august / 2020

kai: in his element... outdoors, by the water.

travelogue: a weekend on grinda island

just a one-hour boat ride from stockholm and you are on the beloved little island of grinda! it's quite popular in the summertime. but being sweden, end of august is considered fall so it wasn't very busy, lucky us.

saturday

upon our rainy arrival we lunched by the harbour, at framfickan, a small restaurant always serving really good swedish fare. loved my salmon salad.

we spent saturday afternoon walking through the quiet woods, past farmland (hello happy pigs and chickens!), and along the coast with its picturesque views. so tranquil, especially with the falling rain. 

then we retired to our hotel room, to warm up and rest before dinner. stefan and i came specifically for the dinner. a guest chef was in the kitchen cooking with local seasonal ingredients for a five-course dinner menu. and it didn't disappoint. we ate well and loved everything, including the happy swedes singing happy birthday for one of the guests. but a special mention for the dessert, blueberry with burnt butter, lemon, and dragon, so good.

sunday

we woke up to a swedish breakfast, my favourite, and the shining sun :) thank goodness for the warmer day as we booked the sauna! making trips between the sauna and ocean, we swam and sunbathed. it was refreshing and lovely. i wish to repeat this day very soon. if kai had been with us, we would have ventured to the northern part of the island where he could jump from the adventurous cliffs.

after drying up, we went back to the harbour for a late lunch, enjoying the sunshine. by four o'clock we were well-rested for the journey back to stockholm, with more picturesque views, it's all very idyll.

while many come to grinda as a day trip, i highly would recommend staying overnight; there are also cottages and camping on the island to choose from. hope you have had a lovely ending to august too.

södermalm: pizzas at fotografiska and stockholm bränneri

stefan and i biked to södermalm along the waterpath to visit the fotografiska, the beloved photography museum and one of my favourite museums. before i moved across the bridge, i had a membership which i made use of frequently.

midweek, stefan dined with me on their outdoor patio, devouring pizza from their oven and a glass or two of prosecco. with stefan heading back home to continue his workday, i ventured indoors to peruse their exhibits.

as soon as i saw the images taken by the legendary space telescope hubble, i knew stefan would have loved journeying through time and space. my favourite, however, was hassan jajjaj's fashion photos full of colour and rhythm, shining a light on his moroccan roots and mixing it up with contemporary london. the best part? he uses moroccan friends and their friends as models!

stockholm bränneri held a summer feast, showcasing pizza and veggies! and of course, their gin :) while the wait was a looong one due to rules about the amount of people allowed indoors, it was well worth the wait. i have never had such a herby pizza before and it was really good. i even left with artichokes, including a flowering one. isn't pretty?

leaving södermalm, back over the bridge, to come home...

while i am back at work now (school starts in mid-august here), i am still happy to enjoy these long sunny days.