Remember how I expressed my endearing love for airplanes last week? Well, one of my trips last year was to Östersund in Sweden and my visit there truly was amazing that I had to post about it.

I remember, when I arrived in Stockholm and was getting off the plane, a little Swedish girl kept smiling at me and I smiled back. She had big blue eyes and hair so blonde and straight, it was almost white. She really was a pretty girl. Her mother thought we were cute and noticed that I was not Swedish, so she asked where I was going to in Sweden. When I told her I was going to Östersund, her eyes grew wide and she said; “You’re going to Östersund? It’s so cold there!” And she’s Swedish.

Basically, that is the perfect description of my time in Östersund. Cold.

Östersund is a beautiful ski town in the middle of Sweden. There were piles of snow everywhere. I lived in New York City, yet I had never seen that much snow in one place. I remember when we arrived in Stockholm, there was no snow on the runways at the airport. However, when we arrived in Östersund, there was so much snow on the runways that it reached up to my shoulders. I’m not exaggerating. Seeing snow, after eight years, really was euphoric. I felt like a little kid; all jittery and excited out of my mind.

The temperature in Östersund was always below zero degrees Celsius. One time, the temperature went down to -21 degrees Celsius and I had to wear three pairs of pants, only for the cold to not get through to my skin.

However, Östersund was not only cold. It truly is a wonderful place to visit with lots of places to check out.

Vinterparken – is basically a snow park with a huge frozen lake you can actually walk on. Seeing all that snow in one area really was mesmerizing. There were snow sculptures and children were sledging and playing in this huge snow castle.

Storlien Mountains – we got to do some sledging and take in the beautiful views. While at Storlien, we got to visit the Åre Chocolate Factory and Lord help me, the chocolate there was incredible. I bought a few bars for my dad because I knew he would love them.

Jamtli Museum – this beautiful museum shows the history of the Vikings in Sweden with hunting and fishing artifacts. Most importantly, the museum has on display the Överhogdal tapestries which are tapestries from the Viking era, which are older than the Bayeux Tapestry.

Of course, going to such a country as Sweden with so much snow and low temperatures, I did some flat ground skiing. I fell only three times and managed to enjoy the sport. It’s hard keeping your balance while skiing.

One thing I noticed while visiting Sweden was that there are no curly-haired people. My hair is too curly and so visiting Sweden, I experienced a few people looking at my hair weirdly.

Moreover, visiting Östersund was pretty awesome. I had never been on a wintery trip before and so it was something different. Next week, I’m going skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria and I know I’m prepared for the icy weather. What I loved mostly about my visit to Östersund was that I got to make incredible friends who I’m glad get to visit me here in Gozo in the summer!