My "Excursion" to Ven

For my friends and family with a short attention span, this post is for you.   Not too long and lots of pictures!

Yes, I know it sounds cliche', but I was in need of a little "me" time.  The weekdays are filled with work, kids, a few activities and the normal requirements for maintaining a household.  The weekends are generally spent as a family...often getting together with friends and their kids.  I'm not complaining...I love that we tend to have more "family time" here in Sweden.  However, I really haven't made much time for myself to explore, shop or whatever.   Now that I have attempted to adequately defend my need for a day (or part of a day) on my own, I will get down to business and tell you a little about my trip.

A friend of mine suggested that I travel to a small island called Ven (FYI it sounds less like "vehn" and more like a person from the south saying "van").  Ven is located between Denmark and Sweden and the area of the island is just under 3 square miles.

The island of Ven

To get there I drove about 35 minutes to the ferry and then had a 30 minute ferry ride to the island.   I got there extra early for the first ferry which departed at 8:30am...I wasn't sure how this whole thing worked, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss it.

Ticket and map....check and check!

Although many people bike around the island (cars are few and far between), I had decided to explore on foot this time.   There is a bike rental place with tons of bikes....adult and kid bikes, tandem bikes as well as various bikes with kid seats, etc.).  I think a bike will be necessary on the next trip.

Do you have something in yellow?

I walked past several shops and a few bed and breakfasts to an old, small church on the west side of the island.   I found a nice patch of grass and had a little picnic lunch.  

St. Ibbs church, built in the 1200s

Beautiful view from my picnic spot

Ven really is a peaceful place....I enjoyed simply wandering around the island, checking out the views and the "wildlife" (mainly pheasants and wild, aka "giant", rabbits).   I was hoping to buy some cheese at one of the small shops, but sadly it wasn't open when I passed by.   The goats, however, were available for a photo.

Say "goat cheese"!!

My understanding is that Ven gets quite busy once the children are out of school, so I'm happy to have had the opportunity to check it out on a slow day.   I'm looking forward to the next visit when the hubby and kids will join in and we can bike around the entire island, see the shops and have some locally made ice cream!

Goodbye for now