Last July, we went on a weekend trip to Sweden, checked out the country’s innermost harbour in Arvika, and stayed overnight in an old glass factory, the Glava glasbruk. I was recovering well from my surgery, I was on week 3, but I thought that it would be best to sleep in a bed instead of a tent that time. We left Drammen at around 11:45 am, picked up some chocolate shake from McDonald’s, and made our way across the border. Luckily, our trip was graced with a beautiful sunny weather!

Arvika is located in the Värmland region and was founded in 1911. It’s a beautiful Swedish town with much to offer in the areas of culture and history, hiking, biking, fishing and nature escapades. After enjoying our much-anticipated Swedish kebab pizza, we strolled along the streets of the town, some were cobblestone. We passed by the white Trinity Church (Trefeldighetskyrkan) overlooking the city. It was consecrated in 1911. In the Visitor Center, people were nice and gave out a free postcard.

By the way, we were also geocaching in the city. Sometimes, geocaching is a good way to find hidden spots or nice routes in the city. We saw the movie house and the long-established town hall facing the city park and Kyrkviken, a secluded bay mouthing towards Glasfjorden. Glaskogen Nature Reserve is within reach from Arvika. There’s a geocache hiding under the bridge by the city park, and it was funny to get it. A number of people on their walks spotted us coming out from behind the bushes beside the bridge. 🙂

Approaching the bay, we crossed the railway and checked out the Handicraft depot. They have antiques, old rooms exhibiting handicraft stations, ornaments, knick-knacks. There’s also a small boutique/restaurant.

We left the city center at around 5pm. The accommodation was around 35 minutes of driving away. Glava Glasbruk, as mentioned, was a former glass factory. Some of the buildings were preserved. One of which, the Bruksgården, was turned into a hostel. As such, guests are expected to bring their own linens and towels, and to clean and tidy up the room before leaving.

Here’s the review we left of the accommodation: “Historical place, refreshing atmosphere, close to nature. Surrounded by nice trails. Easy check in. Shared bathroom a bit small, but it’s fine. Heard buzzing mosquitoes at night, but no bites in the morning. Bring your own linens and towels. Good for a night’s rest; value for money.”

In the evening, we went for a walk. The place was surrounded by nature trails, and the Lake Stora Gla greeted us “gladly”. 😀 There were glass pebbles (literally “glass”) by the bay and the my favorite towering trees were graced by the sunset. It was a very pleasant view! More about the history of the place here: https://glavaglasbruk.org/brukets_historia/.

We had a good stay, although it was only for a night, and learned new things about a new place in one of my favorite (and most visited) countries, Sweden. On the way home to the kitts, we bought some candies. There was rain in Norway, pftt..

It’s September now. Where did time go, they say. Summer is over and autumn has arrived. But since we haven’t taken any summer vacation yet, we’ll try to still catch some summer vibes the next couple of weeks. 🙂 #spreadloveandpositivevibes. ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ON THIS BLOG ENTRY ARE MINE. 🙂 Cheers!