stockholm weekend pics

however much i love to travel and explore new places it's always nice to come home but this time i would have happily stayed on exploring gotland, it's such a special place.  i will have a post on the blog as soon as i sort through the gazillion of photos i took, gotland is incredibly charming and inspiring.  i can't wait to share.

in the meantime, here our some photos of our weekend.  we took it easy, catching up on emails, errands, endless laundry, etc. but we did enjoy a beautiful sunny day in the western part of sodermalm island called hornstull and its neighboring small islands.

hornstull was once considered a dodgy and rough area to visit and was nicknamed knivsöder (knife söder)!  well, things change and that nickname changed to gaffel och knivsöder ( fork and knife söder) because of an influx of restaurants, cafes, and bars.  our friends tell us delicious things about tjoget (part restaurant, part barbershop, part wine bar) with it's european small tapas menu.  it's on our list to visit.  while taylor and jones, a local sausages and butchery shop with a beer bar, would make a perfect hangout for my boys' date nights.  i'm keen on trying judit and bertil, a restaurant named after the owner's grandparents and their love of cooking and artistry.

we spent our time along hornstull's waterfront, liljeholmsviken, visiting the summer sunday market.  it's a combination of loppis (flea market) and food trucks.  it was an international feast from vietnamese to tacos (the best!) to barbecue sandwiches.  

we then rode our bikes to the island of reimersholme to find a spot to swim.  during the summer months swedes simply dip into the waters surrounding the city.  made up of so many islands, there is plenty of swimming options right in the city.  here, the water was calm but frigid upon entering but soon thereafter so lovely.  i love being in the water and happily floated and swam the afternoon away.  canoes and boats passed through and even a house boat!  kai found a tree nearby to climb from the water, he loved it.  the island is a quiet neighbourhood which makes for a peaceful spot. 

the first to brave the cold waters.  he says it was so cold it was literally breath taking :)

a house boat, literally.

our swim was followed by a delicious fika at the cute cafe on the island of langholmen, next door. salmon and potatoes, wine, crepes and carrot cake.  perfect!  before heading home we whiled away more time at the popular beach here.  stefan and kai found a spot to dive from while i frolicked in the water and took photos.  

stefan diving!

kai diving!

it was such a long day spent in the sunshine we opted to ride our bikes directly to omnipollo's hatt, a pizza and beer place that recently opened in sodermalm, for dinner.  they serve incredible tasting pizzas, local beer and a yummy elderflower drink they brew themselves.  the best part?  they are in our neck of the woods :)

these sunny days have me realizing why stockholm is so loved by its residents.  they will happily endure dark and long winters for these beautiful summer days.