A Romantic Weekend in Stockholm
Sitting on the edge of the lake, watching the sun set while sipping a rose' with my sweetie. That's how the weekend began on Friday night, July 30. We were at Mälarpaviljongen in Stockholm, Sweden. After a week apart, me in Oslo, Ed in Bergen, we met for a weekend in Stockholm, the huge capital city of another new-to-us country, Sweden. We walked through the City Hall courtyard to the lakefront, admired the different designs of the different faces of the courtyard and then turned right. The wind had died down some, the rainclouds were fleeing the scene, and everyone was out at the lakefront restaurants and bars. Taking Rick Steves' advice, we passed several of those to reach the restaurant and bar with a western view.
We ordered cheeseburgers and fries. What, no Swedish food? Well, they sounded good, what can I say! I had a rose' and Ed had a beer. Blankets were scattered around the seats for the evening chill. The sunset was not spectacular. But it was just wonderful to sit there and enjoy each other's company and the scene.
An observation I made about Stockholm, was that the density of coffee shops is higher than in Puget Sound. They are everywhere! And not chains, either. They all seem to be independent. They say that Sweden has the highest consumption of coffee per capita in the world. Probably true.
Ed and I stayed in the Nordic Sea Hotel, site of the Ice Bar Stockholm. It is made of ice. The bar, the glasses, the tip jar, the decor - all ice from northern Sweden up in Lapland. Bundled up in parkas and gloves, the throng enters through an airlock into a scene like a submarine. The design changes every six months, but today it's a submarine. Everyone snaps pictures. Everyone lines up at the bar to order vodka drinks in ice glasses. Ed had a Baltic Sea made of vodka, OJ, apple juice, and cinnamon. I had an East, which was totally clear, and I can't remember what was in it besides vodka. Then everybody drinks and wanders around taking more pictures. Then they kick us out and let in the next batch. Great fun for tourists.
To be continued... the next weekend they came to visit us in Bergen.
Sitting on the edge of the lake, watching the sun set while sipping a rose' with my sweetie. That's how the weekend began on Friday night, July 30. We were at Mälarpaviljongen in Stockholm, Sweden. After a week apart, me in Oslo, Ed in Bergen, we met for a weekend in Stockholm, the huge capital city of another new-to-us country, Sweden. We walked through the City Hall courtyard to the lakefront, admired the different designs of the different faces of the courtyard and then turned right. The wind had died down some, the rainclouds were fleeing the scene, and everyone was out at the lakefront restaurants and bars. Taking Rick Steves' advice, we passed several of those to reach the restaurant and bar with a western view.
We ordered cheeseburgers and fries. What, no Swedish food? Well, they sounded good, what can I say! I had a rose' and Ed had a beer. Blankets were scattered around the seats for the evening chill. The sunset was not spectacular. But it was just wonderful to sit there and enjoy each other's company and the scene.
Saturday morning, again on Rick's advice, we took a tour of the Stockholm Archipelago on a boat that reminded me of a Puget Sound ferry, with nice woodwork, and a nice choice of light lunches. The Archipelago is 30,000 islands near Stockholm. It looks like every one of them has a residence or more. There are adorable red cottages with white trim, huge yellow mansions with large glass windows, and boats, boats, oats. Ed went crazy with the camera.
We came back to the hotel to meet Doug and Dana, from Seattle. Doug is one of Ed's best coin-collecting friends. Dana has family just north of Stockholm, and they just had a big 70th birthday party for one of her brothers. The four of us walked around the Old Town, Gamle Stan. The goal was (drumroll) the Royal Coin Cabinet and Swedish Economy Museum. It was very well done. The guys went gaga over the early American coins, and the Swedish plate money. Sweden had little gold and silver, and lots of copper. So they made money out of huge, heavy, sheets of copper for a while. Imagine carrying that to the grocery store!
Next stop was the gnarliest dragon-head in Europe in Storkyrkan, the Big Church. This head is attached to the dragon being slain by St. George. It has real elk antlers!
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| Yes, that's a copper coin! |
After that, we had wonderful food and beer at the first acceptable restaurant we passed. This time, Ed and I had Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, and lingonberries (IKEA food). And a Belgian beer and a German hefeweizen, or two. Dana had mushroom-cheese-toast and Doug had mussels, and a Czech beer and another German beer. The restaurant food in Sweden has been cheaper than in Norway, a little more than in the US. The alcohol is still expensive, like in Norway.
It was a big weekend in Stockholm - Pride Parade. One of the lime-shirted volunteers said they expected 50,000 participants and half a million watchers! The parts that we saw were fun. Lots of walkers, and large trucks with the beds full of dancing people, not so much costumed as in the US. There were signs about political power at the next election on many trucks. We also saw some scattered counter-paraders being closely watched by the police.
Ed and I stayed in the Nordic Sea Hotel, site of the Ice Bar Stockholm. It is made of ice. The bar, the glasses, the tip jar, the decor - all ice from northern Sweden up in Lapland. Bundled up in parkas and gloves, the throng enters through an airlock into a scene like a submarine. The design changes every six months, but today it's a submarine. Everyone snaps pictures. Everyone lines up at the bar to order vodka drinks in ice glasses. Ed had a Baltic Sea made of vodka, OJ, apple juice, and cinnamon. I had an East, which was totally clear, and I can't remember what was in it besides vodka. Then everybody drinks and wanders around taking more pictures. Then they kick us out and let in the next batch. Great fun for tourists.
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| Ed found a bench to add to his collection of benches sat upon! |
There must have been a lot of vodka in that drink! Your trip sounds fun. I couldn't wait for the file from Kodak to open so I haven't seen your pics.
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