When I think of travel, I automatically think of far away places, but sometimes there are unique places to visit close by. We had an opportunity to take a little mini get-away for just a night. Of course we had our little baby with. The kids had a trusted sitter and so with pleasant expectations we packed our overnight bags for a little excursion. Fiskars and Billnäs are only about three hours away. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, Taika Villa. Really I think hotels are quite boring. This old house had gardens and flower patches circling around the yard. The other house guests that we met at breakfast were so friendly that they really made the visit that much more enjoyable.
Fiskars is an old industrial town located in South-Western Finland. Fiskars Ironworks was founded in 1649 by Dutch businessman Peter Thorwörste. The town slowly was built up and the work of many architects can be seen in the buildings, one being Carl Ludwig Engel. Some of Engel’s works include the buildings surrounding the Senate square in Helsinki including the Helsinki Cathedral. As was typical for these types of industrial towns, they were quite self sufficient. The village had its own school and doctor. Later in the 18902, a hospital was built. Here is a link to the history of Fiskars.
In the 1980s, the Fiskars Ironworks was reorganized. Production was moved to more up-to-date facilities in Billnäs which is close by. Today the Fiskars village area is mainly used by artisans, designers and artists.
Amongst the studios are homes. And nestled between some trees, on top of a hill was a little playhouse.
We had dinner at the Kuparipaja, which means copper smithy. The location of the restaurant was an actual copper smithy during a time when the water rushed in large volumes past the mill. Today the river was much more tame.
We both ordered their menu of the day. I usually order fish when I dine out since I usually only eat quite small amounts of meat at one time and restaurant portions are usually quite large. This time I made an exception since our waitress guaranteed that the portion would not be too large. It was perfect in size. I did not feel like I had to digest it for the rest of night! Our appetizer was egghash with smoked Baltic herring on a rye bread made with malt. It tasted quite similar to the tuna salad that we often make at home. It did not have the wow effect, but it was plenty tasty. Our main course was braised cheek of pork with organic, homemade sausage on celeraic purée and stewed red cabbage and a very strong mustard garnish. I was pleasantly surprised how well everything worked. I am not really a sausage person but this sausage definitely won me over. It was flavored with herbs and we even found a few fennel seeds in the mix. The stewed cabbage was so good that we decided to try out our own version at home. For dessert we had strawberry sorbet, rhubarb compote and yoghurt mousse. Perfect end to a well balanced meal.
Stewed Cabbage using a slow cooker
500 g/17 oz red cabbage sliced into thin strips
3 granny smith apples peeled and sliced
1.5 dl/ 1/2 c apple juice
salt and pepper
Place all of the ingredients into a slow cooker and set on low. Allow to cook for about 4 hours.
I served it with organic sausage that has a meat content of 90%. Garnish with Dijon mustard.
On the way home we stopped in Billnäs, another early industrial town and there I spotted a neat car I wouldn’t mind to have as my summer ride. We took the scenic route, avoiding the freeway and visited the Raasepori fortress.
When we arrived home Saturday afternoon we still had time to take saunas with the whole family and spend all of Sunday together. Just perfect.
tableofcolors 
What a lovely post!
Thank you so much!
What a perfect little holiday. I so enjoyed all the photos and the information about Fiskars. I have purchased Fiskars garden tools in the past but I didn’t know the rich history of the business. You may be interested that my great great grandfather was a blacksmith and made prize winning farm implements such as harrows and ploughs. His items are collectors’ pieces. I wonder if he knew about the work at Fiskars? Would love to try your cabbage stew. I have everything except the granny smith apples.
How interesting! Thanks for sharing a little bit of your family history. I love Fiskars scissors as well 🙂
Fiskars sounds like a quaint artists community and a nice place for a get-away. You certainly ate well!. How fortunate that it is really so close to where you live, making return visits so convenient. I do enjoy cabbage steamed with apples, though I’ve never tried it in my slow cooker. I will now, though. Thank you for sharing your method.
After visiting places such as Fiskars, it always comes to mind that it would be fun to live in a town full of history and have the galleries right at your door step!
What a fabulous little getaway! Amazing what one night away can do to rejuvenate your soul.
My hubby does a lot of travelling for work and we have been trying to do the same by getting away together for a night of maybe even two when he is home but we just haven’t managed to get it right yet as he is always having to leave after just a couple of days at home.
🙂 Mandy xo
The one night was perfect, we still had the rest of the weekend to be with the family. Hope you chance to go on a little getaway soon 🙂
I love short trips and your little getaway sounds so wonderful and the pictures are so beautiful as always!
Thank you bakeaffairs!
I adore braised cabbage, its the perfect compliment to sausages! Your version looks more delicious 🙂
Thanks Lisa! It made the perfect little supper 🙂
It looks just beautiful, I love little getaways and what a lovely place to go. That photo of you and the baby is just gorgeous!!
Thank you Suzanne 🙂
Looks beautiful, thanks to your gorgeous photos! And how sweet that sleeping baby is!!!
Thanks for your kind comment Lidia!
Lovely pictures, beautiful post. Makes me want to visit Finland. I started reading your blog because of the post title “Fiskars.”
Fiskars, in my life, was my grandmother’s brand of scissors–so I thought this was going to be about sewing, and then it quickly turned into travel and food–(my favorite things). Plus, I got to see where my grandmother’s scissors came from! It’s nice to have found you…
I grew up using the orange-handled Fiskars scissors and that is what it meant to me as well as a kid! It was not until I moved to Finland that I became aware of the history behind Fiskars and that there is an actual town called Fiskars. So glad you stopped by!
Such an interesting post! It looks beautiful and your photography is just brilliant! Not to mention the cabbage recipe sounds yummy! May have to try my hand at attempting to make it! 🙂
Thank you so much! Hope the cabbage recipe works out for you 🙂
What a gorgeous post my friend!
A great getaway to enjoy!
And I love this delicious recipe, so full of awesome flavours! Cabbage is fantastic!
Cheers
CCU
Cabbage is quite versatile, especially the early spring variety! Thanks for stopping by CCU! 🙂
Fiskars looks like a really fun town. And, the stewed cabbage looks really good. It’s my kind of recipe–it uses seasonal foods, looks like it would have an old-time taste, and has just a few ingredients.
The best recipes are often very simple and ones that can be quite easily made. Thanks for stopping by.