Things to Do in the Åland Islands: Special Places & the People Behind Them

This Is the Åland Islands

The Åland Islands left a deep impression on us. But where exactly is this mysterious island landscape? A few months ago, we would have just shrugged at that question.

Now we know: Åland lies in the far north between Sweden and Finland and consists of 6,700 islands, only 69 of which are inhabited.

Some 30,000 people live there — officially Finnish citizens who speak Swedish, but who see themselves as something entirely their own: proud Åland islanders.

Once you’re born on Åland, it’s hard to let go of the islands. Young islanders do have to leave to study, since there’s no university of their own.

Remarkably, however, more than 90 percent of graduates eventually return.

While rural areas elsewhere are emptying out and aging, the Åland Islands are booming: the population is steadily growing and the unemployment rate is among the lowest in all of Europe.

And the people of Åland really do have something special about them: they seem to be completely at peace with themselves. They’re content with their lives, and whether it’s the bus driver, the restaurant owner, or the supermarket cashier, that contentment radiates right through them.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were in Åland around midsummer, when the near-endless daylight tops up your reserves of happy hormones. We honestly don’t know.

But four people in particular won us over, and we’d like to introduce them to you in this article. They’re very different people with very different personalities, yet they have two things in common: they’re proud residents of the Åland Islands, and each of them has created a truly unique and special place that we’d highly recommend you visit.

Also read our article on highlights & tips for the Åland Islands

Christian Ekström: Massages Calves with Homemade Beer

Christian Ekström massages calves with beer. That sounds pretty strange at first.

What seems a little quirky at first glance turns out, on closer inspection, to be a pretty good idea.

So let’s start from the beginning: In 2004, a group of passionate beer drinkers on Åland got together and founded the Stallhagen brewery. Since then, they’ve been brewing beer there — with high-quality, regional ingredients and above all with a whole lot of love.

“Drick mindre, drick bättre” is the brewery’s motto. Drink less, drink better.

From a classic lager to Dark Honey Beer to Indian Pale Ale, Stallhagen brews everything that makes a beer lover’s heart sing.

Today, Stallhagen beer is served not only on the Åland Islands but also on the Swedish and Finnish mainland. The brewery even exports to faraway Japan.

Of course, a great brewery needs a great restaurant to go with it. Johanna and Christian run this restaurant — Pub Stallhagen — and serve their guests regional dishes alongside the beer. There are only two or three dishes on the menu, and they sometimes change multiple times a day. They cook whatever’s available.

And this is where the calves come back into the picture. Pub Stallhagen works with a nearby cattle farm.

The farm operates sustainably and gives its cows a dignified life. There is, however, one problem: male offspring of dairy cows grow much more slowly than so-called beef breeds and are therefore not economically viable.

In conventional cattle farming, persistent rumors have circulated that male calves are killed right after birth — in some countries this is even done officially.

Since that couldn’t be an acceptable solution, Christian put his mind to figuring out how to give the male calves a dignified life without losing money in the process.

The solution: he massages the male calves twice a week for 15–20 minutes with a special beer-based “massage oil.”

This gives the meat a distinctive flavor, and it’s naturally served in the in-house restaurant.

The calves clearly enjoy the massage too — the one we watched certainly looked very content as it received a beer massage from Christian’s strong hands. Mooooo!

If you want to try the beer-massaged veal, you’ll need to head to Pub Stallhagen.

If you’re lucky enough to be there on a weekend in June, you can also check out the Fishbait Rock Festival, which is held once a year on the pub’s grounds.

Info About the Stallhagen Brewery and Pub

Pub Stallhagen is located in Godby, the second-largest settlement on Åland. The exact address is: Getavägen 196, AX-22410 Godby.

Opening hours:
Monday through Thursday: 10:30 AM – 8:00 PM
Friday: 10:30 AM – 11:00 PM
Saturday: 12:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Sunday: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM

For more information about the Stallhagen brewery, the beer varieties, and the restaurant, visit the Stallhagen Brewery website (English).

Olle Strömberg: Rides Stunt Motorcycles and Owns the Largest Photography Collection in Scandinavia

The Åland Islands Museum of Photography wasn’t actually on our radar. We figured there were surely more exciting things to do in the Åland Islands than look at a bunch of old cameras.

What a mistake! Fortunately, one day it rained so hard that we ended up at the photography museum as a backup plan.

