Autumn picnic on Öland

This weekend we packed up a picnic basket and went on an Öland excursion in the autumn sun!

We didn't have any buns at home, so we started the excursion by going to Fredriks Bröd&Bakverk in the harbor here in Färjestaden to buy goodies to put in our basket. Fredrik's bakery was included in the White Guide already the same year as it opened and is run by Fredrik who has been a finalist in the pastry chef of the year. Despite fine pastries, there is only one thing that applies to the girls when we are there; cinnamon buns and croissants.

After we filled the basket with pastries, we went to Kapelludden, which is at the same level as Borgholm, but on the east side of Öland. Here is everything needed for a wonderful autumn excursion; a ruin with shelter from the wind, a beach to look for shells on and boathouses where you can sit and sunbathe.

We found a sunny place with shelter in the ruins of St. Brita's chapel that was built in the 1200s when it was a trading post here. Now it's a beautiful excursion destination, and a place where many birdwatchers go, we set the buns and poured the hot chocolate we had brought with us. Next week is autumn break here in the region, and then we plan to go on more excursions like this here on Öland.

Below the ruin is the old stone cross that was erected during the same period as the chapel. The cross was actually blown apart when Hurricane Per ravaged the island in 2007, but has been restored and put back.

A stone's throw away is the beach where the children ran to play. Because who said it had to be summer to play on the beach? 

Evelyn was looking for shells...

...while Bally ran back and forth on the shore, digging with his paws in the sand and rolling in wet seaweed. He didn't smell cinnamon bun on the way home, you could say. But he had fun!

At the boathouses it is usually not so windy, and here the birdwatchers often stand with their binoculars. One of the most wonderful things you can do on a sunny autumn day is just this – to sit with your back to a boathouse and enjoy the sun's warming autumn rays. the sound of the birds and the waves crashing against the shore.

But of course – eating chocolate is also one of the best things you can do. When we drove the east side home, we stopped at Miss Frankenstein's in Gårdby and bought her handmade chocolates.

Ebba Frankenstein runs Sweden's probably smallest chocolaterie, and inside you are always greeted by a warm smile and the smell of chocolate. Ebba has learned the art of chocolate in Scotland, and now she makes cakes to order and chocolates that can be found in gift shops and restaurant menus, among other places. My favorites are the fennel school, the mint toffee and the chili toffee with Öland chili. (Yes, I have a thing for caramel.)

Colorful marshmallows on chocolate bracken aroused the sweet tooth in the girls, who quickly climbed onto a chair.

Evelyn got to taste chocolate bracken and tested if it was possible to pull off pieces of marshmallow from the chocolate. If you don't try, you don't know.

In Miss Frankenstein's garden there are several art installations that the children usually stop and look at. This armchair is always popular. After our visit to Miss Frankenstein's chocolaterie we went home again, full of buns, hot chocolate and with nice chocolates to pick out in the evening when the kids had fallen asleep. When the autumn break comes, I look forward to more days like this!

Helena Elm, October 2020