Over the years we have met quite a few people who were interested in moving to Sweden, Norway or Finland after completing their hike. Not surprising: there is a lot of space and unspoiled nature, there are a lot of (professional) opportunities and in the countryside houses can be affordable.
Still… not a lot of people actually make the step of moving. Mees from The Netherlands did. After hiking the St. Olavsleden in 2023, she decided to buy a house in Sweden and start a new life. We spoke with her about this decision.
Why?
I have been fascinated by Sweden, or actually Scandinavia, for years. It has to do with nature, the peace, the space, the silence, the language and the architecture… the charm of the simple wooden houses. All of this has always attracted me. Last year was a tough year for me personally. I lost a lot and perhaps more importantly, I lost myself. I already liked to walk long distances and then I had the idea to go on a long-distance walk on my own. That seemed very relaxing to me, completely alone for a while, dependent on myself and just walking. Then I came across the St. Olavsleden. I booked the trip through Nordic Pilgrim and went walking. I loved it. I finally came back to myself, in the silence and nature. I found the contact with the hosts of the accommodations so inspiring, it made me think about wanting to run such a type of accommodation as well. The contact with the pilgrims and what they experience, their personal stories… I wanted to be part of that. At the end of the walk I was convinced that now was my time to move to Sweden. I had already lost everything, so I was free to go wherever I wanted. And how often do you experience that in your life? Especially at 40? So the timing and personal development are right now and I decided to just jump in and go!
How?
I actually just started looking for houses. I had sold my house in The Netherlands and wanted to use that money to buy something in Sweden. Something small and simple, so that I could live mortgage-free. That seemed so liberating and relaxing to me. I wanted a piece of land in the woods without a view of neighbors, completely free. I started looking south, because I had been there more often and thought that in terms of distance to The Netherlands, amount of light, climate that would be the easiest transition. I have been looking for 9 months, mainly on Hemnet and Facebook and have now bought a house. I made a bid on several houses and the fourth one is the one I bought. Along the way, the search gave me new and important insights that redirected the search. I made another trip to the Karlstad region, but still came to the conclusion that I didn’t like it because I couldn’t drive there alone in one day. And I always want to keep walking, so half a year of snow might not be for me. I drove to Sweden about five times to mainly drive around, to look and feel what really made me happy. That’s how it developed from a remote house alone in the forest to a house at the end of an asphalt road in the forest, but with neighbors at a reasonable distance. And the road is maintained and cleared of snow by the municipality. There are still some places and facilities in the area. And friends I already know in the area. All this made it right for me. I feel comfortable and safe to be able to take this step on my own.
Tips?
⁃ Really go and look multiple times, drive around, visit houses and experience what is important to you
⁃ The bidding process is quite nerve-wracking! It is difficult to estimate in advance what the price development will be during this process. So that makes it difficult to know which houses you can bid on. But simply participating in multiple bids helps to make it clearer and then you get to know the market better.
⁃ Remote sounds nice, but you also have to take the practical side into account. A cleared road in the winter is very important and a neighbor you can ask for help is also nice.
Guided group tour 2025
We are very proud to introduce a guided group hike from Sweden to Norway in the summer of 2025. Over mountains, through forests and along the Trondheim fjord. Plus: a visit to the annual St. Olav Play in Stiklestad.
My Finnish dream
My special bond with Finland started four years ago. I had been a big fan of the Nordics for over twelve years and that is why I had decided to move to Finland. Once there, I immediately fell in love with the nature and the peace that the country radiates. Unfortunately, after a while I developed severe physical complaints that made it impossible for me to walk or stand on my legs. The Finnish doctors could not help me and I could not take care of myself, because of these physical problems. For that reason, my Finnish dream fell apart and after a year I had to move back to the Netherlands.
Exploring Gudbrandsdalsleden
In August and September 2024, we had the opportunity to explore parts of the Gudbrandsdalsleden - the pilgrim route from Oslo to Trondheim.
Returning as volunteer
Mireille from Belgium walked the St. Olav’s Trail from Sweden to Norway in 2023. She liked one of the accommodations she stayed at so much that she returned a year later as a volunteer.
St. Olavsleden on bicycle
The St. Olavsleden (St. Olav path) is mainly known as a hiking trail, but cyclists can also follow in the footsteps/tire tracks of Olav. And with the arrival of a new travel guide (link) for cyclists at the end of 2024, more will soon follow. But how do you approach something like this, a pilgrimage route by bike? We asked Suze and Ton from the Netherlands.
Happy hikers
One of the best things of running a company like Nordic Pilgrim, is to see people arriving at their final destination, often after a long journey. Take Sue from the USA, for example. She started her hike in Selånger on June 1st. After almost one month of hiking she arrived in Trondheim on the 28th and wrote:
10 years of Nordic Pilgrim
In the commotion of the coming hiking season, we almost forgot our own anniversary: Nordic Pilgrim has been around for ten years! In 2013, founder Ruben was asked by the Swedish St. Olavsleden project to ‘test’ this route
Learning languages
So you are going on a trip through the Nordic countries and you would like to understand the locals. What is the best way to learn basic language skills? There are real language courses you can follow, of course. Some bigger cities offer real, physical classes. If you want to learn digitally, you could use learning apps, like Duolingo and Babbel. If you are too busy (or lazy) to learn, you could always use the Google Translate app to translate in real time by using the microphone on your telephone.
What are the Inner and Outer Route?
We receive a lot of questions about the Inner and Outer Route. Here follows a short explanation. The St. Olavsleden (from Selånger to Trondheim) splits into two for the last part in Norway: at Munkeby you can choose to take the Inner or the Outer road to Trondheim. What are the differences between these two routes?
Some important dates
Every season there are some dates on which it might be difficult to find lodging along certain trails. Something to keep in mind when planning your trip. Here are some of these dates.
