Hej and welcome to my first blog! I arrived in Linköping in August to start my master’s degree and I’m excited to share more of my experience. One of my big goals in Sweden was to explore the great swedish nature and I feel lucky because I already got to see a lot in my first weeks here. I want to share one of my favourite trips so far with you in this blog to inspire you to get out and experience the outdoors in Sweden.

Some friends and I used two free days during the week to go to Viggeby Naturreservat and check out the lake Järnlunden by kayaking. I was really excited for this opportunity as I’ve never been kayaking before and Sweden’s landscape with its multitude of lakes and islands is perfect for it. We got there by car, but the location is also easily reachable by taking public transport, as the bus 39 from Linköping runs quite close to the lake.

We rented our kayaks (we used the company Linköping Kayak AB) and started exploring the lake. After some difficulties with paddling straight in the beginning, the kayaking was really fun, even though a strong wind and some waves made me feel like we were out on the open sea. After a little break on a gorgeous small island for some lunch we got back into the kayaks. Our plans of a big loop around the lake got cut short because one of my friends actually capsized in the kayak! The waves got the better of him. Luckily we were close to shore, so he managed to get back in his kayak quickly.

   

After we returned the kayaks and dried off (one of us had more to dry than the others… ), some more friends joined us and we decided to stay for the night at one of the great shelters in the nature reserve, enjoying the swedish Allemansrätten (The right to freely roam and camp in the outdoors – one of my favorite things about Sweden). We spent a fun evening at the campfire with BBQ and a gorgeous sunset before we retreated into our sleeping bags. On the next day we had a chill morning enjoying the views of the lake before we started hiking back into civilization.

Our poor campfire fighting against a sudden rainshower

I’m really happy about the trip as I got my first experience with kayaking and I really want to do more of it now! It was very fun to explore all the little islands and channels in the lake. Also Sweden is a great country for this sport as there are awesome lakes wherever you look. If you want to try it out, I can recommend kayaking at Viggeby wholeheartedly!

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