Åland Islands – fillet between Sweden and Finland

The Åland archipelago holds all kinds of surprises and – that’s the highlight – is actually still a veritable insider tip as a summer holiday destination. After island hopping through the archipelago off Turku, we took the ferry to the Åland Islands. The archipelago, which belongs to Finland but is Swedish-speaking, enjoys a large degree of political autonomy. Among the mainland Finns it is rumored that they do as they please on their islands anyway. That may be true – and it adds to the charm of this area.

Åland in a Nutshell

The archipelago includes 6,700 named islets and, together with the Turku archipelago, there are over 20,000 islands. The largest group of closely spaced parts of the island is the main island of Fasta Åland, with an extension of 50 kilometres from north to south and 45 kilometres from east to west. We started our discovery tour all over Fasta Åland in the capital Mariehamn. With a good 11,500 inhabitants, it is a well-arranged small town that squeezes into a rectangular grid of streets on a narrow spit of land between two bays. We quickly find our way around, admire the spacious lime tree avenue of the Esplanades and stroll along the Torggatan, where there are some nice little shops to discover. Afterwards we go to the lake district at the Osthafen, which with its boat workshops and craftsmen is one of the most beautiful photo motifs in the capital. Boats are still made here according to old tradition. Anyone looking for a souvenir to take home should take a look at the great souvenir shop full of handicraft products in the harbour area. We end the city tour at the Maritime Museum on the opposite side. The interactive museum tour provides entertaining information about the importance of shipping for the Åland Islands. Afterwards, you can either get in the rental car or hop on your bike and start the island exploration tour. In addition to buildings worth seeing such as the medieval Kastelholm Castle and the adjacent open-air museum with historic island buildings, the Smakbyn (with a great shop and restaurant) and the Stallhagen brewery are definitely worth a detour. Thankfully, all of this is relatively close to each other.

A place to stay: Havsvidden

After we have tasted our way through the variety of beers of Stallhagen (my favorite is the “Dark Honey” beer), we travel to the northernmost tip of Fasta Åland: Havsvidden. The resort-like complex is beautifully placed in an elevated position above a bay with intriguing pink stones. If you book a standard twin room here, you will be irritated at first. Why on earth are there no rooms with a view?! The answer is simple: the founder of the complex was guided by anthroposophical criteria and ignored the potential of the great view. At the same time, all rooms were originally designed as single rooms – and therefore very space-saving. This “shortcoming” has been corrected with the construction of villas beautifully placed in the wooded coastal landscape with phenomenal views. A wonderful refuge for a few days of pure relaxation.

Robinson Feeling auf Silverskär

Not far away, it is possible to rent an entire island for a few days. This is possible on the islands of Silverskär, Sviskär and Klobben – although for Silverskär and Klobben either the money has to be very loose or an event with a horde of friends is coming up purely because of their size. Sviskär, on the other hand, offers what you could wish for with a simple wooden hut, four bunk beds, a sauna and lots of nature all around, to completely switch off from everyday life. I would have liked to stay there longer. By the way, very close to Sviskär, somewhere at the bottom of the sea, Veuve Clicquot bottles mature into fine champagne. The project was born after a discovery of 200-year-old champagne bottles in a shipwreck.

Island hopping in the archipelago

There is a busy ferry service between the Åland Islands and it is worth sailing through the Baltic Sea and admiring the diversity of the archipelago from the deck. A special excursion destination, which can be reached from Kökar in just over an hour, is the mystical baron island of Källskär. In 1958, Baron Göran Åkerhielm fell in love with this island, bought Källskä on it and created a little wonderland together with the Finnish architect Reima Pietilä. In the years that followed, the Baron invited various artists, including Moomintroll illustrator Tove Jansson, to spend a summer here and be inspired by nature. I also feel wonderfully inspired on Källskär, by the bizarre stone formations, the pink heather blossoms and the bright red blueberry perennial leaves. Every year, Åland grants scholarships to contemporary artists and creatives for a stay on Källskär – I have to keep this in mind for a possible next book project.

Insider tip Kökar

If there is already too much hustle and bustle on Fasta Åland, you will certainly feel at home on the island of Kökar, which is half the size. Only 250 people live permanently on the island and in summer there is a lot of activity, especially for guests with camping. Both at the campsite and at the charming Hotel Brudhall you can rent bicycles and explore the island. The challenge for us is to cope only with the backpedal (without further brakes). But we make it to Peders Aplagård without any accidents, where they have the most delicious Åland pancakes (and no less delicious apple juices). Hey, that’s fine! And since the calories are burned again on the way back anyway, we stop at Café Skärgårdsbröd right next to Hotel Brudhall. Here, two mainland Finns – Susanna and Caspar – bake the sweet Aland brown bread according to an old recipe, which I like best in combination with salty butter (and smoked salmon). Great nature, all kinds of local specialties and accommodations with a “wow” factor – you can now understand why I like it so much here.

[alert color=”C20061″]

Practical tips for Åland

• Arrival via Helsinki, Turku or Stockholm to Mariehamn with the Viking Line, Finnlines, Tallink Silja Line and Eckerö Linjen
• Where to stay in Mariehamn: Hotel Pommern or Hotel Arkipelag
• Travelling between the Åland Islands: by ferry (connection Kökar – Fasta Åland 2.5 hours – docks in Långnäs)
• More information about the Åland Islands can be found on Visit Åland’s information page
• Good travel season: August / September – the Finnish midsummer is already over, but there’s peace and quiet included

Glur Reisen invited me to this trip. The Scandinavia travel specialist has various travel offers on the Finnish west coast, including Åland, in its summer catalogue and is also happy to organise tailor-made tours in cooperation with local tour operators. The press trip was also supported by Visit Turku, the City of Pargas, Visit Aland and Finnair. [/alert]

Merken