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Dinner in Nature in Kloster and Husbyringen

Last updated Aug 3, 2021

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Blog | Dalarna | Destinations | Europe | Food and Drink in Dalarna | Sweden

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Dinner in Nature in Kloster is an incredible experience – and we are pretty sure that no one can say anything else. It’s something special, something gourmet, and yet something easy. It takes you back to nature in several ways. And when staying at the camper area close to the mansion in Kloster, you are bound to fall in love. Join us for this special adventure where your shower is a waterfall and where culture and nature are right outside of your door.

Table of Contents

Kloster Camper Area – A small and cozy place

A Camper area in Swedish is called Ställplats. Kloster is known for its mansion “Kloster Herrgård”. This is transformed into a hotel. However, if you are traveling with your own motorhome, you probably don’t want to check in to the hotel to be able to enjoy Kloster and all its glory.

This is a small place and there’s only room for three motorhomes. It is a nice and fresh place where you can stand on newly placed gravel. The ground is leveled so no need to drive your motorhome on any blocks or things like that. It’s a simple but yet very cozy.

The facilities at Kloster Stallplats

Unfortunately, there’s no place to empty your greywater or your blackwater (toilet water). However, you can fill up on freshwater that it’s their very well-known “trinity water”. And you can really taste the difference between water and water in this case. There is a garbage bin and you have access to use the toilet for the price of 30 kronor (about 3 euros). Included in the price is also a visit to the local museum.

If you want to take a shower, you can – rinse off in a waterfall. Yes, that’s true. At first, we thought that the owner (Johan Backlin) was joking when he told us that we had the opportunity to shower inside a waterfall. But it turned out to be true. It was awesome to see how the people living in the area came and took their showers in the clean water in the small pool that is right by the camper area. And then they rinsed off, using the waterfall.

Information about Kloster Stallplats (2020)

Address: Kloster, 776 98 Garpenberg, Sweden.
Price: 140 kronor (about 13 euro). Payment is made when you arrive.
Electricity: 40 kronor (about 4 euros).
Toilet facility and museum: 30 kronor (about 3 euros).

Gustav De Lavals forge

Just by the camper area – where the pool meats the waterfall, there’s a building. The building was the working place of a man named Gustav De Laval. He was a technical genius that held more than 90 patents. Gustav became famous for creating a machine that separated the cream from the milk. He was originally from Orsa but spent a lot of time inside the house in Kloster.

Even if he was a genius, he was not good with his economy. He was successful with all his inventions, but still, he ended up dying poor and without any money. We haven’t been inside the house and we aren’t sure that you are allowed to enter. However, it’s an interesting story about a building and person that is worth mentioning.

Klosters Bruksmuseum

The mansion in Kloster is not opened to the public unless you are a guest staying at the mansion. However, you are allowed to visit the museum that’s located on the property. The building that houses the museum is built in the year 1800. It is said that it was supposed to be a church but ended up being a stable for horses. Today it’s a museum that gives you more information about the surroundings and things that are connected to Kloster.

It’s a small museum but you can learn a lot from it. This area used to be a huge storage facility for storing gunpowder. If you want there are several videos that you can watch and learn more about the history of the region and of storing gunpowder. For example, you will learn that the houses that had the gunpowder stored in them, were built with a thicker layer at the bottom. This was to make the explosion go upward and not blowing everything up in case something went wrong and there was an explosion.

Information about Klosters Bruksmuseum

Address: 776 98 Garpenberg, Sweden.
Opening hours: 10.00 – 18.00 from May to September. If you are staying in the camper area, the museum is open for you during your stay.
Entrance fee: 30 kronor (about 3 euros).

The Kloster Monastery – Gudsberga Abbey

Next to the museum, there used to be a monastery. There’s an emphasis on “used to be” because today, there are only a couple of rocks left from the monastery. There’s also a sign that gives more of the story about the Abbey and how it used to look like.

We ended up just walking up to it, snapping a couple of pictures, and then we continued on to the next thing. I think that it’s too little of the monastery left for us to be intrigued to learn more about it. Apparently it was built in the 1500s and it was built due to donations. The name “Gudsberga” comes from God’s Mountain. Today, you can only see some traces of it and you have to imagine what it used to look like.

Engelska Parken – The English park

Walking past the mansion and past the museum, you will find yourself in Engelska Parken (translates into the English park). This park was first created in the 1800s but for some reason, it was forgotten and left to fend for itself. Last year (2019) it got restored and today it’s a beautiful garden with lots of small white bridges with picket fences and they even restored the orchard with fruits.

It makes for a really nice walk and you are allowed to walk around in the park at your own leisure. It’s free of charge to visit but they ask for a donation so that they can keep the park just as nice as it is now. Even if the park is not that big, it’s still very impressive and you can’t but feel the romance while walking on the small paths here.

Dinner in Nature – The Edible Country – Taste of Dalarna

Dinner in Nature or lunch in nature is a special thing that we believe that everyone should experience. It is exactly what it sounds like. You have your lunch (or in our case dinner) out in nature. But not just anywhere – there’s a special place that’s prepared for you to have the best of experiences. This is only offered between May and September (due to the weather) and it is really special!

