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How to beat the January post-holiday blues in Sweden

The Local Sweden
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How to beat the January post-holiday blues in Sweden
"What do you mean it's five months until Midsummer?" Photo: Christine Olsson/TT

We asked The Local's readers to share your top tips for how to get over the post-holiday blues. Here's what you said.

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1. Feel the rhythm

 

"Dance," is Facebook follower Jackie Burn's best tip.

Dancing releases endorphins, which makes you feel happier. Sign up at one of the many dance schools around Sweden, or try evening course centres like Folkuniversitetet. But you don't even have to take it that seriously: drag your friends with you to a club or shake it all about in your kitchen (when no one's looking).


When the world gets you down, get down to the beat. Photo: Erik Mårtensson/TT

2. Go on a ski trip

Sweden has plenty of great ski resorts, with Åre and Sälen being the most well-known. The snow also makes it look brighter outside, so Rusu Eusebiu suggests you should "ski and snowboard all the way through winter" to get through the darkest period of the year.

You may even be able to find something closer to home if you desperately want to hit the slopes. This winter has been unusually warm, so there's no snow, otherwise Stockholm would have had Hammarbybacken and 20 minutes from Gothenburg is Alebacken. Further south, Isaberg in Småland is southern Sweden's biggest ski resort.


People skiing at Åre. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

3. Take a day off

In Sweden most people choose to claim their annual leave in summer, but if you save up some of your days use them to treat yourself on those dark and dreary days when you really don't want to leave your duvet for your desk. If bears hibernate, why shouldn't you? If you don't want to take a day off, the next long weekend is not until April, but you could always read our guide to Sweden's 2020 holidays to help you plan ahead.

4. Go to a museum

Go outside as much as you can to stock up on vitamin D, but don't be afraid to give up and decide that January officially is the month for indoor activities. The Vasa Museum in Stockholm is excellent, but there are many other great ones in Sweden: for example Gotlands Museum in Visby, the Ikea Museum in Älmhult, the Sami museum Ájtte in Jokkmokk or the James Bond Museum in Nybro.

Facebook follower Frencis Karagjozi recommends photography gallery Fotografiska in Stockholm.


Crown Princess Victoria visiting Ájtte in 2010. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

5. Cuddle pets

Danielle Dany says she likes to curl up with her fluffy cats in her apartment in Stockholm, while watching the falling snow outside. We agree that there's nothing quite like a warm cat or dog in your lap, a cup of hot chocolate (or any glögg leftovers?), a blanket, a comfortable couch and a Swedish movie marathon.

READ ALSO: 30 Swedish movies to watch before you die


A fluffy dog and a fluffy blanket, what more could a person need? Photo: Martina Holmberg/TT

6. Leave the country

There's always someone who suggests this every time we ask, and this time was no different. It is true that a change of scenery – even if it is just a trip to one of Sweden's most romantic towns (or that ski trip we mentioned) – tends to help.

If you can't go on a long holiday to the other side of the world, see if you can grab a last-minute deal to southern Europe or even a weekend break to a neighbouring country. The weather won't be much better, but at least a vacation will help you get over the post-holiday blues.


When the going gets tough, it's time to get going. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT

This article was first published in 2018 and updated in 2020.

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