We’ve camped six nights now in five different campgrounds and are finally getting used to how different “camping” is here. I thought we got lucky the first night when the campground we stayed at was right next to town with food for purchase, clean showers and bathrooms, and a kitchen and dining hall. Now I realize that this is most campgrounds in Sweden, where “camping” means something very different than what we’ve done in the US.

The locals would laugh at how much work we’ve put into gathering a backpacking stove, camp dishes, travel towels, and other gear. We pay an average of $30/ night for our campsite, which is really just an open soft grassy area for tents in the middle of what reminds me of summer camps I attended as a kid, with access to various buildings: a food market, a full kitchen with multi stoves and sinks, full bathrooms with private stalls and showers, sitting areas (with wifi), all near town and within walking distance to shops and restaurants. The one we stayed at last night had a restaurant and bar on location.

We’re usually the only campers with tents. The Swedes stay in RV’s, cabins, or more permanent fabric tents attached to mobile units that remain up the whole summer. We’ve met several people who live in or near Stockholm and treat their spot at the campground as a summer home, where they stay for a whole season or on weekends during the season.  

There have been mini-golf courses and playgrounds at almost every spot we’ve stayed and the kids are becoming mini-golf connoisseurs, ranking their favorites spots and challenges.

With campgrounds like this, we’ve hardly missed motels or BnB’s. We get regular showers, do laundry, and use the kitchens. The kids adjusted to the time difference within the first few days, while it took Chris and I about a week. He and I still wake a few times during the (ever light) night, but use sleep mask to block the sun and a white noise machine on his phone when it gets loud: mainly, it’s the birds that wake us up. I’ve never heard such crazy bird noises. It’s like we’re sleeping in bird sanctuaries.

I’ve always enjoyed camping and have done it since childhood, but I was nervous about how much sleep I’d get. When I think of camping, I think of not sleeping. But spending all day every day outside in natural light, riding our bikes, has me completely exhausted by the time we get camp set up. After the first week’s adjustment to jet lag and constant daylight, I’ve fallen onto my sleeping mat in the evening and snuggled in. It’s beginning to feel like home, the tent a big cozy living room where we relax at night.