Sweden For Christmas Ideas
 

My husband has to go to Sweden for work. My 10yr son and I are thinking of joining him and then we would be in Sweden for about 10 days over christmas. We like a variety of things, but I cannot hike so things like that are out. Our son snowboards, but my husband and I don't. We will be in Linkoping, but are not afraid to travel. What are some ideas?

We are scouters and like things related to the history and international scouting as well as anything that is history related. We are also interested in things that typical tourists don't usually do.

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/c...dic_quack.html

Well if there on Christmas Eve, when Swedes, like many Europeans celebrate Christmas (and not on Christmas Day) you'll HAVE to watch this Christmas Eve tradition throughout Sweden - kind of weird but... you 10 yr old son may like it!

I have only been to Sweden in August, so I don't know what it's like in December. Nevertheless, it should be an interesting trip. I would imagine you can catch a train to Stockholm. In my humble opinion, Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities. I also loved the people there. It probably is going to be festive for the holidays. I will follow your progress with interest. I am sure more experienced travelers will weigh in soon.

The area around Linköping is as flat as a pancake so no hiking in that area.

Scandinavia is always festive for Christmas. They call it Christmas and not "holidays" or to be precise, Yule (jul). Linköping is particularly lit up with Christmas illuminations all over the city. The main city park is lit up inc the fountains. If you want to try the traditional "julbord" (literally Christmas table) without breaking the bank, go to Ikea where they have the Christmas buffet properly laid out in their restaurant. You will need to take the bus to one of the malls outside the city centre to reach Ikea (or rent a car). Or if you want to go more upscale, this is the best place in Linköping for a traditional Swedish Christmas buffet:-

http://www.stangsmagasin.se/vara-menyer/julbord/

Linköping is very provincial and doesn't have a great deal to do but here are a few things:

1. Swedish airforce museum, very worthwhile seeing, esp the exhibiton of a DC3 that was found in the Baltic sea. As you probably know, Linköping is home to SAAB (aircraft) so there are many SAAB fighter aircraft on display. You can reach the museum by bus (travelcards to be bought at the central station, you cannot pay onboard the bus.)

http://www.flygvapenmuseum.se/en/

2.Old Linköping (open air museum)
There is a Christmas market in old Linköping (Gamla Linköping). Kids should like it. There are Christmas markets in Linkoping itself, try the mulled wine (glögg) which is different to the German/Austrian ones, Swedish one has snapps added (never say schnapps, it is always snapps in Scandinavian countries and the best ones are strongly flavoured with cardamom), flaked almonds and raisins.

http://www.gamlalinkoping.info/en/activities

3. Bergs Lock on the Gota Canal but in winter there will be no boats, might be ok for a nice brisk walk
4. Ekenäs Castle just outside Linköping
5. Walk along Längs Stångån in central Linköping which is a canal, it's a very nice long walk, very popular with locals.
6. Saint Lucia day on the 13th December is very important in Sweden, try to buy tickets to attend a church service, it is a very special Christmas experience.

http://linkopingsdomkyrka.se/welcome...ping-cathedral

You can rent bicycles even in winter, yes, they have winter tyres just like cars.

The train service from Linköping to central Stockholm takes about 2-3 hours, so probably best if you overnight in Stockholm. Trains need to be prebooked otherwise it is very expensive. Always reserve a seat and this route is very busy, esp at Christmas. There are plenty of threads on what to do/see in Stockholm. You can take an overnight trip from Linköping to Helsinki via Stockholm on an organised tour, book thru one of the travel agents in the city centre.

Nearby town of Norrköping has a historic centre, very nice to walk around. A trip to Arkösund which is in the same area is also very nice as it is a small village on the Stockholm archipelago and the closest for Linköping.

Other places worth visiting

http://www.visitostergotland.se/en/Vadstena/
http://www.visitostergotland.se/soderkopingeng

If you plan to rent a car, pick it up at an airport eg Arlanda (although a 3+ hour drive to LPI) or Skavsta as it is much cheaper than trying to rent locally.

Lastly, how to pronounce Linköping - Linshoping.

Be aware that Sweden celebrate Christmas for 3 days, Christmas eve
Christmas Day and second Day Chrstmas when everything is closed. Shut down and zippered up.
Personally I would think it is the worst time to visit a small town in Sweden.

Be aware that 2nd day Christmas, everything is NOT closed.

Here are suggestions but double check open hours during the Christmas holidays.

I second the Gamla Linköping visit as Odin mentioned. The buildings are not original to the place but were relocated there and it is very charming. Your son will enjoy the science building called Fenomen magasinet. http://www.fenomenmagasinet.se
There are a couple of nice cafés in Gamla Linköping where to have a coffee or lunch.

A short drive out of town to the town of Vadstena and visit Vadstena Slött. It is open until or through Dec 27.

Linköping itself has a decent swimming-pool if your 10 Year old gets antsy. It was probably built in the 70's so looks a bit dated but has a fun wave pool.

There is a nice Local museum in the city of Linköping that has a great permanent exhibit on the history of the region and other art. (Sorry I can't look it up as if I leave this page on My iPad all of my post will disappear.). They have a wonderful little lunch restaurant/café on the main level.

Christmas Eve in the cathedral. Or check the websites for worship times as a service could be at 6am on Christmas Day.

Take a couple of days in a Stockholm.

Linköping also has an airport and direct flights on a couple of the popular low price airlines if you want to scrap Sweden and head to the Canary Islands or some where warm and sunny. ;)

Here's the museum link:
Östergötlands museum
http://www.ostergotlandsmuseum.se/subsites/2