Hammarbyhojden

22 October 2017

Hammarbyhojden (pronounced as 'ham-mah-bee-hoy-den') is a little hill located at the south of Stockholm that oversees a view of Stockholm. It is not a tough hike. It is a pretty view during the autumn with the colourful leaves. From the top of the hill, there are also cyclists cycling downhill. During the winter, this place is filled with skiers. 

Enjoy the photos.

Flemingsberg Nature Reserve

21 October 2017

Today's walk is in Flemingsberg Nature Reserve located in Huddinge. It was a 12km walk. If you have read all my hiking posts in Sweden, I think you would have an idea how a nature reserve looked like by now. Haha! So, I don't have much photos from this walk. 

My sister commented that if you have seen one forest in Sweden, you have seen them all. And she is pretty much right on that. It gets boring after a while but it is nice to be out for some fresh air.

Short Getaway : Day 2 - Tåkern Lake

11 October 2017

Today, my sister woke up early because she would like to see if she could do some birdwatching while the partner sleeps. So, we had an early breakfast - grapes and cinnamon buns and off we go for a short walk. 

Also, we check out today and head to Tåkern Lake today. This place is one of the well-known places for birdwatching. We headed back to Stockholm after Tåkern Lake (pronounced as 'toe-kern').

Mushroom picking at Ytter Eneby & Toasted Mushroom Sandwich

14 October 2017

Besides apple picking, it is also mushroom picking in the autumn! I am so happy that I got to experience this.

This is an activity organised in an outdoor group in Meetup. Meetup is so awesome. We took the train from Stockholm to Södertälje Centrum and then the bus to Ytter Eneby. It was about 2 hours in total for me to reach here. It is very far. Well, if that is where the mushrooms are, that is where I will go. 

The tools for mushroom picking is 

1) a mushroom knife (I really had no idea on the existence of this equipment - it is a knife that has a blade on one end and brush on the other end. The brush is used to brush the dirt or anything odd off the mushroom once cut by the knife. You are not advised to pluck with fingers as you may not pluck the entire stem off as the mushroom is fragile.), 

2) a weaved basket (I brought a plastic bag which is so wrong as the dampness from the mushroom is store inside which ruins the mushroom) and 

3) a pair of rubber boots (I used my hiking shoes which absorbed some of the wetness from the ground). Mushrooms thrive in wet area so get rubber shoes. 

The area that we will pick mushrooms is Ytter Eneby Nature Reserve located in Järna (pronounced as 'yar-na'). This place is full of mushrooms after a rainy season. A mushroom expert was here to guide us and give explanations on the different types of mushroom found on the ground. He is the guy with the white beard. I could not understand some of his explanations as it was in Swedish and my Swedish was sucky then.

Off we go to pluck our mushrooms. 

Short Getaway : Day 1 - Omberg

10 October 2017

On 9th October 2017, my sister came over to visit me for 5 days. So, we did a 2-day 1 night trip to Omberg and Tåkern Lake. She is not a fan of museums and the usual tourist stuff, but more towards nature. Since it is the migration period during October for the birds, we went to a more plausible place for birdwatching which was Omberg and Tåkern Lake. My sister did not get to identify much birds but it is definitely a beautiful nature place.

We stayed at STF Stocklycke Omberg for a night. A quadruple room that we paid SEK1150. The best part was we had the whole building to ourselves! It was off-season and there was really no one at all. Plus, we came during a weekday.

We started from Stockholm where my partner prepared reindeer sandwich for us. I wanted to let my sister taste it. He spread butter on the bread and lined up mayonnaise, mustard and cheese with the reindeer meat. It is really good!

We reached the STF after a 3-hour drive. See how large it is. They have a spacious living room with a fireplace, a kitchen where one can cook and a clean bathroom too. Can you believe it that we had the whole place to ourselves? The staff called me before we arrived and mentioned that the keys are in the postbox and we let ourselves in. Look at how pretty the leaves are. Autumn is a beautiful season.

Baker wannabe : Apple Cake

8 October 2017

Today, I made apple cake! I made it a few times and did not write down the recipe. Finally, when I decided to make it again after a short pause, I have no idea which recipe I used and decided to google for Swedish Apple Cake. Now, I write my recipes in a cooking notebook so I can refer to the note book anytime!

The first apple cake I made smell so good of cinnamon. I used 4 small apples only. It felt so fluffy and soft to my hands when I held the cake. I wondered if it could be due to the milk that I used. Apparently, this is the kind cake that Swedes enjoy - soft and fluffy, whereas I am used to cakes' texture that are slightly firm.

Here is the Swedish Apple Cake recipe:

Recipe:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of white sugar / 2.25 dl
• 1/2 cup of milk / 1.12 dl
• 50g butter, melted
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup of flour / 3.4 dl
• Pinch of salt
• Preheated oven 175 degrees

Apple mix. Do this first and let the cut apples marinate with the other ingredients.

• 2 apples (I use a maximum of 4 huge apples). Slice into thin wedges
• 3 tbsp sugar (I reduce this to 1 tbsp because the batter has so much sugar)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 lemon

Beat the eggs and sugar till fluffy. Add the milk and butter. Mix well. Mix the baking powder with flour. Slowly fold into batter. Do not overstir. 

Butter a baking dish and cover with breadcrumbs. You can buy breadcrumbs. Pour in the batter into the baking dish. Layer with the apple wedges. Then, pour in the next batter until cover the apples. Layer with the next apple wedges. Continue this until apples and batter finish. Usually, I ensure there are sufficient apples for the top layer. As I have a small baking dish (as seen in the below photos), I can do 4 apple layers. Bake at 175 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Sörmlandsleden 7

1 October 2017

Another Sörmlandsleden hike today! This time it is Section 7, and it was surprisingly a very short hike. Just 7km. So, we finished the hike quite early during lunch time.

The trail was not difficult at all, and before you knew it, we have finished the trail. We ended the hike by a lake where there is a small jetty. Nothing much to narrate so enjoy the photos!

Sörmlandsleden 13.2 & Kayaking

30 September 2017

Today's hike is special. We went on Sörmlandsleden Section 13.2 which is a new section on the route. The day we hiked was the official opening day of this section. Hence, there were some activities at Sandtorp, a spot near the lake where there were representatives from Sörmlandsleden, Kanotkungen, Friluftsfrämjandet and Turinge Scoutkår. There were not many people at the area. I tried kayaking! 

I took the train to Södertalje Centrum and continued with bus 780x from Södertalje Centrum to Nykvarn Station. 12km hike today.