A tip for all chocolate lovers. In October and November, three of Sweden’s biggest cities will arrange chocolate festivals. Don’t miss the opportunity to taste new delicacies and learn more about chocolate.

Stockholm Chocolate Festival, October 10-12

This three day festival started today, for the seventh year in row, at Nordiska Muséet, Stockholm.  Open from 10am. Tickets can be bought on Ticnet.

Malmo Chocolate Festival, October 25-26

Buy coffee, chocolate and tea, and listen to lectures about the history of chocolate. Located in Slagthuset, Malmö

Gothenburg’s Chocolate & Delicacy Party, November 1-2

During this year’s festival in Gothenburg’s City Museum, the theme is organic. Visitors can enjoy tastings, a chocolate inspired fashion show, and much more.

If you ever travel to the Swedish capital Stockholm, don’t miss visiting Djurgården. Djurgården is a huge recreation park area attracting millions of visitors per year. I love going there to take long walks, jog a while, cycle or visit Skansen Zoo. The view from the zoo over the city is a must during clear days.

Skating in Sweden might not be as good as in Barcelona, Copenhagen or Prague, but we do have at least three terrific skate parks.

1. Stapelbäddsparken, Malmö

2. Fun Park, Linköping

3. Fryshuset, Stockholm

Linköping Jazz & Blues Festival is a must for all jazz and blues lovers. The festival takes place in Linköping Konsert & Kongress (Consert & Congress) Saturday 5th April 2008. From four o’clock in the afternoon to an hour after midnight, 300 artists, including the Swedish jazz singer Victoria Tolstoy, will perform on 12 different stages.

According to SKI’s annual study on the Swedish travel business, Swebus Express‘ costumers are more satisfied than both SJ and SAS. Swebus Express has over 10,000 departures each week, travels to more than 150 destinations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and serves about 3 million passengers per year. Apart from Scandinavia,  Swebus Express also travels to Brussels, Hamburg, Berlin and Paris.  

For more information, call +46 771 218 218

From the 27th November, Qatar Airways will fly non-stop to Doha, Qatar, from Stockholm Arlanda International Airport. Their Airbus A319 planes, offering eight seats in Business Class and 102 seats in Economy, will depart four days a week. The travel time to Doha is about six hours.

Click here for the full press release.

Bicycles next to Malmo Railway Station

I often find cycling a better choice than public transportation, especially when I arrive in a new city. As long as it’s not pouring outside, cycling has a lot of advantages - fresh air, free excercise, no need to check timetables, you get to see things you might have missed from a crowded bus, you can stop whenever you want…the list goes on and on.

Geneva, Zurich, Strasbourg, Vienna and Malmo are some of the destinations I have explored from the saddle of a bicyle. Many European cities now cater for the increasing demand from tourists and locals. In Paris, cycle enthusiasts have made use of the city’s self-service bicycle-lending program, Vélib, since July and Lyon launched a smaller version two years ago. Hopefully more cities will follow in their footsteps.  

Spinrock at Liseberg Amusement Park

Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg, Sweden, is the biggest amusement park in Scandinavia. Since they year I was 2 I have probably been there about 14 times, or even more. We always begin at the Liseberg Tower offering an amazing view over Gothenburg and end with the House of Mirrors, a maze full of different mirrors which make you taller, shorter, thinner, fatter… I can guarantee you will laugh!

One of my favorite rides is Balder; they call it the biggest wooden coaster in the world, not for people afraid of heights because the first drop is 70 degrees. Another funny ride is Spinrock, the carousel opposite Balder, where you almost ride upside down. Don’t miss the roller coaster Lisebergbanan or the water rides Flumeride and Kållerado. My favourite carousel has always been The Jukebox where you ride in gaudy coloured cars moving and down and round whilst listening to music from the 50s. The new attraction for 2007 is Uppswinget (The Screamin’ Swing). I haven’t tried it yet, but apparently it is the scariest ride in the park.

