Part 1 - Day 1: Kayak from Ingarö to Nämdö

13 July 2019 

I will write about my big kayaking adventure from one island to another island that is located in the archipelago. Stockholm has an archipelago that consists of many islands - The Stockholm archipelago of 30,000 islands, skerries and rocks fans out 80 km east into the Baltic Sea from the city.

It has been in my wish list this summer to explore more of the archipelago, and this kayaking trip will cross 3 items off my bucket list:

1) Kayaking over the huge sea from one island to another

2) Camp in the archipelago

3) Sauna and a dip in the waters

The 2-days adventure was to kayak from Ingarö to Nämdö. Ö (pronounced as 'er') means island. We will spend the night at Nämdö. Then, we will paddle back to where we started on Sunday morning and be back at Slussen in the afternoon.   

On a beautiful sunny Saturday, 13 of us gathered at Slussen bus station and took bus 428 to Björno Naturreservat (Nature Reserve) which is located on Ingarö. We walked to the place where one rents the kayak from. I have decided to rent a double kayak because I have serious doubts on my kayaking ability over the huge sea. I freaked out when small waves approached me during one of my kayaking sessions in Stockholm. Lucky me to be partnered with an extremely strong Italian guy who is a swimmer and paddles so fast! A double kayak costs SEK1100 which means I paid half of SEK550. We brought our own food, sleeping bag and sleeping mat. I shared a tent with the Italian guy, Dario. Amazingly, the kayak is wide enough to fit lots of stuff. I bought a bigger drybag just to fit in my sleeping bag and sleeping mat. 

Tastebud : Kafe Choklad

12 July 2019

It is summer but I am having a chocolate drink today. It must be one of those rare chilly summer days because I am in my down-jacket. I like the photo of me holding the cup because I could see the wrinkles around my eyes, and I looked tanned. Haha! This place is called Kafe Choklad and I did a quick google and many customers have complained how expensive the place is. Yes, it definitely is if a cup of hot chocolate is SEK59. But, it is better than a cup of hot chocolate in Espresso which is so very extremely sweet although it costs SEK54 there. 

Tastebud : Shanti

11 July 2019

Indian dinner after kayaking. It was summer so, we sat outside, but I was cold after a while and had to have 2 layers of blankets on me. We had 2 naan bread for SEK30 a piece, palak paneer for SEK180 (expensive spinach cooked in cheese and spices) and bengali malai chicken for SEK190. 

Finally, I have found the most expensive palak paneer here. I thought the most expensive palak paneer I have eaten is at Indian Stories - their palak paneer costs SEK179. Each dish comes with rice and salad. Rice always makes me full and I cannot finish my naan bread, but naan bread is nice to eat with curry. 

Tastebud : Orangeriet

11 July 2019

One fine summer day, a few days before my last day at work, I had lunch with 2 colleagues at Orangeriet, an Italian restaurant. This restaurant faces the sea, so with such lovely view, you can imagine an expensive menu. I had Il Vegetale, a vegetarian pizza that has spinach, garlic, vegan cheese and pecan nuts for SEK155. Of course, most restaurants serve bread while waiting for the main course to arrive. 

Tastebud : Deluxe Foodtruck

10 July 2019

Having foodtruck during the summer is so convenient. The weather is perfect to eat in the park. There are many foodtrucks during the summer. 

I had cheese and beef burger from this Deluxe Foodtruck at Rålambshovsparken. It was so good and yummy. SEK95. Yes, foodtruck can be expensive too!