Island Hopping

Södra Finnö, Sweden -- Day 2

Meg here today.  We woke up to another fabulous day with a full schedule set up by Bertil and Annika.  I love Sweden and the people here.  There is something holistic about their approach to life. Live fully, eat well, and enjoy your surroundings -- in Sweden that is an easy thing to do!  The day had been planned to see some of the archipelago that makes up the eastern coast of Sweden.  But before any boat ride, before any breakfast, before coffee even, we needed to take an excursion to the net to see if there were any fish caught.  Bertil allowed Dex and me to man the oars again, and we made a much better go of it than yesterday, not needing to rely on his instruction quite so much.  It was pretty exciting to watch Bertil bring in the net and to see our catch of the day.  We had 3 fish, two perch and one gör (walleye). Both Bertil and Annika were pleased to see the walleye and Annika declared it was going to be our dinner for the evening.  Woo hoo!

Bertil and Meg with the catch of the day

Dean and I helped Bertil detangle the net and were both impressed with his ability to add the proper shake to the weighted side and it seemed to make the knots and tangles drop away.  I think it has something to do with the fact that Bertil has been on or near the water his whole life, telling us he was sailing when he was 10 years old.

After a simple and tasty breakfast of cereal, cheese, museli, poached eggs and fresh blueberries (hand picked by Annika the day before in a nearby field), the preparations for our picnic lunch began.  I was in charge of buttering the Knäckebröd (a cracker-type bread) and Bertil cooked up six fried eggs. After cleaning the fish for dinner, Annika packed the Black Current juice and we all headed toward the boat.

Dexter was Captain for the first channel, but when it came to faster speeds, he turned over the helm to Bertil and joined Dean, Kylie, and me at the front of the boat.  It was a beautiful day heading out to Harstena Island.  The sky was blue and the wind was calm.  There were sailboats and large motorboats here and there, islands all along the way, some having homes on them and some just rocky spots above the water for birds to use.  The traditional red houses with white trim were also scattered throughout the islands.  I'm not sure though that I could manage a home on an island that doesn't have a grocery store within five minutes or Amazon delivery.

We arrived at our destination 45 minutes later, and Bertil again showed his expertise at skippering as he docked the boat on the rocky island, managing the wind and other boats easily.  After making sure the boat was held fast, we found a nice spot on the top of a large rock.  We assembled our egg sandwiches and blackcurrant juice (saft) and enjoyed a typical Scandinavian picnic lunch.

"Ankan" -- The Duck

Harstena Island was a popular spot as it is one of the few islands in this area that has year-round residents, a restaurant, and an ice cream stand.  Because the island itself isn't that large, we were able to hike to the town from where we docked the boat.  Dex and Kylie had a great time on the huge rocks that helped to make the path to the village.  The rest of us took our time and had fun searching for the kids who would inevitably run up behind us saying we had walked right past them.

We arrived at the town and I was impressed to see how big it was.  Not one car was there, only a few old tractors here and there and, of course, everyone had a boat.  There was even an old public school and a museum that talked about the heyday of Harstena - when hunting seals was a way of life.  With a final stop at the island lake to see red water lilies, we all felt like we earned an ice cream treat.  Our "fika" was fine as we sat downwind of the town smokehouse, where they smoked eel and flounder. Annika added some smoked fish to the dinner menu, and we were off to the boat and heading home.

This time Dean was at the helm and proved he was a great student as Bertil gave him only a few instructions, and Dean got us home and nearly to the dock.  Annika and I enjoyed the view from the front on the ride back.  Once we docked, talk turned to jumping into the cold and chilly water.  I missed it yesterday and vowed to go in today.  It was a quick, refreshing swim with Dean, Annika and Kylie.

After that I felt ready to take on anything, even attempting to purchase our tickets to Cape Town, South Africa, which we STILL hadn't been able to manage.  So, after emails, an online chat session, phone calls to both the travel agency and two calls to Visa, we have confirmed that the card has been accepted and we have spent the money on tickets.  The one thing I'm missing are the actual tickets -- electronically speaking.  So, we may be in for another call or two before we can say this is a done deal.  I feel we are 85% of the way there, however.  Progress!

I'm not sure how Annika does it, but she makes everything taste spectacular!  She prepared the smoked fish by picking out all the meat and set that on a tray.  She breaded the perch and fried it up in a panko crust and she simply fried the walleye in butter.  She served it up with fresh potatoes (that she and Bertil hand-picked from a nearby farm) and a homemade cream sauce that was excellent.  Dex must have had four helpings of fish, while I concentrated on the smoked fish and tasty potatoes.

Dessert was a Tiger cake (marble) that Annika had made at some point during all our phone calls and served it up with a sugar glaze.  That came after the cheese and port course!   I was full as a tick when it was all said and done, and we decided that, prior to doing dishes, we should take a walk to work off some of the meal.  We were lucky enough to spot a deer in the woods on the way back home.  The day could not have been any better.