rent a cottage somewhere in the surrounding countryside. (We fly into Arlanda.) I have seen quite a few websites offering houses for rent but my question is, what area or province would be most suitable? Right now I am looking at a place three hours north, in Gastrikland, I believe - near Sandviken. But would west or south be more desirable?
We are looking for an area that is scenic, with interesting small towns nearby that we could explore. It would be a plus if it is not too long a drive from the airport - I am a little concerned about having to drive 3 hours on unfamiliar roads straight from the airport, after a tiring 18 hrs of traveling (from Los Angeles, with stopovers.) Any suggestions would be most appreciated!
But for the first 4 nights, I would like to rent a cottage somewhere in the surrounding countryside. (We fly into Arlanda.) I have seen quite a few websites offering houses for rent but my question is, what area or province would be most suitable? Right now I am looking at a place three hours north, in Gastrikland, I believe - near Sandviken. But would west or south be more desirable?
We are looking for an area that is scenic, with interesting small towns nearby that we could explore. It would be a plus if it is not too long a drive from the airport - I am a little concerned about having to drive 3 hours on unfamiliar roads straight from the airport, after a tiring 18 hrs of traveling (from Los Angeles, with stopovers.) Any suggestions would be most appreciated!
Jul 14th, 2009, 06:53 PM
#2
We were there a few years ago but had a wonderful day trip to a place where many in Stockholm have cottages, Uto:
"Utö is a beautiful archipelago island that can be visited as a day or overnight trip from Stockholm. Activities include hiking, kayaking and cycling."
As I recall it's an easy trip (by boat, as it's an island) and was lovely. Definitely not 3 hours away! If I can find out a bit more I'll add it here.
"Utö is a beautiful archipelago island that can be visited as a day or overnight trip from Stockholm. Activities include hiking, kayaking and cycling."
As I recall it's an easy trip (by boat, as it's an island) and was lovely. Definitely not 3 hours away! If I can find out a bit more I'll add it here.
Jul 14th, 2009, 09:39 PM
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i can only suggest vaxholm island
but we did it as a daytrip
we travelled to oslo from stockholm
pretty countryside withnice lakes but i think the coast is more spectacular
vaxholm was definitely a highlight for us
but we did it as a daytrip
we travelled to oslo from stockholm
pretty countryside withnice lakes but i think the coast is more spectacular
vaxholm was definitely a highlight for us
Jul 14th, 2009, 11:48 PM
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Hi nanki
You might find some of the info you're looking for in my TR
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...augsept-07.cfm
which is in the area you mention, near Sandviken in Gastrickland.
Sadly, all the pics in the TR are now lost in cyberspace due to change in IP earlier this month.
Happy to answer any questions - am off again myself in August!
You might find some of the info you're looking for in my TR
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...augsept-07.cfm
which is in the area you mention, near Sandviken in Gastrickland.
Sadly, all the pics in the TR are now lost in cyberspace due to change in IP earlier this month.
Happy to answer any questions - am off again myself in August!
Jul 15th, 2009, 05:10 PM
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Thank you all for the helpful information. Both Uto and Vaxholm look very attractive. But since I live on the coast here, I think I like the idea of farmland and forests even more, for visiting. Though I'd like to schedule a day trip to one or both of those places.
FurryTiles, how great that you should check in - when I first started researching my trip, your trip report was one of the first things I read! I loved it, though I was disappointed to miss out on the pictures. And the place you stayed at, Martensgard, is the exact place I am thinking of renting, because of your report! It looks quite nice, but the price has gone up since you were there. It will now be about $185 per night. I'm wondering if I should look for a smaller place that won't be as expensive, as there are just 3 of us. It sounded like you were happy with it, but were there any drawbacks that you didn't like about it? Was the surrounding area nice? Enough to do/see around there? Thanks again for your help.
FurryTiles, how great that you should check in - when I first started researching my trip, your trip report was one of the first things I read! I loved it, though I was disappointed to miss out on the pictures. And the place you stayed at, Martensgard, is the exact place I am thinking of renting, because of your report! It looks quite nice, but the price has gone up since you were there. It will now be about $185 per night. I'm wondering if I should look for a smaller place that won't be as expensive, as there are just 3 of us. It sounded like you were happy with it, but were there any drawbacks that you didn't like about it? Was the surrounding area nice? Enough to do/see around there? Thanks again for your help.