From the outside, the low-slung building — which used to be a school — looks pretty unremarkable. But as soon as you step into the first of the four exhibition rooms, you’re drawn into the world of Olle Strömberg and his cameras.

Olle is a true original: he made his living as a clown and stunt motorcyclist. But cameras and photography were always his passion. So he collected everything he could get his hands on. Today he can rightfully claim to have the largest collection of its kind in Scandinavia.

The museum consists of four themed rooms: a room full of cameras, a photo lab, a fully reconstructed old photo shop, and a room dedicated to video and audio.

It’s not just the sheer number of exhibits that amazes you. It’s the truly extraordinary treasures in his collection — like a Hasselblad camera that the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen took on his failed North Pole expedition between 1893 and 1896, or a mini camera used by Russian spies during the Cold War, or a camera used to photograph the crime scene after the murder of Olaf Palme in 1986, or an old, still-packaged roll of film with an expiration date of 1907.

When Olle then unleashes all his entertainer qualities, an hour flies by in no time. Olle only speaks broken English, but his lovely wife Benita knows every single piece of this impressive collection just as well and is happy to explain everything in English.

Info About the Åland Islands Museum of Photography

The museum is located in the village of Pålsböle on Åland’s main island. The exact address is: Bastövägen 7, 22310 Pålsböle.

The museum is only open during the summer months, Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Outside of these hours, Olle and Benita are of course happy to give you a personal tour by appointment.

For more information and contact details, visit this page on Visit Åland.

Olof Salmi: Runs Marathons and Welcomes Guests to His Remote Island

Olof Salmi is in his early sixties and was once a gifted long-distance runner. With pride and a small smile on his lips, he shows us a YouTube video of him in a televised 10,000-meter race from the early 1980s. Today Salmi still runs, just no longer professionally.

Since the end of his professional running career, he has dedicated all his energy to his campground, Sandösund, on the island of Vardö in the northeastern part of Åland.

There’s plenty of space here for tents and RVs, small wooden bungalows, and now also a few hotel rooms.

But the absolute standout is brand new: a remote island just for you!

As tends to happen in an archipelago, you don’t just inherit a little house here — you inherit a whole island.

And when you happen to be a true tinkerer, things come together quickly: right in the middle of the small island, Salmi has built a little wooden cabin powered by solar panels.

Next to it, a small outhouse — and just like that, you’ve got a Robinson Crusoe adventure for thrill-seeking tourists.

There’s no running water (yet), but there is a touch of luxury right on the waterfront. Salmi has built a wooden bathtub there that you heat with firewood. So on a crisp Scandinavian night, you can sink into warm water and simply enjoy the breathtaking scenery. Bliss.

If you’re visiting the Åland Islands and up for a truly special adventure, make sure to stop by Salmi’s place. He’s a genuinely fun guy and, as befits a tinkerer, comes with an endearing dose of lovable absentmindedness. We were very fond of him.

Info About Sandösund Camping on Åland

The campground is located on the island of Vardö. You can rent bicycles and kayaks there, try out the floating sauna, or play mini golf.

All information about on-site activities, the remote island, and the campground can be found on the Sandösund Camping website (English).

Micke Björklund: Cooks on TV and of Course on Åland

Micke Björklund is a phenomenon. This man looks as if a screenwriter had sketched out the character of a lovable Scandinavian chef: well-fed, rosy cheeks, a mischievous grin, a striped apron over a white shirt, and a wool beanie on his head.

Micke is no fictional TV character, though — he really does look like that. He is a TV star all the same, having once cooked on his own cooking show on Swedish television.

Like so many Åland islanders, he returned home to give something back to his homeland. And so he opened Smakbyn, which translates roughly as “flavor village.”

Here, Micke Björklund himself stands at the stove and cooks up delicious dishes — naturally from regional and seasonal ingredients.

On the side, he produces his own apple brandy, which ages in large wooden barrels in the cellar. The spirit used to be called Ålvados, but a large French company with a similar name took issue with that.

The value for money at Smakbyn is seriously impressive — yet another reason to add the flavor village to your list of best places in the Åland Islands!

Information About Smakbyn

Smakbyn is open daily from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM. On the Smakbyn website (English), you’ll find the current menu, can learn more about Micke and his projects, and have the option to reserve a table online.

Our Travel Video from the Åland Islands

Check out our video 22 Hours Åland. In just five minutes, we give you a quick and punchy look at everything we experienced on the Åland Islands.