My husband and I traveled abroad for the first time to visit Sweden in July 2006 and we couldn't have picked a better place to go. I have a bit of Swedish heritage from my maternal grandfather and my husband's grandfather was interred there for 6 months during WWII so we felt like we had a place there that meant something to us personally.
We visited Stockholm for several days then flew to Malmo and spent several days there as well. There was so much to do in Stockholm that we couldn't do it all. The best part of Stockholm for me was the dinner cruise through the archipelago...it was the most wonderfully relaxing time I had spent in awhile. I LOVED it. Malmo had lots to offer as well with the miles of beaches to stroll down. Swimming in the Baltic Sea was fabulous and spending the day on a fishing boat catching salmon was a great time...for me anyway. I caught the fish and my husband had to take them off the hook! :-)
We felt like Sweden was the place we were meant to be. The people we encountered were very friendly and everyone seems to be very earth conscious and not wasteful. That was a refreshing thing to experience...not to mention the great old buildings that people still live in. So many of the old buildings here in the US are abandoned for 'new, bigger, better construction'. It is an awful sight to see beautiful old homes abandoned in the city because of urban sprawl. We in the US need to learn from our neighboring countries that this land is not disposable and we shouldn't treat it that way.
I am happy to say we are planning another trip to Sweden this July 2008 and bringing our 13 yr old son with us this time. We can't wait to show him how people live in another part of the world and one that we believe does a better job at conservation; with earth friendly attitudes. We are 3 weeks away from our trip and I am so excited!