The Joy of Archipelagos

Among the pleasures of our stays in Gothenburg and Stockholm were the joys of exploring the archipelagos which are such an instrinsic part of life there. Our first experience of them was in Gothenburg. On our second day there we caught the tram to Saltholmen ferry terminal, and then a ferry to – where? Styrsö? Donsö? Vrångö? Or some of the many other islands forming the Southern Archipelago? Did it even matter? Island hopping is easy by inter-connecting ferry. What a delight to stand on deck, the breeze on our faces, the sea and sky an uninterrupted blue. We island-spotted. Some barely qualified, they were so tiny.

Some were inhabited … just about.

But we were aiming for ones with inhabitants as well as wilder spaces. Gothenburg’s Southern islands are vehicle-free, so on landing we noticed employees – electricians in this case – going on their rounds with company vehicles. Bicycles.

It was on one island – Donsö – that we had our lunch. It turned out to be our only properly Swedish meal, as local cooking seems hard to come by in the city.

A simple but perfect meal of herring, new potatoes and cheeses, tastily garnished.

We were after the natural world though, so headed further south for Vrångö and its nature reserve.

There was something special about strolling along the coastline, always having the sea in sight, but always other islands too, of different shapes and sizes.

We had similar experiences exploring Stockholm’s Archipelago. One day we settled on setting foot only on one – more distant – island, Vaxholme, which has a BIG town of 6,000 inhabitants. Its municipality includes 64 further islands, bringing its total population to some 11,000.

We wondered what it would be like to live there year round, including dark and rather cold winter, and decided we’d opt, as many do, for having our summers there before heading back to the Big City for the rest of the year.

We’d arrived in time for fika, that typical Swedish tradition where you take time out of your day to pause and enjoy coffee and a snack. Look! Here was somewhere with a large terrace on the waterside, great coffee, and a range of cakes so temping that it was incredibly hard to choose. Near us was one very unfortunate couple. As they sat down, their cakes and coffee on the table, down swooped a kittiwake who made off with one whole slice of cake. All we had to deal with were sparrows, hoping for crumbs.

We did like the idea of being buried on Vaxholme though. Swedish cemetries are a delight, being mainly in expansive parkland where it’s quite usual to come for a family stroll. We wandered round for quite a while before searching out some wilder walking.

And here’s how we commuted there and back.

Grand days out, our Archipelago adventures.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

48 thoughts on “The Joy of Archipelagos”

  3. It sounds absolutely heavenly, Margaret, and something I always kind of planned to do. But you know I’m not the best at planning, and the mister hates being carted off places. Annoying, isn’t it? Beautifully documented, hon, and I’m very jealous xx

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    1. Ah, Jo, you have lots of places I’m jealous that you have too. We can’t do everything, but if the heat in Portugal starts to get to you … take yourselves off to Scandinavia. It can ‘do’ hot enough! We’re on opposite sides this week, btw, aren’t we? Spain v. Portugal. Not, frankly, that I care xx

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      1. Funnily enough this should have been the summer when I made it happen. I’ve always fancied the White Nights. Mick would be horrified because I’d never want to go to bed. But here we are, plodding through summer. Maybe next year! xx

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    1. Oh no! I’ve only had cloudberries courtesy of IKEA. Yes, we gather the Summer Cabin is a really important part of the family for many. And it was clear there are lots to be found on those islands. What an idyll, eh?

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  9. What lovely days out you had! I like the idea of walking while glimpsing the sea and other islands, and who wouldn’t welcome fika as part of their holiday (or everyday) morning?!

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  10. Sounds and looks delightful, such lovely weather too. Reminds me a bit of my Canadian adventures on Vancouver Island, though I drove between islands, then strolled around. I loved those ferries and the hope of seeing orcas.

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    1. We loved Vancouver Island too. We went so long ago – pushing on to 30 years ago, I think. But no, they’re not at all the same. VI is much more primeval, I think, much wilder, lusher. We only saw one whale on our Canadian adventures. But so much else besides!

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  15. These look incredible Margaret. The herring reminded me of when we were living in Denmark and visiting some Swedes who gave us herring for lunch. I loved it, Dave didn’t. skål

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    1. I was brought up on the likes of herring, as it was cheap and nourishing. It was good to have it back on the menu. I didn’t know you’d lived in Denmark! You ought to ring out some photos of those days.

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  16. summer goes quickly, even when you are retired and especially when you are out exploring. thank you for the inspiration and the hunger pangs from the herring plate. Enjoy the week ahead

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