Learn Swedish: När vi stod på berget betraktade vi dalen därifrån. - When we stood on the mountain, we observed the valley from there.

In Swedish, you usually combine location words like där (there) or här (here) with -ifrån (from) to create a single compound adverb. While an English speaker might want to literally translate "from there" as från där, this sounds unnatural in Swedish. You should use därifrån instead.

Is därifrån always written as one word?

Yes, it must be written as a single word. When you add the -ifrån suffix to spatial words (creating words like därifrån, härifrån, uppifrån, or utifrån), they always form one compound word, never two.

Why does the second part of the sentence say betraktade vi instead of vi betraktade?

This is a great example of the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule! The entire first clause (När vi stod på berget) acts as the first block of information in the sentence. Because the verb must come in the second position, the main clause verb (betraktade) comes right after the comma, pushing the subject (vi) to the third position.

Could I use tittade på or såg instead of betraktade here?