Sweden, January 10 – 24, 2024
This blog entry describes a trip to Sweden that involved time in Stockholm, the small arctic town of Abisko, and the city of Luleå (pronounced LOO-lee-oh). The objective of the trip was to visit our youngest daughter, to travel north of the Arctic Circle to see the Aurora Borealis, and to experience a smaller Swedish city on the Gulf of Bothnia. on our way back to Stockholm. I hope you enjoy the following summary and, best of all, the pictures!
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
We began our trip by flying out of Fargo, North Dakota via Delta Airlines. We were to fly to Stockholm (ARN) via the Twin Cities (MSP) and Amsterdam (AMS). At MSP, we boarded plane, de-iced, and then sat on tarmac. We later learned our delay was due to medical situation on the plane which required the plane to return to gate so the affected passenger could receive care. We eventually left for Amsterdam 2 hours after our scheduled departure. Luckily, we had a four hour scheduled layover at AMS.
Thursday January 11
8,669 steps, 3.74 miles, 61 minutes “exercising”. (For purposes of this blog entry, exercising is as defined by my Apple Watch.)
Upon our arrival in Stockholm, we rode the Arlanda Express train to the Central Station, the location of our hotel for the next two nights: the Radisson Blu Waterfront hotel. We enjoyed a beautiful standard room overlooking Gamla Stan, City Hall, and one of the many waterways between the many islands of the Stockholm archipelago. Our daughter joined us at 6:45 p.m. to take us for a walk to combat the effects of jet lag. After walking around central Stockholm for a while and finding the local pub at which we wanted to dine closed for the night, we settled on O’Leary’s Pub. We dined on a pulled pork sandwich and loaded nachos. We then made our way back to our hotel to get some sleep.
Friday, January 12
20,690 steps, 9.17 miles, 159 minutes exercising.
I awoke at 9:30 a.m. and bought a cinnamon roll, smoothie, and coffee from the nearby train station. After eating the roll and drinking the coffee, I returned to the room, packed up my Nikon camera and headed out for a long walk through Gamla Stan to get moving after our long airplane journey. Our daughter gave me the name of a coffee shop located on eastern Gamla Stan adjacent to the water, so my objective had been established. I walked around city hall, through its courtyard, and toward Gamla Stan. I then walked through the old city and found the coffee shop to which I was referred. After a cup of coffee, I walked along the water, the palace, and parliament on my way back to the hotel.
After completing our preparations for the day, we bought tickets for the train to visit our daughter at her apartment. Her beautiful apartment is efficient, well laid out and spacious (by European standards). Her deck overlooks a hill on which multiple children were sledding. We decided to head out for a small snack to hold us over until dinner. We walked north of her apartment to a bridge that crosses the train tracks. We then made our way to a lovely, small Italian restaurant located in the small mall on the east side of the tracks. The atmosphere was warm and the owner very friendly. We shared a pizza and a charcuterie plate, which were both very good.
We then made several train trips to arrive at the entertainment and shopping area surrounding the Globe. We then walked to the Sjöstaden Skybar to enjoy dinner and have a cocktail while enjoying the view from the restaurant’s 38th floor location in the southern part of Stockholm. As to beverages, we enjoyed a “Proper Sour”, a red wine, and a “Fairy Godmother.” For dinner, we had a Salmon salad, Risotto, and a Labhne Salad (a Mediterranean salad). All the food was very, very good and the restaurant well worth the visit. From the restaurant we made our journey back to the hotel to retire for the evening, while our daughter made her way back to her apartment.
Saturday, January 13
12,848 steps, 5.37 miles, 59 minutes exercising.
This evening we embarked on the 16.5 hour night train journey north of the Arctic Circle to Abisko. As a result, we need to pack up our luggage and spend the day out and about until our rail departure. We awoke at 10:30 a.m. (yikes!) and began packing while our daughter made her way to our hotel room. While our luggage was stored by the hotel, we walked around and hit all the outdoor sporting goods stores so my wife could find some new boots, visited a couple of malls, and toured the Downtown Camper (DC) hotel and its facilities. As far as food goes, we had lunch at Sin Ramen (very good ramen options and atmosphere) and paused mid-afternoon for a snack in DC’s lower level cafe off of Drottninggatan. We then meandered back to the hotel to collect our luggage and board the night train. After getting settled in our 3-person sleeping cabin, we headed to the dining car to enjoy our evening meal (chickpea salad, roast chicken with root vegetables, and Swedish meatballs).
