Mulled Apple Cider

This recipe is for days when you feel like something warm, Christmassy, and non-alcoholic. It's the perfect thing to make alongside glühwein for parties. This is a super easy recipe, perfect for a snowy day like the one we are having now in Zürich.

Side story - if you ever visit a Swedish Christmas market, because of strict alcohol laws, you'll actually find yourself sipping non-alcoholic glögg (the Swedish version of glühwein, although far sweeter - more like undiluted cordial - with some almonds and raisins sprinkled in the bottom of the tiny cup), as it's forbidden to sell alcohol in public places.

You'll need:
- Two liters of cloudy apple juice - I find this far more delicious than normal apple juice, and it's often not as sweet. Bonus - the antioxidants in cloudy apple juice are twice as high as in clear apple juice, so this is almost healthy!
- 1 cinnamon stick broken in half
- 5 or so whole cloves
- The rind of one lemon and one orange
- 5 cardamon pods
- diced fresh ginger - around 2 tablespoons. 

Place all the ingredients in a pot and warm very slowly on the stove. I like to put mine on one of the lowest heat settings and allow it to warm over thirty or forty minutes, giving time for the spices to infuse into the juice. Then simple strain the juice as you serve. Enjoy!

In bonus news, we bought our Christmas tree on Friday during a snow storm, which was very fitting, although slightly inconvenient as it meant we had to leave it outside our apartment to dry for a night. We decorated it yesterday during another snow storm, just before going to see the Nutcracker, so things are feeling very lovely and wintry here in Switzerland.

The loveliest Christmas markets in Europe

I love Christmas time in Europe. The streets are strung with glittering lights and little stands selling steaming mugs of spiced wine begin to pop up on every corner. My favourite thing by far however are the Christmas markets.

It might seem slightly early for this post, but as most Christmas markets open around the 24th of November, it's a perfect time to plan.

A couple of tips: Especially for markets in Germany and Austria - bring cash, as many markets don't accept card. In fact for those two countries I would extend this advice to shops and restaurants in general. You don't want to have to run around on a snowy evening to try and find cash to pay your restaurant bill.

If you hate crowds then avoid the markets at night on Fridays and Saturdays as they are normally at their busiest then.

Lastly, Christmas markets are popular travel destinations and many hotels can be booked out a month or two in advance. If there is a particular market you'd like to visit, I'd suggest booking your accommodation early.

 

Vienna Markets

Vienna was the first city I ever visited a Christmas market in, and it will forever hold a place in my heart. I immediately fell in love with the coziness of them, the food, the music, collecting beautiful decorations for my tree, and the fact that this is where my friends and I caught up for mugs of warm glühwein and a chat over the course of November and December. Why meet in a bar when you can meet at a Christmas market?

For me, Vienna is one of the Christmas capitals of Europe, and so there are a large number of markets sprinkled across the city. These are my favourite:

Rathaus Christkindlmarkt

The Rathausplatz Christkindlmarkt is the largest and most touristy in Vienna, but it's definitely worth visiting. There are over 150 little wooden stalls selling Christmas decorations, glühwein, wooden toys, tea, chocolate and more. There is also a 3,000m2 ice skating ring, and activities just for children including a reindeer train and Ferris wheel.

Schönbrunn

Schönbrunn Christmas Market proves that good things come in small packages. There are 80 lovely stalls sprinkled in front of beautiful Schönbrunn palace selling goods ranging from exquisite hand decorated gingerbread, to ceramics and spices. Also, if you've never visited Schönbrunn, then add it to your list. Walking through the palace makes you feel as though you've just stepped back in time, and that those who live there have momentarily left the room. In summer the gardens are also incredibly beautiful.

The Art Advent Market on Karlsplatz sells beautiful handmade objects, including photographs, Christmas decorations, scarfs, paintings, stained glass, and makeup. I've also bought some beautiful Christmas cards here in the past. A word of warning - don't take photos of the stalls or you may be yelled at.

Zürich Wienachtsdorf at Sechseläutenplatz

This lovely Christmas market is located in the square opposite the opera house and is by far the best market in Zürich. The thing I especially love about it is the food selection. I've never seen another Christmas market where you can choose between options as varied as fondue, Thai, dumplings, and Sri Lankan street food.

Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt

This Christmas market is one of Germany's oldest, starting around the mid 16th century and growing exponentially to it's current size. There is something very lovely about wandering the streets of Nuremberg's old town where almost every part is filled with little stalls selling glühwein, crepes, chocolate, leading you to the town's main square which becomes a Christmas market extravaganza.

Nuremberg itself is a beautiful town and there is so much to see, particularly for those with a passion for history.

Beautiful Innsbrück

Innsbrück Oldtown Christmas Market

Innsbrück is one of the prettiest cities in Austria, filled with colourful buildings and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The Christmas market in the old town is incredibly charming, and although quite small, it's one of the few markets left that sells genuinely beautiful Christmas decorations.

The Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market in Berlin

This market is located on one of the most beautiful squares in Germany nestled between the Französicher Dom and the Deutscher Dom. It's filled with delicious food and some sweet little shops selling Christmas decorations and other bits and pieces.

Although Berlin is packed with markets at this time of year, this is by far my favourite for atmosphere and food. There is a 1 Euro entrance fee which covers entertainment and a percentage of which also goes to charity.

Strasbourg Markets

We just visited the markets in Strasbourg this weekend, and fell in love with the beautiful old city centre. Although I didn't really see any nice Christmas decorations, there were some very pretty pottery stalls and sweet hand-carved wooden children's toys. Food was plentiful and delicious - mostly hearty wintry fare including potato and bacon in a creamy sauce, spätzle and toasted baguettes covered in cheese and bacon.

If you can't get to any of the markets this year, but you'd like to have some delicious glühwein at home, then why not try my recipe.

Spicy pumpkin soup

Geoff and I are just back from a lovely break in autumnal New York. I've always wanted to visit at this time of year to see the red and gold leaves in Central Park, and also to be able to walk around town without it being too hot (last time I was there is was over 35 degrees every day) or too cold (I was also there when it was -20, which while it was beautiful to see everything dusted in snow, did mean I had to run from shop to shop so I didn't die of frostbite, and also meant a worrying large number of people were wearing balaclavas which made my already quite active imagination run far more wildly than I'd prefer).

While we were there we visited ABC Kitchen for lunch, which was by far our favourite food of the trip, even beating The Dining room at Gramercy Tavern. For my starter I had a deliciously creamy, but also slightly spicy pumpkin soup, and decided I wanted to recreate it now that winter has well and truly reached Zurich.

You'll need:

• One butternut pumpkin, or other pumpkin of your choice
• Three large carrots
• An onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• A two centimeter long piece of fresh ginger 
• 1 liter of chicken stock (homemade or using a stock cube)
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper 
• A good grating of fresh nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sour cream
• Dill or chives
• Roasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Chop your pumpkin into chunks and drizzle with olive oil and place on a tray in the oven until golden. Of course you can just boil the pumpkin alongside everything else, but I find that by roasting it in the oven, it adds a lovely caramelized flavour to the soup.

Meanwhile, finely shop your onion, garlic and fresh ginger and saute in the pot in which you'll make your soup. Once this is golden, add in your spices, then your carrots and cook for a further minute or two. De-glaze with chicken stock. I happened to have made fresh chicken stock earlier in the week (I normally make an enormous pot and freeze a few one liter bags for when I need it in the future), otherwise you can use a stock cube. If you're vegetarian then vegetable stock would also be lovely.

Once your pumpkin is cooked, add this to the soup, and a little more water if needed. Cook until the carrots are soft.

Blend everything together using a stick blender - you can either leave it a little rustic and chunky, or blend until perfectly smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed, and even a little more spice.



Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of dill. Roasted pumpkin seeds would also be a delicious addition to this healthy and delicious soup.

Appeltaart (Dutch apple pie)

One wintry morning many years ago while wandering around the Jordan area of Amsterdam I saw a line curling out the door of a little cafe called Winkel 43. For some strange reason I decided to join it - normally I avoid queues at all cost - but I think it was the ever present light sprinkling of rain that tipped me over the edge. Once I reached the front of the queue I saw piles of tall, hot apple pies and whipped cream. Ordering a piece, I sat at the bar and took a bite - the crust was crunchy, sweet and perfectly salty, the apples were delicious, firm, and best of all, still warm.  This will forever be the best queue I've ever joined in my life.

