Furusund…. and that very tasty Värdhus

Friday, July 1^st. We enjoyed a brisk downwind sail out of Sandhamn and north towards Furusund, all three of us happy to finally put our sails up and enjoy the weather. It’s close to a 30nm sail and we were in search of some good grub. Murielle had discovered an acclaimed local spot named the Furusund Värdshus, just across the water from Blidö, which made a convenient waypoint en route to Norrtälje.

Värdshus is a very interesting word. To my ear the Swedish pronunciation sounds something like ‘verd-shoes’ and it can mean inn, restaurant, B&B, or chop house. There is something evocative and antiquated about the notion of such an establishment. Think of an English costume drama set during the Restoration. An English coaching inn set athwart  a crossroads where protagonists in breeches meet over a roaring fire and enjoy foaming jugs of ale. My imagination may be sailing away from me but that is what I think of. Furusund itself means fairway, so-named because it is located on the main fairway out of Stockholm and into the Baltic, and as such sees a constant stream of passenger and car ferries heading out into the Baltic to Finland, Russia and all points east.  Furusund gasthamn is presided over by a very hardworking Swede who mans a busy gastropub in the harbor, bakes bread and, if you approach the harbor at dinner time, will run out of the kitchen, still wearing an apron and carrying a carving knife, and gesture where you should tie up.

And just five minutes down the road lies the Värdshus, a welcoming and thoughtfully laid out hostelry serving innovative and delicious food, complimented by a stimulating and well executed wine list. The setting of the main dining room is beautiful too…floor to ceiling windows give it the feel of a greenhouse, its borders awash in geraniums and hollyhocks, and while you dine, every now and then one window is filled the flank of a passing ferry heading east. Mike, Murielle and myself enjoyed our best meal here, and I liked it so much I came back just a few days later with my next crew.