On a Date in Scandinavia: Mölle's Harbor Cove

Here we continue to follow Katerina and Johan Alm on the road in coastal Sweden...


The drive up to Höganäs Municipality from Malmö is picturesque, provides a beautiful coast side tour and only takes about an hour. A few minutes north of Höganäs is the town of Mölle, a 19th century fishing village that is known for its scenic harbour and permiscous bathing at the end of the 19th century when men and women started swimming together. Perched upon the top of this village is the Grand Hotel Mölle where we happily perched ourselves for a few days. The view looking over the harbour is incredible and a sea view room comes highly recommended.


In the area you can visit Kullabergs Nature Reserve where you can do botanical walking, bird watching and mountain climbing. The area is also known for their ceramic especially the salt glazed Höganäs jars and pitchers. There are many potters and artists around selling thier crafts. A short drive away is also home to Sweden's Iittala Outlet where famous Finnish kitchenware and pottery can be found at discount prices.


These three images courtesy of Iittala

Lunch in the harbour -traditional swedish Räkmacka (open faced shrimp sandwich)
Pan seared scallops over white asparagus with local herbs and lobster bisque at Grand Mölle
Paired with Alsace Sylvaner 2007 from Kuentz-Bas
Locally caught fish that was delicious!

All photos and text: Katerina Alm

On a Date in Scandinavia: Sweden's Southern Countryside

Here we continue to follow Katerina and Johan Alm on their Scandic road trip adventure!


We attended a beautiful wedding where we celebrated in Öland at Borgholms Slott  a castle that was built in the 12th century and has a spectacular view over the Baltic sea. All the eating, drinking and dancing in Öland  left us ready to dive further into southern swedish gastronomy. We drove south to Österlen's countryside where we stayed at Karlaby Kro which is part of Countryside Hotels Sweden .
The Karlaby Kro Hotel in the Österlen countryside
Countryside Hotels has 39 hotels spread across the most beautiful regions of Sweden and I highly recommend it for choosing a hotel with charm and personality and not to mention great food in this part of the world. Emma, a passionate Swede who runs the show at Karlaby brings service to the next level. Not only did she describe each meal to us in great detail and know every grape variety of all the wines served, but also left us a personally written info letter with lots of recommendations on what to do in the area. The three course dinner with wine pairing at Karlaby is a must, rest assured you will not be dissapointed. 
Seared bass with fennel, green field peas and bouillon of chive and salmon roe
Breast of sirloin of veal with beets, horseradish, marjoram and lovage with bouillon of lemon

In the area we visited:

Mandelmanns organic herb & vegetable farm 

• Ales stenar located at one of the most southern tips of Sweden which is a "megalithic" monument consisting of a 67 meter long stone ship and is said to be created around 1400 BP.


Ales stenar is well known for its organic bakery and restaurant Vendel where we enjoyed a delightful Mackerel sandwich on homeade organic bread with locally pressed Kivik apple juice.


Stay tuned... more to come!


All text and photos by Katerina Alm

On a Date in Scandinavia: Seaside in Denmark

Here we follow Katerina and Johan Alm, Canadian and Swedish expats who live, work and met in Frankfurt. They recently got married in Italy and have a passion for food, wine, travel, skiing and fashion. Katerina is an avid cook and freelance travel/gastro-blogger in her spare time. Jump in their car and join them on their Scandic road trip adventure!



Upon receiving two invitations for weddings in Sweden that happened to fall on 2 consecutive weekends, a Scandic road trip was in order. Our idea was to first drive up from Germany to Öland, the second largest island in Sweden (located on the South East side of the country), then make it over to Båstad ( on the south west side of Sweden just north of Denmark). The planning included finding some countryside bed and breakfasts and hotels along the southern Swedish coast to tour within 10 days.


According to a recommendation from one of the Swedish brides, a small town called Charlottenlund just north of Copenhagen, was not to be missed. Charlottenlund is an affluent suburb of Copenhagen that was once home to Danish architect Arne Jacobsen who designed many buildings in the area. Nestled onto the coast of a former fishing village is the Skovshoved Hotel which dates back to 1660, which was the first stop of our tour. The Skovshoved Hotel is a recent member of the Historic Hotels of Europe list and it's restaurant is recommended by the Michelin Guide. The hotel offers picturesque views onto the sea, has only 22 rooms and a very personalized chic and cozy atmosphere. The restaurant was our favorite part of this visit.


The Skovshoved restaurant draws inspiration from classic dishes with origins in Italy, France and Spain. We ordered and enjoyed the sensory tasting menu with wine accompaniments. I especially liked the fresh bread. It was served in a wooden box on top of warm rocks with a stone slab carrying fresh whipped cream butter sprinkled with green salt. The chef refused to give up their secret recipe and only disclosed that it was very slowly baked in muffin tins. The dark bread was dense, moist, homey and comforting. Luckily they served a another version at breakfast too!

Fresh baked Danish brown bread
Fresh oysters served on ice with grilled lemons and toast
Cabbage soup with broccoli purée, parmesan cheese and a bacon consommé
Slow roasted Lamb filet with grilled celeriac, celeriac mousse, with a burgundy and rosemary reduction
Thinly sliced pineapple with Anna's compote, salty caramel sauce, bourbon vanilla ice cream garnished with limette leaves
Seawinkle Beerenauslese 2007 from Velich Winery
Buffet breakfast on the terrace. I am one to taste a bit of everything and... I went back for more bread!
Restaurant Terrace at the Skovshoved Hotel



All photos and text by Katerina Alm

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