Going back to Grinda

 

Right before Sam was to start school, way back in August, we decided we needed a little get away before we all got into our daily routines.  We decided to head to Grinda, an island in the Stockholm archipelago.

It took us about two hours to get there because the Waxholm ferry stopped at various islands on the way.  On the way home we unknowingly got onto the local ferry and it took even longer because it stopped at even more islands, but that was fun because we got to see more of the archipelago.

We soon discovered that the archipelago looks a lot like, well, the Apostle Islands but on a much bigger scale.  Obviously the water was warmer than Lake Superior, but what surprised me most of all was how brackish the water is.  I expected the Baltic Sea to be salty.

On the quieter side of the island, it reminded us of the BWCA...until a motor boat came by.

It's where we discovered, for the first time, similar berries and mushrooms to Minnesota, which began our foraging adventures (see other blogs).

Sam doing her cheering routine?

We stayed in a cute little cabin and played cards outside the café while waiting for the ferry home.  That reminded us of Camp du Nord, minus the 13 other family/friends we go with each year.

I love myself a cute little red cabin in the woods.  There was also a working farm on the island, but all those pictures are terrible, so just trust me when I say it was cute.  

In all, it was a fun two day excursion getting out of Uppsala and exploring the archipelago.  Most importantly, I now understand how in Season 4 of The Restaurant, the family shuts their Stockholm restaurant for the summer and opens a "pop up" restaurant on the island of Gällnö.  If you did not know (I did not) Swedes basically take the entire month of July off from work, and many Stockholmers head to their summer cabins in the archipelago.  And, if you have not seen The Restaurant, put it in your queue.  Trust me, it's worth it.