Jul 15th, 2009, 09:44 PM
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Hi again Nankie, so glad my TR gave you inspiration!
Mårtengsgård was indeed lovely, we so enjoyed our stay there - but as you say, probably too large for your requirements, with two storeys and four large bedrooms. The only minor drawback was the proximity of the main house – but as our charming hosts were both away at work during the week, inconvenience was minimal. The surrounding area was typical of Swedish countryside – just gorgeous! Checking my docs, I see a price increase of Kr1,000 per week, and Kr300 per night since we stayed there two years ago.
A smaller cottage that we were seriously considering at the time was on Lake Storsjön near Årsunda, http://www.escape2sweden.t83.net/ which may be of interest, although unfortunately not less expensive.
I think you’ll find prices on a per night basis are more expensive compared to by the week for most summer cottages. Sweden is hugely impacted by the current global economic crisis, and many Swedes are choosing to holiday in-country instead of overseas holidays so domestic demand for sommarstugor is perhaps higher than usual.
Have you thought about a cottage in the Uppsala area? At under an hour’s drive from Arlanda Airport (north of Stockholm at Märsta) on the E4 freeway, this might be much more convenient plus there’s so much to see in this area as well. Have a browse of these cottage websites ...
http://www.stugknuten.com/defaulteng.asp
http://www.stugguiden.se/en/index.asp
Happy hunting!
Mårtengsgård was indeed lovely, we so enjoyed our stay there - but as you say, probably too large for your requirements, with two storeys and four large bedrooms. The only minor drawback was the proximity of the main house – but as our charming hosts were both away at work during the week, inconvenience was minimal. The surrounding area was typical of Swedish countryside – just gorgeous! Checking my docs, I see a price increase of Kr1,000 per week, and Kr300 per night since we stayed there two years ago.
A smaller cottage that we were seriously considering at the time was on Lake Storsjön near Årsunda, http://www.escape2sweden.t83.net/ which may be of interest, although unfortunately not less expensive.
I think you’ll find prices on a per night basis are more expensive compared to by the week for most summer cottages. Sweden is hugely impacted by the current global economic crisis, and many Swedes are choosing to holiday in-country instead of overseas holidays so domestic demand for sommarstugor is perhaps higher than usual.
Have you thought about a cottage in the Uppsala area? At under an hour’s drive from Arlanda Airport (north of Stockholm at Märsta) on the E4 freeway, this might be much more convenient plus there’s so much to see in this area as well. Have a browse of these cottage websites ...
http://www.stugknuten.com/defaulteng.asp
http://www.stugguiden.se/en/index.asp
Happy hunting!
Jul 17th, 2009, 06:07 PM
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Cool you’re enjoying the ‘cottage hunt’ links, Nankie.
So here’s another link to browse, an organisation of holiday cottages on farms throughout Sweden http://www.bopalantgard.org/Valkommen/Ramar_GB.htm
which are all carefully vetted for quality and high standard; Martinsgard is part of this group and is how I actually found it.
This one caught my eye - it’s near a small village called Morgongåva, north west of Uppsala http://www.tega.nu/uk/index.html and about 500Kr pn less expensive compared to Martensgard. Morgongåva means Morning Gift, how rustically romantic!
So here’s another link to browse, an organisation of holiday cottages on farms throughout Sweden http://www.bopalantgard.org/Valkommen/Ramar_GB.htm
which are all carefully vetted for quality and high standard; Martinsgard is part of this group and is how I actually found it.
This one caught my eye - it’s near a small village called Morgongåva, north west of Uppsala http://www.tega.nu/uk/index.html and about 500Kr pn less expensive compared to Martensgard. Morgongåva means Morning Gift, how rustically romantic!
Jul 20th, 2009, 08:12 PM
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After spending some pleasant hours looking at all the cottages on the various sites, I have decided we will stay at Martensgard after all! Can't wait!
I see it is in the vicinity of the Falun mine and Carl Larsson's home - two things that look like they might be interesting side trips. Or else just wander wherever....
Thanks again for your help!
I see it is in the vicinity of the Falun mine and Carl Larsson's home - two things that look like they might be interesting side trips. Or else just wander wherever....
Thanks again for your help!
Jul 21st, 2009, 07:30 PM
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Have a wonderful time, Nankie! Hope you enjoy Martensgard cottage, Gastrikland and Dalarna as much as we did.
