The thermometer hitting 28 degrees in the city of Stockholm is something special. Those who are on holidays or not working relocate towards parks, beaches and water spots of any kind around the city.
There are no limits around Stockholm, as the city is surrounded by around 30,000 islands, almost all of which being open for visits. Some are tiny and only reachable if you have your own boat, which many Swedes do, or if you rent one. Others are larger with several inhabitants, hotels and restaurants and can very often be reached with public ferries. One such spot is Gällnö, a medium sized island, East of Stockholm. I decided to explore the island with my sister, who was visiting.
7am: we get up ‘early’, at least according to my sister who’s on holidays. We pack our bags with books, towels, our swimsuits and some water and head towards Strandvägen where our ferry is departing at 10:00 am.
We stop by a cafe to treat ourselves to a wake-up coffee and arrive at the port at twenty to ten. My boyfriend advised us to get there a bit early as these ferries can get quite full. He was correct, there is a very long line of people already, waiting to get on the boat. For a short second I get a bit nervous that we won’t make it on board, after having heard about people waiting for hours to get on ferries the previous weekend.
I go up to the captain and she assures us that if we have pre booked tickets we have our seats guaranteed. Some 15 minutes later, we walk onto the ferry and choose two spots on deck, from where we have a great view throughout the whole journey.
When taking the ferry to the Stockholm Archipelago, you watch the old town passing by, the Stockholm amusement park Gröna Lund and Djurgården. Then, you get further out and see more and more islands, less densely populated areas and houses of your dreams. Cute places with water access, wooden saunas next to colourfully painted houses with white details. It’s indescribable, but the feeling you have while getting further away from Stockholm gives you a certain sense of freedom.
All the water around you, the sailing boats, nature. After a good 45 minutes one of the first main stops is Vaxholm, a place which is also worth visiting, with a very cute port and one of the biggest fortresses around Stockholm. The boat ride continues through a canal, where you can look at plenty other wooden houses before getting to more open water again.
We pass Grinda, another island, and at 11:45 am we finally reach Gällnö. A very green island with no houses around the port, at which we get off. A winding road, surrounded by open fields and woods lead past a number of charming houses, all red with white details. The atmosphere and landscape reminds a lot of the movies based on Astrid Lindgren’s children’s books. It’s very idyllic, peaceful and picturesque.
Maybe, it’s because the island only has 30 inhabitants and the summer is almost over so there aren’t a lot of other people either. We walk past apple trees, more green fields to get to our chosen lunch spot for the day, the only one on the island. Gällnö Handelsbod is a cafe and restaurant that offers delicious food in the most lovely setting. We sit down by a long table on one of the wooden benches. You have the feeling that you’re sitting in a small orchard when looking at the apple and sour cherry trees around you. Fallen apples cover the green lawn and the water shines bright in the sunlight. We could sit on the bridge as well, but for that it’s a bit too hot.
The small menu at Gällnö Handelsbod is Mediterranean inspired and the two owners pay high attention to top quality, regional and seasonal produce where possible. We order a plate of cured ham with almonds, a portion of eggplant parmigiana and chistorra sausages with potatoes, aioli and a super fresh green salad. The food is nothing fancy, but honest, very tasty and despite not being Swedish, matching the location very well.
We pay and head towards the middle of the island. We pass the Hostel that’s run by the same owners as the restaurant but we can’t find the 1-room hotel that we’ve read about which looks so lovely in my thoughts.
After passing another one or two houses and a 20-minute forest walk, we arrive at a very peaceful spot by the water surrounded by rocks, a lawn where some people relax and more trees. We unpack our towels and sit down on one of the rocks. It got a bit chilly and we’re in the shade, the water is refreshing but slightly crisp and so we decide to just read here instead. Boats arrive and leave and time passes too fast. Just after 3:00 pm we start walking back, enjoying all the views we looked at before a second time.
At 4:00 pm, just where we jumped off four hours ago, the ferry comes back to pick us up. Again, we find a nice spot outside, on the upper deck. Tired but happy, we enjoy the ride back and get out at the last stop, Stockholm. It’s 5:30 pm and we’re ready for dinner. What a nice and eventful, but still relaxing day in the Stockholm Archipelago.
How to get there
It’s quite easy to get to Gällnö, but the route changes depending on the day of the week. Monday to Thursday, you can take the bus 438 from Slussen (reachable by Metro from anywhere in Stockholm) to Boda brygga. The drive takes around 50 minutes. From there you take ferry number 13 or 24 and within 6 minutes you’re on Gällnö. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays the journey is a bit easier. You book a ferry via stromma.se, hop on it on Strandvägen in the center of Stockholm and hop off at Gällnö 1.5h later.
