Alve: My first Swedish summer deserved a proper ending - Kräftskiva

I’ve mentioned my cousin quite a few times in my previous blogs, so this time I thought it would be nice to visit her before my final-year classes started. My cousin lives in Jönköping with her husband and my two beautiful nieces.

So, as planned, I booked my train ticket, packed my things, and headed off on another little adventure.

Jönköping is honestly one of the most beautiful cities I’ve visited in Sweden. It’s only around two and a half hours by train from Örebro, making it a perfect destination for a short trip.

The city has this beautiful Mediterranean feeling to me—especially because of its location next to Lake Vättern, the second-largest lake in Sweden. And honestly, it’s so huge that sometimes I still struggle to believe it’s actually a lake!

This trip was more about spending quality time with family than exploring, so I enjoyed some relaxing moments with them and even went for a quick swim in the lake.

Of course, another highlight was my sister’s delicious home cooking. But there was one thing that completely stole the spotlight from all the amazing food—my brother-in-law Roko decided to introduce me to a proper Swedish kräftskiva!

Roko has been living in Sweden for more than a decade, so he knows Swedish culture and traditions very well. First, he explained to me what a kräftskiva is and how the tradition works. Then we went shopping to get everything ready.

Since August was still warm and the weather was perfect, we decided to have the kräftskiva in their garden.

And honestly, what better way could there be to say goodbye to my first Swedish summer?

Once everything was ready, the whole family sat together and finally got to try the food.

Oh my! I already love Swedish food, but this was something completely different. Roko prepared everything so nicely, and I genuinely enjoyed every part of it.

More than anything, I feel really lucky to have part of my family living relatively close to me here in Sweden. Being away from home can sometimes be difficult, so having family nearby makes a huge difference.

And after experiencing my first Swedish summer, I finally understand why everyone here gets so excited when summer arrives.

It’s not just about the warm weather. It’s about the long days, spending time outdoors, being with family and friends, and celebrating traditions like Midsummer and kräftskiva. There is just so much life and culture packed into these few months.

And just like that, my first Swedish summer is coming to an end.

There aren’t many days left before I head back to university for my final year. A new academic year, new experiences, and hopefully many more stories are waiting for me.

See you all very soon with the stories from Season Two of my Swedish journey.

Until then—hej då!