Sweden is magical in winter when the countryside is transformed by snow. Hire a car and head west from Stockholm to the lakes around the pretty town of Nora (around 90 minutes drive). Head to nearby Lake Fåsjön and join families skating, with their dogs skittering behind them on the ice.
On the edge of the lakes you will find wooden smoke saunas (known as bastu). They are often close to where a stream joins the water so that you can plunge into the lake near the edge where it's not frozen. You feel surprisingly warm when you re-emerge to drink your cold beer!

In the quiet of early morning, when the mist still hangs over the water, you can often hear the eerie sound of the ice cracking.
Stay at the pretty 19th century Åkerby Herrgård hotel on the lakeside, or stop in for a coffee in their cosy library.

Åkerby Herrgård:
Fåsjöhyttan Åkerby, 713 93 Fåsjöhyttehäll
Google map: bit.ly/qr63Ef

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