Actress Christina: I enjoy and love my life in Spain

MiMove on 2019-12-13

The MiMove-blog met with Swedish actress Christina Schollin who love my life in Spain. Friends, family, and career are important ingredients in her life. And love of course, for Hans and Spain.

My motto is “To enjoy life”! All in good time, but friends and family are always top priorities for me. So I enjoy my life in Spain, with my family and friends!

I just love Spain! We bought a place in Nerja 18 years ago. My brother and his wife already lived there and Hans, my husband and I visited them. It was love at first sight with Nerja. And not just with Nerja, the surroundings also, there is so much to do and see. It is so easy to enjoy life in Spain!

Nerja is the place for us

We started looking for a property for us and we got to know a husband and wife real estate agent team that are now our good friends. We went on viewings several times a day for a while. Until, one day, we liked a house and put an offer in. We bought that house and moved in, but we realized quite quickly we had made a mistake. That property wasn’t for us. After a year we sold it and bought another one in the same area. The area was right but the house was wrong. Lucky you can change your mind!

Nerja_MiMove

Nowadays we spend 6 months of the year in Nerja and the other half (the summer months) we spend in the Stockholm archipelago. We feel we get the best of both worlds. Sweden is lovely in summer, but I prefer Spain during the winter. Nerja is on the Costa Tropical and the name is spot on. The weather is truly tropical, and winters are fantastic.

My whole family have fallen in love with Spain. Our daughter (singer and actress) Pernilla has bought in Benahavís in Marbella. It is so nice. It is easy for us to meet up halfway between Nerja and Benahavís when we want to get together. We enjoy life in Spain together.

Christina Schollin enjoys life in Spain_MiMove

Nerja is an idyllic little town with low rise buildings. All towns in Spain have a mayor who has a big impact on the looks of the area and the development. Our mayor has decided that the buildings may not be higher than three stories which keep the look of the town sweet and small. From the outside, it looks almost like a set from a fairy tale film. Imagine living in a postcard!

It is easy to enjoy life in Spain

One of our favourite restaurants is Ajes by Burriana beach. They make fantastic Paella. But Nerja is a town with many, many restaurants. And down by the beach, there are many charming chiringuitos. There are many little gems, simple and nice with lovely fish directly from the sea. I like simplicity. It is quaint, feels authentic in a way.

We choose Nerja once upon a time as there weren’t many people from northern Europe there, but this has changed now. More and more people discover this beautiful area. People do recognize us a lot down here nowadays but most are respectful and we can go about our day as we like. It feels like we can get away from the constant attention we get in Sweden. In general, everyone is very friendly, and in addition, there are many different nationalities here in Nerja.

We have many friends here in Spain, mainly Scandinavians but I do feel it is important to get to know the locals as well and learn the language. If nothing else, because it is the polite thing to do! It doesn’t always have to be grammatically correct. It works absolutely fine to just chat and perhaps use some English words if you don’t know enough Spanish. The important thing is to show that you are trying.

Christina Schollin njuta av livet i Spanien MiMove
love my life in Spain

My reality show visited us in Spain

The Wahlgren’s world, the TV series that my family and myself are a part of has been to visit us here in Nerja. It wasn’t an easy decision to take part in a reality show but I thought it was important to be a representative for the older generations. We are three generations of Wahlgren’s sharing our lives in the series. The TV show has become really popular and liked by all ages. I do feel like a contributing something good and that is wonderful.

Also, the Swedish famous TV chef Tina Nordström has visited us in Nerja. They made a program from here where she cooked local specialities. We are a family that loves cooking and eating. Our daughter Pernilla’s family loves all kinds of pasta dishes but I prefer Mediterranean cuisine. I cooked Mediterranean foods before it even came into fashion in the Nordics. We eat a lot of vegetables, chicken and salmon. It is so tasty and healthy! It is really easy to enjoy life in Spain, in a healthy way!

