A photo diary of a day trip to Avesta

21 April, 2026

Sometimes, as a student, you might just need a little time away from the hustle of studying, job searching or your internship. Home might be a little too far away, too expensive to make a trip or both. Thus, a simple day trip can get you out of the city and into a different world just for a few hours over the weekend or on an off day.

The past weekend, I got to take a short day trip to Avesta, home of the largest Dala horse in the world. My friend had found these tickets on a sale period from the SJ app, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled with random sales, especially as a student on a budget.

I wanted to take everyone on the journey so join me through this photo blog.

My Trip in Photos

Inside of an old train with the sun coming in through the windows. The seats are all emoty with two on each side of the aisle. — Bright and early train at 7:44 for our 1.5 hr journey. Photo by Kai-Lin Shen

A shot of the table tray behind seats on trains, laden with breakfast items: a croissant sandwich, an apple, rice pudding and tea on the side. — Taking our own breakfast for the ride. Photo by Kai-lin Shen

A plate of blueberry bun across from another tray with a strawberry smoothie and another dessert — Having lunch fika at a cafe. Photo by Kai-Lin Shen

A single figure walked on a diagonal path with trees bare of leaves in the background. The background also shows a lake, as the path is on the edge of a lake. — Bare trees reflect the remaining tendrils of winter still lingering. Photo by Kai-Lin Shen

A park bench sits on the side of the sidewalk amongst green grass and a tree with tiny flower buds — Does this look more like spring? Photo by Kai-Lin Shen

A dirt path with stones gflanked by red wooden houses leading to a farway lake seen in the background. — Exploring a little before the main event. Photo by Kai-Lin Shen

A smiling girl in front of the world's largest dala horse. — Photo by Sun Yixuan

A girls stands at the foot of the world's largest dala horse for size reference. She is less than 1/6th of the tallest part of the horse. — A Kai-Lin for size reference. Photo by Sun Yixuan

Another picture of the world's largest dala horse. There is a bar to the side showing Armand duplantis' Olympic world record for pole vault (6,31m) approximately half of the horse. — How tall is this horse? 13m! Photo by Kai-Lin Shen

multiple train tracks and there is a small green train segment in the distance with no trailing containers. — Waiting for the train back. Photo by Kai-Lin Shen

A girl is taking a picture with a digicam — Taking pictures for the blog! Photo by Sun Yixuan

A girl reading a book on the train by the window seat — A quick read before sleeping for 1hr. Photo by Sun Yixuan

Closing words

I hope these pictures were equal parts relaxing and entertaining. Amidst the busyness of the school life, there are always chances to escape it all even on a student budget. Embrace the spotaneity of sales, the quiet of small towns, bring your own little lunch and enjoy the sun whenever you can.

My name is Kai-Lin. I am currently a master’s student in the Master's Programme in Molecular Techniques in Life Sciences. I come from the sunny island of Jamaica and completed my bachelor’s degree in Singapore. I felt drawn towards this programme because of the high calibre of research that Karolinska Institutet produces and the collaborative nature of the Stockholm trio. Since coming to Stockholm, I have started to enjoy taking walks (and getting some sun) whenever I can. Hopefully, I can share some of those mini adventures with you on the blog!

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