Swedish couple have honeymoon from hell

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom left Stockholm, Sweden, on December 6 and were immediately stranded in Munich, Germany, due to one of Europe's worst snowstorms.

Travelling with their baby daughter, they flew on to Cairns in Australia which was then struck by one of the most ferocious cyclones in the nation's history.

From there, the couple, in their 20s, were forced to shelter for 24 hours on the cement floor of a shopping centre with 2500 others.

"Trees were being knocked over and big branches were scattered across the streets," Mr Svanstrom told Sweden's Expressen newspaper. "We escaped by the skin of our teeth."

They then headed south to Brisbane but the city was experiencing massive flooding, so they crossed the country to Perth where they narrowly escaped raging bush fires.

The couple then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, arriving just after a massive magnitude 6.3 earthquake devastated the city on February 22.

Mrs Svanstrom said: "When we got there the whole town was a war zone.

"We could not visit the city since it was completely blocked off, so instead we travelled around before going to Japan."

But days after the Svanstroms arrived, Tokyo was rocked by Japan's largest earthquake since records began.

"The trembling was horrible and we saw roof tiles fly off the buildings," Mr Svantrom said. "It was like the buildings were swaying back and forth."

The family returned to Stockholm on March 29 after a much calmer visit to their last destination China.

But Mr Svanstrom – who also survived the devastating Boxing Day tsunami that hit southeast Asia in 2004 – said the marriage was still going strong.

He added: "I know marriages have to endure some trials, but I think we have been through most of them.

"We've certainly experienced more than our fair share of catastrophes, but the most important thing is that we're together and happy.

Mrs Svanstrom added: "To say we were unlucky with the weather doesn't really cover it! It's so absurd that now we can only laugh."