You get a basket with food. Prepared but not yet finished. You take your basket and you walk to a really nice place by the river “Klosterån”. There’s a table prepared and then you take out the recipe and make the food in nature. There are several places in Sweden that are part of The Edible Country and offer a table in nature. The one in Kloster is just one of many. But there’s more than just cooking food in nature…

Do it yourself – dining in a special way

Each of the dining experiences is unique in both the menu and the location. For example, in Kloster, the food is prepared by the well-renowned chef Görgen Tidén. You have several options to choose from and how you want to enjoy the dinner in nature. One option is to just rent the table and a cooking kit. The other option is to also book a lunch basket with locally produced food. And the third option (and the most expensive one) is to have the master chef himself – in this case, Görgen Tidén, to cook the food for you.

We had the second option and once we arrived at the camper area, the owner met us and he brought us two baskets. The picnic baskets were filled with goodies and locally produced food. It took us about ten minutes to walk from the camper area. I’m not sure whether you can make arrangements so that the baskets are waiting for you by the table but I believe that it’s possible. This was the only part of the experience that was pretty strenuous because the baskets were really heavy.

Forage for add-ons to your meal

One thing that’s included in the “dinner in nature experience” is that you are supposed to forage for different edible things that you find in nature like edible flowers, leaves, and berries. For example, you can pick fresh leaves from dandelions. There are two reasons why Mini and I ended up skipping that part. First, we know too little about flowers and plants that are edible.

Second, the baskets with the food were heavy and uncomfortable to carry. Since there were several bottles of water inside the baskets and, all the food – it was not easy to carry. We ended up walking the ten minutes to the table straight away. The walk is really nice and you feel the closeness to nature. And the feeling when we got to the table is hard to describe. Happiness and tranquility is a good way to start describing it.

The table and the grill from Ofyr

If we ever move into a house and leave the motorhome life – we have agreed that we will get ourselves a grill, just like the one that they have by the table in Kloster. The grill is made by “Ofyr” and it’s just as awesome as it is expensive. You don’t use gas or coal. In this grill, you use regular wood. There’s a griddle and it feels like you can’t fail with the food. And there’s another reason why you can’t fail with the dinner in nature.

The meat “baked breast” is already made to perfection. The only thing you have to do is to put it on the grill and heat it up. After we had admired the grill and the setting for the table, we started to unpack the picnic baskets. The table is located just by the river and you get to enjoy your meal while listening to the water pouring next to you.

A meal that you can’t fail making

You don’t have to be an ace in the kitchen – this meal is prepared so well that you really can’t fail. The meat is already pre-cooked and marinated. The only thing you need to do is to boil some potatoes. You have fresh water in your basket and there’s more water at the table. However, we ended up washing the potatoes in the stream and boiled them in the water from the river.

I don’t think that we can explain how special this was – cooking our dinner in nature. We took our time and just enjoyed nature and all of the preparation. Mini started the magnificent grill and then we prepared our dinner. There’s not that much to prepare either. This whole thing is thoughtfully planned so that you can’t fail. And then we enjoyed our meal and just savored the moment.

The table in the woods meal

This is the meal that you get when you order the picnic basket. In our case, we also got “homemade” sausages that you can order from Johan Backlin (the owner of the camper area). They were so good! If you are a vegetarian, you can also get a vegetarian option. Our baskets contained:

Meat that was made to perfection. The vegetarian option is a steak made out of pies.
Potatoes from “Roslunds gård”, a farm that’s close by.
Mustard that has won the world championship. LissEllas mustard ended up opening our world and we felt the urge to learn more about this company and their mustards.
Homemade barbeque sauce.
Crispbread.
Butter.
Salt.
Water.
Coffee / tea.
Homemade cinnamon buns.
Salad.

The table in the woods meal Dinner in nature

Making the meal in the forest

We started up by lighting the grill. The potatoes were boiled in water from the lake and then we put the mustard among the potatoes and swung them around. After that, we placed the meat and the sausages on the grill. It was super easy and it was so good. We had no idea that potatoes and mustard go so well together.

After enjoying our dinner in nature, we made coffee and ate the cinnamon buns. This was such an incredible experience and it is worth doing for everyone that is passing Kloster. We recommend that you order the basket with lunch included. Sure, you can just book the table and bring your own food but it’s worth getting the “complete package”. And it’s not expensive to add-on the food.

Information about Dinner in nature

Address: Kloster, Dalarna, Sweden. You get the information on the exact location of the table once you make your reservations.
Price: Seat at the table and a cooking-kit – 200 kronor (about 20 euros). Lunch basket – 149 kronor (about 15 euros). Having master chef Görgen Tidén cooking the meal for you – 1 795 kronor (about 175 euros). The prices are per person.
Link to making a reservation for the dinner in nature.

Husbyringen – Swedens first Eco-Museum

Husbyringen is said to be Sweden’s first Eco-Museum and it’s located in the municipality of Hedemora. It stretches for 60 kilometers and is a way for visitors to experience unique industrial, cultural, and historical sights. It passes through several villages (Långshyttan, Silfhytteå, Kloster, Husby-Smedby, and Stjärnsund). They all have a rich history that’s worth exploring.

