Summer's discovery - Brännskär

During the stay in Helsingholmen we got to talk to a lovely couple with two kids and they mentioned that the day after they were heading to one relatively new harbor, that they visited during the previous summer. After listening how satisfied they were there during the last stay, we decided to have a look at the new harbor too. So the destination was set to Brännskär. And since it is not far from Helsingholmen we could enjoy a longer morning and not be in a rush to get a place in the harbor. And once more we were happy we are not in a hurry and can spend one more day in a place that is rather close by.

Biggest surprise of all is not only the great condition of the island facilities (did not try sauna though, something "new" to check there this summer!), but the tenant of the harbor. This new place is maintained by a young guy, who loves wood in every meaning of this word: in terms of environment, working material, design, etc :) . And you can definitely feel it on the island.

Piers are new and in good condition. There were some issues with some of the places regarding the ropes attachment loops, but design mistakes have been fixed by the starting season according to Lennart, who we saw at the boat exhibition. 

We were not disturbed by the fact that the harbours is located almost on the boat route, as most of the skippers were wise enough to slow down beforehand. I would definitely recommend this place and I am sure we will be back as soon as we are heading in that direction! :)

 Very cozy harbor office is more like an authentic archipelago shop or cafeteria. They sell some stuff of primary needs there. And of course, as you can guess, the interior is all designed in wood and made by Lennart.

 

The smell of freshly baked buns and cakes was so irresistible, that we stayed to enjoy a cup of tea. I also loved the idea of theirs about marking that the boat has paid for the stay with the wooden "souvenir" :) We still have it at boat :)

  

There are several areas outside where you can enjoy a meal. For example these wooden stairs lead to a great view spot. The weather (again!) was not perfect... but luckily it was the last cloudy/rainy day during our holiday :) 

After a snack on this open terrace with awesome views on the archipelago we headed for a walk around the island. We met there many new "friends" like the one on the picture below :) They are not wild at all and come quite close to people :)
On the side opposite to the pier there was a nice beach.

In the opposite direction from the harbor office there is a high hill. We climbed on it later in the evening to enjoy some peaceful time with great views on the harbor, other islands, sea. With a glass of wine and little snacks we enjoyed the views for quite some time :) 

PS: for those who cannot imagine their life without technology and still don't have a TV at boat, there was a separate building meant both for dining (in case of bad weather) or just spending time. Among other stuff there was a big TV, where we watched the one of the few games of the football world championship :D

Cherishing last summer memories - Helsingholmen

After a couple of sunny and relatively warm days sailing fever is back :) But I still hope to realize my plan and post about all the harbors we visited during the last summer. So the next place after Högsåra was Helsingholmen. This has been THE destination for a couple of years and always when sailing in this direction it was a must-see place.

It is actually very popular during the high season and not always there is a chance to get a place there. This time though at our arrival we had a wide choice of parking spots and got our favorite place :) Unfortunately the weather was still not so perfect and it was not really very warm...

My favorite spot of the island is the rocky shore on its north-western side. It is a great place for grilling or just warming up on the heated by the sun rocks and look at the horizon :) The water there is also particularly pure and transparent.

For families with kids the island is a "treasure". The harbor keepers have a horse, rabbits, hens, cats and dogs of course, so kids can be busy with all those creatures and have fun on their own. And the animals don't seem to mind it. this lucky cat got all the fishes that children were able to catch :)

Always positive thing is freshly smocked fish in this place. This time we enjoyed whitefish with new potatoes and white wine. And of course outdoors it tastes twice as good! :)

For all the times we have been in this place not a single time we were able to book a sauna here! So this time, that the harbor was not full on our arrival, we decided that it is high time to try it out. I have heard soooo much about the sauna and the views, that I had sky-high expectations. I must admit it was good, but maybe due to too high expectations I was not so impressed. And I almost like our yachclub island sauna more :P It is also heated with wood, has awesome views to the sunset and has a great swimming place close to the rocks :)

In the morning we had the awesome service of getting fresh warm rolls waiting for us in the harbor office. You have to order them the day before, mentioning the boat name and the amount of rolls you wish. These little things in the middle of nowhere are priceless :)

After the breakfast it was a new day, with decent winds, so off we went... :)

Perfect interior - Riviéra Maison

Talking about the furniture, I could live in this shop!!!
One day... ;)

And meanwhile making a list of Ikea (and others) items we lack or would like to change. This time they wont be Riviéra Maison, but hopefully next time :)

Wind of change

Lately all the thoughts about sailing and sea adventures have been replaced by the needs of flat renovation :) So here comes an "interior design" post.

About one year ago when we moved in this apartment almost nothing was actually renewed. Entrance was the only room, where the wallpapers were refreshed and the new furniture was bought. Since the very moment of purchasing this place we discussed building back the third room, that was removed by the previous owner.

So the layout was such, that we had a proper bedroom + big and spaceful other room, that combined open kitchen, living room and dining room.

It took quite some time to figure out where do we want the third room to be, as rebuilding it on the old place was not an option. After the decision was made, we started selecting the building company.

And after a couple of appointments our project went to Puuppolan Talkkari who did a good job! 

So now the walls are there and to have them in place took about 5 days. And at least half a day was spent on figuring out electrical wiring we had in place here.

Mustsay that we are very happy with the result! The biggest fear was to loose the sense of big open space that we used to have. And actually with tht new room the space still remains big enough, but the use of it is much more practical. Living room is clearly difined as well as the dining area. The new room though is rather small :)

With the new walls it was obvious that all the ex-living room spaces needed to be painted. It turned out to  be a tough task to pick the rights color of the paint for the walls... and despite the fact, that I always knew, that on the sample it always looks "milder" than in real life, what did I do???? I picked up a shade of yellow that was brighter than orange :D And a shade of white which is slightly yellow/beige... :D As a result we have about 10 litres of extra paint for internal walls :D Anyone interested?

 

My only "concern" is not the funriture for the new room, it should have a couple of purposes and has to be well thought :)

Andof course now with the new walls and all I would be happy to replace all the furniture we have, as it was sort of put together "by chance", when we still rented a tiny appartment and had no clue what kind of spaces we will have and what will suit where... 

...well, one thing at a time...:) and meanwhileflat is still kind of mess, as skirting boards are missing, window frames need painting,curtains, pictures, furniture... 

But summer is getting closer :) And the "main summer project" (read boat) is also ongoing :)