Marie Ostblom lives in Stockholm and works for the Stockholm Archipelago. The archipelago, larger than the famous Greek islands, is so close to Stockholm that it might just be the city’s best-kept secret.

The newly opened Stockholm Archipelago Trail connects 20 of the archipelago’s 30,000 islands via a series of footpaths made by goats, sheep, and Vikings.

The trail just opened in Sweden last Fall, and we found Marie while writing a TIME Magazine article profiling the trail.

Listen to the Episode

What you’ll hear:

  • The misperception of Vikings (were they original influencers?)
  • The right to roam everywhere vs the right to shoot trespassers
  • How the industrial world disconnected us from nature–and how to get it back
  • What happened when we put up the world’s first fence
  • What is eco-awakening
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"You have to detox the brain [because of] all these computers and screens. Here in Sweden, we are looking into nature because we have science that shows us: when we are in the forest or on the water, our blood pressure goes down, and the whole body, especially the brain, feels very well. When we see more and more science like this, I think people will go back to nature." – Marie Ostblom
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Life in the archipelago

What it's like living on remote Swedish islands

Living by the sea

Most of the islands in the Stockholm Archipelago are uninhabited, with only 10,000 year-round residents in the area of 200 square miles (that's about the size of Atlanta, Georgia).

On the southern island of Utö, people battle the weather just like their ancestors, who first settled here in the 6th century.

Children who live in the archipelago take a boat to school. They meet their teacher at the harbor, get in a boat, and start the first lesson of the day at sea.

For these kids, the sea is their classroom.

Check out our interview on YouTube →

“People need to go back to nature because we are a part of it.” – Marie Ostblom
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