Swede dreams are made of this
Packing plenty of cake and coffee, JULIAN WELLEN paddles out on a Scandi adventure
THE Scandinavians seem to have special words for everything and we love adopting them – from that old Swedish favourite, smörgåsbord, to newcomers, such as the Danish hygge.
The one that will soon be on everyone’s lips has to be “fika” – coffee and cakes to be taken any time, anywhere.
A well-known Swedish home store has a cafe called Fika, in which customers can take a break from negotiating its labyrinthine layout.
But visiting Gothenburg and West Sweden, I learned that the best place for fika is in a sea kayak.
I set out to experience the region’s coastal lifestyle and cuisine and the view from the plane, approaching Gothenburg, revealed a stunning coastline, dotted with islands and bays.
Just over an hour-and-a-half’s drive up the coast is Fiskebäckskil, in Bohuslän province, a pretty former fishing village – now mostly holiday homes – where we were staying in Slipens, a new hotel with cool Scandi décor in a 100-year-old shipyard.
(A handy tip on pronunciation that I picked up is “k” and “sk” are sometimes pronounced as “sh”... and sometimes not.)
Slipens also runs the excellent Brygghuset seafood restaurant, featuring the Swedish staple, herring, in numerous tasty guises. After a delicious buffet lunch we headed out to Grundsund, a couple of miles along the coast where we were booked in for our kayak trip.
Christina Ingemarsdotter of Kajak i Grundsund has been paddling kayaks for 40 years and clearly loves it just as much now as when she first picked up a paddle.
After a land-based lesson and a practice paddle around the harbour using muscles we didn’t even know we had, we headed out to sea. The wind had got up and we paddled hard to get into the lee of the numerous small islands of smooth, pink granite, rising from the water like great hippos’ backs.
Once in the calmer water we could enjoy the peace and beauty of the area, the sea-level opening up a completely different perspective on life and the landscape.
We finally pulled over to the rocks for fika, looking for a likely picnic spot – or even a cafe – until Christina threw open the hatch on her kayak to reveal a flask of coffee and a bowl of cinnamon buns.
What better way to enjoy fika than floating gently on the water with sea and rocks around us and starfish visible in the clear water beneath?
Once back at Fiskebäckskil, another feast of fish lay ahead in Brygghuset, which also has a whisky bar with 1,500 malts – another reason, if you needed one – to stay.
My otherwise perfect sleep was broken by a dramatic light at 4.30am and a stunning sunrise – prelude to a clear, sunny day.
From Fiskebäckskil it’s a short ferry hop to Lysekil, where Lars Marstone and Adriaan Von Plasse run mussel safaris on their 67-yearold boat. We sailed, happily soaked by the waves, until we reached Lars’s idyllic island, where his wife, Majvor, was waiting.
While Adriaan cooked up mussels in wine, cream and chopped veg, Lars opened some oysters – which divers harvest by hand – as fresh as they come. Of course the meal was finished with a fika.
Lysekil is also home to the Havets Hus aquarium, where you can see and touch some of the local species of sealife and learn about the valuable efforts to preserve their habitats and restock the waters.
Back at Fiskebäckskil, we checked in at the Gullmarsstrand spa hotel with its waterside yoga studio and a hot tub on the jetty, where you can relax before plunging into the sea for an invigorating swim before returning to the tub to enjoy the all-over tingle of the hot water. Finish off with a sauna and shower and you’re ready for anything.
Sitting and watching the sun set over the water as children fished from the jetty was the perfect end to an excellent meal at the hotel restaurant and to our all-too short stay on the coast.
We were heading to the city, and Gothenburg proved the perfect place for a city break, with its old “long streets”, just west of Linnégatan, that have gone from being a rough, edgy part of town to a hub of stylish shops, hipster bars, courtyard cafes and designer shops for anyone seeking some Scandi chic.
Also reinvented, the excellent Comfort Hotel looks out over the harbour and ferry terminal and has a deservedly popular rooftop bar with the best views in town.
Like some of our own large ports, Gothenburg has had to reinvent itself after the loss of its shipbuilding industry, becoming a cultural and hi-tech hub – a far cry from its early days as a fortified trading colony with walls to keep out the marauding Danes. The 17th century moats are now peaceful canals, where boats will take you on a sightseeing tour around the old city and out into the river Gota. You could even paddle round in a kayak – fika not provided, although the local Hagabullen (a Frisbee-sized cinnamon bun) would be ideal. The city’s beautiful botanic gardens offer a space to recharge your batteries with a spectacular rose garden and the palm house – built in 1878 and inspired by Crystal Palace – filled with exotic plants and cacti.
Back on the seafood theme, the Michelin-starred Sjömagasinet, a short ferry ride down the river, provided an unforgettable waterfront meal – as unforgettable as the rest of this beautiful part of the world.