Join Helena Elm and her family on an excursion to the east side of Öland.
They watch fishing boats and high waves in the picturesque harbor in Bläsinge, fly kites by the beach and warm themselves with a hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon bun bun bun at Gårdby Kafé och Lanthandel.
The other week we went over to the east side of Öland and had a coffee at our favorite place Gårdby Kafé och Lanthandel, which opened in 1923 and will be 100 years old next year! However, we have only had coffee here since 2007, after Marie took over the country store and opened the doors to the café.
Gårdby Café and Country Store is the perfect excursion destination; You can cross the island and get to the east side, which is just as beautiful all year round, and once you get here, you can browse in three different shops and then finish with a hearty coffee. Inside the general store, you can buy sweets, delicacies and edible gifts for yourself, among other things. Personally, I love the nostalgia candy with boxes in old-fashioned design. Punch pralines never go out of style!
The stores are really one and the same store, you could say, but it is spread over three different buildings, all of which are different from each other, and just as lovely to go into.
Then we see all the different uses for things, which became extra clear when I found an electric candlestick I thought could be nice at home in the living room...
...while the girls thought it was a matter of course that the candles should be used for a spontaneous Lucia procession.
Then it was coffee time! The children negotiated both cake and lollipop, Olof took their winter specialty cinnamon bun semla, and I went wild on the chocolate cake with whipped cream and raspberries that I always take when I'm in Gårdby for coffee.
Is it February you want hot chocolate, or what do you say? The ultimate winter holiday drink! Having coffee at Gårdby Kafé och Lanthandel is a perfect winter holiday fun next week when we have a winter holiday here in the region. The café is not open on weekends, but on weekdays between 10.00-16.00.
What else can you do when you are near Gårdby then? You can go down to Bläsinge a few minutes away and fly a kite!
The beach in Bläsinge is one of our absolute favorite places on Öland, and one of the places we most often go on excursions to, all year round. In the summer we swim here, in the winter we let the children and the dog gallop in the sand if the snow does not cover it, and in the autumn and spring we also go here and just walk by the water or last time – fly a kite.
Just when you come down to Bläsinge, I think the light is so beautiful, really no matter what weather and what season it is.
Here, the light always appears so nicely and is given free rein over the expanses, the dunes and the sea. It is no coincidence that artists and photographers come here for what is called "the light of Öland".
...or what do you say, isn't it beautiful?
Bläsinge fishing harbour is always just as picturesque and charming, even at this time of year when several of the boats are picked up on land.
The girls thought it was exciting to see what the boats looked like underneath and to listen to the creaking of the boats bobbing in the water...
...and to look at the waves that were really high when they hit over the big rocks a bit out in the water. This day we didn't see any seals, but the seal I've seen from the closest distance has actually been here in Bläsinge.
For those who want to continue a little further down the east side, there is also Gräsgård's fishing harbour, which in many ways is quite similar to Bläsinge fishing harbour in appearance. When the sun started to set behind the horizon, we slowly headed home again. On this particular day, it was not open at the praline manufacturer Fröken Frankenstein in Gårdby, but we promised the girls to stop by there next time we go on this excursion, because it won't be long until the next time.
Helena Elm, 17 February 2022
