Like the Viking ships that crossed the Atlantic many hundreds of years ago to see the world, the Minneapolis Storm took 35 Boys & Girls (ages 12-14) to Västerås, Sweden to play hockey, bandy, and have an incredible cultural exchange over MEA weekend (October 18-26th).

This was the Storm’s sixth trip to Västerås…and it was arguably the best ever! The focus of the trip is to have a cultural exchange with the Tillberga Bandy Club and the Västerås Ice Hockey Klub (VIK). The first trip was in 2007 and since then the Tillberga Bandy Club youth teams have made two visits to Minneapolis to participate in the USA – Sweden Youth Bandy Camp....and they have an open invitation to visit any time in the future!

On the trip, the Storm group competes as the USA National 15U Bandy team playing boys & girls teams from Sandviken, Västerås, and Tillberga. The kids love the bandy – skating endlessly for an hour on a rink the size of a soccer field. All of the games played were close and our girls team picked up one victory on the trip!

Among the cultural activities for the group:

A private, one of a kind tour of Västerås Castle, provided by a Knight of Gustav Vasa’s (Sweden’s first King), who tells the story of how Sweden gained their freedom from Denmark and became their own country.

A one night home stay at a Swedish home where they have dinner, hang out, and learn what is the same and what is different about Swedish home life.

A half day at school with Swedish kids where they can see how their schools are compared to ours.

…and many tours including a day in Stockholm (visiting the Vasa Museum and the Old Town), Viking Graveyard Mounds, Oktoberfest (for the parents), Kokpunkton Water Park, and just having free time to wander around a European city.

We thank our Swedish hosts for another incredible and ‘lifelong memories’ experience. Many of our kids and families have developed strong and lasting Swedish-American friendships through these trips. As one American player stated a week after returning, “I miss all of it - the hockey, the bandy, the activities, our free time, the friends that I made, and everything else, it was so fun.” The Storm will be back…. Tack så Mycket, Sverige!