For land-based, but similarly styled, Scandinavian décor, head a bit further north to the resorty Gullmarsstrand (451 78 Fiskebäckskil, +46-(0)523-66-77-88; Gullmarsstrand.se) in über-charming Fiskebäckskil.
Pack your binoculars and book a cliffside room; you might spy seals sunning on one of the 18,000 islands in the bay.
In the summer, this former hub of fishing and freight shipping swells from 1,500 year-round residents to over 7,500, not counting the almost 68,000 tourists. Every turn of a corner unveils a new definition of storybook-perfect photo op. The tumble of gingerbread-fringed houses -- in pale yellow, bluebell, and barn red (converted boat houses) -- stacked on sharp hills to the sea feels like Maine by way of Nantucket.
Tony Stockholmers and local epicures flock to the bustlingBrygghuset (
Fiskebäckskilsv?gen 28, +46-(0)523-22-222; BrygghusetKrog.se), a harborside restaurant plating up Michelin-worthy modern seafood dishes that belie its kitsch nautical theme.
If the changing-daily menu features fresh-caught prawns, order them. Shell-on and simply steamed, their briny sweetness is near perfect with lemon and transcendent with a dab of horseradish syrup or bit of creamed Västerbotten cheese.
Mussel soup with a creamy saffron stock and a pan-fried redfish with scallops, elderberry jelly, and a potato-parsnip stack are also winners. Whisky lovers will be well served by the 900 different varieties on display in the back bar. During season, lobster "safaris" can also be organized to plumb the bounties of the area?s crystal-clear depths, followed by a feed that defines freshness.
Island life in the archipelago
Gullholmen harbor
Local color
Fiskebäckskil
Fiskebäckskil
Brygghuset
Pan-friend redfish and elderberry jelly
Some of the 900 bottles of whiskey at Brygghuset
Fiskebäckskil harbor at midnight
Night scenes of Gullmarstrand
As dark as it gets in summertime
