Stockholm, Sweden and the archipelago
Where the fresh waters of Lake Malaren meet the salt water of the Baltic Sea you’ll find the capital city of the Kingdom of Sweden– Stockholm. This political and cultural center of a country a bit larger than California is on 14 islands connected by 57 bridges. Its water is so pristine that you can swim or fish in it and, if you’re lucky, catch a salmon right outside the Royal Palace.
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La Gaspésie: The Gaspé Peninsula
Visitors are drawn by the natural beauty and rural charm of the Canada’s Gaspé Peninsula, la Gaspésie, on the eastern tip of the province. It runs along the south side of the St. Lawrence River out to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is mountainous in the middle with most people living along the coast.
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Îles de la Madeleine: The Magdalen Islands
The heat wave at home made us even more appreciative of the gentle cooling breezes on the beach in the Magdalen Islands. We were told National Geographic named it one of the top beaches in the world, yet on this sunny 70-something degree day in June we had it all to ourselves.
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Gotland: Pearl of the Baltic Sea
We spotted the towers of Visby’s medieval cathedral as we approached Sweden’s island of Gotland. We were there to see the Old Town, a medieval Viking and Hanseatic trading post with a ring wall, towers, and moat. It is so well preserved that it seems to have come to life from a fairy tale. Today, Visby is a modern municipality and cultural center, a fusion of the best of the old and new. You can shop for innovative local goods and modern Scandinavian designs in historic buildings along winding 13th century cobbled lanes.
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