The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi

This summer our sailing trip took us to fourteen different harbours. One of my favourites was Sommaröstrand. Take a look and see for yourself!

As we were arriving, I felt a bit worried that the marina would be full, as many sailors were making their way back to the Helsinki-area. Fortunately for us, we were early, so there was plenty of room. For a cost, you can stay the night and opt to have electricity too. Water for boats is provided on the dock.

As you walk away from the boats, you will find a café/bakery – Pieni Saaristoleipomo aka Small Archipelago Bakery.

The café is cosy inside and has outdoor seating too.

What I loved most about it was all the fresh oven baked goods they were selling. We bought some baked rolls to enjoy on the boat for breakfast. Oh and we did buy some sweet bakery goods too to go with coffee.

You could have your coffee or tea at the café of course. They made a nice cappuccino which was welcome after many weeks at sea. You see, the nearest thing to a lovely cup of cappuccino had been my Nescafé Cappuccino sachets!

Our son was excited to hear that they served waffles too – and as you can see, they were divine.

If baked goods and coffee is not your thing – fear not! The café also has a mini golf range for a bit of family fun.

Now if one were to want a heartier meal, then Sommaröstrand has an answer to that too. A few steps away, one can find 5Knivar (aka five knives) – a summer restaurant.

We opted for Finnish salmon soup – so good!

The sailors next to our boat mentioned that there’s an organic farm nearby. My son and I decided to explore and see what that was about. Just a mere 400 meters from the marina, you can find Henrik’s Garden.

We were greeted by the friendly Henrik himself who was happy to tell us about his produce. He grows 75 different kinds of vegetables and herbs and 10 kinds of fruits and berries. And flowers too! All produce he sells is picked on that very same day. His organic strawberries are very popular, hence we missed out that day as he’d sold out.

I must say I’ve never tasted such fragrant tomatoes as the ones we bought from Henrik.

We were allowed to look around by ourselves and also walk under the trees in his small arboretum. The trees and shrubs are from North America, China and Japan.

Henrik even took us to his vegetable garden where he picked fresh broccoli for us. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve never seen how broccoli grows before. Needless to say, as all the veggies we bought from his garden, it was delicious. Do pop in to see what Henrik has in store for the day if you are ever in the area – his garden comes highly recommended by me (and anyone else who has visited). He speaks Finnish, English and Swedish to boot.

How does Sommaröstrand look to you? Have you ever been? Do you have a place like this where you live? Let me know in the comments below!

xx