As a younger, unmarried man I wanted to visit Sweden, but more for the volleyball team than for the science(1), but since I don't want to find out if there 'are other fish in the sea' these days I might instead like to go to Kosterhavet Marine National Park.

If you haven't heard of it, Kosterhavet Marine National Park opened in 2009 and is Sweden's first marine park.   It's centered around the Koster Archipelago about two hours north of Gothenburg (2.5 hours south of Oslo) and 390 of its 450 square kilometers are under water.  Inside the park is the Koster-Väderö Fjord, which connects to the Norwegian Trench,  which connects to the Atlantic Ocean.  Because of this link, creatures that would normally only be found on continental slopes live there. 

And cute critters they are!

Kosterhavet Marine National Park seal
Want to swim with some Swedish seals?

Why mention this obscure destination?   Because I got a notification that you can win your dream vacation.  It requires some jumping through hoops but, hey, these people are giving away a vacation to generate some publicity and get people interested so you just have to accept that.

To enter, you have to go to this Car Plus Vacation site, create the itinerary for your 'dream' vacation in West Sweden and that's it - they even throw in a Volvo.   I have never driven a Volvo, my Teutonic predispositions prevent me from even thinking about owning a Volvo, but if I am in Sweden and it's free, sure, why not?


 
Obviously there is more to do in west Sweden than visit the marine park but, really, it will all involve nature(2) so if you are not inclined to love fresh air, nice people and majestic scenery, you should just visit New York instead.

Maybe you can't win the dream vacation but you can also win a book.   Go to http://www.explorewestsweden.com/?p=725  and post a link to the itinerary you created before July 15th and you will be entered to win a copy of naturalist Stefan Edman's new book - Koster Sea : the First Marine National Park in Sweden.  

Settle for the book, actually, because I want the vacation.

NOTES:

(1) I will get emails if I mention a Swedish volleyball team and do not put up a picture.  But do Swedish women's volleyball teams even exist or are they an invention of American marketing?   Sweden has maybe more athletes per capita than any country in the world and Swedish girls volleyball is almost a stereotype but good luck finding a picture of them.

(2) Though the West Sweden tourism board are no dummies about marketing either.  Despite being cold 330 days a year this is the picture you are greeted with when you go to the site.