top of page

News & Blog

Autumn, Culture and History

10. October 2026

Autumn, Culture and History

We almost always return to Kristinehamn for a month in late September or October. This time, we arrived on Swedish election day. In Sweden, elections to Parliament, regional councils and municipal councils are held every four years. As Swedish citizens living abroad, we retain our right to vote in parliamentary elections, even though we are also Swiss citizens. Naturally, we cast our votes on this beautiful autumn day, just after arriving from Gothenburg on the ferry from Kiel. We also waved goodbye to the Bojorten Christine af Bro, which is heading to Stockholm under motor power for the winter, where further repairs will be carried out in dry dock. This visit was full of culture. We met the famous Swedish poet Gustaf Fröding at a breakfast meeting organised by the municipality’s tourism office. He lived in Kristinehamn for many years, but this time he invited us to his birthplace, Alsters Herrgård, just outside Karlstad. There, we heard the story of his tragic life directly from the man himself! Gustaf Fröding (1860–1911) is one of Sweden’s best-known poets. He wrote poetry that was considered daring and controversial for its time, causing scandals and even leading to prosecutions for violations of press freedom. Naturally, we captured our encounter with him on film! We also managed to fit in restaurant visits, wine tasting and a little wingfoiling before the water became too cold. Click on the picture and look under Saisonale Videos to watch the films!

May 2026 Seasonal Highlights

10. June 2026

May 2026 Seasonal Highlights

May was an eventful month in Kristinehamn. After an intensive start with all the dog activities, it was time for maintenance and garden work. Every spring, all the pine trees need pruning, and the wooden decks and jetty have to be scrubbed and oiled. There was also time for some enjoyable activities. We naturally got to know the new owners of Nock, the restaurant with its own marina close to Tallevika. Although they are enclosing part of the pier to make it more weatherproof for their guests, the restaurant remained open. We attended a rum tasting led by the highly knowledgeable "RomRobban," whose expertise in rum is truly impressive. At the end of May, the annual Food Walk (Matluffen) took place. Together with several hundred other participants, we visited all five archipelago restaurants in a single day. It was a fantastic event. One day we explored the Klarälven Delta in Karlstad. This active river delta has been shifting since around 1600 BC. Today it is a protected bird sanctuary where grazing cattle help keep the landscape open. Long boardwalks cross the wetlands, and curious cows occasionally join you along the way. Dogs are welcome, but they should be confident, calm, and responsive to their owners. We wrapped up our stay at the beginning of June, leaving Tallevika in the hands of local contractors for façade renovation and painting. We'll be back at the beginning of July, when our first visitors from Switzerland arrive. Links to all the videos can be found under "Seasonal Videos"

Winter Break at Tallevika – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

16. December 2025

Winter Break at Tallevika – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Winter is here, and Christmas quickly turns into New Year as we move toward brighter days. 2025 was one of the best years since Tallevika began. Spring activities around Vålösundet—often initiated by Camilla and Petra, who opened Restaurant Nock with its guest marina—filled our Facebook and YouTube feeds with many videos in May.
Summer visits ran from June to August. Families staying longer rented archipelago houses along Vålösundet for one to two weeks. All were dog families, and we enjoyed many shared outings around Kristinehamn. Archipelago Week 28, the summer highlight in Kristinehamn, was especially eventful and has its own section on our website and YouTube. An autumn visit in October closed the season. The best seasonal videos are also available in a separate section on our website. Click on the picture for inspiration.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Tallevika!* 🎄✨

May 2025 activités

30. Mai 2025

May 2025 activités

We spent the entire May in Sweden this year. In addition to the usual care of the house, garden, and pines, we managed to do quite a lot. We arrived in time to celebrate Walpurgis Night when the witches fly to Blåkulla. Our new lakeside restaurant Nock offered both a wine quiz, rum tasting, and a food walk. We also charged up with 7 dogs for the Eurovision final. We visited both Karlstad and our gourmet restaurant Ölme Värdshus, where we stayed overnight as usual. Of course, we also had the inevitable ice cream at Picasso's. In June, we’ll be heading to Switzerland for a few weeks, and then back here when all the Swiss people arrive in July and August. All the videos from this trip will be uploaded continuously under impressions/Videos and Tallevika in the spring. Click on the picture.

Tallevika in November

4. November 2024

Tallevika in November

What an incredible three weeks in Kristinehamn. We arrived to stunning autumn scenery (video) and enjoyed mushroom and lingonberry picking in the woods, followed by making lingonberry juice and drying mushrooms. Just a few days later, we experienced the amazing autumn ball on Kristina’s Day at Statt (video), held to support the renovation of Kristinehamn’s Bojort, a ship replica in need of restoration. A week later, we got a table and a room at Ölme Värdshus during a 10-course wine tasting menu—Michelin-class in Kristinehamn (video). We visited Karlstad, lit candles on the family grave for All Saints' Day, celebrated with OK Fleet at Picasso’s Veranda, and spent our last evening as Lake Vänern gave us a perfect farewell (video). Link in the image to Tallevika YouTube, where all videos are uploaded.

