People queue for hours in downtown Sendai
© APPeople queue for hours in downtown Sendai, Japan after the massive earthquake
Couple endures nightmare honeymoon- Happy to be home safe at last

A Swedish couple are glad to be safely home after completing their four-month honeymoon trip - which took in the sights of a blizzard in Munich, a cyclone in Cairns, bushfires in Perth, floods in Queensland, an earthquake in New Zealand and then a nuclear disaster in Japan.

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom set out - along with their baby girl, Elinor - on December 6, following their November wedding, and were immediately stranded in Munich, Germany, due to snow from a so-called "storm of the century".

The 32-year-old bride told The London Times that despite the rocky start, the couple thought "things will get better. We're in love. And just think of the beaches we're heading for in southeast Asia."

However, arriving in Bali they found a monsoon instead of sunshine. Then in January they flew around Australia, where their "disaster tour" started in earnest with bushfires in Perth, followed by flooding in Brisbane, and a cyclone in Cairns which forced them to spend 24 hours sheltering in a shopping center with 2500 strangers.

After their Aussie "adventure" the couple moved on to New Zealand's second largest city, Christchurch, arriving just after it was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on February 22.

"We were there, the whole town was a war zone. We could not visit the city since it was completely blocked off," Erika Svanstrom told Sweden's Expressen newspaper.

Next on their holiday of a lifetime was Tokyo, where two days after their arrival they felt the March 11 9.0-quake which has devastated the nation's northeast and sparked fears of a nuclear meltdown.

"The trembling was horrible and we saw roof tiles fly off the buildings. It was like the buildings were swaying back and forth," said 38-year-old Stefan Svanstrom - who also survived the devastating Boxing Day tsunami that hit southeast Asia in 2004.

The couple returned home to Stockholm on March 29 after a quieter visit to their final destination, China, and remain philosophical about their misfortune.

"At least we are fortunate when it comes to love," Erika Svanstrom said.