Saturday, July 18, 2015

Östanviks Gård

Our neighbouring island of Nämdö is known mostly (to me, at least) as the home of Guns Livs, the grocery store, and its beautiful church.

But Nämdö is much more than that, of course. It's been inhabited since the 13th century and farmed since the 16th. Today, about a hundred people live on the island full-time. It has a number of great walking trails and even a few gravel roads along its length.

There is a big barn on the east side of the island at Östanvik, visible from the sea on the way to Guns. It's the site of a farm which has been on that site for many years, now operated under the auspices of the Skärgårdsstiftelsen.

The farm shop at Östanviks Gård is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays during the summer. Since we have a boat now, Sooz and I decided to pop over to have a look. The weather today wasn't great, but at least it wasn't raining. We've decided that we can't wait for perfect weather whenever we want to take a trip!

We had a fun time. I'm happy to report that our boating skills are improving, and we made the journey with no fuss. The farm itself was really nice. We got to chat with Stina and Jon about their life on the island as farmers. We picked up some fresh bread, local spinach, and their lamb salami. Photos from the trip are on the July photo page.

Having a boat makes a big difference. To know that we can make a trip pretty much whenever we want changes the way we think about being here for longer visits. We're no longer reliant on the boat and bus timetables...or the generosity of our neighbours. Now we can live much more like the locals!

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