I was just back in Amsterdam a week ago with Geoff and my mother - taking her back to her mother's hometown for the first time in about 40 years. One of the first things we did was have a slice of appeltaart at Winkel 43, and she wanted to go back every morning we were there.



Sadly I don't have Winkel 43's secret recipe, but this recipe makes a delicious Dutch apple pie for while you aren't in Amsterdam.

For the crust

• 200g almond flour (I blended whole blanched almonds until they reached a flour like consistency but you can also buy this at the supermarket)
• 400g self raising flour (I used plain flour and added 4 tsp baking powder)
• 220g brown sugar
• 350g butter (cold cut into cubes)
• A good pinch of salt (one of the things I like most about the apple pie at Winkel 43 is that it has a lovely slightly salty crust to balance the sweetness of the filling)
• 2 eggs

For the filling

• 8 apples (I used 5 gala apples and 3 Jonagold apples - they just happened to be the loveliest apples I could find here in Switzerland)
• 60g brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp speculaas spice (I bought mine in the supermarket in the Netherlands, but it's just a mixture of cinnamon, coriander seeds, nutmeg, cardamon and so on. Here is a nice recipe to make your own spice - otherwise just use mostly cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg, clove and cardamon)
• The rind and juice of a lemon - if you have a particularly large lemon just add 3/4 of the juice
• 2 tsp of cornstarch
• A handful of raisins if you like (normally I hate raisins with a passion, however in this pie they actually weirdly work) 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius unless you have an overly enthusiastic oven like mine - I set it to 170.

To make the crust
Mix the sugar and butter until combined - I used my Kitchen Aid, but a food processor would also be fine, then add in the two lightly beaten eggs. After this mix in the almond flour, self raising flour and salt until thoroughly mixed. Don't be afraid - this isn't like normal pastry dough - it's supposed to be much less stiff. Set aside in the bowl until later with a little cling wrap or tea towel to cover.

To make the filling
Peel and cut the apples into pieces (I cut the apple in quarters and then halved each quarter). Add the lemon peel and juice, the sugar, spices and corn flour and mix well. Set aside.



Putting it all together
For this recipe you'll want to use a spring form pan. Dutch appeltaarts are supposed to be quite high and very heavy, and you'll need the spring form so you can actually get it out in one piece. Lightly butter the sides and bottom and then line with baking paper over this - I find the butter helps the paper to stick and not move about when you are putting the dough into it. Then lightly butter over the paper as well.

Take your dough (Leaving a quarter for the top) and push it into the pan until the sides and bottom are covered - this is more like molding biscuit dough than rolling out traditional pastry. Then give your apples a good toss to make sure the sugar and spices and well distributed and tip them into the pan.

Take the final quarter of dough and place this over the top - I just took bits at a time, tried to flatten them a bit and then placed them over the apples, joining them to the sides. Ideally your apples will pile a little higher than the top of the tin as they'll shrink will baking. Make sure to cut two vents in the top to allow the steam to escape. If you want you can also wash an egg over the top and sprinkle with sugar.

It ends up looking a bit rustic, but this is part of the joy of this taart - it's delicious and spicy, and not supposed to be too perfect.

Baking
Place in the oven for an hour and then check - I ended up leaving it in an additional 15 minutes, but just check how golden your crust is and use a knife through the vents to see how cooked the apples are. Remember I baked mine at 170 degrees Celsius, not 180 degrees (although I always put my oven 10 degrees cooler than any recipe says).



To serve
Set the pie aside to cool for a good hour or so before cutting. Serve it with double cream (or even macadamia nut ice cream) and be blissfully happy.

And if you are ever in Amsterdam, do yourself an enormous favour and stop in for a slice of apple pie at Winkel 43.

An adventure to Fäviken Magasinet

Last October, Geoff and I went on a lovely adventure to the north of Sweden to visit the two Michelin starred Fäviken Magasinet. I can't imagine a more beautiful time of year to visit northern Sweden, as autumn leaves turned the forests shades of orange and red, and frost coated the grass on misty mornings.

Beautiful Jämtland

Making a booking

Getting a table can be hard - my suggestion is to stalk their website and check the time and date that bookings become available. Then book the moment they come out. All the places are taken almost immediately, so you'll need to be fast, especially if you want to stay at the restaurant hotel.

