Solid spot for stories
ative mind and her half-dozen-plus novels, residents of Fjallbacka get knocked off on a regular (and sometimes gruesome) basis.
Fjallbacka boomed in the late 1800s when herring filled the waters offshore, tour leader and resident Asa Cunniff told me as we walked up a street past small, colorful homes.
It became a popular vacation spot for Scandinavians early in the last century and continues to draw visitors, many of whom come to see the 3,000-year-old Tanum rock carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage site north of town.
At the top of the hill, Cunniff and I paused in front of the village church, built from handsome red granite. From there, we walked to the harbor where, by chance, we met Lackberg’s mother, Gunnel, who was puttering around her waterside cottage.
Camilla Lackberg was raised in Fjallbacka, and her parents were friends of Bergman’s and Schmidt’s. A family photo shows the actress holding baby Camilla.
At the dock across from Ingrid Bergman Square, we boarded a boat that took us for a crayfish feast at Vade- roarnas Vardshus ( www. vaderoarna.com), an inn on one of the Weather Islands, about 30 minutes west of Fjallbacka.
We traipsed up to a pilot’s lookout tower high above the pretty yellow inn, which has 11 guest rooms, a sauna and a hot tub. Its restaurant is Taste of West Sweden-accredited, which means it’s one of the region’s top eateries. Be sure to ask for the mussel soup, laced with Cognac and crayfish when they’re in season.
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