Stock-HOME For a Week

Saturday, September 2 - We flew to JFK airport in NYC this morning on Delta and then took a separate Delta flight overnight to Stockholm, Sweden.  We flew overnight and landed in the late morning hours of Sunday.  Check another country off the visited list!  Note the cool windmill field in the photo above as we descended into Stockholm. 

Sunday, September 3 - Arrival at the Stockholm Airport and taking the Arlanda Express Train (at sometimes over 100 MPH!) and subway was so efficient and easy, that we got into downtown Stockholm well before our apartment that we rented from AirBnb was ready.  We did pay for early check-in and got in right at noon as promised.  So, we killed some time walking around in our quaint little Sundbyberg neighborhood and stopping at the Princess Konditoriet (Pastry Shop).  They had these excellent, giant cinnamon rolls (photo above), so we enjoyed our first "fika" of the trip here.  A fika is a Swedish activity of enjoying coffee and some sweets with friends, family, co-workers, etc., at least one or two times a day.  With this awesome place being right across the street from us, we knew this would not be our last visit here! 

After a little napping since we did not sleep on the plane much, we headed back downtown for one and only planned activity of the day, an open-air electric boat ride around the harbor.  Walking to our pickup site, we quickly realized that the old and new mix perfectly in Stockholm.  What a beautiful city! 

The open-air electric boat tour was fun and relaxing.  We did a huge circle around this town that is flanked by water at so many locations.  So, a boat ride is an excellent way to take it all in.  This little picturesque military fort called Kastellet is just one of the many quaint and beautiful sites we took in and learned about from our guide.   As long as the flag flies here, Sweden is at peace.  Glad to see it flying there this week while we are here! 

We had a little energy still left after our boat ride, so we ambled over to The Grand Hotel's Cadier Bar for a libation.  We only chose this place because Ashlee has a massage set up here in a couple days, and we wanted to check it out.  What a great find!  The place was packed with folks finishing up late afternoon tea, but we were able to snag a table in the large verandah area after starting at the bar.  But if we had not started at the bar, we would not have seen this amazing cocktail being prepared for someone else.  It's called the "Antimon" and it's booze (gin, champagne and bitters) in a bird-shaped glasss served in a cage...come on, we had to try it!  Turns out, it's tasty too!  And the views across the water to Old Town (Gamla Stan) and The Royal Palace were excellent.  

The food in Stockholm was AMAZING!!  Along with our libations we had dinner in the Cadier Bar as well.  My open-faced shrimp sandwich was incredibly fresh and delicious, and Ashlee's steamed brisket buns had an amazing flavor.  

We headed back to our great little apartment.  Yes, it had no A/C which is common in Europe and yes, it was small and efficient, again, very common in Europe, but it was clean, modern, and had a kitchen, fridge, and even a washer/dryer.  And the price was under $100 a night!!  Thank you ApartDirect via AirBnb!!  Our place was just a few subway stops from downtown and we were amazed at the very deep, clean and art-filled subway stations throughout Stockholm.  We went to a neat local supermarket called Willy's before turning in to grab some essentials for our home for the next week.  

Monday, September 4 - We would end up doing about 10 miles of walking today in and around Old Town Stockholm and it started here at the Ostermalm's Food Hall for our food tour meeting point.  This awesome place has been around since 1888 and is considered the 7th best food hall in the world.   We started with some very nice cheese tasting at Husmans Deli.   Then it was some interesting wild meat tasting at B. Anderssons including reindeer jerky and brown bear sausage!  

Well, of course, we had the meatballs...they're world-famous!  These were served up at our last stop inside Ostermalm's Food Hall at the M. Seger stall.  Our serving included mashed potatoes, dilled cucumbers and lingonberries. 

We had great architecture to gawk at and great weather to view it in throughout our week while in Stockholm.  This tall, thin beauty was on our way to our next food tour stop. 