Getting there

We flew from Stockholm to Östersund then hired a car to drive the 1 hour and 15 minutes to Fäviken.

Misty morning at Fäviken

Where to stay

We stayed at the accommodation offered by the restaurant. It was a simple room, and everyone shared bathrooms and showers as well as a sauna. It's pretty basic but I found it lovely and cosy. It's probably a good option if you are fond of wine because there is really nowhere else to stay nearby, and I have no idea if there are taxis to and from Fäviken - it's really in a beautiful forest in the middle of nowhere.

If you can't get a room at Fäviken, or you'd prefer to stay elsewhere then the ski resort of Åre is only a 30 minute drive away with plenty of hotels.

 

Dinner at Fäviken

In true Swedish egalitarian style, before dinner we were seated with other guests for drinks and some food, which was a really nice way to meet new people. Then it was time to move upstairs to the main minimalist Scandinavian dining room.

There were around 16 or so courses ranging from moose to lamb tongue to an ash coated egg. Geoff enjoyed the scallop (pictured above). One enjoyable surprise for me was the brown cheese pie (brunost), which when I originally read the menu sounded a little too savory for what I was hoping for a dessert, but in fact tasted like caramel. It was served with very sour gompa, which is a traditional Sami dish made from the herb angelica.

After dinner we were ushered back downstairs by the fire with our new pre-dinner friends and we spent the rest of the evening enjoy wine and some final little dishes with them.

Breakfast perfection

This might be blasphemy, but one of the highlights for me was breakfast the next morning. Sometimes in life you really can't beat the simple beauty of good quality ham, cheese, butter and warm bread straight from the oven. It was topped by a warm hallongrotta, which is incidentally my favourite Swedish biscuit of all time - think shortbread with a dollop of raspberry jam in the middle.

All in all, diner at Fäviken was a memorable experience and a beautiful end to our time in Sweden (for now). I felt as though we were being taken on a journey through Sweden experiencing local produce and dishes I hadn't tried before, but sadly it wasn't always delicious. If you wish to see an absolutely stunning part of Sweden and have a dining experience unlike any other then it is worth the adventure there but if you only have time for one Michelin dining experience in Sweden then Frantzen in Stockholm is still my favourite by far.

 

What else to see in the area

If you come in winter then this part of Sweden is very popular for skiing - very near by is the ski resort of Åre. Åre Glashytta, where the beautiful hand made glasses at Fäviken are from can also be found here.

Östersund where we flew in was quite cute and was worth exploring for a couple of hours. If you are interested in history, you can see the Frösö runestone on the nearby island of Frösön.

This area of Sweden is basically beautiful forests sprinkled with lakes, so it's just lovely to drive through and explore a part of the world that is quite untouched and peaceful.

Macadamia nut ice cream with mango and speculaas crumble

Lately the shops in Zürich have been piled high with beautiful ripe mangoes, reminding me of my mother's house in tropical Queensland. So I decided to take advantage of this Swiss mango season and make something very bright and summery for dessert along with the help of my little herb garden where lately the mint has been growing wildly. Speculaas, a Dutch gingerbread biscuit, goes well with almost anything on earth, so I never need an excuse to make some.

 

Ingredients

• One fresh mango cut into small cubes
• Fresh mint

 

Macadamia nut ice cream 

If you don't have the time/desire to make ice cream from scratch just buy your favourite flavour from the shops - the rest is very quick and easy. For those who'd like to try:

• 500 ml milk  
• 500 ml pouring cream   
• 6 egg yolks  
• 150 g caster sugar  
• 1 - 2 vanilla beans
• 120 g lightly toasted macadamia nuts

 

Speculaas crumble

• 150g wholemeal flour
• 50 g toasted whole almonds
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 90 g brown sugar
• 110 g unsalted butter

For the macadamia nut ice cream add the milk and cream to a pan, then slice a vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the pan as well as the whole bean and half the sugar. I added a second vanilla bean because I decided I wanted a very vanillary ice cream. A good quality vanilla bean should be quite bendy with an oily exterior, try to avoid stiff and dry vanilla beans.

Warm the cream and milk mixture until it almost begins to boil. Take off the heat and in another bowl whisk the remaining sugar with the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add to the milk mixture and stir continuously until the mixture can coat the back of a spoon. Don't let it get too hot or it will curdle and you'll have to start again.

