Island Lodge Bridge (courtesy Torkild Berglund)
If you want to honeymoon with the stars -- real stars, the twinkling , celestial kind -- it would be hard to improve on Island Lodge (IslandLodge.se), a private island in the Stockholm archipelago that prizes sustainability without sacrificing comfort. Fringed with oaks, pines, and birch, this formal naval base is less than an hour's boat ride from Stockholm, but as you relax in the floating, wood-fired sauna after a brisk dip in the ocean, the city might as well be on the other side of the world.
It helps that there's almost no electricity on the island, so if you're serious about unplugging, this is the place to do it. Dinner is served out-doors, family-style, at a wooden table, illuminated by candlelight and serenaded by the lapping water below. On the evening we were there, the owners, Torkild Berkund and Kristina Bonde, taught us Swedish drinking songs as we downed schnapps and herring and tucked into an abundant cheese pie made by Bonde.
Seven geodesic dome tents furnished with comfortable cot, rugs, and a nifty wood-burning stove provide the accommodations. Snuggling under a duvet on a clear fall night with only the epic sky for company is to appreciate the old adage that less, very often, equals more.
Ett Hem (courtesy Ett Hem)
Sleep
The Island Lodge is great for a night or two, but if you're going all the way to Sweden, you'll want some city time, too. Ett Hem, a converted house in the quiet, residential neighborhood of Skoldungagatan, is a 12-room fantasy of vintage and contemporary design that feels like the sumptuous home of a very rich friend. built in 1910, the hotel has a lived-in, casually elegant feel not unlike designer Ilse Crawford's other great project, New York's Soho House. Skoeldungagatan 2, Stockholm 114 27
Eat
A hotel restaurant is not always a sure bet, but if it has Marcus Samuelsson's name attached to it, odds are in your favor. Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef behind Harlem's ever popular Red Rooster, has created a terrific menu for his American table brasserie and bar inside the clarion sign hotel. don't be fooled by the name -- the influences may be American, but the menu leaves room for Swedish meatballs. Ostra Jurnvagsgatan 35, Stockholm 111 20; AmericanTableBrasserie.se
Go Here
Stockholm is awash with galleries, but for contemporary photography, Fotografiska is one of the best in the world. Housed in a converted industrial art nouveau factory from 1906, the gallery hosts blockbuster exhibitions and a terrific cafe overlooking the water. Stadsgardshamnen 22, 116 45 Stockholm, En.Fotografiska.eu