Our next food/market hall was called Hotorghallen and has basically moved underground from where it first stood back in the 1880's.  Our favorite stop of the tour was here at Kajsas Fisk (Fish) which is world famous for its delicious and unique tomato-based fish soup.   Along with the awesome soup, we got some other fish-based treats like smoked salmon, more great shrimp, and another lightly breaded hunk of aquatic yum! 
Dessert (if you want to call it that) was here in Hotorghallen also with a final stop at P and B Delikatesser where we had some foul dark licorice that the Swedes seem to be very proud of.  Never again!  Yuck!  "Fisherman's Friend" is no friend of ours!! 

After the great food tour, we had some time to kill before our next scheduled ghost tour, so we jumped on the subway and took it a few stops south of Old Town to the sporting arena area where we were scheduled to ride one of the amazing Skyview gondolas up the side and then atop the giant Aviccii Arena which was the largest spherical structure on Earth until the recent completion of The Sphere in Las Vegas.

It was an amazing 360-degree view as we approached the top of the arena, and the weather was perfect.  What a hoot this was! 

We headed back into Old Town after our ride to the literal top of Stockholm and wandered around doing some shopping and more sightseeing.   We enjoyed a few libations at a nice Americanized beer bar called Barrels, Burgers and Beer as well.  
As sunset approached, we made our way to one of the many beautiful squares in Old Town to meet our tour guide for a popular ghost tour.  

Our ghost tour began on the narrowest street in Stockholm, Marten Trotzigs Grand. 

Old Town at dusk takes on a beautiful sheen. And then gets eerie quick as night falls and you hear about the history of famous Stortorget Square where the term "bloodbath" originated.  Yikes! 

Our awesome ghost tour guide, Callum, giving off quite The Exorcist vibe in the "Bone Room" where our tour concluded.  Callum was an outstanding tour guide, funny and dramatic at the same time.  Thank goodness this Scotsman married a Swede and ended up here to give this great tour! 
What a long, but great, day in Stockholm! 

Tuesday, September 5 - We were up early again today to catch the subway to meet our guide for what was said to be just a nature walk in an outdoor recreation area south of Stockholm.  It was kind of cool that you could ride a city bus out into "nature" basically.    The "walk" turned into about a 5-mile hike and bushwhack that we were not really prepared for.  The area was nice, but generally all the same topography and thus not very interesting to be honest either.  We stopped at the lake pictured above called Sandasjon.  Overall, kind of a bust. 
We took some time for ourselves afterwards with Ashlee heading to the spa The Grand Hotel while I played some poker at the Cosmopol Casino downtown.  

Wednesday, September 6 - We were picked up at our apartment for today's private tour that was a drive about an hour and half south to catch the ferry at the tip of the Stockholm archipelago at Ankarudden to the pretty little village of Landsort on the island of Oja. 

Our main objective today was to visit the Landsort Lighthouse (circa 1680) which the oldest Swedish-built lighthouse and still operational.  This was our first encounter with a fortified lighthouse as well as large artillery guns are still in place here and around the entire island from the end of WWII and the Cold War.  We continued hiking the entire length of the little island and back before the next ferry (only two a day) left back for the mainland.  Similar to yesterday's "walk in the woods" this one was a little longer than we anticipated and not very scenic since the rocky outcrop's topography did not change much, but still an interesting day in Sweden's outdoors.   Surprisingly, we did see two different kinds of snakes on our walk including a young (and venomous) viper (aka adder) that thankfully wanted nothing to do with us. 

Our guide did give us a good tip for dinner back in our neighborhood atop a pretty steep hill near our apartment and set up in a pretty and historic water tower is Delibruket Flatbread.  The place was packed, so we got a half pepperoni/half prosciutto pizza to go which we enjoyed back at our apartment.  

Thursday, September 7 - Our tour today was by ferry out of Stockholm a couple hours to the island of Birka, also known as Viking Island.  It was another beautiful day weather-wise, and we headed out under the watchful eye of Stockholm's amazing town hall structure.

The lake views on the ferry ride coming and going were pretty and serene.  As noticed before in our hikes, the landscape just doesn't change much in Sweden, so while lovely, it can get a little monotonous. 

