Leaving the quarry sculpture park behind us, we walked into the centre of the village to have a look around - and to find somewhere to have lunch.
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| Södra Strandgatan 1 - South Seaside Street |
The whole seaside street is kind of a museum in itself, with charming old buildings.
Here and there they had put up posters showing photos of what it used to look like in the past. Like the one above, from 1935. The text says that back then, there were still very few cars; but in the late 1940s, some buildings were torn down, and some boathouses made smaller, in order to widen the street for more traffic. And where there was a fish shop back in 1935, in modern times there is a lobster restaurant in the same spot.
On one of the boathouses, we found this door, with signs to indicate that this may be where they produce those "tourist" signs... The wooden sign "Gubb-dagis" would translate something like "Daycare for Old Men" :)
Many of the old boathouses now serve as quaint little tourist shops where you can buy for example souvenirs, art&crafts, or clothes. Around the corner of one such place I spotted this sign saying "Catch of the Day". I did not feel entirely sure whether to interpret this as advertising for clothes sold inside, or just a place to display recently "lost and found" items from the beach!
Having stopped here and there to read the menus outside restaurants along the street, we finally decided on one with tables outdoors, and offering the possibility to order "half" salads (without age restrictions). P choose prawns; as I'm not overly fond of shellfish, I stuck with my usual favourite - chicken... (The rest of the ingredients were the same in both salads.) My only complaint was that the benches we sat on were rather uncomfortable for one's back. (P suggested it might be intentional - to stop customers from staying on too long after they've finished eating...)
Well, when we had finished our lunch, it was time for us to continue our journey anyway!
8 comments:
What a lovely spot - it looks the perfect place to while away a few hours. I wouldn't mind spending time there just exploring.
A perfect summer‘s day, by the looks of it! It is fascinating to compare a place then and now. Did you know that the Swedish word gatan is often the ‚gate‘ part in street names in Yorkshire? Kirkgate in Ripon, for example, has nothing to do with a gate or door, but literally means church street.
I am thinking P might be right about the reason for uncomfortable seating. with all that beauty the temptation to sit a while might take over. i am in love with seaside street, both old and new buildings. it is truly beautiful and the type of buildings I like best.
I enjoy and eat lots of salads so I'd have been very happy. I rather liked the idea of "Gubb-dagis" as well!
Carol, one can probably easily spend several days in and around Smögen and still feel that one hasn't had time to explore "everything"!
Meike, that second day really was rather perfect. - And no, I can't say I've ever given any thought to the meaning of 'gate' in English/Yorkshire place names or street names. I'd probably have assumed it to relate to a gate/doorway rather than the Swedish 'gata'=street. However, even in Swedish, 'gata' can also refer to just an 'opening' or 'passage' - so both words probably go back to a common origin of that meaning in the past.
Sandra, it's very easy to fall in love with the seaside in summer... I think it takes a certain kind of people to also love it as much in the winter, though! (which is also reflected in the statistics for permanent residents vs summer tourists...)
Graham, the "Gubb-dagis" sign made me smile as it indicates a sense of humour in the members/participants (presumably pensioners)
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