excursion to Eketorp Castle and southern Öland

Last weekend we went down to southern Öland for a family outing, and the first destination was the ancient castle Eketorps Borg!

I have been here many times and it is extra fun to come back as an adult with my own children and see them experience the castle. And there really are things to do for the whole family! We started by baking bread that was fried on a muurika over an open fire, and from a dough made from rye, barley, water and a little wheat we made round small lumps of dough that were flattened and then fried.

Afterwards, we dipped the freshly baked bread in honey and sprinkled with coarse salt and cumin. It tasted amazingly good, even my children who are, let's say, very selective in taste, thought the bread was delicious.

It was nice to have a snack in the morning, and since April's fresh winds were blowing in the courtyard, it was extra nice to warm up by the fireplace and Lily had time to get really good at turning the pieces of bread!

Then we got to shoot a bow and arrow with Alexander who works at Eketorp's castle. Alexander is an archaeologist, and just like his colleagues, he wears period clothes inside the castle area, so it really feels like you are transported back in time when you are there.

There were a lot of things to think about when you were going to get your arrow off...

I shot that arrow! Spot on! I probably wouldn't do it again, so I decided to "finish on top" as it's so nicely called, and went over to exploring the castle instead. (However, I have made sure to remind my husband Olof of my sniping several times since we were there.

Eketorp Castle is Sweden's only rebuilt ancient castle. It was built in the first stage in the 400s and then expanded in the 400s. A couple of hundred years later, the castle was abandoned and stood empty until the 1100s, when it was built further. 

During the 1900s, the castle was reconstructed and the ring wall and the houses were built on the ancient monuments that existed. Thanks to this, you can now get a very realistic insight into how people lived here with their families and animals a long time ago. In total, about 27000 finds have been found here in various excavations.

On one side of the castle you can walk up by the limestone ring wall and look out over Alvaret and southern Öland's agricultural landscape, which is classified as a World Heritage Site.

After experiencing Eketorp's castle, we were hungry for lunch and headed to Queen Öda's restaurant , which is located just a couple of minutes away in the picturesque little village of Össby right by the sea on the east side of Öland.

According to folklore, Össby got its name from a Queen Destiny who fled from a power-hungry king in the 600s and ended up right here on Öland for a period, hence the name of the restaurant. Adjacent to the restaurant there is also a motorhome site with a service building for camping guests and rooms where you can stay.

Queen Öda's restaurant opened as recently as last spring and this season will be the second that Håkan and Amy are open in the restaurant. However, they are not new to running a restaurant, they have a long experience of running inns for several decades.

From Maundy Thursday onwards, they are open for lunch every day except Mondays, and last year they served lunch here in Össby right up until Christmas. I think it's so nice with this restaurant because there are not so many eateries on southern Öland, especially not those that are open even when it's not high season.

Amy and Håkan had lunch with us and told us about the farm's and their own history. They had made a really good vegetarian lasagna with beans for us adults and the kids got pancakes. On their lunch buffet, they have three different options every day; Today's dish, today's vegetarian and today's fish. You can find the opening hours here.

Their next project is to prepare more hotel rooms, and it will be in an old stable building located in the yard right next to the restaurant.

With pancakes and lasagna in our stomachs, we drove the short distance across the island to Grönhögen where you can buy clogs on self-catering in a red-painted little slipper shed.

A pair of red lacquered clogs made Evelyn throw away both socks and shoes! 

A pair of sunny yellow clogs will brighten up any day, right?

The IBA slipper in Grönhögen has been around for a long time, and in my family we have several clogs from here that we have bought over the years. The small slipper shop is open almost every day, and you can pay with Swish.

After such an eventful day, we turned uphill to get back home to Färjestaden. But for those who want to continue their excursion, it is not far to Ottenby bird observatory and Långe Jan from here.

/ Helena Elm, April 2022