A weekend filled with Swedish Christmas traditions. Christmas food. Herring. Saunas. Mansions. Castles. Sounds tempting? If you’re looking for a fantastic way to get into the spirit of Christmas, I can highly recommend a weekend in the west of Sweden. Västsverige really has it all!
Oh, Christmas. A holiday so dear, and so heavily filled with traditions. Each year we eat the same, and we prefer everything to have exactly the “same procedure as every year, James”, thank you very much.
Traditions will be different between countries, cities and even inside families. I find learning about the way others celebrate Christmas (and other important holidays) to be highly rewarding and interesting.
A couple of years ago I was invited to Sweden just a few weeks before Christmas, specifically to the West coast. I traveled together with Jeanette from Reiseperler and Hanne Marit from Sekk og sandaler.
This area is absolutely stunning just before Christmas. It was cold, but beautiful, and with Christmas lights everywhere. In this post I will share the Christmas spirit of Västsverige with you all, and hope you’ll feel some of it too.
The idyllic Klädesholmen
The gorgeous Klädesholmen is both a township and an island located outside of Gothenburg in Sweden. It is a particular popular destination for tourists during summer, but it’s also great during winter, and particularly in the weeks leading up to Christmas. In the summer time around 1000 people live here, while the rest of the year it’s around 250.
Herring from Klädesholmen
Klädesholmen is famous for its herring, and it’s been so for centuries. You see, between the years of 1747 and 1809 it was “the great years of herring” at Klädesholmen, as huge amounts of herrings would swim around in this area. However, in 1808 the herring suddenly disappeared, causing a local crisis, and a lot of people moved away from the area. Only many years later did the herring again return to the area.
As of today, about 50% of all herring sold in Sweden(!) can be traced back to this area. The herring is both prepared and sold at the local restaurants and preserved for anyone to bring back home to enjoy.
Stunning nature sceneries at Klädesholmen
It was a bright and early morning at Villa Salt. Outside it was around -15 degrees, and ice crystals shone in the sparse light of dawn. It looked like it was just about to become sunrise, so I threw on all my clothes, picked up my camera and went off for a cold but stunning morning walk before breakfast.
It was so quiet. The air was crisp and fresh, and you could almost taste the salt from the sea in the air. An absolutely perfect winter morning – and like balm to the soul.
Relax, sleep and have a feast at Salt & sill
Salt & Sill is the first floating hotel in Sweden. Built on the island of Klädesholmen, the limited amount of space led to the construction of the floating hotel. The hotel opened up for guests in 2008,and since then they have expanded. At the floating hotel you also find a restaurant, which (of course) has herring as its special.
Villa Salt
For our visit at Klädesholmen we stayed at Villa Salt, a separate house just a few minutes walk from Salt&Sill. Villa Salt houses 4 people, and is perfect if you stay with friends, as you have room to hang out together and a fully equipped private kitchen.
“Sillinnlegging” – a fun and different way of team building
In honour of the important Klädesholmen herring, we were invited to try “sillinnlegging” (herring insertion) – a different and very fun way of both cooking and team building. We first got a little history lesson from Torbjörn, the kitchen master, about herring, more specifically the history of and relationship between Klädesholmen and its herring. Then we got to try to make our own Christmas herring, with Torbjörn guiding us through, and everyone getting their own work station in the kitchen.
Truth to be told, I had never tried herring before (my grandfather loves it, but I never really felt tempted to try). I was therefore a bit hesitant with what I should add into my bowl. After some good suggestions I whipped up a mixed, and named it “Merry Herringmas”. It turned out, I must say, definitely not too bad.
The session takes about 1-1,5 hours, and you get to bring the herring you make with you. A great souvenir, or maybe a Christmas present for someone you hold dear?
Here’s the recipe for my creation, “Merry Herringmas”: (note that everything is completely based on “a dash of this” and “a sprinkle of that”, so you’ll have to just test as you go)
- Rosemary
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Ginger
- Green apple
- The juice of ¼ of a lemon
- Herring
Svensk julbord – Swedish Christmas table – at Salt och sill
“Julbord” is a gigantic feast in Scandinavia, and of course Salt och sill has their own. Here you can find a vast variety of traditional Swedish Christmas food.
As I mentioned earlier, herring is a big thing at Klädesholmen, and so of course you can enjoy a lot of different versions of this traditional dish here. Each year Salt och sill creates a new Christmas herring-flavour, which is both served at the restaurant, and which visitors can buy and bring back home.
Be sure to save a spot in your tummy for after the feast – there is also an entire table filled with cakes, desserts and sweets. Yum!