Once again, so sorry the pic links no longer work in my TR; if you’d like to see them, please post your email address here (make it a bit cryptic to prevent it being picked up by a web-bot trawler, eg someone at hostnet dot com etc) and I’ll be more than happy to forward them to you.
Lyklig resa (happy travels)!
Once again, so sorry the pic links no longer work in my TR; if you’d like to see them, please post your email address here (make it a bit cryptic to prevent it being picked up by a web-bot trawler, eg someone at hostnet dot com etc) and I’ll be more than happy to forward them to you.
Lyklig resa (happy travels)!
Aug 2nd, 2009, 06:11 AM
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FurryTiles, I would love to see your pictures. My address is nannyhimmy at yahoo dot com. (Sorry I was slow to respond - have been visiting elderly mother in NY, with no internet access!)
Thank you!
Thank you!
Aug 2nd, 2009, 04:13 PM
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Just sent an email to you, Nankie. (As an unknown sender, will probably arrive in your Junk Mail folder, so have put Fodor's Europe board in the subject heading.)
Hope all was well with your mum and steamy NY.
Hope all was well with your mum and steamy NY.
Oct 27th, 2009, 05:31 PM
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Furry Tiles - I have just sent you an email, with my thanks for all your help - but I thought I should put it here too, for any others that might read this thread.
The Martensgard house turned out to be perfect. We were very pleased - lovely countryside, comfortable and immaculate house, and owners who were extremely nice and helpful.
Stockholm was great too; we thoroughly enjoyed this trip!
By the way, despite my worries, the flight on SAS was much better than I had anticipated - the time passed very pleasantly, with plenty of free food, drink and entertainment, nice staff - much better than the spartan domestic flights we have become used to. And the drive from Arlanda wasn't bad at all. Driving in Sweden was quite easy, except my husband had a bit of trouble getting used to the roundabouts, especially in areas of heavier traffic (where we narrowly avoided colliding with a huge logging truck one day!)
Thanks again to all for the help!
The Martensgard house turned out to be perfect. We were very pleased - lovely countryside, comfortable and immaculate house, and owners who were extremely nice and helpful.
Stockholm was great too; we thoroughly enjoyed this trip!
By the way, despite my worries, the flight on SAS was much better than I had anticipated - the time passed very pleasantly, with plenty of free food, drink and entertainment, nice staff - much better than the spartan domestic flights we have become used to. And the drive from Arlanda wasn't bad at all. Driving in Sweden was quite easy, except my husband had a bit of trouble getting used to the roundabouts, especially in areas of heavier traffic (where we narrowly avoided colliding with a huge logging truck one day!)
Thanks again to all for the help!
Oct 28th, 2009, 12:04 AM
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Hi Nankie, thanks so much for your feedback and email. Am so pleased you enjoyed Martensgard cottage as much as we did!
And yep, roundabouts are tricky - best way to tackle them is to remember that any traffic on the roundabout has right of way; of course, logging trucks always have right of way even when they really don't!
Have recently stayed in a rustic, one-room stuga on the banks of a lake, surrounded by forest glowing with yellow chantarelle mushrooms. I loved this experience of a truly rustic little cottage with no indoor plumbing, washing the dishes outside in the fresh air, toilet along a wee path lit up with candles - and the lake itself providing the bathtub!
Here's the link, http://www.ljomsebogard.se/index_en.htm Stayed in the cottage called "Sjöstugan". Truly the essence of 'countryside'!
And yep, roundabouts are tricky - best way to tackle them is to remember that any traffic on the roundabout has right of way; of course, logging trucks always have right of way even when they really don't!
Have recently stayed in a rustic, one-room stuga on the banks of a lake, surrounded by forest glowing with yellow chantarelle mushrooms. I loved this experience of a truly rustic little cottage with no indoor plumbing, washing the dishes outside in the fresh air, toilet along a wee path lit up with candles - and the lake itself providing the bathtub!
Here's the link, http://www.ljomsebogard.se/index_en.htm Stayed in the cottage called "Sjöstugan". Truly the essence of 'countryside'!
Oct 28th, 2009, 05:13 AM
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Nankie, it was storybook cute and authentic - the opposite of luxury - and the newly installed little wood fireplace added to the charm. If you click on the Swedish flag on the webpage and then double click the photos, you can view them in larger format.
I'll send you a few pix just to get your taste buds in return-to-Sweden drool mode!
I'll send you a few pix just to get your taste buds in return-to-Sweden drool mode!
