Rosendal Trådgarden

I've been pretty stoked about my brother arriving to Sweden for quite some time. I just knew that any Donenfeld in his/her right mind would love this country. It's a perfect blend of adventure and pleasantry. The people are incredibly friendly. They go heavy on the seafood. A major national dish is cinnamon buns (kanelbulle). Though I am yet to experience it, winter is all about skiing here. And the entire country looks and smells like camp. It makes me wonder how much my parent's Scandinavian honeymoon in 1976 has effected my upbringing... Us children were tucked into a rotating selection of Maremekko sheets each nights- trucks, Teddy bears ... They even starched said sheets to our rooms as wall paper. Hmm. We're all really into crispy flatbreads, too.

This is all to say that my running list of 'Stockholm stuff for Jeff' to see got pretty long in the last month. From the Ikea exhibit to design stores to island hopping/camping, when I drop him off there at the end of our week together (I head to St Moritz to meet Mr. Taylor; Jeff has two solo days before heading home), he'll have no shortage of activity ideas.

AND NOW TO THE POINT: One more place I'm adding to the list is Rosendal Trådgarden. Like a larger Appelfabriken, RT is a garden center, boutique, cafe, picnic spot. It's located in Stockholm-proper on Djuragarden, an island that's mostly green which hosts the amusement park, a few museums and some spectacular houses in which live either very old or very wealthy people.

Rosendal is a bit of a hike to get to but arriving there is arriving to paradise. There's a manicured lawn covered in picnic tables and well-placed trees ideal for shade. There's a large garden around which people are encouraged to stroll. There's a covered outdoor plant center as well as a tomato hot house. There's a boutique where the likes of oils, lotions, pottery and teas are sold. And of course there's a cafe complete with cakes, biscuits, sandwiches and soup. Everything made here is made from the ingredients they grow. Carrot cake with fresh pulled carrots, etc. If it's not grown at RT, like wheat for flour, you can rest assured that all bread is baked on premise. Talk about local.

It's an ideal place to spend an afternoon. A book and good walking shoes are all you need.