There’s also an app that you can download. It’s in English (and Swedish) and it gives you a list (and a map) of all the sights that are included in the Eco-Museum. For example, Bruksmuseum, Kloster nature reserve (where we had our dinner in nature), Kloster mansion and, the Gustav De Laval forge are all part of Husbyringen. In total, there are about 30 different stops and attractions.

Husbyringen by bike during summer

Husbyringen is opened during the summer (May to August). If you want to go by bike, you can start in Stjärnsund. There’s a visitor center where you can also rent a bike. It takes several hours to get around 60 kilometers and we recommend you to stop at some of the points of interest. The whole thing with Husbyringen is that the whole distance is a special one and part of the Eco-museum.

Even if you make stops along the way, you are inside the Eco-Museum at all times while visiting Husbyringen. We went for a bike ride in Dalarna and we got our bikes from Stjärnsund. However, we ended up choosing another route and got off Husbyringen. You can read more about our experience in the post about biking in Dalarna.

Attractions along Husbyringen

There are several different things that you can do and visit during your trip around Husbyringen. Some of them are hotels, some are cafes and restaurants and some are points of interest. Just pick and choose your favorites. Ps: You will have a lot of help from the app (Husbyringen) and learn more about the different places.

Hotels and places to stay along Husbyringen

Ottos Farmyard – Learn more and enjoy true farm life by staying in a cabin at a real working farm with cows.
Långshyttans Brukshotell – An old historic house that is turned into a hotel.
Fridhem – The place if you are traveling as a big group due to its size.
Vilan Spa and bed and breakfast – Here you will have a spa area with pool, sauna, and a fireplace that you can enjoy while staying at the hotel.
Nickbergets Hunting Camp – For people interested in hunting. There are also cabins that you can stay in.

Cafes along Husbyringen

Nostalgic Gas Station in Långshyttan – A gas station from the 50s that has transformed into a cafe. Here you can get your “Swedish Fika” all day long.
Cafe Sundets Stjärna – Located right by the visitor center in Stjärnsund. You can get a light lunch or just have a cup of coffee and a cake.
Stjärnsund Grocer’s Store – Here you can buy fishing cards, have something to eat and drink in the cafe and play miniature golf.
The Husbyring Visitor Center – The place where you should start to explore the area. Here, you can rent bikes, visit the cafe and get all the information you need before heading out on your adventure.

Things to see along Husbyringen

Rällingsbergs mines – A group of former iron mines. Mining was done here between 1841 and 1932.
Högbron – A really nice resting area with a view of the river Dalälven.
Långshyttan ironworks – See what’s left from the biggest iron smelting house in Sweden during the old days.
Pålsbo Hage – Medows and pastures that takes you away from the stress of the city.
Husby-Smedby – One of the oldest farming districts in the region. Make sure to check out the church and its collection.
Silvhytteå deserted ironworks – A historical, industrial site that is beautiful and well worth a visit.
Duvåker – A nice village located at one of the most beautiful stretches of the Husbyring.
The English Park – Read more about it earlier in this article.
The Polhem Museum – Learn more about Christopher Polhem, a creator of one of Sweden’s first factories.
Smedjan Stjärnsund – Concerts are held inside an old forge.
Stjärnsund Ironworks – One of the best-preserved ironworks in Dalarna. Make sure to visit the mansion too.
Culture Centre Matsesgården – Watch different performances and their exhibition.
Flinesjön Birdtower – One of the most interesting bird lakes in Dalarna where you can bird watch.
Kronoparken Flinsberget – A park that offers some nice hikes.
Kloster Bruksmuseum – A museum dedicated to ironworks and gun powder production. Read more about it higher up in this article.
Highest Coastline – Stroll around a 1,5 kilometers trail that shows the sea level during the latest ice age.
Lena Casselbrant Horse and Music – Book a tour and have a horse-drawn carriage ride.

Shops and Galleries along Husbyringen

Gallery of Viktoria – An art gallery of the artist Anna-Lisa Lindborg Toftell.
Stjärnsund – A garden and plantations that sell vegetables during summer at the local market every Saturday.
Lundboden – Shop that has a lot of decoration for sale.
Kryddan i Tillvaron – A shop that sells spices and locally produced products.
Bojan Krogh Art and Cafe – Watch beautiful paintings, ceramics and jewelry made by the artist Bojan Krogh.

Go swimming along Husbyringen

Rällingebadet – A nice place where you have jump towers and bridges.
Gustafsnäsviksbadet – With a lot of green spaces and a wind-cottage, this is a good place to stop at and have a swim.
Fishing area Husby/Hedemora – Catch pike and perch from either a boat or from the land. Note that you’ll need a fishing card.
Björknäbbabadet – Swim near the lake Grycken.
Gustav De Laval’s Forge – Take a swim in the lake and check out the waterfall. Read more about it higher up in this article.
Bosjön – Rent a whole lake and enjoy fishing, swimming, and just relax.

For more things to see and do in Dalarna check out the links below: