When we relocated to Stockholm from the UK my husband and I took the decision not to bring our car with us and to try life without four wheels. Well three years on we are still without a car and have been constantly surprised at how easy it is to live here without it. We are not located in central Stockholm where the hub of the public transport network is but out in the suburbs but even here it is still possible after a short walk or cycle to jump on a bus or a train to get to most places. We have been able to get to museums, city parks, country parks, to friends’ houses in other suburbs and even out to friends living in a small village south of Södertälje all by public transport. When you also connect up to the ferry boats that ply the waterways you also have access to Stockholm’s stunning archipelago and places out on Lake Mälaren like Drottningholm Palace and the Birka World Heritage site.

The Stockholm Public Transport network or SL operates a very efficient and well connected transport system which spans not just the city centre but extends out to the suburbs and commuter towns in and around the Stockholm region. The commuter trains and underground system run on renewable electricity and it is SL's mission to have 50% of their buses running on non fossil fuels such as ethanol or biogas by 2011 and 100% by 2025.

image by jimmyroq

As a family of four it is good to know our actions are contributing to a greener and cleaner environment but there have been other more personal benefits that have emerged from not owning a car. My husband has a more relaxing journey to work on the train with time to read and reflect and none of the hassle of having to find a parking place. As a family our days out are much more sociable as we have time to chat to one another whilst sitting on the train or bus and the arguments we used to have on car journeys about whether we should have turned left or right at the last junction are a thing of the past.

How to do the grocery shopping was something I was concerned about before we moved here but we find that a trip out on the bus to the supermarket to do a big monthly shop and then a trip home by taxi covers it and then we only have to buy the fresh stuff which can be picked up at the local shop on the way home from work. This approach not only saves money but also means we spend less time at the shops as we cannot just jump into a car to do it.

I walk or cycle with my children to and from school and we have wonderful little chats along the way often centred around what we see around us for instance a deer, a hare or a squirrel crossing our path or on a rainy day counting the hoards of slugs and snails that are crawling along.
The fact that we walk much more means that we are able to appreciate the seasonal changes,  kicking through the fallen leaves in Autumn, crunching through the crisp snow in Winter and enjoying the world coming back to life again in Spring.

The whole family now owns a bicycle and we are able to explore more and more of our surrounding area and get out to nature reserves and lakes and forests with relative ease. SL allows you to take your bicycle on the train during non-peak times and from this Summer even on a few of the buses making it possible to travel even further a field. Cycling is relatively easy and safe, out in the suburbs there is very little traffic especially compared to where we used to live on the outskirts of a big city in the UK. Most pavements are cycle ways as well as footpaths so children do not have to cycle out on the road and even in Stockholm city centre there are many designated cycle tracks which keep you off the roads.

All this walking and cycling means that the family is healthier and I am continually amazed by my children's stamina levels, they certainly know what their legs are for.
 

Since some time in March carriages on the green line in Stockholm's subway have been decked out with podcast boxes.

I didn't think that much about it when i stepped on to the train last week, except that I noted it was one of the new trains with advertising on the outside. But getting on the train it was apparent that this was no ordinary carriage and there was an overwhelming feeling of red. Every single advertising opportunity in the carriage was taken by SR's new podcast posters.

Under every second or so window there was a box and the poster above the window told you what podcast was available - just insert your headphones, press the reset button and listen to the podcast available from that particular box.

Both a cool idea and a clever marketing concept. You can download other Swedish podcasts from SR's website, including a range of podcasts available in English.

Why sit and stare at the wall, the paper or out the window when you are on your way somewhere when you can listen, learn and be entertained? It makes perfect sense to me - now I will just have to remember to throw in my earphones.

Cycling is nearly as much a way of life in Sweden as it is in Holland. Within towns and cities cycle lanes are common and car drivers are relatively considerate of cyclists. The law states that children must wear cycle helmets and you’ll find that many adults choose to do so as well. Given the poor visibility conditions for much of the year, it is also advisable to have good lights and reflectors fitted to bicycles as well as wearing visible or reflective clothing.

Good cycling information as well as maps are available through The Swedish Cycling Community and the Swedish Cycling Association (Swedish only).

Bike maps can be downloaded from Stockholm City’s website and are divided in to North and South (Norra and Södra delen).

Bike maps from most other cities are also available, Google Cykelkarta and add your town to find one if not listed here
Göteborg
Lund
Malmö
Helsingborg
Västerås
Örebro
Karlstad

Sweden also supports a number of long distance cycle paths which are well sign posted, including one Cykelspåret which follows the entire coastline for a distance of 3150 kms and a second Sverigeleden which runs from Helsingborg in the South to Karesuando in the north, a distance of 2570 kms. A good overview of all long distance paths can be found in ‘Bicycle Routes in Sweden’ (Skyltade Cykelleder i Sverige), published by Vägverket (the Swedish Roads Authority) and available from map shops within Sweden. There are also a number of regional guides for those interested in recreational cycling.

If you want to get away on a really adventurous cycling trip try the route around the North Sea.

It’s also important to remember that whilst cycling you can be given a breath test by the Police, so always adhere to drink driving rules that are in place.
Bicycle regulations are available here and here.

Taxis are widely available in Sweden and regulated so you are unlikely to be overcharged. Besides, their basic rates are so high they don’t need to overcharge. Even a short ride in a city can set you back over 100 SEK so regard them as a treat unless you have no budget constraints. Paying is easy – they all take credit cards and they are very efficient (although they can be prone to speeding, especially on the Arlanda-Stockholm city centre run, shout if you feel uncomfortable). If you order from your home within a city, you can just touch-tone dial (this does require some basic Swedish) and a taxi will appear within minutes, day or night. As always with taxis they are subject to their share of crime, and reports of drivers being either robbed or committing crime are not unheard of. Some of the big companies are trying to change this and many of the cars now have cameras that take a photo of the passengers. There is also a growing number of illegal cabs – neither the driver nor the vehicle is registered to do business. These mostly operate late at night in the city centres and to and from the airport. It is best and safest to avoid them altogether.

Along the coastline of Sweden and in the huge inland lakes, there are thousands (in fact, hundreds of thousands) of islands and many of them are populated year round. In these areas boats operate in much the same way as buses on the mainland. The service will normally be far more regular over the summer period when Swedes retreat to their summer houses so make sure you have a current timetable. Icebreakers ensure the important routes are still available in winter. If you will be travelling regularly, find out about weekly or monthly cards. There is no one company that operates all the boats and you can find that more than one company will service the same island. Sometime tickets are interchangeable between companies, sometimes not. Check in advance.

If you wish to own your own boat The Swedish Maritime Administration have excellent information available in English. Go in to recreational boating and read about laws and regulations, safety and get good advice for purchasing a boat here.

At this stage it is not necessary to have either a licence or boat registration, although it is only a matter of time before this changes.

With your own boat, the allemansrätt, or The Right Of Public Access, applies – if you’re going to moor, make sure it’s not in somebody’s private land around their house, don’t stay for more than one night and don’t permanently damage the environment.