Day trip in Mid SwedenDuring my time in Östersund, a city which has a lot of meaning to me as I traveled there a couple of times some years ago; I also traveled within Jämtland to discover its wide and lonely countryside and was quite excited about this little adventure. I visited one of Sweden’s most astonishing Waterfalls “Tännforsen”. The Tänn Falls are located between Tänn and Östra Norn lakes and near Mount Åreskutan in a natural reserve. In February, enormous icicles are covering the entire waterfall with the lake fully set in ice and snow. You can hear and feel the silence of the snow masses around you.

Jämtland

Photo by Mila Kickert

Just a bit further by car, you will arrive in Åre. It is one of Scandinavia’s leading ski resorts and also known as a spa town. In the past tourists to Åre were called air-guests coming primarily for the fresh, healthy and outstanding quality of air.  I drove through this place a couple of times and have to say that it is so worth to see either in summer or winter time. A must see here is the Åre Chokladfabrik. It’s a family-run chocolate factory where you can experience how chocolate candies are made – tasting included of course. One of the best chocolates I have ever tried. Go and visit them while you are traveling in Jämtland.

Moose Garden near Östersund

Photo by Mila Kickert

After the winter was gone and temperatures started to rise again I visited the Moose Garden in Orrviken. Most interesting for me was the idea and the passion of the couple who created this site. They strictly build everything around the principle of eco-tourism to not only live their dream but to inspire their guests to adapt to the idea of experiencing tourism in a sustainable way so that their visit benefits all interest groups involved. Eco-tourism is well adapted in the country of Sweden and I had deep talks with the owners about this topic and felt like totally meeting like-minded friends here. It’s nice to see people applying the idea of what I have learned during my tourism studies because of pure conviction. From the moose the owners produce local products like soap and paper for sale to guests and local companies. You can even stay here for a couple of nights in one of their cozy bungalows escaping from daily life, being one with nature and some moose in front of your door.