The bus driver takes one look at us with our suitcases and says, “Sorry, we don’t allow tourists on this bus.”
We are astonished and I actually take a step backwards causing the driver to chortle with glee. “No, no, you can come on, welcome! Are you just arriving or coming back home?”
“Coming back home.”
“Where are you coming from? Some place tropical judging by your tans…”
“Yes, we’re just back from tropical Sweden.”
I should include Denmark in all this tropicalness as that’s where it started to get hot. As I wrote in my journal on May 30th: “5:00 in Roskilde, 31° and still 5 hours of sunshine left in the day!” Who would have thought that Scandinavia could get so hot (and more to the point, who would have packed appropriately)?
Thank goodness we brought our bathing suits along. Although when I packed mine I was thinking more along the lines of “maybe we’ll find a sauna, then jump in an icy fjord”.
The water temperature is 23° in this Swedish lake; compared to over 30° air temperature and that makes for a refreshing plunge! 
A busy sandy stretch on Vaanern, the biggest lake in Sweden. This is the only photo I took before I abandoned my camera and jumped in. They say the lake was created when a giant scooped out a large piece of earth and flung it over to Denmark where it became Zeeland.
Other ways to stay cool in a heat wave:
- Hang out in a shady forest.
- Drink a cold craft beer by the ocean.
- Eat ice cream (super-good ice cream in Denmark and Sweden!)
As to that cheeky bus driver that wouldn’t let us on the bus at first; he’s on a main connection from the airport Sky Train so I bet he gets to have fun with a lot of suitcase-toting passengers!
Lens Artist’s Photo Challenge: Cooling
Albatz Travel Adventures 
Wow, who knew it could be so warm there?! I love your bus driver story! And your cooling photos of course!
My cousin who lives in Sweden said, “all winter we dream of 25° but this 30, 31°, it is too much.” I actually took way less pictures than usual and spent more time swimming and eating ice cream than usual; it was just too hot to take pictures!
So – you were in my country and got a feeling of the heat wave! Vänern and Vättern are both very cold lakes, and you had astonishing 23! Lucky you! And, the other suggestions are cool as well – as I am a beer lover in summer heat, that option is very tempting…
The beer was in Grebbestad (but was one of many excellent beers that we drank); the ice cream in Fjallbacka (one of many excellent ice creams that we devoured); the 23° was in a different lake but Vaanern was not noticeably colder (the heat wave had me testing several of your Swedish lakes – they were all wonderful!) You live in such a beautiful country!
Thank you for the facts as well! It makes me happy that you found Sweden beautiful!
Oh, great cooling images, and I like your bus driver’s humour!
Some of the Vancouver bus drivers are real characters but this one takes the cake!
😀
How was you trip, Y! I choose ice cream 🙂
What a very satisfied looking man with his ice cream. 🙂 🙂
Standard procedure for this trip to the tropics: an ice cream between two and four o’clock!
But of course Scandinavia is the tropics. I think i am starting to understand why Leya posted about cooling!
Best tan since spending a couple of months in Central America 20 years ago!
looks like you had a lovely time 🙂
I did!
I love the bus drivers sense of humour. Like you, I believed he was serious – at first.
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