Female Culinary & Nature Experience
Midsommar Retreat
10 - 14 June
West Sweden
Välkommen to Sweden Retreats,
a place to connect with nature, indulge and relax in the Swedish countryside, make new friends with other Sweden-lovers, eat good food, get new foodie inspiration and enjoy relaxing days. This retreat is a place of lightness, where every little detail is thought of, where you can lean back and just be in the moment surrounded by beauty. The essence of Swedish summer.
I cannot wait to welcome you here.
Hugs,
Hannah (@outdoor.hannah)
Book your spot by writing us an email:
hello@swedenretreats.com
About the Retreat
This is a full service retreat - from the moment you are getting picked up by us at Gothenburg airport or station, everything is taken care of and you can lean back.
We will dine, celebrate Midsommar, cook, kayak, make flowercrowns, ferment, dip into the lake, hike in nature and maybe even forage (if mushrooms show up).
This is an all ages female retreat (trans women/nonbinary welcome), open internationally. We will start in the late afternoon of the 10th of June and will close in the morning of the 14th of June.
There are 10 spots in total.
Celebrating midsummer - midsommar brunch, flowercrown workshop, decorating the midsommar pole & learning about Swedish traditions, a classic midsommar fika with strawberry cake & a modernized midsommar garden dinner. We will also have a photo session with the flowercrowns.
Kayaking to a lonely island on a lake and spending the day there, including cooking over the fire together
Lake Baths & hikes around the lake (if we’re lucky we’re already able to find some mushrooms to forage)
Fermentation workshop & taste testing different Korean, Japanese, and other ferments - you’ll take 3 seasonal ferments home with you, a balance between sweet & savoury ferments, preserving the Swedish summer.
Free time - time to relax by the lake, read a book in a hammock, connect with the others, or take the SUP or rowing boat for a spin around the lake
& of course, indulging in the food: Swedish Fika (coffee & sweet snacks), breakfasts, lunches, aperitivos and dinners (in the garden, if the weather allows)
Activities
The Home
The retreat home is located at a beautiful, serene lake, about 30 minutes from Gothenburg airport. It’s a Swedish-typical red wooden cottage, it’s quiet, it’s peaceful, surrounded by the forest and right by the lake so that we can have outdoor dinners in the garden with lake view, take lake baths from our private jetty, and go on morning walks around the lake. The interior is a mix of cozy midcentury meets scandi. Each room will be shared with one other woman, there is a mix of separate beds, bunk beds and king size beds. There are two bathrooms.
The Food
All of the meals will be vegetarian, and mostly made from local products - we work together with local farmers to bring the freshest and seasonal ingredients to the table. You can expect cozy Farm2Table dinners, Swedish Fika, as well as food we will cook outdoors together over the fire. Think of a mix between modern scandi cuisine, shared plates and some asian inspired dishes. There will be a 3-course welcome dinner (saffron, yuzu & ferments themed) accompanied by an alcohol-free drink pairing.
We won’t be serving alcohol but delicious mocktails/aperitivos, alcohol-free drinks from local breweries and homemade ice teas.
During the fermentation workshop you will be guided through a taste testing for different ferments - a unique and inspiring experience for your taste buds.
Please let us know of any allergies or special diets when you book your spot so that we can accommodate all of them! Our private chef can accommodate all wishes (e.g. vegan, gluten free etc.)
What’s included?
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4 nights
in a red Swedish house right by the lake. Each room is shared, 2 women per room.
Check-in 10th of June: 17:00
Check-out 14th of June: 10:00
All included: Bedding, Towels, Shampoo & Conditioner, Body Wash -
4 dinners (including a three-course welcome dinner with alcohol-free drink pairing), 1 of the dinners cooked over the fire outdoors, 1 of them midsommar dinner
2 lunches
3 breakfasts
1 Midsommar brunch & Midsommar Fika (Swedish coffee & sweet and savoury treats)
Coffee & Sweet Treats, Snacks & Aperitivos
Food will be vegetarian, but please let us know about food preferences or allergies so that our private chef can accommodate them.
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Celebrating midsummer (including a photo session with your flowercrowns - the photos will be sent out after the retreat)
Kayaking to a lonely island with a campfire & cooking over the fire
Lake dips (if you want)
Hiking around the lake, if we’re lucky there’s already chanterelles to find & forage
Taking the rowing boat or SUPs around the lake whenever you want
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• Making flower crowns & decorating the midsommar pole with flowers (all flowers are included in the price)
• Fermentation workshop for 3 different seasonal ferments of Swedish summer veggies & fruit (you’ll take them home with you)
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A welcome bag with goodies of Hannahs favorite nordic brands <3
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We will organise a pick up and drop off shuttle at Gothenburg Airport and Gothenburg Central station / bus station on the 10th and 14th of June.
We also offer to help with extending your Sweden trip - in case you want to come earlier or stay longer, there are so many amazing things to explore on the Swedish west coast and we have a long list of tips on where to stay / what to do! Just let us know!
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You will receive recipes for the ferments from the fermentation workshop.
And of course take your ferments home with you! (3 in total, made from seasonal fruits & veggies)
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Flights/Trains to and from Gothenburg
Travel Insurance
Alcohol
Price
1900 EUR (incl. 25% VAT)
Booking
Our booking is via E-Mail. To book your spot, write us an email with your full name, address (for the invoice) and age to hello@swedenretreats.com.
We will inform you if you got one of the 10 spots (first come first served) and send a request for the 500 EUR deposit. After receiving the deposit, we will send over the booking confirmation and infos you need for making your travel plans & what to pack. The remaining amount has to be paid 8 weeks prior to the first day of the retreat. Before booking, please note that the deposit is not refundable - but we have a cancellation policy where you can cancel up to 6 weeks prior. By paying the deposit, you confirm to have read and accepted our Terms & Conditions.
When you sign up for a spot on our retreat we can only guarantee your spot once the deposit is paid and we reached a minimum of 6 participants. You can cancel any time until 6 weeks prior to the retreat and will get your money back. The deposit is non-refundable. In case we haven’t reached 6 participants 6 weeks prior to the retreat and need to cancel, you will get the deposit and any other payment back.
Cancellation & Refund Policy
A peek into our previous retreat
Your Questions, Answered
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Gothenburg airport & Gothenburg central station. There will be a pickup organized by us!
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The retreat will be held in English. But we do also speak German, Swedish & a tiiiny bit of French and we will do our best to include everyone even if they’re insecure about their English!
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After we received your deposit and the booking is confirmed, we will send you a document where all the details are listed so that you can make your travel arrangements. It includes the exact pick up times, a packing list and everything you need to start planning your trip to Sweden!
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We will have offers later this year that includes all genders. <3
For now, our Midsommar retreat will be female only (trans women/nonbinary welcome) after we did several surveys and seeing a demand for women-only retreats.
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Of course! We are happy to help with itineraries to make your trip to Sweden unforgettable. We have a long list of tips to explore West Sweden, where to stay, what to do, where to eat, & cool secret spots. Please let us know via e-mail how we can help!
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No, not at all - the most “sporty” thing we will do is kayaking, but we have also kayaks for 2 for those who are unsure or have never done it before so that they have at least one other person in their kayak with them.
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Absolutely! Do let us know if we can help with an itinerary to extend your Sweden trip and make it worthwhile to fly across the pond!
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We’re not sure as it is a big struggle to get this location around midsommar.
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Of course! There is plenty of space for vanlifers to park.