Exercising body and brain

We are not getting any younger and it is very important to keep moving. We need to exercise both our brain and the rest of our body. Every day we swim in the big pool in our area in Nerja but we swim also in Sweden. I have also got myself a personal trainer, a PT. I train for strength, balance and endurance. I believe it is important to adjust your training to what stage you are in life.

Christina Schollin enjoys life in Spain_MiMove

We always have many projects going on and our brains get their exercise from them. We really are an active family. There is always something to do! love my life in Spain! I have also just learned that I am an Influencer! Figure that. I didn’t even understand the concept when I heard it at first and had to google it. But when I read the definition: “A person who inspires others and is a good role model”, I think it suits me well. I have so many pieces of wisdom from a long life to share with others. My granddaughter Bianca quotes me sometimes saying “get a job you love, and you won’t have to work a single day of your life”. It is a great piece of advice I happily share.

Long, successful career

I turned 80 years this last Christmas. I celebrated with a great, big party at our place outside Stockholm. I gathered as many as possible of the people that have been important for me during all these years. We were about 140 people and it was a party I will remember for a long time! There were lots of lovely speeches, good food, and lots of love.

My friends said such lovely things about me. When I was writing thank you notes, I relived the party once more. It was wonderful. My friends said things like I have contagious energy, impressive positivity and humour. Hearing that, I am truly grateful for my rich life. Friends are really important, you have to take good care of them and share what you can with them.

When I look back at my life I am so proud that I have had the opportunity to have worked with some of the most prominent directors in the world, like Ingemar Bergman as well as with very talented actors. I have been cast in interesting productions on stage and on film and tv and I have travelled and seen the world. I have done so many interesting things in my life, in my career and with children and family.

Angels are my trademark

We have given our house in Nerja the name ”House of Angels”, Casa Ángel. I have collected angels for many years. I got my first in 1963 and since then my interest has grown steadily. Over the years, I have designed my own angels and sold. For a while, I had a boutique in the Old Town in Stockholm where I sold my angels, as well as homewares.

Perhaps you can say that angels are my trademark. There is an angel in production named after me “The Christina Angel”. It has contributed €65 000 to different organizations for children in need. I sell the angels in my webshop. Sorry, the text is only in Swedish but photos from my career in films and stage can be found here. In my webshop, I also sell skincare and hair products as well as vitamins. All for wellbeing.

Passionate about wellness

The skincare line is important to me. People often ask me how I can stay so young looking and I thank the skincare line Nu Skin for that. I have used the products since 2009 and am very happy, there is such a difference. Many people with artistic jobs use Nu Skin, both in Sweden and in other parts of the world. The heavy make-up we have to use in films and on stage takes its toll. Since the products work so well, I do want to spread the word to others.

Should you be interested in learning more you can read about the concept here. Since I am working and selling Nu Skin products I have the opportunity to work from wherever I may be. It is a huge difference than being on stage or a film set where I physically have to be present. You just don’t have a bad day, you turn up and you do your best. With this, I can do my work as long as I have my laptop and a good internet connection. It is a wonderful addition to my long career, to do something completely different where I can use my time the way I see fit. I can work while I enjoy life in Spain.

Christina Schollin enjoys life in Spain_MiMove

Love my life in Spain

I have been married to Hans for many years. We got married in 1962. When you decide to live together you do so for better, and for worse. You can’t give up too easily. Even if it is not plain sailing always, it is a beautiful feeling to be each other’s everything for so many years. You grow together in a way, one plus one equals four after all these years. I am so grateful to have that. It is such a joy, safety and strength to be a couple. We enjoy life in Spain together.

We like to get out and about and we walk a lot. Or do some yoga in the garden in Nerja, or get a massage on the beach. We are both social people and we spend a lot of time socializing. It is easy to meet up when the weather is as generous as it is here in Spain. I also enjoy creating networks. I spend my time sitting by my laptop, writing my memoirs, or relax in a sun lounger reading a book. Nothing that I have to do. In this stage of my life, I enjoy spending my time however I like.

As I said, my motto is to enjoy life and that is what I am doing now. I love my life in Spain

Originally published in 2018