After dinner we returned to our cabin for some sleep. The motion of the train both rocked us to sleep and, periodically, woke us up depending on the moment. In general, however, it was a quiet and comfortable ride (although the cabin was small and required some ingenuity as to storage of bags and order of going to bed).
Sunday, January 14
7,458 steps, 3.29 miles, 43 minutes exercising.
We were awakened at 5:15 a.m. to prepare for a change in trains, a modification to what we booked due to a train derailment beyond our destination. Although we ended up standing on the platform in -11C weather for about 20 minutes, the transfer was smooth and uneventful. In the new train, however, we did not have a sleeping cabin but were placed in regular bus-like seats for the remaining 4 hours or so of our trip.
After arriving in Abisko, we disembarked from the train and walked to our home for the next four nights, the Abisko Mountain Lodge.
The lodge, established in 2007, is located in the middle of the one and only wilderness of Northern Europe. As our rooms were not yet ready, we relaxed in the comfortable lounge for an hour or so and then walked to the nearby grocery store, known for its extensive supply of candy! While at the store we found some food for lunch (the AML does not serve lunch) as well as some snacks for the upcoming days. Upon our return we found our rooms were ready for us, so we moved into our rooms, unpacked our gear, and took a well-deserved nap. Then, after playing the game “Scout” in the lounge, we moved to the restaurant for dinner. Given its far-north location, the quality of food and selection of wine and other drinks is exceptional. For dinner, we had two appetizers (Creme Ninon and Fried Goat Cheese), and two main courses (Moose Tartar and Arctic Char). The details of each Michelin-quality dish can be found here. We each also enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner, each specifically paired with the entree we had chosen. After dinner we retired to our rooms for a well deserved sleep.
A bit about Abisko. To start with, at a latitude of 68.95 degrees north, Abisko is more than 1,600 miles north of St. Paul, Minnesota (44.95 degrees north latitude), and approximately 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle. While we were there, we only experienced a couple hours of light each day. There is a huge underground iron ore mine to the southeast of Abisko in Kiruna. Furthermore, to the west in Narvik, Norway lies an ocean port that, despite the temperatures in the area, never freezes due to water circulating from the Gulf of Mexico. Abisko originally served as the site for the workers constructing the railroad connecting the iron ore mine with the port, from which this valuable resource can be shipped year-round. Now, of course, Abisko also serves as a location for tourist activities related to the outdoors in every season of the year. In the winter, and the reason for this specific trip, Abisko serves as one of the best locations in the world to view the Aurora Borealis due to unusually clear skies in the area, the result of the impact of topographical features on weather from the coast that might otherwise obscure one’s view of the “Northern Lights.” Abisko is located in Sápmi, the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. According to Wikipedia, the region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. On the north, it is bounded by the Barents Sea, on the west by the Norwegian Sea, and on the east by the White Sea. The area is historically referred to as Lapland in English. The largest part of Sápmi lies north of the Arctic Circle. The Swedish part of Sápmi is characterized by great rivers running from the northwest to the southeast. The climate is subarctic/tundra and vegetation is sparse, except in the densely forested southern portion. North of the Arctic Circle polar nights characterize the winter season and the midnight sun the summer season—both phenomena are longer the further north you go. Reindeers, wolves, bears, and birds are the main forms of animal life, in addition to a myriad of insects in the short summer.
Monday, January 15
14,196 steps, 5.73 miles, 43 minutes exercising.
This morning we met in the restaurant at 8 a.m. for breakfast. The breakfast is served in a buffet style and includes a variety of lunch meats and cheeses, pickled herring, more than a dozen jams, homemade breads, sausage and eggs, hard-boiled eggs, and more. The buffet was wonderful, was neatly displayed, and satisfied everyone in our group. After breakfast we prepared for a two-hour walk through nearby Abisko National Park. This 19,000 acre park lies adjacent to the Abisko Tourist Center, a wonderful jumping off point for outdoor activities all year-round.
Our tour consisted of a two-hour hike through the birch forest, along the Abiskojåkka river, down to Torneträsk Lake, and back to the tourist center. In the course of our hike, we saw six moose, three mothers with their respective calves! Our guides, James and Celia, were knowledgable of the area, its history, its importance in the Sami culture, and its flora and fauna. Even though it was -10 degrees Fahrenheit, our clothing was adequate and we stayed reasonably comfortable during our walk. After our walk we were returned to AML, at which point we stripped off our extra layers of clothes and enjoyed the bag lunches prepared for us by the lodge (except for the sandwiches, which we constructed). Other than the sandwich, the lunch consisted of an apple, a pear juice box, a candy bar and cinnamon roll. We then sat around the lodge, relaxed in the lobby, and snacked on candy from the grocery store.
