Swedish island beats San Francisco, film shows
Travellers now have an opportunity to discover island life by getting their own Swedish island
No electricity. No cars. And a grand total of 150 inhabitants – in the summer only. The island of Rödlöga, way out in the archipelago north of Stockholm, provides a sharp contrast to the city and area of San Francisco in the US, which, for its part, bustles with several million people in the metropolitan area.
Yet the chef of a successful bakery chain leaves behind the Bay Area for Rödlöga: to save the local café, which also serves as a social and economic lifeline for the small island community. That is the story told in Sweet Störy, a documentary written, directed and produced by Justine Kerish and Matt Maude, recognised at the LA Film Awards and the Annual TASTE Awards in 2025.
As much as pastry chef Meg Ray, whose adventure the film tells, the directors also fell in love with the island of Rödlöga, its nature and relaxed, community-spirited lifestyle.
“I think that way of living is an ode to imagination, the importance of community and boredom,” Maude told the Desert Sun newspaper.
Nature and calm dominate life in the Stockholm archipelago – and indeed on Swedish islands in general. Credits: Tina Axelsson/imagebank.sweden.se (Download)
Rödlöga is only one of 30,014 islands in the Stockholm archipelago, offering a special blend of energy and calm. Altogether, there are more than 267,000 islands in Sweden – more than in any other country in the world.
Whether life on a Swedish island is for them as much as it was for US pastry chef Meg Ray, is something international travellers may now test: Through the initiative Your Swedish Island, Sweden is giving away five of its islands for one year.
The initiative launched by Visit Sweden and the National Property Board highlights Sweden’s special relationship with nature.
“Sweden has more islands than any other country in the world, and we would like to invite people to enjoy what may be the most genuine form of luxury: the peace and tranquillity of nature on their own island”, said Susanne Andersson, CEO at Visit Sweden, at the launch of the initiative.
More resources:
- 9 secret island escapes in Sweden (Visit Sweden)
- Island getaways Swedes swear by (Visit Sweden)
- Sweden’s archipelagos (Visit Sweden)
Visit Sweden is een door de Zweedse overheid beheerd marketingbedrijf. Het is een nationale toeristische organisatie die de bestemming Zweden promoot om de aantrekkelijkheid van het land te vergroten, wat bijdraagt aan de toeristische consumptie, exportinkomsten en werkgelegenheid. Visit Sweden werkt samen met de Zweedse toeristische sector om de meest gewenste doelgroepen voor langdurig, duurzaam toerisme effectief te bereiken. Visit Sweden is gevestigd in Stockholm met lokale vertegenwoordiging in verschillende buitenlandse markten. www.visitsweden.com/corporate
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