Strain and set the mixture in a metal bowl set inside another bowl filled with ice. Place in the refrigerator when it's cooled to room temperature, and then leave until completely cool.

Then add the mixture into your ice cream machine - mine takes around 50 to 60 minutes to set - add the lightly chopped macadamia nuts towards the end when the consistency is quite thick or the nuts will fall to the bottom. If you don't have an ice cream machine you can also place your bowl in the freezer and then stir with a whisk every 30 minutes or so until it's reached an ice cream like consistency.   



For the speculaas crumble, preheat the oven to 180 degrees and cover a tray with baking paper.

Use a food processor to grind the almonds to a fine consistency and then add this to the flour, spices, salt and sugar. Add the butter until the dough reaches a nice crumbly texture.

Crumble the dough onto the baking paper and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Once cool, crumble again and leave aside. I've also frozen some unbaked speculaas crumble so that I can easily defrost it and bake it when needed.

Slice the mango into cubes and add fresh mint. Serve and be happy.

A lovely guide to Stockholm

After almost seven years living in Stockholm, I've narrowed down the loveliest places to eat, drink, shop and be merry. My favourite time in Sweden is summer when the sun hardly sets and the cities are deserted, but come in December and you'll also find cute little Christmas markets sprinkled throughout town and plenty of cosy cafes lit with candles to sit and sip coffee in.

Where to stay

Miss Clara is a beautiful hotel right in the heart of Stockholm near restaurants, public transport and shops.  Also, the breakfast is delicious! Since we moved to Switzerland I've stayed here about five times and it's always been wonderful.

Rosendals Trädgård

Delicious food: lunch, coffee and sweet treats

In Sweden stopping for fika (to have coffee, maybe with something sweet and a chat) is a national past time, so it's not surprising that Stockholm is filled with cosy cafes dedicated to allowing you to do just that.

Pascals is my favourite cafe in Stockholm. Really lovely food (the salads are fantastic, nice soups and toasted sandwiches), delicious coffee (and an excellent tea selection from In the Mood for Tea across the road) and friendly owners. If you visit one cafe in Stockholm let it be this one.

Vetekatten is a famous cake shop in Stockholm. They also have salads and sandwiches (but why would you?). Try the famous Swedish princess torte, this cafe has the best one in Sweden (it's layers of berries, cream, spongecake and then with the famous green marzipan outside).

Älskade Traditioner is a super cute cafe with a 1950s vibe. They have delicious sweet and savory waffles, and an endless supply of freshly baked delights. Also, their milkshakes are a sight to be seen, piled high with cream and brownies.

Rosendals Trädgård is a beautiful farm on Djurgården (near Skansen museum) with a cafe serving cakes and dishes of the day fresh from their garden. They also have a nice bakery with freshly baked bread and goods from the farm like apple juice from their orchard. In summer you can sit under the apple trees and in winter by the fireplace in their greenhouse.

Drop coffee has really nice coffee but average food. Just near Maria Torget on Södermalm.

Teatern is a food court, but it's not like a normal, boring, soul destroying one - firstly it's all bronze accents with dark paint, then much of the food is by top chefs in Sweden. Ramen, pizza, hotdogs from the chef at Fäviken, cakes from the guy who makes the desserts for the Nobel prize ceremony, etc.

Stikki Nikki makes really nice ice cream and there are a few of these sprinkled around Stockholm.

Fabrique is a bakery chain, but it's really nice. You can try a famous Swedish kannelbullar (cinnamon buns), or better still a kardemummabullar (cardamon buns) here. It's honestly tastier than in many cafes in Stockholm. Their sourdough bread is also amazing, and in winter, try the soft gingerbread. This place is one of the things I miss most about Stockholm.

 

 

Delicious food: dinner

Before I start, let me suggest you book ahead, and by ahead I mean two weeks ahead for many places. Some are booked out three or four weeks ahead. But don't be afraid, you can book basically everything in Sweden online (you can even buy a house by text message, but that is a story for another day).

Also, if you are coming in summer then I really, highly, recommend that you check if things are open beforehand because many places close for weeks (the dreaded sommarstängt sign), some even for a month or two (how?) and you don't want to just turn up and try your luck or you may end up wandering the deserted summery streets of Stockholm for hours (everyone is at their summer houses, you did not accidentally wake up in 24 Days Later) never seeing a soul.

