Tallhöjdens Hotell, a perfect stopover in Simlångsdalen, between Gothenburg and Kosta, Sweden

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A large Thai Buddhist temple deer figure, unintuitively but charmingly adorns a table at the restaurant in Tallhöjdens Hotell, Simlångsdalen, south Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

About 14 km east of Halmstad, in Simlångsdalen, there’s Tallhöjdens Hotell. We found the hotel when taking the E6 at exit 44. We did a little roadtrip between Gothenburg and south of Sweden, and were driving towards Växjö at the time. Although we were not too long on the road, a little over an hour, our morning coffee was beckoning, and we could not resist turning off the road into the inviting hotel parking lot in the early hours of the morning.

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At the Captains Table, Stenungsbaden, Swedish west coast, Sweden

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At Stenungsbaden Yacht Club, Bohuslän, Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

The west coast of Sweden is a summer escape of choice for Swedes. We usually make our way up to Marstrand if we have the drive time, but a little closer to Gothenburg is the drive to Stenungsön. Both routes to either islands are scenic, with opportunities to stopover at small flea markets along the way.

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Styrsö Valborg 2021, Swedish west coast, Sweden

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At the quayside at Styrsö, Valborg weekend, Gothenburg southern archipelago, Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Since the Middle Ages, Sweden has celebrated Walpurgis Night or Valborg on the last day of April. Valborg marks the quarter point in the sun-wheel between the vernal equinox and midsummer. The Nordic countries will usually switch over to summer hours and the day is celebrated by spending it outdoors, grilling, song singing and general merry making.

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A view from Långedrag Värdshus in spring, Swedish west coast

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At Långedrag, Saltholmen, with a view towards the Gothenburg southern archipelago, Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Over the weekend, the seas had moderately high waves, but the west coast of Sweden had generally clear skies. The combination of high water and good sun made it perfect sailing weather for children who were attending a sailing course at the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS) to go out to sea. Their small sailing boats bobbing on the ocean horizon was an exciting view to observe.

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Chèvre Figue à la Rose, Hugo Ericson Ost, Stora Saluhallen Gothenburg, Sweden

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One of my favourite raw goat cheeses from France, the Chèvre Figue à la Rose.
At Hugo Ericson Ost, Stora Saluhallen, Gothenburg.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

In Paris in 2016 I found myself exploring the shops along Rue de Grenelle. Here, in between Musée d’Orsay and Musée Rodin is one of Paris’ many culinary gems, the Barthélemy cheese boutique. This shop carried more than 200 varieties of unique, hand crafted French cheeses. Stepping out of that compact and cozy shop, I had in hand, two Chèvre Figue à la Rose. This goat’s cheese is made from unpasteurised milk. Crafted in the shape of a fig as it contains a fig within, this cheese is produced in the French region of Provence. The two I bought in Paris, I had those for breakfast the next morning, and fell in love with that cheese since.

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Trollhättan Fall and Locks area, west Sweden

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Trollhättan valley of Gamle Dal, spring 2021.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

The Trollhättan Fall and Locks area is about an hour’s drive from the city of Gothenburg. We had warm spring/summer weather over the weekend, so we decided to take a drive to visit the city and take in some of the dramatic landscape. I have never visited the city of Trollhättan before, so this was pretty exciting for me. I was looking forward to exploring the city as well as the surrounding nature in the valley of Gamle Dal (Old valley).

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Spring garden play in Aztec print

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In an Aztec print and harem pants, Swedish west coast, spring 2021.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

It has been some very nice weather along the Swedish west coast in the past week. The morning temperatures begin at about 6°C but quickly rise to about 15°C. In terms of dressing for the weather, I remember spring as a somewhat confusing season in the early 2000s. As a tropical individual newly arrived in Sweden, spring was the couple of weeks when you left your home in winter temperatures, with warm hat and gloves on, but have lunch in just about summer temperatures. So the jacket and gloves come on and off throughout the day, depending on whether you are in the shade or in the sun.

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From the week of the Spring equinox 2021

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In celebration of the spring equinox week 2021, with some cake and Lent lilies on the table.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

There´s been a flurry of small activities in the week following this year´s spring equinox. From making a chocolate banana fudge cake to a sausage and bacon frittata for breakfast, I´ve been celebrating the start of spring in a variety of ways.

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Laxbutiken Ljungskile, Sweden

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Getting that squeeze of lemon juice over a plate of warm smoked salmon at Laxbutiken Ljungskile, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Laxbutiken Ljungskile, Sweden.

The Swedish west coast makes for beautiful and scenic long drives. Along route E6, headed towards Oslo from Gothenburg, you´ll come to the neighbourhood of Ljungskile. Lungskile has about 3300 inhabitants, and it is located in the municipality of Uddevalla. As you turn off at exit 93 of E6, you’ll find a gem of a place called Laxbutiken, or “the salmon boutique”. Laxbutiken is a combined restaurant and shop where besides dining, you can buy and take home fresh salmon and a wide selection of salmon products.

As soon as I stepped into Laxbutiken, I became excited about dining at the restaurant, because of their appetizing display of a wide variety of delicious looking salmon bakes and dishes.

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