Habo

Habo celebrates 2021 as the Year of Outdoor Life

With its spectacular location next to Lake Vättern, the town of Habo is full of hidden gems. Here, we guide you to some of them. To discover more, visit upplev.habokommun.se

Gör något roligt!

Wild experiences! New destination in Habo!

Experience Wildpark focuses on preserving the nature experience, the feeling of wilderness, and the love of animals. The atmosphere is rural, the nature is untouched, and you get a chance to meet animals, barbecue, and visit the wilderness café.

Discover moose, deer, wild boar, pigs, sheep, goats, various birds, and more. Among the more exotic animals are Kairo the camel and his friends the llamas, the Mongolian yaks, the Australian ostriches, and others.

There is a petting zoo for the kids, and you can take a guided tour to meet the animals up close.

In addition to all this, Experience Wildpark offers a range of activities, such as paintball, pentathlon, and ATV and UTV driving. They organise birthday parties, stag and hen parties, private parties and events, as well as kick-offs and corporate events. They have a newly completed high-altitude course and one of the region's longest ziplines. New forms of experiences and activities will be continuously developed to provide as wide a range as possible in a natural environment.

The wilderness café serves tonnes of goodies to suit every taste, from Swedish ice cream to freshly baked cinnamon buns and delicious sandwiches. Please note that at the time of writing this (April 2021), the permits required to show the animals have not yet been obtained. Hopefully, these will all be ready in the spring. The activities and café, however, are open to visitors. For more information and opening hours, please see experiencewildpark.se If you want to take a break from the outdoor life, try your hand at pottery or sculpting in clay at Kerstin's, who instructs and shares her knowledge and inspiration. At Kerstin’s, you can also rent the house “Lilla Vättervy”. Don't forget to sign up for a pottery course when booking your stay.

Learn more about the courses at kerstinskeramik.se and book the house at airbnb.se

TOURIST

CENTER

Tourist information Biblioteket Jönköpingsvägen 2 Tel 036-442 81 11

turistinfo@habokommun.se upplev.habokommun.se

We give you two suggestions for places to eat. To discover more, visit upplev.habokommun.se

Kivarps gårdsmejeri

With their own dairy, farm shop, and café. Information about opening hours and assortment is available on their Facebook page Kivarps-Gårdsmejeri.

Strömbäck Gårdscafé

An oasis on Hökensås Ridge. Sweden meets South Africa in pastries, sandwiches, salads, and beverages served in an old forester's residence. Enjoy a snack in the comfortable lounge barn and buy handmade jewellery and furnishings from around the world. Your purchase helps families to a better life. For more info, visit strombackcafe.se

Sleep tight

Sjöbacka Camping

Tobias and Tina Egeborn have been running Sjöbacka Camping, located by Lake Vättern along Road 195 towards Hjo, since the spring of 2020. Sjöbacka is a cosy campsite with 32 electric pitches, plenty of space for tents, and a large RV park. They have a boat rental and a lovely swim area with a sandy beach just below the campsite.

Habo Camping & Stugby

In Domsand, within convenient walking distance of the harbour and swim areas, is the family friendly Habo Camping & Stugby, with 65 camp pitches and charming cabins for rent.

If you want to go boating or cycling, you can rent your boat and life jacket or bike here.

Learn more about the campsite, the cabins, and the activities offered at habocamping.com

Sjöbacka strand.

The tourist ambassadors

A real Pension – dogs are welcome!

Name: Charlott Lundberg Age: 52 Lives: In Mullsjö, 6 kilometres from Furusjö Family: Husband, five children, and a dog Works: Runs Sjöhaga Pensionat in Furusjö. Works with customer and HR support at a company. Excursion tips in the immediate area: Explore the forest around Furusjö and the village swim area. Bring a picnic and enjoy!

“Sleep to the sound of silence!” That's how Charlott Lundberg attracts visitors to her guesthouse Sjöhaga in Furusjö. – Furusjö is a peaceful village, quite in a positive sense. The beautiful Lake Furusjön, the playa of Mullsjö and Habo, is a small, shallow lake that warms up quickly. An association runs a small kiosk on site and a person from the village keeps the beach nice Charlott says with warmth in her voice. She has had the guesthouse since 2007, always running it as a hobby together with a colleague. There are seven rooms with a total of twelve beds. Wallpaper and furniture have been carefully selected to preserve the interior of the rooms. – Yngve and Maja received the guesthouse as a wedding gift in the 1930s. They ran it for over 50 years. At the time, it was one of 43 guesthouses in the area. Today, Sjöhaga is one of the few remaining guesthouses, still with sinks with hot and cold water in the rooms, Charlott explains proudly. When it comes to the food, she uses ingredients sourced from the farm across the road. Classic Swedish cooking, such as homemade “kalops” (beef stew) and the traditional Christmas buffet, are some of the things Charlott offers. Her interest in well-made food has also resulted in the delicatessen shop Källan, which she runs in collaboration with Carléns fisk. – The idea was to move here with our large family. But when people started asking if dogs were welcome, I figured that we would create a place for people with dogs. Where they could stay, eat, and sleep! she says. In other words, dogs are more than welcome – throughout the facility. – Our main guests are dog people. Many of them return year after year. Some rent the entire facility with full-board, others only rent the house, Charlott explains, and adds that, obviously, you are welcome even without a dog.