Harvest time

11. September 2026

Harvest time

At the end of August, we made a quick trip to Switzerland. Before leaving, we took the opportunity to pick some lingonberries in the forests of Värmland, even though they were not quite fully ripe. This year, there were plenty of lingonberries and blueberries, unlike last year. We and the dogs picked as much as we could, ending up with both lingonberry jam and bags of fresh berries for the freezer. Since we had stayed in Sweden longer than planned because of the heat in Switzerland, we couldn’t get a dog cabin on the ferry from Gothenburg to Kiel. So instead, we took the opportunity to visit a fantastic vineyard in southern Sweden where you can stay overnight, enjoy good food and bring your dogs. Before crossing the bridges through Denmark, we visited Kullaberg Nature Reserve on the Kullahalvön peninsula between Båstad and Helsingborg. A spectacular rocky landscape rising dramatically from a region dominated by vast sandy beaches. We also took the short ferry from Helsingborg to Helsingør, which runs continuously and saved us the detour around Malmö. Once back home in Switzerland, we immediately visited another vineyard near Zurich for comparison. Completely different places, histories and grape varieties, yet remarkably similar in one respect: two highly committed families who live for their vineyards. As I write this, we are packing the car and heading back to Sweden again. What will happen on this journey? Follow us and you’ll find out! You can find the films from the vineyards under “Tallevika Videos” and “Culture and Cuisine”. Click on the picture and turn up the volume!

We are back in Tallevika

13. May 2026

We are back in Tallevika

It is now May and we have arrived in Kristinehamn and Tallevika. This time we drove all the way across the bridges in Denmark because we had the little puppy Noya vom Seehain with us. The journey took 20 hours this time with many dog breaks. Film under “How we travel”. It is already much brighter in Sweden than in Switzerland and the sun feels warm even though the water is still cold. Noya’s first walk around Strandudden naturally became a film under Seasonal Videos. After Noya moved to her new family, we finally had some time for other things. And so much is happening in Kristinehamn. Plans, construction work and training activities are everywhere. Today the OK-fleet held a training camp ahead of the Nordic Championships this summer. The sailing vessel Christine af Bro is being heavily restored and showed visitors how far the work has progressed during open ship. At the working dog club there was a dog show where our dog Jawa vom Seehain participated. The day ended at Ölme Prästgård Gästgiveri with a fantastic 10-course menu and selected wines. What a start. Link in the picture to the film from this day.

Time for Sweden 2025

29. April 2025

Time for Sweden 2025

At the end of April, it was time again. This time, we drove through the night. We took the Puttgarden-Rødby ferry around 3 AM, crossed several bridges, and went underwater through tunnels in Denmark, passing the Öresund Bridge at dawn. In the morning, we drove through southern Sweden on nearly deserted roads and arrived at our favorite bistro, Picasso's Veranda, at 12:30 PM to buy the best shrimp sandwiches. We enjoyed them by the lake after the dogs had run off their arrival adrenaline. This trip is perfect in spring and autumn. In summer, there can be waiting time for the ferry, and it might be nicer to drive all the way through Denmark without the ferry. In winter, we prefer taking the ferry from Kiel to Gothenburg and staying overnight on board. The link in the picture shows how we travel, with videos from all the different routes.

July, summer and lots of wonderful activities

19. July 2026

July, summer and lots of wonderful activities

Our best time is now. July, when summer is at its very best. Lake Vänern, with its 22,000 islands, attracts many people out onto the water – us, our dogs and our visitors as well. Boat traffic is intense in Vålösundet, with everyone heading out to one of the many islands. There are boat buses, kayaks and motorboats available for rent. A stand-up paddleboard, however, is something you should bring yourself. We have four boards, but that is not enough for all the dogs, so some of them have to travel together on a tandem board. A kayak trip on a mirror-calm lake as large as the canton of Bern, almost 6,000 km², is a truly unique experience. There are many swimming spots to choose from, with both sandy beaches and rocky bathing areas. The evenings are bright and warm, inviting people to visit one of the many restaurants close to the water. Concerts, music quizzes and sing-along events follow one another throughout the summer. If the weather is not suitable for swimming, a shopping trip to charming Kristinehamn is easy and enjoyable. Everything is within walking distance, with plenty of parking spaces and lovely shops, cafés and restaurants to explore. Check out our summer films under Seasonal Videos. Link in the picture.

Spring is here, time to plan your visit to Sweden this summer

1. April 2026

Spring is here, time to plan your visit to Sweden this summer

Summer has arrived, and the evenings are noticeably brighter. Restaurants are starting to prepare their outdoor terraces. The ice has disappeared, boat owners are once again taking care of their boats, and docks are being oiled and put back into the water. The birds are chirping, and you see more people outside as the spring sun actually provides warmth. We look forward to the vast lake, the islands, the forests, the small-town atmosphere, cozy restaurants and cafés, local events, and at the same time the proximity to Karlstad, Örebro, and even Stockholm and Oslo. For everyone else who feels like it—especially those from Southern Europe—now is the time to plan a summer visit to Sweden. Book a cabin, a campsite, a charming hotel, a manor stay, or even a sailing yacht for a week on Lake Vänern. There are many tips for activities in and around Kristinehamn under the “Tallevika Travel” tab on our website. You will also find travel tips and links under “Practical Information.” Start with the journey and click on the image to see how we travel.

Now everyone is planning for summer, new brochures for download

2. May 2024

Now everyone is planning for summer, new brochures for download

Spring is in full swing in Kristinehamn now, and the days are already longer than in Switzerland. Preparations for summer are well underway, especially for Skärgårdsvecka 28, where plenty of activities take place both along and on the water. The campground in the picture is gearing up, and it usually fills up quite quickly for the summer. However, there are plenty of options available, including archipelago houses for rent, hostels, and hotels. Creativity abounds in the restaurants Gattet and Picasso's veranda along the water, those in the city center, and of course, at the gourmet haven Ölme Prästgård. The food walk on Saturday, May 25th, will be a premiere with five different food stops along the strait. Boat rental companies are polishing and launching their boats, and the timetable for island trips is ready. Everything is described in Visit Kristinehamn's lovely brochures, available for download in both English and German. Click on the image and start planning.

bottom of page