It is estimated that over 5,000 Viking graves were once on the island of Birka.  These mounds represent burials of wealthy high-ranking individuals from all over the region.  The entire island is a World Heritage Site now and protected by the Swedish government.  It was a privilege to get to visit these hallowed grounds today. 

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Unfortunately, the mosquitos were bad on Viking Island and drove us into the little Sarimner Restaurant there which was a nice surprise since the food was fantastic!  The photo above is my braised codfish special.  

Cruising back into Stockholm was a pretty site. 

Stockholm - a city of spires.  We've never seen so many buildings in one place with spires atop them.  Very striking and unique. 

Looking back through my Birka pics, I forgot how cool these remnants of Viking combs that have been unearthed there by archeologists and now displayed in the museum.  #alwaysbegrooming  

IKEA City - you know we had to at least check it out here in Stockholm.  There were no Viking combs, we looked.  We actually didn't buy anything because the check-out lines were so long with what looked to be locals.  Come on, you Swedes, you get to come here every day!  Give us tourists a chance to browse and buy something!  
We headed back to our apartment after a long day and enjoyed some excellent sushi from Sushi King near our apartment.  My theory that sushi would be great in this fish-heavy port city was spot-on.  Our rolls were fantastic! 

Friday, September 8 - It's Museum Day!  And there are lots of them in Stockholm.  We once again jumped on the subway in the artistic, bright, safe and clean Sundbyberg Station and headed downtown.  Our week-long pass cards for the subway were a great investment.   No tours today.  We were on our own to wander Stockholm in our last full day in the city.  

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How could we not come back to The Grand Hotel Cadier Bar for lunch one last time?   We got different food this time which was again fantastic.  We've heard this place has a Michelin Star and definitely deserves it! 

One of the world's oldest public urinals at 130 years old...and it smelled like it!  Welcome back to Old Town! 

No pictures in the Wood Horse Museum!!   Oops!  This tiny shop (and tinier "museum") was chock full of beautiful wooden horses of all shapes, colors and sizes.  Dala wooden horses have been a symbol of Swedish life since the mid-1600's.   

The Nobel Prize for Dessert goes to...well, The Noble Prize Museum!   We enjoyed the small, but interesting museum dedicated to winners of the past.  And it was even half-price entry day!  This same dessert was given to the winners at their ceremony dinners since it began.  Winners' names are also scrawled under many of the chairs in this museum cafe as well.   Yes, the desserts were excellent!  Our "medals" were chocolate and delicious. 

We walked by what is known as "Stockholm's Eiffel Tower" - the amazing structure that houses the Nordic Museum in Stockholm.  Since we got plenty of Viking/Nordic info yesterday, we skipped going inside for time's sake.   Maybe next visit? 

The hands-down winner of the day was The Vasa Museum for sure.   This amazing and unique museum houses the gigantic Vasa royal navy ship almost 98% restored and raised from the Stockholm harbor after 333 years.  It's masts even go through the museum roof.  Leave it to the Swedes to celebrate one of their biggest screw-ups in history.  It was also the polluted water the ship sank in that basically preserved it decay from wood-eating microorganisms.

From seven stories up, this is the full view of the entire Vasa ship.  Note the people on the first floor for scale.  Simply incredible. There are even skeletons on exhibit of some of those on board who did not make it off the doomed ship's maiden voyage. 

We were going to skip our reservation made at Lucy's Flower Shop, one of the Top 50 Bars in the World according to Conde Nast Traveler Magazine but went anyway and dropped in and enjoyed our cocktails in this speakeasy style establishment.  But it also made us appreciate what we have in Nashville which in our opinion are some bars that are equal or even cooler than this famed one. 

We saved the strangest museum of the day for last.  Fotografiska Museum houses Avante Garde photography exhibits some of which were just not our thing, but the exhibit by the late Peter Lindbergh was pretty interesting.  His striking black and white images of fashion, style and famous faces were worth the price of admission. 