Today was the first of our 6-hour Northern Lights tours hosted by Lights of Vikings. The tour begins at 6 p.m. with dinner at our lodging place, the Abisko Mountain Lodge! Tonight, we all chose Suovas as our main course. Suovas is a stew with smoked and salted meat from reindeer, goose, and deer served with potato puree, pickled cucumber, and lingonberries. For dessert we had cloud berries with vanilla ice cream. Both were delicious. It will be difficult to pick the entree for the next two nights of the tour!
After dinner, we bundled up for the tour, piled into our awaiting minivan, and headed west towards Norway. After about a 30 minute drive, we pulled into a plowed parking lot about 10 minutes from the Norwegian border, put on wind-blocking overalls, and began our observation of the lights. At first, they were a faint glow on the northern horizon. As the night progressed, however, they expanded both in direction (southward) and intensity. There’s no way to adequately describe the dancing and undulation of the lights. The only thing I can really describe are the colors. From green to yellow to pink to red, the colors were brilliant not only to the naked eye, but even more so through a camera which has a more nuanced ability to pick up the various colors. The following pictures give a small sampling of what we were able to see.
About 1.5 hours into the viewing part of the tour and after the lights had dimmed a little, our guides (Filipe and Marta) started a fire in a nearby shelter so we could warm up a bit. Over the next 1.5 hours or so we moved in and out of the shelter to alternatively warm up and to watch the progression of the Auroroa Borealis as it ebbed and flowed in strength, texture and pattern.The group then collectively agreed we’d seen enough and should return to our respective lodging. We returned to the lodge, ate the remainder of our lunch, and retired for the night, agreeing that we would meet at 8:45 for breakfast.
Tuesday, January 16
9,090 steps, 4.06 miles, 30 minutes exercising.
This morning we awoke to a text from our daughter asking where we were for breakfast. What a good night’s sleep it had been! We quickly got organized and convened in the dining room for the buffet breakfast. After breakfast we moved to the lounge where we were mostly alone for the next several hours. Around noon we ate our bag lunch in preparation for our afternoon’s activities.
We then got dressed for our 2-hour dog sledding excursion, employing what we had learned from the night before with regard to cold management (although we had done well, there were a couple of tweaks, such as using foot warmers, we wanted to use for an excursion where you are not walking around). The dog-sledding operator was located next door to the AML so our walk was short. Because we still had the overalls from the night before, upon arrival we were given only an insulated poncho to keep us warm as we moved through the falling snow, permafrost and forest. The three of us were placed on one sled, the heaviest in the back and the lightest in the front. After going over a few safety precautions, we were ready to begin. The dogs were very excited and barking in anticipation of our 15 Km or so journey. Once we began, we travelled over varying terrain at varying speeds. The wind was cold on our faces, probably worst for our daughter in the front. The air temperature at the time of our tour was -1 Fahrenheit (about -18 C). In the middle of the tour we stopped briefly to give the dogs (and the humans) a break and a chance to stretch their legs. The dogs took advantage of the situation and chose to roll in the snow, relieve themselves, and periodically nip at their neighbors as they anticipated the next leg of our journey. While on the move, the dogs were also very entertaining as they would bite at the snow to get water, relive themselves while on the move, and nip at their neighbors while in motion. As to the age of the dogs, they ranged from about 1.5 to 8 years of age, with an average age of 3.5. At the conclusion of our trip, we were able to greet he dogs, each of which had its own personality. Some were very friendly and wanted to be petted, while others moved away as you approached. In the end, while cold outside, we enjoyed the tour and reveled in the fact that we had now gone dog-sledding north of the Arctic Circle. My apologies for the few pictures related to this activity. The air was so cold, and the layers of clothing so thick, it was impossible to take out your camera to get photos!
