The biggest risk of a holiday to Sweden is to be so overwhelmed by the beauty of the country that you stay. That’s what happened to Sylvia Adams, nature photographer, and owner of Amazing Nature Scandinavia. These are her 5 favorite pearls in central Sweden.

Originally from Belgium, Sylvia is a passionate nature photographer. Sweden is an ideal location for nature photographers. After all, there are only twenty people per square kilometer in Sweden. This means that there is a lot of nature left for the numerous animals that live in Sweden.

On one of her trips to Sweden, she thought she might as well stay. After all, she fell completely in love with the beautiful country. She chose the province of Västmanland, home to Europe’s densest wilderness. In 2017, she founded Amazing Nature Scandinavia so she can share all her discoveries with others. “For a nature photographer, there is no better place in this world,” says Sylvia. “The overwhelming nature in my home base is something I want to share with you through photography workshops, wildlife safaris, and other outdoor activities.”

But in between all those adventures, you also need to spend the night somewhere. And preferably in special places. Sylvia has discovered quite a few. This is her top 5 of the most special gems in central Sweden.

It is not only nature and outdoor games in Central Sweden. If you are looking for luxury, you can rest easy at the stately Färna Herrgård. And the Swedish king does, too, from time to time. So you are in good company.

The immense Färna Herrgård manor house lies majestically between the forests of Skinnskatteberg. This monument to the iron industry was once owned by the Dutchman Abraham Mommas, who traded in iron and tar. Today, the manor house and its outbuildings are a beautiful and very chic hotel. The classically furnished rooms exude the wealth and opulence of the past in a contemporary way. A spa, with all the trimmings, is, of course, a must. The fact that you can also hire part of the spa privately is, of course, the ultimate luxury.

It is here that the current King of Sweden comes to stay in between his moose hunts when it is hunting season. It is his favorite spot. “Wow. Taste this” calls photographer Frits as he hands me his bottle of rhubarb lemonade. I pour some into a glass. So, that’s good. “It comes from rhubarb from our own fields,” says the waitress at Färna Herrgård’s restaurant. “We also make our own ice cream with it,” she says as she serves my plate of fried perch from their own lake. So cool that just about everything in the dish comes from our own land.

NATURAL WEALTH
Not much later, we are walking through those fields. Apart from rhubarb fields, the woods are bursting with raspberries, wild strawberries, blueberries, and wild cherry trees. There may have been riches in the ground in the past, but nowadays, natural riches grow and bloom everywhere you look. An osprey flies high above us. The water of the lake behind Färna Herrgård glistens in the summer sun. Below the water surface, groupers play their fishy game. Crickets sing their song. In the field, we discover a mausoleum of one of the former owners of the estate. The mausoleum is very appropriately constructed of turquoise and blue-tinged snails, the residual product of iron production.

And there are more indications of Färna Herrgård’s iron past. A wooden tube hundreds of metres long runs across the site. Water flows through it from one lake to another and still creates energy. About 500 kilowatts. Enough for five hundred households.

Färna Herrgård gets its own energy from this; the rest is sold to the energy company. Since the beginning of the last century, the pipes have been there when the ironworks needed the energy, and they still work.
It is a magically beautiful estate. “Try lying in the green moss and looking up at the sky through the treetops,” says Wenche Engström, owner of the estate.

I almost eat my fingers at the dessert, again all from their own garden. “Food is important, not only as nutrition but also as a treat for both the eye and the palate,” Wenche gloats. “It is a special feeling when you know where the products come from, from our own vegetable garden and from local farmers. In the hands of our head chef, Inga-Lena Eriksson, and her kitchen team, the produce is transformed into delicious dishes.” Färna Herrgård. That is the real luxury.

In the vast forests of Västmanland, two hours west of Stockholm, wilderness meets rural life. Here at Ulvsbomuren, Hellen Wistrand’s farm, you will experience the pure flavors of Sweden. And Hellen knows all about the wildlife and birds in the area.

Ulvsbomuren is situated about ten kilometers northwest of the small town of Ramnäs along the Kolbäcksån river. The iron industry was highly developed in this area. The ironworks gave away forest land to farmers who supplied the factories with wood and charcoal. This is how Ulvsbomuren came into being in the 17th century.

Owner Hellen has turned it into a warm, contemporary inn. Warm and wonderfully cozy. Would you like to help feed the lambs or go on a discovery tour to study the mating dance of the capercaillie? That is possible. Elks also wander across the fields.

Being with Swedish nature makes you hungry. Luckily, Hellen cooks the stars out of the sky with fresh ingredients from the farm and the surrounding nature. The farm’s own products such as lamb, vegetables, fruit, berries, and herbs are thoughtfully and creatively mixed with ingredients from the forest such as game and feathered game, mushrooms, wild berries, and fish and crayfish from several lakes in the area. Freshly harvested, well prepared, tasty, and delicious.

There is no better way to wake up than with a view of your own private lake. At Hotel Sommarhagen, you can choose to stay in the old rectory, in a floating hotel room or in a glass house built on the rolling hills by the shore of a beautiful lake. Would you like to go canoeing?

In the old days, which are not that long ago, the smallholders of Östergötland would walk four hours there and four hours back in all weathers to attend church services in the former presbytery from the 17th century. Today, Sommarhagen is a friendly hotel with a sublime restaurant run by Marianne and her husband Bengt-Göran.

Here in the middle of the wilderness of southern Östergötland, just 2.5 hours from Stockholm or Gothenburg, most people drive in the middle of the road. Simply because other motorists are less frequent than the moose and other wildlife that crosses the road.

You wake up at the hotel with a view of the grazing horses in the fields and woods. But Sommarhagen also offers two extraordinary places to spend the night in the woods nearby.

You will find a brand-new cottage on a pontoon on a lake, a floating hotel room. With the doors open, you will fall asleep peacefully in the softly murmuring water. Your canoe is, of course, faithfully waiting.

But also, the two glass houses that Marianne and her husband have built on the slope of a hill overlooking, another lake. You can walk down in a minute to the banks where you can light a fire or take a night-time canoe trip across your own lake for the night. And when it gets close to midsummer, the moon gives off the most beautiful blue light you’ve ever seen, so it’s like paddling to Valhalla.