After the long flight across the Atlantic..

..It was high time to check out the good ol´Baltic and the situation in the Swedish archipelago after the long harsh winter..

So I went almost directly to Sandhamn to check if my summer house was intact!  And it was! All the roses had died though. But I guess it a fair price one had to pay.. A lot of people found their roofs leaking and pipes destroyed..

   A few days after arrival we went with old friend Anders to empty his huge fish trap elaboratey set a nautical mile or so southwest of the island. The archipelago presented itself in its greatest splendour this Whitsun weekend..Warm, sunny and with little wind.

The huge trap is slowly raised hydraulically.

And floating!

Huge traps like this are scarce in the archipelago as are the professional fishermen in this areas. Thus expensive traps like this are partially financed by the state to help improve the poor fishing industry of the Baltic.

            About 60 whitefish (sik in Swedish) was the catch of the day.

                   ..of which I got a few as present! Great! I am now off to Gotland          toprepare dillcured whitefish in time for the Sunday brunch!To dill cure fish - especially  salmon - is a very old way to prepare and keep fish in Scandinavia. It is decicious and was once a way to conserve fish for a few days in the past times-of-no-fridges! 

Recipe here.