Tonight was the second of our 6-hour Northern Lights tours. For our dinner we each selected the Eldost (vegetarian option), which consists of grilled Swedish handcrafted cheese served with charred lettuce, pickled onion, smoked almonds, grilled corn & croutons. As to the tour, the day had been mostly cloudy and snowing, and the evening was no different. As we drove west in an effort to find clear skies (typical in cold weather – the temperature was around 0 degrees Fahrenheit, -17 C), we continued to find overcast conditions, even as far away as the Norwegian border. In addition, this evening was very windy with snow drifting along the edges of the highway. Eventually we ended up at the same location as we had the preceding night. This time, however, the parking lot was full of semi trailer rigs, presumably due to the blowing snow, and the shelter had already been occupied by a different tour group. So, as the guides indicated this was the best location for seeing the Northern Lights and that we’d simply have to wait to see if they became visible, we hiked out into the snow to find a space relatively free from the wind and away from the lights of the parking lot. We found such a spot, packed down the snow with our feet, and built a fire in the snow to allow us to keep warm during our vigil. Over three hours passed with more than 14 people huddled around the fire to keep warm. Among the group were people from the USA (Minnesota and Maryland), Singapore, Australia, and Argentina! Such diversity made it difficult to find a campfire song workable for everyone! At only one point during our time around the fire did the Northern Lights become visible, and then primarily to the camera (i.e., not to the naked eye). Around 11 p.m. or so the guides decided it was time to end our “punishment” and return to Abisko. As one of the guide’s vans would not start, we piled everyone into the remaining vans to return to town. To be honest, while we saw NO Northern Lights, the evening wasn’t all that bad. Sitting around a campfire on deerskins was quite comfortable (at least for us) and the time passed rather quickly.
And now, let me tell you a quick side story. It became clear during dinner that one young woman did not have adequate footwear for the conditions (she was wearing tennis shoes), particularly if it had been a night good for viewing of the Aurora Borealis when you end up standing on the cold ground for hours on end (it later became clear there were a few others in the group that also had inadequate footwear). Because we had an extra pair of women’s boots with us, our daughter offered them to the young woman who reluctantly accepted. At the end of the tour, she admitted the boots had been very helpful and expressed deep appreciation for our daughter’s kind gesture.
After we got back to the lodge, we learned that our train back to Luleå on Thursday had been replaced with a bus due to expected temperatures well below 0 F, adding about 1 hour to the trip (7 hours instead of 6). Not a big deal, and safer as the train tracks are very remote and can present danger if a train derails or breaks down. We finally retired about 1 a.m. for a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday, January 17
12,743 steps, 5.34 miles, 52 minutes exercising.
Today my day began with a cup of coffee in the restaurant at 7:45 a.m. It was the first morning I got up early enough to catch up on the news and work on the prior day’s blog entry. I was later joined by my wife and daughter so we could enjoy our breakfast together. After relaxing and playing games near the wood stove for a while, we had lunch and decided to go for a walk down to the lake adjacent to the town (Lake Torneträsk). It was very cold again today, so we bundled up and headed out. We walked to town, found the passage under the highway, and followed the train down to the harbor.
There appeared to be many fish houses on shore awaiting their relocation to the lake in mid-February when the ice is thick enough to support them and the vehicles that move them. There were also a number of quaint little cabins along the shore, similar to those we saw on the path down to the lake. After taking a few pictures, we headed back to town to the grocery store to look for moose sausage. We left the grocery store and headed to the nearby Abisko Guesthouse to determine what souvenirs it had available. The Guesthouse is one of approximately 4 lodging options in Abisko: the Abisko Mountain Lodge; abisko.net Hostel and Huskies; the Abisko Guesthouse; and the Abisko Hostel. About one mile to the northwest, the Abisko STF Turistation also provides tourists a broad array of recreational and lodging options. Its location at the edge of the Abisko National Park provides easy access to hiking and walking trails. Each of the options has, of course, its own pros and cons related to amenities, accessibility of activities, and restaurant options.
After buying a small souvenir, we headed back to the AML to warm up before our dinner and last night of our Northern Lights tours. As we sat in the lounge we decided to have a cocktail. While I had previously raised with the staff the idea of having a Manhattan (they had expressed reservations as they had not made one before and lacked a cherry to put in the drink), tonight I convinced them that we could concoct a delicious beverage if we worked together. So, Malin and I pulled together Blanton’s bourbon, sweet vermouth, and lingonberries to blend what we later named the Arctic Manhattan! It was delicious with the lingonberries adding both the fruit component of the cherry and the bitter characteristic of the bitters. Who knows, perhaps it will end up on their menu!