We got back to the apartment and said goodbye to our great little Sundbysberg neighborhood where we found such fun things as this pretty mural, Orange Fanta flavored Mentos, chai lattes in paper cans, a pet store to get some "Dreamies" treats for our cats, some great craft beer for me in a brewery housed inside a former church and all the other aforementioned food, groceries and an overall sense of "yeah, I could live here."  

Saturday, September 9 - We had an early flight back to NYC this morning and had an easy commute to the airport thanks to the subway and the Arlanda Express.  This was the longest time we've stayed in one European city, and we really enjoyed it as we got a sense of actually living there instead of just being tourists.  We would definitely come back if circumstances make it so.  The food, the people and the city of Stockholm itself was fantastic.  

We made up time flying back and arrived at JFK in the early afternoon.  Customs was a breeze with our Global Entry passes.  We were a little too early to start our one-night stay at the historic and ultra-cool TWA Hotel at JFK Airport tonight.  So, we got a couple drinks at the lobby bar and then wandered around the well-done and meticulously-detailed hotel created from the old TWA terminal here at JFK.  The long "tube" hallways from the lobby to the rooms (photo above) were both futuristic and retro at the same time. 

Our room was very cool with a view of the runways through giant sound-proof glass windows.  The little thoughtful touches (like a rotary phone in the room) were so neat and fun.  

The rooftop heated pool was kind of amazing with its overlook of the runways with jets coming in and taking off.   We got a drink at the bar and waded into the infinity pool despite and enjoyed our time here some cloudy weather.  

Sunday, September 10 - Well, what started out with a beautiful sunrise over the TWA Hotel at JFK  Airport turned pretty sour quickly for us when our direct flight home this morning got cancelled and we were forced to stay another night here (on our dime) to catch a flight tomorrow to Atlanta and then Nashville.  We never got a clear answer as to what the problem was, but it was supposedly weather-related, but we have our doubts. 

Well, we aren't in Stockholm anymore.  The few times we took Uber in Stockholm it was in a Mercedes Benz and a Lexus.  Welcome to Queens and the land of beat-up Toyota Camrys.   Ashlee got us a room at the airport Hilton since the TWA Hotel suddenly were charging double what we paid for our room last night (a Saturday night) vs. a Sunday night.  Conspiracy theory much?  The weather was shitty, so we just stayed in the room and hung out in our double beds for most of the day.  Boring, but what ya gonna do?  

Monday, September 11 - What was supposed to be a nice day off from work for both of us back home today, turned into more expense and travel for us just to try and get home.  It was weird enough having to travel on 9/11 which we tried to avoid from the start, but now Delta moved the flight to Atlanta to late afternoon and gave us no connector to Nashville.  Then when they did it was going to be tomorrow.  Screw that!  Ashlee found us two seats on a direct flight to Nashville out of Philadelphia on American, so we rented a one-way car and drove the two hours there.  Up yours, Delta, and JFK Airport!  What a nightmare!  The weather continued to be shitty, but Ashlee did great driving us in already heavy Monday morning traffic before rush-hour and got us to Philly safe and sound.  This shot out the windshield on the massive Verraazzon-Narrows Bridge connecting Queens to Staten Island gives you an idea of the mess we have to drive through just to try and get home today.   

Welcome to Philly!!  It would be easy to use the abandoned Holmesburg Prison to make wise-ass cracks about Philly, but we actually found it quite fascinating.  And PHA and American Airlines did get us home on time and with no stupid stops in between (you suck, Delta). We are sending our receipts to Delta for all the expense, stress and delays they caused us, and we are trying our best not to let this mess at the end of the trip taint what was up until then a great experience.  

Tuesday, September 12 - Happy Birthday, Ashlee!!  We both had the day off from work for Ashlee's birthday today but were too tired and stressed from our efforts to just get home from NYC the last two days to do anything much.  We did go see My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) but, God, it was just awful.   So, for the most part we just thought back on all the fun we had over the last week in Stockholm including finding this happy hot dog while walking between museums.... culture at its finest!!