Lotta Jansdotter's Åland Workshop Retreat

Lotta Jansdotter regularly gives workshops, and this time at a very special location; Åland. This archipelago is situated between Sweden and Finland and was the home of Lotta in her youth.

In November 2014 Lotta Jansdotter's newsletter announced this workshop and immediately I knew that I wanted to go! A workshop from Lotta, a designer I admire, in Sweden during summertime at a small island ... what more can anyone wish for ...

So finally it was July and I was on my way. My trip started with a visit to Stockholm. Three days I strolled around in this beautiful city (more about this in my previous blogpost). Wednesday very early in the morning the ferry to Mariehamn left from the center of Stockholm. Leaving a city at a huge ferry offers you a special view over the streets, quays and parks. In the soft morning light Stockholm slowly faded. For hours we sailed through small afforested islands, with typical Swedish houses. Dreamy spots within reach of the city, in the forest at the waterside.
Six, or actually five hours later we arrived in Mariehamn, which turned out to be Finnish. Another timezone, a Euro zone and another language, although most people speak Swedish. The archipelago is an interesting mixture of Swedish and Finnish influences with her own unique culture.

Mariehamn is the center of the 6.700 islands. The ferries from Sweden and Finland arrive here and most of the 26.000 people live here. The first day we saw very little of this mini-city, because we left immediately by bus. A few days later however we were back. Visiting this provincial town with some nice stores and a lovely lunchspot Bagarstugan. We had a very good lunch over there and we should have gone back for some delightful pie. Maybe next time :) In the post office I found some lovgely cards, hand drawn with special Åland stamps.

We were lucky to be there at the time of the Åland Sea Days. At the harbor we saw beautiful wooden boats, visited a nice craft market and had some good beers.

More about the Workshop in my next blog ....