We later met Filipe in the restaurant and sat down for our last dinner at AML. For tonight’s meal, our daughter again chose the Souvas stew, while my wife and I chose the “Norwegian Skrei Cod,” poached cod with brown butter and soy hollandaise sauce, roasted red beetroot, sunchoke crisps, green kale, and chives. The cod was spectacular, with the sauce being a bit sweet, the fish plentiful, and the vegetables were the perfect level of tenderness. After dinner Filipe, my wife, and I headed out for another COLD night of Aurora watching. The temperature was well below zero, so we immediately started a fire. We were joined by a group from Lima, Peru, a nursing student from Zurich, Switzerland, and the owner of Lights of Vikings (a gentleman originally from Turkey). We sat around the fire and, periodically, were able to get up to observe the Northern Lights. The lights, while plainly visible, were not as large or intense as those we’d seen on Monday night. They were, however, beautiful and pleasure to watch as they ebbed and flowed across the dark sky. At about 10:45 the group decided they’d seen enough and broke up to go back to Abisko and Kiruna.
Thursday, January 18
7,051 steps, 3.18 miles, 42 minutes exercising.
Today we had breakfast, repacked all our gear, and checked out of the Abisko Mountain Lodge. Due to a derailment west of Abisko and other decisions by the train company, our train to Luleå has been replaced by a bus. So, shortly after noon we headed down to the bus stop, loaded the beautiful bus and, after a short wait, proceeded eastward to Luleå (a 7 hour journey). The journey was comfortable and went very quickly as we read, took naps, listened to music, and simply enjoyed the scenery. The route was heavily wooded and snow covered the branches of the surrounding conifer trees. The headlights of the bus glistened off the newly falling snow, providing a beautiful setting I shall never forget. In some ways, the bus was, in fact, superior to the train. Concerning Luleå‘s location, its latitude of 65.58 degrees north places it more than 1,400 miles north of St. Paul, Minnesota.
From Wikipedia: “Luleå is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Luleå Municipality (with a total population of about 79,000). Luleå is Sweden’s 25th largest city and Norrbotten County’s largest city. Luleå is considered as the world’s largest brackish water archipelago with 1,312 islands, several rivers and vast forestland. Luleå has the seventh biggest harbour in Sweden for shipping goods. It has a large steel industry and is a centre for extensive research.” More information about Luleå can be found on its tourism site.
Upon arriving in Luleå, we walked several blocks to our hotel, the Elite Stadshotellet Luleå. After getting settled in, we walked a block down the street to a restaurant named “CG”, an abbreviation for Carne Grill. The atmosphere of the restaurant was similar to that of the St. Paul Grill or Kinkaids in that it was warm and inviting, and the service excellent. My wife enjoyed a bowl of lobster soup and a side of potatoes for her meal, our daughter had halibut, and I enjoyed Reindeer steak. To state the main element of the menu item, of course, does not do the meal justice. To fully appreciate it, you must look at how the meal was prepared and its accompaniments (see the menu descriptions here). For dessert, I enjoyed a selection of three cheeses, our daughter had the Crème Brûlée, and my wife enjoyed a sweet delicacy called “french toast” (caramel, ice cream, blueberries atop a small piece of french toast). After dinner we retired to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.
Friday, January 19
13.984 steps, 6.0 miles, 81 minutes exercising.
This morning began with breakfast in the beautiful ballroom of the hotel. The breakfast spread was extensive and kept well stocked by the staff. After breakfast, we spent some time chatting in the room. We then decided to go for a walk on the Luleå Ice Road.
From the Lulea University of Technology: “In wintertime, roads are ploughed through the ice-covered sea, making it possible to travel to the islands by car, snowmobile, skis, skates or on foot. It is certainly a special feeling to travel over the wide open spaces.
Each winter, approximately 25 km of ice roads are ploughed to the Luleå archipelago. It is dependent upon the weather and ice conditions as to how early they are ready.
In central Luleå, from North Harbour to Gråsjälören, there is an ice road that is usually ready between January and February. It is a popular stretch for lunchtime walks and weekend excursions. You can ice skate here, long distance ski, go by kick-sled or walk. Along the ice roads there are also sheltered areas with places to barbecue. Some of the islands have Wintertime facilities that are open during the weekends and offer food and refreshments. One especially popular activity for Luleå’s residents is to drive out to Hindersön for freshly made waffles.” We walked for a couple of miles on the ice and returned to our hotel through old city.
To tide ourselves over until dinner we stopped at a coffee shop called “Friends” and enjoyed a pear and feta cheese pizza and a Semmelkladdkaka (a combination between the traditional Swedish Chocolate Gooey Cake “Kladdkaka” which is famous for its gooey inside and the classic semlor when it comes to the ingredients: mostly almond, cardamom and whipped cream). We returned to our hotel for a brief rest, and then went downstairs to eat at one of the restaurants attached to the hotel. After dinner we returned to our room to play a few games.
Saturday, January 20
10,893 steps, 4.81 miles, 51 minutes exercising.
