The forecast didn’t look promising for outdoor activities in the next few days, so we decided to drive to Sweden and check off a few of the to-dos on our list there. 

What could be more exciting and unusual than The Disgusting Food Museum? We should have known as soon as we walked through the door and our nostrils were assaulted with unpleasant smells that we should turn and run—but no, we stayed. A sign upon entering said that no patrons had vomited in two days, and we were handed a paper bag in case we were the next victims! Aisles were “tastefully” displayed with many weird foods, and a story was printed on a card in front of each item. I tried to read them all, but I felt my stomach getting queasy and had enough. I won’t share any nasty details as I don’t want to relive that part of the day. 

Jason continued on for a while as I headed for a comfy corner and picked up a book called Decadent Desserts Using Twinkies—much easier on the stomach. People lined up at the counter to partake of a few disgusting offerings. We didn’t stay to find out what. Never again!

I’ve been to IKEA in Canada, Denmark, and Spain, but never to Sweden, where the story of IKEA began. We learned there was an IKEA Museum and IKEA Hotel in Älmhult, Sweden, so Jason booked us a room, and there we headed. 

We started at the IKEA Museum. It was very well done, telling the story of how the company began in 1943, showcasing the items still made today and many new ones. They didn’t leave out the failures either. One of the biggest was inflatable furniture! It didn’t last long—neither the idea nor the furniture itself. We spent a few hours there, checking out all four levels and making a couple purchases in their gift shop. It was a lovely day and worth the reasonably small entry fee. 

An IKEA-run restaurant was next to the hotel, so we thought we’d have dinner there. We ordered a drink and perused the menu before deciding this wasn’t the place to eat. There were only two choices for the main course, and neither appealed to us, so we paid for our drinks and headed out to look for something else.

The family room at our hotel was not much more expensive than the standard hotel rooms, so we chose that to spread out a bit. It was a proper IKEA-designed room, from the furniture to the accessories, closets, mirrors and faucets in the bathroom. 

It was a great day in Sweden and one we will remember.