Week in Öland

I just got back from a really nice vacation in Öland, Sweden!

We drove about 6 hours to get there and we stayed 5 days and 4 nights. We got amazing weather; every day was beautiful, so we were able to enjoy all the beaches and watering holes. We left around 8am on Monday morning and stopped once for lunch. On our way we played some car games. One of the games we played was sort of like I-spy. We made a list of 10 things that we had to spot and if you were the first one to say the item you got a point. Whoever got the most points won. Assar won, but I think he had an advantage because he sat in the front seat...I'm not bitter! One of the items was to find a yellow car, so the entire trip we were noticing all the yellow cars and we would shout out "yellow car" whenever we found one. We got a good laugh out of it every time!

This bridge was 1 kilometer long

Anyways, when we arrived at the house Maria, Emil, Agnes, and Eliot were already there. They had stayed there the week before. It was a very cute summer cottage that included a guest house that we stayed in.

After we settled in we headed to the beach! We stayed there for an hour or so. Since it was late in the day the wind was a little cold, so Maria, Ingrid and I kept warm in the sun while the kids and Emil went for a dip.

Emil and Agnes

Just a little cold!

 After the beach we stopped to see some of the windmills that were on the side of the road. Öland is famous for their windmills; anywhere you travelled throughout the island there were windmills to be seen.

 We then went to get some icecream by the water. It was so pretty!

Vidar and Freja

 On the second day of our vacation I got up early and ran two and a half miles. Around lunch time Maria and Ingrid's softball friend Johanna came with her husband and their daughter. We had lunch with them before we went to the beach. We ate spaghetti with meat sauce and salad. I made some tomato sauce for myself. They don't really sell jarred tomato sauce here like we have at home, but fortunately I have an Italian grandmother who taught me how to make my own homemade tomato sauce. I sauteed some garlic and onion and some olive oil then added some crushed tomato. I added some fresh basil and some salt. It wasn't as good as my grandmother's sauce but it sure made me feel like I was home for a moment! After lunch we went to a watering hole. Though there were a lot of people there it was really neat because it was right next to the kilometer long bridge. After swimming and sun bathing we went back to the house for some BBQ and apple pie! It was delicious!

The third day we went to another part of the island where there was a lot of shopping and places to eat. We had a really nice lunch; I ate pasta salad with tuna. We also had some ice cream while we were there!

On our way back from the shopping and ice cream we went to see some castle ruins. Unfortunately there was a charge to get in so we decided to just look at it from the outside and take some fun pictures. Before we went back to the house the girls went to a fish store and picked up some salmon to grill and some smoked shrimp for an appetizer. The shrimp were smoked shell in all so we had to take apart them ourselves. It was the first time I took apart my own shrimps; it was messy but they were so good!! The salmon was really good too! Especially, because Maria made a sauce to go with it. It was sour cream, red onion, feta cheese, dill, and salt and pepper... yum! 

 On our last full day we drove about 2 hours to the northern part of the island. Along the shore was a lot of coastal weathering. The rocks were worn away by the water and there were tons of small rocks that had fossils from plants and fish. We ate lunch there and then we found a small beach area to sun bathe and take a dip in the water. We found a private area on the shore that was quiet and peaceful. It was so relaxing! That night we feasted on all of our leftovers and then we roasted marshmallows on the grill. It was a wonderful vacation and everyone had a lot of fun! It was so nice for Maria and Emil to invite us there. It took me back to my camping days with my family and I know they would have loved it too!