Sweden with Leia: town-like playgrounds, Växjö Cathedral, and the IKEA Museum

On September 2, 2024, we made it to Sweden. And on September 5 we arrived in a city that was new to us — Trollhättan.

Trollhättan

First of all, of course, we went to the children's park. There we found an interesting toy auto repair shop. By the way, Trollhättan was home to Saab's headquarters and main car factory for a long time.

Leia in white glasses sits behind the wheel of a wooden toy car with a Saab grille, a wall with tools behind her — A toy car with the Saab logo on the grille

In the evening we went out for a walk. Some kind of concert was going on in town, and we got hold of some Swedish flags.

Leia sits on a stump on the lawn by the water and holds two Swedish flags over her head, houses across the river — With Swedish flags

Playgrounds like little towns

The playgrounds in Trollhättan turned out to be really cool — they are whole little towns for kids.

Leia with a flag stands on the deck of a wooden play ship with a wheelhouse and anchors — The playgrounds are whole little towns for kids

The next day, September 6, we kept exploring Trollhättan's unusual playgrounds.

Leia at the entrance to a playhouse painted with patterns, balls, and curtains — A painted playhouse at the playground

A play checkout booth at one of the playgrounds

Växjö

On September 8 we were already in Växjö. I thought unusual playgrounds were a Trollhättan thing, but it looks like they are a thing all over Sweden.

Leia runs across the playground sand toward fairy-tale turrets with slides and green posts that look like cacti — A playground in Växjö

We went into Växjö Cathedral, and a service was going on right then. The first stone church on this site was built in the 1160s, and parts of it became part of the present cathedral.

The brick facade of the cathedral with two tall spires, lit by the evening sun, trees on both sides — Växjö Cathedral

And this is just an armchair in an ordinary grocery store.

Leia laughs and runs away from a big yellow leather armchair on a rug, store shelves behind — An armchair in a grocery store

The IKEA Museum

On September 12 we finally made it to the IKEA Museum — the high point of our whole trip. The museum opened in 2016 in Älmhult, in the very building where the first IKEA store opened in 1958.