To make the most out of Liseberg, stay until they close - often at 11pm. Evenings are better because most people have gone home and the queues are shorter. We always buy the 1-day ride pass for 280 SEK or a 1-day ride pass for 315 SEK including a ticket to the Gasten Ghost Hotel. You can also buy a large ticket book for 225 SEK including 18 ride coupons and 3 wheel-of-fortune tickets, but you will probably gain on buying a 1-day pass with unlimited rides.

Mean Streak, Cedar Point

The best amusement park outside Europe is, in my opinion, Cedar Point in Ohio. Cedar Point is located on a peninsula in Lake Erie, between Cleveland and Toledo, in Sandusky. We travelled by car from Michigan, arrived around 11am and went to the roller coaster Raptor, near the entrance, at once. After 45-minutes waiting we sat in a ski-lift style seat with lap belts and shoulder harnesses, our legs dangled free during the ride and we went upside down six times.

The best ride at Cedar Point, apart from Mean Streak, is Millennium Force - one of the fastest and tallest roller coasters in the world, with an 80 degrees descent. We saved this ride till the end because of the extremely long queue during the day. If they weren’t about to close the park we would definitely have gone a second time.

Don’t forget to see the beach before you leave Cedar Point. The two beach entrances are located by Hotel Breakers south of Soak City (the water park).

We paid $41.95 per person for a Cedar Point Funday. Children aged two and under can enter Cedar Point and Soak City free.

Gamla Väster

Gamla Väster near the Lilla Torget square is a charming and rather quiet neighbourhood with pedestrian streets lined with boutiques, galleries and cafés. The best cafés here are CoffeeManiac and Café Siesta. CoffeeManiac is a trendy café located in an old cellar at Långgårdsgatan 8. Their open-air café is definitely one of the best in the city, the location is terrrific. Don’t miss CoffeeManiac’s special sandwiches - served warm with generous fillings and cut in two pieces to make it easier to eat. CoffeeManiac is open Monday to Friday 11am-18pm and Saturday to Sunday 11am-4pm.

Café Siesta is a modern and sophisticated café, bar and restaurant at Hjorttakegatan 1. Their open-air café tends to be crowded during warm summer days. The prices are rather high and the guests are generally older than the twenty to thirty something crowd hanging out at CoffeeManiac. Starters cost 40-100 SEK and count on 95-140 SEK for the mains. Café Siesta is open Tuesday to Thursday 10am-12noon. Friday 10am-1am, Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 11am-6pm. Don’t miss their tasty brunch on weekends!

Joshua Perdy in Manatura

When living in Malmo, the third largest city in Sweden, I found that the square Drottningtorget is unbeatable in terms of organic living.

At the upper right hand corner near the street Norra Vallgatan is a great organic food shop. Further up the street is Manatura, one of few organic hair salons in Sweden. The owner Joshua Perdy has lived and worked in cities such as New York, London, San Francisco and Tokyo before establishing himself as the best organic hairdresser in Malmo. When I asked which his favourite city was he said it’s the city where he go to bed at night.  Sounds logical, but it was actually the first time I ever heard someone say it. Joshua spoke about the increasing demand for non-chemical and eco-friendly products, hopefully others will follow in his footsteps.

Manatura has a warm and welcoming atmosphere with a cozy mix of second-hand and newer stuff. And it is probably the only hairdresser in the country without mirrors. Manatura is Sweden’s only retailer of John Master’s Organics and they sell organic hair- and skincare products from Miessence.

Don’t miss Babuschka Sustainable Design, a small shop selling organic clothes. Babuschka has shared premises with Manatura since the opening in October 2004 and attracts many regular costumers. The owner Malin Busch is positive to the future of organic living and shows that organic fashion definitely isn’t boring.

Malin Busch in Babuschka

Further up the street, at Drottningtorget 6, is the place to go for the most delicious home-made Italian ice cream in the city. Dolce Sicilia is a modern family owned gelateria offering terrific organic ice cream, crepes, foccacia, salads, milkshakes, fresh pressed juices and Italian coffee. Dolce Sicilia is open daily 11am-9pm.

Dolce Sicilia