A day on Hasselö

My vacation days are ticking away - 10 down, 9 to go. They've certainly been well spent so far. 

Last Thursday, we took a day trip to the archipelago outside of Västervik, to an island called Hasselö. It was a glorious day - breezy; a nearly cloudless, blue sky; and about 75 degrees F. We set off from the city on the 10am ferry, Freden, passing several other tree-lined islands on the 1-hour journey. 

Freden turned off a small harbor where waves were blowing against the sandy beach. Small tractors awaited our arrival to shuttle us to the island's only restaurant, Restaurang Sjökanten. But we decided instead to rent bicycles and explore Hasselö and its neighbor island, Slado, to the south. The two islands are linked by a tiny, 3-meter bridge over a cloudy moat.

We cycled along country roads, across fields, and down narrow paths between cottages painted in the classic Swedish red. It was like a ride out of a Pippi Longstocking story - flower boxes nestled in antique wagon wheels; cows bunched together in the shade under a tree, swinging their tails to ward off the flies; boathouses stretched out in clusters over the edges of tiny creeks. 

We cycled and we trekked and then we cycled some more, and eventually ended up at Restaurang Sjökanten where a beautiful lunch buffet awaited us. 

Fish soup, herring, roast beef, pork, tomato salad, pickled radishes, fruit, and cold beer. It was perfect.

We were pretty exhausted by the time the 3pm ferry arrived, and collapsed in our seats with cold beers in hand for the ride home. Thank you KN for such a wonderful adventure! Next stop: Berlin!

Roadtripping through Southern Sweden

Our journey started in NS' hometown, Västervik,

which lives up to its motto, "The Pearl of the East Coast" - especially in the summertime.

Our next stop was Nina's family island, in the archipelago outside Västervik

where we swam and sun-bathed, explored and relaxed, ate good food, and drank wine

until the sun went down.

Back in Västervik, we watched thousands of motorcycles in the annual parade of HojRock

Northern Europe's biggest motorcycle festival.

We had some amazing family dinners

late into the evening,

followed by fresh night swims

in the moonlight.

After 9 days on the East Coast,

it was time to venture way out west - to Steninge.

We visited Halmstad, a beautiful, windy coastal town

full of surfers and beach-lovers - my kind of place.

Family gathered together in the family cabin on the ocean, surrounded by fields of cows,

and ran around the yard until we were warm enough to jump in the brisk waters.

For a few days, we did this

and I enjoyed every second of it.

As always, it was time to go home too early.

But just as we've barely arrived back in

Stockholm, we leave for the US to see

American family and friends - 

and get some true summer heat.

The Splendor of Västervik's Archipelago

Serene and beautiful, Sweden's archipelago - the skärgården, they call it - is truly magnificent. During our week-long holiday in Västervik, we ventured out to one of the islands overnight - my first true island experience, you could say. I visited to tourist-riden Fjäderholmen, just 20 minutes by boat from Stockholm, 4 times last summer - and promised I'd go further than that first stop-off this year. And now I've done it - beyond Stockholm to Tjust skärgård!

The island was small - enough so that I could leisurely swim around it in about 15 minutes (Michael Phelps could probably do it in 5, tops). We spent the afternoon lounging on this dock (see photo), soaking in the streaming sunshine on one of the few gorgeous days this summer has brought, and taking a dip before we ever completely dried off.

In the evening, we re-located to the westward-facing dock, perched on a small cliff above the water, from which we sat with bar-b-qued pork and boxed wine, watching the sun set and the moon rise.

When the sky was nearly dark - around 1030pm - and our mosquito spray could no longer ward off the swarming bugs, we took a late-night swim before crawling into our bunk beds by candlelight (no electricity or running water on the island). Ahhhhhhh the Swedish summer!