travelogue: gällnö, the swedish archipelago

i LOVED gällnö! it's a small island you can bike around in a day and the perfect place to relax and really holiday. 

we ate well at the gällnö krog each day, filling up on salads, homemade sausages and roasted veggies, aperol spritz and gin and tonics. it's a popular bar with a barbecue in the garden and tables on the jetty. swedes not staying on the island drive up with their boats to enjoy the excellent food too.  

from the little grocery store we picked up peaches to bring for our days out and about. i might have had a daily ice cream bar too.

we drank coffee and tea at the gällnö cafe which also served a wide range of treats, much to the delight of my boys. 

we rode our bikes around the island each day, discovering coves and paths and cute red cabins dotted here and there. there are well-preserved landscape, fields and meadows, parkland and forest. at torsviken, the cove is filled up with boats; it's a great spot to park and swim and bike. 

you can't help but think you have landed in the perfect swedish summer idyll.

on the east end of the island, by gällnönäs, we relaxed on some rocks to sun and swim and dive. it was bliss.

one day, we borrowed one of the island hopper row boats to sail across the narrow waters to the neighbouring island, karklö. we walked to the other side asking locals along the way to ensure we were on the right track and frolicked by the water until a storm looked like it was coming our way.  such beautiful light before it rained.

we stayed at hotel frans august, the smallest hotel on the island / in the archipelago – just one room that sleeps three. perfect for us but it was pricey, yikes! next time, if i can convince stefan, we'll stay at the hostel. we enjoyed breakfast outdoors each morning from the cute cafe frans cart. coffee and croissant for him, tea and egg with kalles caviar (salted creamed cod roe stuffed in a tube) for me, granola for each of us. kai slept in ;)

our two nights and three days was exactly what we wanted... good food, the three of us hanging out, and sunshine. read more about gällnö here and then immediately book for next summer!