Now it's all about travelling in the local area. In the age of the coronavirus, travel opportunities have been severely limited. One positive thing, in the midst of all the misery, is that you may be better at finding all the nice things that are close by.
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Life in the age of coronavirus
In the beginning, when COVID-19 made its way into everyone's consciousness, I blogged quite a lot about the virus. I wrote about its impact on everyday life and travelling, about media coverage, about blogging by Swedes living abroad and about all sorts of other angles. Now I realise that I haven't written a word about the coronavirus for a long time. Why is that?
Even situations that are strange and shocking at first become commonplace after a while. It is now normal to work from home, to conduct all meetings via zoom, to keep a two-metre distance when shopping and to run errands for elderly relatives. The press conference at 14:00 does not feel as urgent, and you can no longer keep track of exactly how many people have died on this particular day.
Negative - and positive - in the wake of coronavirus
The progress of the virus is, of course, first and foremost negative. People get sick, die and lose beloved relatives. Healthcare workers are struggling under difficult working conditions, and others are being laid off, unemployed or seeing their life dreams go bankrupt. The world's economies are collapsing, and when this is over, we may find ourselves living in a world of poverty unprecedented in modern times.
Having said that, I want to focus on some of the positive things that you might experience in the wake of the coronavirus. Many people are working from home, perhaps without having to set the alarm clock and rush off to early commuter trains and buses. Instead, work meetings can be held via video link (in sweatpants) and when you feel like it, you can take a break for a walk. All trips, events, parties, matches and courses are cancelled, so there's nothing to plan or stress about. Boring perhaps, but definitely relaxing.
No travelling, but excursions in the local area
You should not travel abroad at the moment, and it is possible that the restrictions will remain in place for a long time. Even if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs relaxes its restrictions over time, you will have to adapt to the rules of other countries. Perhaps air travel will be accompanied by numerous security tests that make travelling cumbersome? And once you arrive at your destination, what works and what fails?
We're looking forward to travelling again and the most appealing thing is motorhome trips in Europe, but we're not in a hurry. So far, you're not even supposed to make unnecessary trips outside your own county. So you can take the opportunity to spend time in nature and experience the local area. We've never seen so much of our immediate surroundings as we do right now, and it's amazing how many beautiful and interesting things we find around us.
Our tips for excursions in the neighbourhood
We are starting to learn more and more about how to find great destinations in the neighbourhood. Here are our top tips:
- On Nature map on the website you will find lots of nature reserves, hiking trails, jogging paths and bathing sites around the country.
- There are several Facebook groups with tips on Sweden, such as "Travelling in Sweden" and "Excursions in Sweden".
- Municipal websites often have a heading such as 'Leisure, nature and culture' or 'Experiencing and doing'.
- Read travel blogs and motorhome blogs - many are currently sharing tips for travelling in the local area.
- If you live in Stockholm county, check out our new guide to things to do in Stockholm. do in Stockholmwhich we replenish continuously.
What are your thoughts on the coronavirus, life, everyday life and travelling? Do you have any other good tips on how to find excursions in the neighbourhood?
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Liniz Travel says:
There is plenty to do in Stockholm anyway!
I went from rough flight attendant to forest mule 🙂 .
Hugs
13 May 2020 - 7:23
Helena says:
Yes indeed! And haha, pretty much the same here, except for the flight attendant part 😉.
13 May 2020 - 17:03
Seija Viitamäki-carlsson says:
Well written today. Encouraging to find so many great parks, castles and industrial monuments, nature reserves and trails. Let Corona open our minds to nature. Climate change can be turned into the positive. Climate improvements.
13 May 2020 - 8:43
Helena says:
Yes, that's really the positive thing, to find everything nice in the neighbourhood! I really hope that this leads to something good for the climate!
13 May 2020 - 17:04
Lena in Wales says:
I think a lot will change after corona, hopefully for the better, but I really think it will be a mix.
Yes, what a time we live in!
Take care of yourselves!
13 May 2020 - 9:26
Helena says:
You might be right about that. Some things might get better and others worse ...
13 May 2020 - 17:04
bmlarstravellingblog says:
We also believe that we will make more motorhome trips in Europe than air travel when the borders are reopened.
At the moment we are "travelling at home" and what tips there are on blogs and various sites on the Internet. We have lots of nice hiking trails, nature reserves and other attractions just waiting...
This morning, however, we had a thin layer of snow so some warmth if we may..,
13 May 2020 - 9:31
Helena says:
Here we also had a little snow this morning, only in the air, but still. April weather in May ...! Yes, more warmth please!
13 May 2020 - 17:06
Ama de casa says:
It has eased somewhat, but we are not allowed to move anywhere, even within our province. There are many strange and incomprehensible rules...
But, but. It's "just" a matter of putting up with it and trying to understand what's going on, hopefully without being fined if you misunderstand something.
13 May 2020 - 10:21
Helena says:
I'm glad it's opening up, but it's sad that the rules have to be so complicated...!!!!
13 May 2020 - 17:07
Eva/Living like Eva says:
Yes, home tourism it is. I feel completely at ease with that part of the corona effect. I am in the process of discovering (and rediscovering) my home country.
Other tips: there is a kind of project called "Find out". They give out maps of different areas with checkpoints, to get people out into nature. A bunch of maps were left at work in Jönköping, and ran out in three seconds flat!
13 May 2020 - 13:09
Helena says:
Thanks for the tip on Finding out! Interesting!
13 May 2020 - 17:08
BP says:
As you know, humans are creatures of habit, for better or worse. I completely agree with you regarding the "follow-up" of "Corona-Extra" via press conferences and in newspapers. I am also numb by now and just think "oh well".'
The government must have read your post, as today's press conference was about new, somewhat relaxed rules for travelling.
Now you can start planning motorhome trips 1-2 hours from Pampas Marina. This is what is recommended.
You've almost grazed all the natural areas at home, so...
13 May 2020 - 20:54
Rebecca says:
And it doesn't have to be difficult. I think that families with children might find it hard to go out and walk far. But it is possible to plan an excursion that lasts no more than a morning. If the kids get wet and dirty, you can get back home quickly. This can probably be a positive aspect of this crisis. People can discover how little it takes to have a nice day with the family and discover something new. Thanks for the post!
14 May 2020 - 8:02
Maria's Memoirs says:
Yes, it will certainly be possible to see something positive about it all even when this is over. But also some misery of course. I hope that the economic fall will not be so severe that we approach the situation in the 30s, because we know what happened in the following decades... And that there won't be a second and a third wave as there was with the Spanish disease.
Anyway, I'm pretty excited about a summer in Finland, and I'm making plans about which destinations I want to visit during the summer 🙂 Just waiting for something resembling summer heat now... 😉 .
14 May 2020 - 19:18