Miss Clara restaurant - I have no idea if this restaurant has an official name, but the food is seasonal and delicious, the wine selection is great,  and the service is always very friendly. I've been here about 10 times and never had anything but a fantastic experience, so I have no idea why it's often half empty. Let's change that!

Shanti Gossip is an amazing, TINY Bengali restaurant - the food is so good and the mango lassi is a delight. It's just near Nytorget on Södermalm. I can highly recommend the lamb biryani and the Monsoon rain sabji.

Farang has delicious Southeast Asian food in a beautiful setting (inside that is, outside looks like a bunker).

For high quality Swedish food try Tranan near Odenplan. 

The Flying Elk is a hipstery gastropub (can a gastropub be anything but hipster?) in the old town owned by the chef that runs the Michelin starred restaurant Frantzen (see below).

Nybrogaten 38 in Östermalm has nice bistro type food. Book well in advance.

Hermans is a chilled out vegetarian restaurant perched on the cliffs of Södermalm looking out over Stockholm. It has even been endorsed by non-vegetarian meat loving friends.

Urban deli is a hipster gourmet food market and restaurant. The restaurant is normally very good at the Sveavägen location (for some reason not as good at Nytorget).

Dessert at Frantzen

Michelin recommendations

If you'd like to treat yourself then please go to Frantzen. They are opening again at the end of August 2017 and obviously I haven't been back since they re-opened as sadly I can't time travel (yet!), but this has been the loveliest, most delicious Michelin starred restaurant (I think they had/have two stars) we've even been to. Geoff and I can often be found reminiscing about our time eating there (generally when we have visited somewhere that is unfortunately more 'challenging' than delicious), and I'm sure it'll be just as good when it opens again.

Ekstedt has one star and revolves around the theme of smoke and cooking with fire. We had a lovely experience here and the service, food and atmosphere was wonderful - we also had an interesting tour of the kitchen.

A little lynx at Skansen

Museums

The photography museum always has an interesting collection of exhibitions, and normally one quite bad one. Definitely worth a visit, and the cafe on the top floor is delicious with amazing views across Stockholm.

Skansen is an open air museum with buildings from around Sweden, sometimes with people dressed up in character (which was an unexpected discovery upon entering one little house and gave me a bit of a fright). There are also Nordic animals like reindeer and elks.

Vasamuseet is a place where you can see an interesting old ship that sank on it's maiden voyage in 1628 and was preserved in the sea until someone thought it a good idea to lift it from its watery grave.

 

 

Shopping 

If you want a cute souvenir, visit Iris Hantverk. It has beautiful things made in Sweden, like woolen blankets, handcrafted brushes and pottery. There is one right next door to Vetekatten. I never walk into that dangerous place without buying something.

Illums Bolighus in the city center is a wonderful mecca for Danish design.

Posh living always has an fantastic selection of Scandinavian home design. Their shop at Mood is particularly nice.

On the hipster island of Södermalm, I love the area around Nytorget for shopping - there are lots of little independent boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. Not to mention the square itself is beautiful.
 

Biblioteksgatan in upscale Östermalm is a good place to start to find lots of shops like &Otherstories, Rodebjer, Acne, etc.

Uppsala

Lovely day trips from Stockholm

Uppsala is a very cute student town 45 minutes away by train from Stockholm

In Gamla Uppsala you can visit viking burial mounds.

Vaxholm is a sweet little town with a fortress known as the gateway to the archipelago.
  

Fjaderholmarna - If you don't want to go to Vaxholm, Fjaderholmarna a little island closer to Stockholm and has some cafes and artisans. The boats for Fjaderholmarna and Vaxholm leave around the same place.

Welcome back to Dreaming of Winter

Back in 2011 Geoff and I stopped posting on this blog as we moved from Melbourne, Australia to the beautiful little student town of Uppsala in Sweden.

After almost seven years in Stockholm, Sweden, we've now moved to Zürich in Switzerland and will be reviving this blog to share our love of wintry food, and also travel to some of the world's most beautiful destinations.

Luzern, Switzerland

Zürich is a perfect place to explore Europe from, especially the mountainous regions of Austria, Switzerland and Italy that we love so much. We can't wait to share it all with you!

Mürren, Switzerland

 Michelle and Geoff