Written by Ivanna
24 May 2017
Right after we crossed the 6 km bridge that connects Öland with the rest of Sweden we understood why this small island is called “Swedes own little paradise”. It felt like we were driving towards a painting or those very nice postcards with windmills, flat landscape, steep stone quarries and many cottages. Everything surrounded by green meadows and flowers, while the ocean reflected like a mirror the rays of sun.
There’re many things I could tell you about this place, but I will summarize it in 10 highlights of our 2-day trip.
1. The sea is always around the corner. I mean we’re talking about an island, so it doesn’t matter where you drive, walk or bike you always end up by the water.
2. Climbing the stone quarries and just chilling there, enjoying the salty breeze while spotting few swans on the water.
3. Meeting Lennart, a local. Probably you’ve heard about Swedes been “reserved” well that’s not always the case. Walking by the sea I ran into an old man and said Hej! – He replied with a friendly smile and asked what brought me here. I said I was a student in Lund University and in my free time I wanted to explore Sweden. He made a subtle pause and looked aways like he’s remembering something that happened years and years ago. Then he looked at me again, with nostalgia mixed with excitement and said: I studied there… in 1950. After that we talked for more than 20 minutes. He was born in Öland, in 1935. He didn’t hesitate to share childhood memories and many other stories about his life involved in social work. (btw 82 years old and still ride his bike!)
4. Red storage houses by the sea. This one in particular was Lennart, you can see his name in the right with the yellow wooden fish.
5. Driving around the island while singing along to… Despacito (Still can’t get it out of my head. Not the best road trip song but they played it so much in the radio we had no choice).
6. SUNSETS. Yes, all in caps, because it was amazingly beautiful.
7. Where we spent the night. With a great panoramic view of the garden.
8. A walk through the forest. And not any forest, Trollskogen, a magical place that according to the legend is also the home of… trolls. No, we didn’t spot any but probably because they hide when they feel people coming Uuuhhhhh.
9. The light house, Lange Erik. Located in the northern part of the island it was the last stop of our trip. (tip: if you go during the summer you can actually get to the top).
10. Nature at is best. I’m not talking just about flowers, it was also the many different birds in the trees, the little fishes that you could see swimming through the clear water… no wonder this is a World Heritage Site and yes, Swedes own little paradise.
At this point you probably know exploring Sweden has become my part-time hobby (Yayy!). And thankfully I have great friends that share that wanderlust spirit and join all the trips (Double Yayy!). Anyways, this is such a big country that I think I won’t have time to explore it all, but I’m trying.
This is all for now, I hope you can visit Öland and enjoy it as much as we did 🙂
/Ivanna
