Island In The Sun
The Stockholm Archipelago is a magnificent world.
There are more than 100.000 islands. Some of them are quite big, others are nothing more than a rock that just bearly comes out of the water. The third biggest sweet water lake Mälaren and the salt water from the Baltic Sea meets here, and gives the water the very special blend. The wild life is rich, you can see many different species of birds and animals. Fishermen on the islands provide lots of fish of different kinds to the Stockholmers, both from within the archipelago and out in the Baltic Sea.
Some of the islands are inhabited. There are small cities, villages and clusters of houses, that comes to life in the summer after the long rest during winter. Of course there also are small town and villages that lives the hole year. It's getting more and more popular to live like this - out in the nature but yet so close to Stockholm.
Many islands are the residence of just one family. It's amazing to see a gorgious big wood houses, built long time ago when the carpenters had more time and also had were allowed to express joy and pride in their handicraft. The houses are beautiful, some of them rather big and you wonder how they managed to build a house like that so far away from other civilised places.
I can't help but thinking that it also might be pretty lonely to live like that.
In the summer many Stockholmers take the possability to leave the town for a day or more in the archipelago.
There are many private boats, both with motor and with sail. The boats come in all sizes - from canoes and small one man sailing boats to luxorious huge yachts. For us who don't have a boat of our own, there are still many possabilities to take a trip on water. There are white, former steamboats that regularly goes on different trades, both in Mälaren as well as in the Baltic Sea.
Me and a (straight) friend, Micke, took the boat out to one of the islands almost as far out in the archipelago it's possible to go - the island Finnhamn.
On the outer side of the island you see open water. Except for some small islands with lighthouses, there is not much to see except for water.
This is close to the frontier between Sweden and Finland. Next main land will be Åland, which belongs to Finland.
Even though the island is situated so far out in the archipelago, it's not a desert island. There is a rather big and well equipped camping site and an Inn where you can get well cocked warm food and a beer or a glass of wine if you like.
Micke
The Inn at Finnhamn
Me
We came to the island in the afternoon. After having sat down at the Inn to enjoy a beer, the brisk fresh air and the special mix of sounds of a place far away from the city, we continued to the other side of the island to put up the tent. When the tent was up we lit a fire and sat there, looking at the sparkles from the fire when they flew away in the dark but not black night. There were sounds we didn't recognize, but they didn't scare us. They weren't frightening - just birds and small animals.
The night was calm and quiet. No sounds were heard except for the smooth and silent sound of waves against the cliffs and the breeze in the trees.
The next morning we took a morning swim and had a great day on the island. Of course Micke hadn't left home without a chance of communicating with office or girlfriend.
On our way back to the Inn where we were going to be picked up by the boat to go back to Stockholm, I got this idea of having some photos taken of me on the cliffs, enjoying the sun and warmth. Usually I don't like being in front of the camera, but since we were in no hurry I had time to relax and get used to the feeling of having pictures taken.
I liked it! It was great fun! The knowledge that this just was for fun made me relax. Well, yes, I did had pictures from more undecent magasines in mind. I'd seen (american) models showing their beautiful well shaped muscular bodies. I will be no threat to them...Meaner friends have compared me to a walrus on the cliff.
If you keep in mind that 1) I'm not a model, 2) the pics are taken by a skilled but yet amateur and 3) this only was for fun, you can see the result here. You have been warned...:-)
This is the easy way back to Andra Sidan (the Second Page)
All pictures copyright Johan Steenhoff Eriksen
This page was last updated 28th February 2000