• Groceries • Delicacies • Nostalgic Café • Home decoration • Gift items • Coffee/tea in bulk • Trailer rental • Q-star fuel

“Sleep to the sound of silence”

Group bookings – with or without staff. You & your dog, a craft weekend or a friends’ meeting – You have the facilities for yourself! Curious about us? FB: Sjöhaga i Furusjö – med Charlott & gänget charlott.lundberg@live.se · 0760-529277 Strandvägen 14, Furusjö

Country of origin labelling

Text: Mårten Fredriksson

Vrångebäcksost.

It is possible to obtain the highest quality label for a product within the EU, placing it among the best of the best.

A protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI) creates a quality guarantee for both consumers and producers, ensuring that a product is of the highest quality and protecting a local product from being copied and produced elsewhere. In southern Europe, many producers have realised this, and many products therefore enjoy this protection. France has almost 800, and Italy more than 900 producers who have applied for protected origin. These countries place a completely different focus on the gastronomic experience as a tourist attraction. There is a pride and confidence in the local producers, and they organise food and wine tours that are hugely popular.

Sweden currently has 30 producers who have applied for protected origin for their unique products, a few of which have received the label. Three products around Lake Vättern have pending applications, either because the product comes from a particular place and therefore has a unique character (PDO) or because the product has a history of being made in a particular place for a long time, which makes it unique (PGI). Wrångebäcksost (cheese) and Rökt Vättersik (smoked Lake Vättern whitefish) have applied for PDO, while Gränna polkagrisar (peppermint candies) has applied for PGI. These three products are exclusive to the Lake Vättern area and the aim is to place them among the elite that will put the region on the European gastronomic map.

Wrångebäcksost

Located just south of Hjo, Almnäs Bruk has an old tradition of cheese making, and the “Wrångebäck Sweden” brand was registered as early as 1889, making the “Wrångebäcksosten” the oldest registered cheese brand in Sweden. The Wrångebäck cheese has a long domestic tradition, and in recent years, it has attracted increasing international attention. In 2018, the cheese took home the silver at the World Cheese Awards held in Bergen, Norway. Almnäs Bruk has had a long-term quality strategy and is now one of Sweden's largest organic farms as well as one of the largest producers of KRAV certified milk. Thomas Berglund, CEO of Almnäs Bruk and the person behind the successful initiative to resume cheese production from Almnäs, explains: “To apply for protected designation of origin is to care about your product and your customers. It is a two-step guarantee; customers can trust that they get the quality they pay for and producers can trust that their product is not copied or moved from the area.” He continues: “Products of quality from

Jonny Ståhl.

a specific place can only be produced in a certain amount. When the product is out, it's out.”

Rökt Vättersik

Chairman of Vätterns Fiskareförbund (Vättern Fishery Association), Jonny Ståhl, feels the same way, having applied for protected designation of origin for their product “Rökt Vättersik” (smoked Lake Vättern whitefish). A product that became so sought after that whitefish was bought from Lake Vänern and the Norrland Coast to meet the demand. The professional fishermen of Lake Vättern, however, wanted to protect the unique product that can be obtained directly from the lake. “The whitefish stock in Lake Vättern is very strong, so why buy whitefish from other waters, or even from North America, when we have the best product right here in Lake Vättern?” says Jonny Ståhl.

Protected Designation of Origin, PDO:

The product is both made and refined in a specific area. Qualities and properties that are wholly or largely linked to the natural conditions in an area.

Protected Geographical Indication, PGI:

The product is made or refined in a specific geographical area. The raw ingredients can come from elsewhere.

Always 30-70%

lower price!

MULLSJÖ FACTORY OUTLET

UNDERWEAR | SWIMWEAR | NIGHTWEAR | WOMEN’S WEAR | CHILDREN’S WEAR

Open in summer: Weekdays 10-18, Sat 10-18, Sun 10-16.

Ordinary opening times: Weekdays 10-18, Sat 10-14. Garverigatan 15, Mullsjö

Unfortunately, when it comes to fish from Lake Vättern, lots of focus has been on the discussion about environmental toxins. Jonny, however, is very clear when he says that this is something that must be nuanced. All batches that are to be smoked and sold as food must be inspected. Therefore, random samples from each batch are sent to IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute for control of environmental toxins. “The whitefish has very low levels and is a good product. No batch has ever not passed the inspection”, says Jonny Ståhl.

Polkagrisar from Gränna

There is another way to obtain an origin label, namely by protecting the tradition of preparing or refining in a specific area. The raw ingredient can be purchased, but the tradition of making the product is so strongly linked to the area that there are grounds for protecting it for that very reason.

In view of that, all producers of peppermint candies in Gränna have come together and jointly applied for origin protection of the product “Gränna polkagrisar”. Catrin Kvist from Polkaprinsen, who represents the peppermint candy producers, explains: “We're really only responding to a request from our decision-makers who want to work for Sweden to strengthen its local traditions in historical production. Gränna polkagrisar should only be available for purchase in Gränna. This way, we ensure the quality for visitors who know our products and want to experience and buy them on site.”

Hoping to join the elite

These three completely unique products are now waiting to receive the finest recognition you can get in the EU: a place among the elite, alongside products like Champagne, Parmesan, and Serrano Ham.

It's time to realise that it is these unique flavours that represent Sweden as a gourmet country. So, if we want to build a gourmet country, there is good reason to highlight more producers who want to continue working with their products.

Three producers around Lake Vättern have had the confidence to do it, and when you taste their products, you understand why. ■

Rökt Vättersik.