The sauna catamaran
Moored just outside Salt och sill is S/S Silla – a floating sauna catamaran! Here you’ll find both showers, changing rooms, lounging areas, a bar and the sauna – and a pier where you can get a very (refreshing and) cold dip in the sea. This area is perfect for relaxing together, getting in the mood for julbord, or recovering from it the day after. 😉
Enjoy local delicacies at Lottas bak och form
Lottas bak och form is a café and bakery at Tjörn. It is located just near the shore, with the most incredible view right out at sea. The bakery focuses on sourdough, and you can even attend a class here learning techniques for different sourdough projects.
The food at Lottas is made with local ingredients, and recycling and food waste reduction is a major focus area for the business. They’re also part of “Hållbarhetsklivet”, which works for a more sustainable travel industry in West Sweden.
For lunch I can highly recommend their pizzas. Their gluten free alternatives consist of a base made of either chickpea flour or bean flour, and they also have vegetarian and vegan options. Yum!
Sceneries, great food and shopping at Skåra gårdsbageri
Built inside an old greenhouse, located between Kode and Marstrand, you find Skåra gårdsbageri. Here you can select between loads of baked goodies, such as cakes, cookies and bread, but also pizza and other lunch items are on the menu. It might not be smack in the middle of somewhere central, but it is well worth driving there for.
At Skåra being gluten free is not an issue – as one of the bakers at Skåra loves to try out making new recipes gluten free they have so, so many options. And they’re absolutely delicious!
We also ended up buying both small cakes and other gifts to bring back home.
Get swept off your feet at the gorgeous Tofta herrgård
About 35 minutes drive outside of Gothenburg lies a stunning farm, and in the middle a mansion, called Tofta herrgård. Being well out on the countryside, surrounded by beautiful tall trees and a field filled with horses, the entrance to Tofta herrgård is like something taken out from a gorgeous movie. Here we meet Karen and Petter Karlander, who’ve gotten the place all ready for Christmas.
Petter actually grew up in the manor house at Tofta, which dates back to the 18th century, and the whole area was private until the business was started up in 2004. Here you have the option of going horseback riding, hiking or trying the golf course – or just relax, and admire the stunning area and mansion.
Make sure you have enough time for a little exploration of both the mansion and its surrounding. The interior is classic, and a lot of it is actually the original furniture. I absolutely loved the atmosphere of Tofta herrgård, as it’s both very classic, classy and relaxed altogether.
Go hiking in Tofta naturreservat
Tofta nature reserve is a coastal landscape between Kungälv and Marstrand, perfect for hiking and exploring. One of our nights during our Christmas stay in Bohuslän we stayed in Tofta manor, located in the nature reserve. It felt amazing being able to wake up, put on (a lot of) clothes and go for a beautiful walk before breakfast.
Get some suuggestions of where to go in Tofta nature reserve here.
Have a dip in a classic “Badetønne”
If you feel tired or cold from your walk, or simply want to de-stress from your everyday life, a dip in the hot tubs are well recommended. Since our visit there has also opened a sauna at Tofta herrgård – a perfect way to either end the night or start the day, if you ask me.
Have a feast at the Christmas table at Tofta herrgård
The feeling of Christmas descends on Tofta herrgård, where Christmas lights sparkle in the tree Christmas tree outside, the beautiful interior is mixed with Christmas decorations and the smell of tempting Christmas food welcomes us as we open the door
Yes, the “julbord” (Christmas table) at Tofta herrgård is quite something. The food is set up as a buffet in several different rooms, with one room for herring/fish, one for hot food and another one just for candy and desserts. I don’t recall how many times I had to go back for “just one more thing” to try, but it was a feast, and the food at Tofta herrgård was absolutely fantastic.
Get into the spirit of Christmas at Gunnebo slott och trädgårder
A short drive outside the city of Gothenburg lies the Gunnebo castle, an 18th century castle surrounded by gardens. The city has been owned by the city of Mölndal since 1949, and everything arranged at the castle has the environment in mind while being produced and made. Gunnebo hosts several events all throughout the year, such as markets and concerts.
While we visited Gunnebo, we had the time to go shopping for some Christmas gifts, have a stroll through the wonderful garden and eat at the ecological café. Gunnebo is the first cultural reserve in the area of Västra Götaland, meaning the buildings and land will be protected also for future generations to enjoy.
I would highly recommend taking your time to visit Gunnebo if you find yourself in the area. It is a gorsgeous place, and the food was great. For desserts they even had an entire candy room, with small biscuits, cakes and chocolates. Yum!
About this post
This post is written after a sponsored press trip to Sweden in collaboration with Opplev Sverige and Väst Sverige, but with no instruction of what to write afterwards.
All things written are of course entirely based on my own experiences and are my own honest review.
Leave a reply