Help us with our romantic place in Mariefred, Sweden

Details

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  Description

  Couples Only. We are an easy going Swedish couple living in our beloved romantic estate in Mariefred, 7km southwest of Stockholm with our dog Chula. We own and run an outdoor hard goods company in Stockholm. We manufacture and sell backpacks and paddle sports equipment, mainly kayaks, in more than 40 countries. We are away for a few days now and again. We are rarely away for more than one week at a time.
  
  We are reliable and relaxed. We love cooking, gardening, the outdoors and especially animals. There are 11 hektars of gardens, parkland, woods and grazing land. The 17 century estate with 3 main buildings with views over the nearby lake Mälaren, is about 0,5 km from the lovely historical town of Mariefred where you can hang out with the locals in the picturesque village bar. There are also many restaurants and cafés to explore.
  There are usually bicycles, kayaks or SUPs for you to borrow.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Technology

  

  Sustainability

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  Farming

  

  Culture

  

  Winter sports

  

  Team sports

  

  Adventure sports

  

  Cycling

  

  Mountain

  

  Hiking

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Languages

  

  Writing

  

  Plant care

  

  Performing arts

  

  Music

  

  History

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Books

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Water sports

  

  Sailing / Boating

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  The area is rural Sweden at its best and there are bicycles at your disposal. Get to know local produce, pick up some Swedish and local culture. The area is absolutely stunning country land with rolling hills, beautiful forests and lake Mälaren just 300m away. As Mariefred is a popular tourists town, there are many things to see and explore.
  Stockholm is just 35 mins away by train and the lovely town of Strängnäs with everything you need, only 15 km away. There is another family living on the property who speak English and french. Tomas grew up in Mexico and Switzerland, so there is a lot of interaction between languages and cultures. We enjoy large family dinners and getting to know our Workaway guests!

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  Help

  We are looking for couples who enjoy the outdoors, gardening and general maintenance of the buildings and woods surrounding our houses. Experience with farm equipment and heavy machinery is a great asset. Vivi is passionate about flowers and spends a lot of time gardening and Tomas is very practical working on the repairs and building projects. The estate is on 11ha with 7ha of woods, and 2ha of fields and a spectacular 1ha garden with sprawling lawns filled with fruit trees, berry bushes, flower beds and a large kitchen garden. The woods are mainly old oaks and other leaf trees, and have been beautifully maintained during our 22 year stay at Mariehov. We have done this ourselves, but helping hands are now always welcome...
  
  We ask for couples as we travel. We feel it's a safety issue not to be alone while holding the fort. Also, it can get lonely by yourself. We prefer if you can stay at least 1 month, preferably more.
  
  The main task is to help out with the woods, garden and park on the estate. Especially when we travel you need to keep the garden in shape. We seldom travel during summer other than over a weekend or a week at the most. Tomas does some business travelling during summer. Therefore helping us cutting hedges, tending to bushes, trees and flower beds or cutting underbrush in the woods is necessary. Also helping us with fences that might need your attention. We have a large mowing robot that cuts the grass 24/7, but edges will need some tending to and removing grass in gravel.
  
  When we travel, we usually have a dog sitter for our dog Chula, but she would enjoy your love and supervision if you are able.
  If you are handy, or even better, have building skills there are lots of interesting projects you are free to take on. Like doors, windows etc etc. Its great to get help repairing the buildings, machines and so on.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Swedish: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate
  French: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language. You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  The accommodation is in a separate guesthouse, renovated in 2013, with combined kitchen and living room with a large sofa bed and also a bedroom and bathroom with shower and washing machine. a separate outdoor area with garden furniture is connected to the guest house where you can barbecue. The kitchen includes a 2 plate stove, a separate small counter oven and a small refrigerator. Food can be purchased at the local supermarkets nearby (500m from the estate) and will be reimbursed. The lake Mälaren is just down a small pedestrian gravel road where you can jump in and enjoy a morning or afternoon swim from a private dock at the local boat club. Your guest house also has hi-speed wifi and a large TV.

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  What else ...

  Mariefred is one of the oldest towns with preserved architecture and has one of Swedens most beautiful medieval castles (Gripsholms Slott). The castle hosts one of Europes largest portrait collections. We usually arrange a private, guided tour of the castle for our Workaway couple. The village has a steam engine and steam boat that take you to Taxinge Castle that is locally called the pastry palace. There is plenty to see and do in the area but Stockholm is only a 35 min train ride away from Mariefred.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have hi-speed internet (fibre) and your accommodations has its own wifi hub.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have ample parking at the estate for a camper van

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  Chula

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