Today is the last morning of our Lapland journey. We ate breakfast in the hotel dining room, packed and checked out of the hotel. We made our way via taxi to the local airport for our early afternoon flight to Stockholm. The airport had only 5 gates and today facilitated only 6 departing flights. Five were to Stockholm and one was to the Canary Islands! Our flight was uneventful and we landed in Stockholm shortly after 4 p.m. We made our way to our hotel and went to Tweed for a cocktail before dinner. We had visited Tweed on an earlier visit and were excited to return to this exceptionally well-stocked bar. I have never seen so many varieties and selections of quality alcohol in one bar before! We each had a cocktail over the 1.5 hours before dinner. We then walked across Gamla Stan to Tradition Restaurant for dinner. Tradition is one of our favorite Stockholm restaurants as evidenced by the fact that we have eaten there each of our last three visits to the city!
Tonight I ate the mushroom toast (Svamptoast) as an appetizer and had Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs, potato purée, cream sauce, cucumber, lingonberries) for dinner, my wife and our daughter each had Kroppkakor (Swedish potato dumplings, pork, browned butter, lingonberries). We then walked to the metro station to go back to our hotel to retire for the evening.
Sunday, January 21
17,237 steps, 7.48 miles, 103 minutes exercising.
This morning started with the cheese sandwich from the previous day’s flight, a cup of coffee, and some time spent writing this summary. We then headed to the Slussen area to meet our daughter and four of her friends for brunch. We spent several hours chatting about life in Sweden, travel, pets, and just generally getting to know each other. What a wonderful group of people they were. We’re so appreciative that our daughter has made friends such as these! After brunch we went to our daughter’s apartment and then shopping. We returned to her apartment, hung some curtains, and then headed off the Skansen, the “world’s oldest open air museum” according to their website. We have been to Skansen before, but in the summer. For this trip, our purpose was to visit Skansen’s Winter Lights exhibit, described on its website as: “With over a dozen large custom-made light installations, a bespoke soundscape, and a multitude of other lighting effects and decorations throughout the trail, Winter Lights surrounds you in a full sensory experience!” We spent 1 to 1.5 hours walking around the park enjoying the music, lights, and performers. While somewhat expensive for the experience, it was an enjoyable way to spend a winter’s evening.
After we left Skansen we returned to the center of the city in search of a place for dinner. In search of something different tonight, we chose a Lebanese restaurant located near the harbor. This restaurant, the Lebanon Meza Lounge, was new to all of us and was very good. We chose nine different small plates to share, which was the perfect amount of food! To be specific for those among you who love Lebanese food, we ordered Hoummos, Halloumi Salad, Warak Inab, Ardishoki, Calamari, Jebneh Meazi Orikka, Fatajer Sbenigh, Makanek, and Krajdes Moukli.
After the meal, we enjoyed a cup of white tea, headed back to the train station to see our daughter off to her apartment, and then returned to our hotel.
Monday, January 22
14,073 steps, 5.81 miles, 54 minutes exercising.
Today began with a pastry, a cup of coffee, and time spent on this summary. I walked over to the train station to get my breakfast. Today the weather was pretty wet and rainy. As a result, the sidewalks have turned into slushy ice. One of the things we’ve noticed is that the city of Stockholm does not clear the sidewalks. The responsibility, if any exists at all, appears to lie with the property owner. Most sidewalks remain uncleared which makes walking a bit of a challenge at times. As far as today, because of the weather and because we’ve been going pretty hard, it will be a quiet one.
Our daughter arrived at our hotel at approximately 10:15 a.m. When we got going we headed for the train station to go to the Mall of Scandinavia, located north of downtown Stockholm. The mall is a beautiful facility, with winding walkways and attractive stores. We made our way to an Indian restaurant for lunch. The service was fast and the food very good. After that we walked through the mall for awhile until we arrived at the movie theatre. We had decided to watch the movie “Wonka” as our afternoon entertainment since the weather outside was unpleasant. After the movie we continued to walk through the mall for awhile before ultimately catching a train to go back downtown. We again walked around some of the retail shops several blocks from our hotel before going to TAK restaurant for our 6:30 p.m. dinner reservation. On a previous trip to Stockholm we had visited the bar floor of TAK. Tonight, we visited the restaurant portion of the business. The restaurant was very different from the bar. While both are very modern in their finishes and atmosphere, the bar is very loud while the restaurant is very calm. TAK is a TripAdvisor award-winning restaurant, and descibes its food as follows: “Modern Scandinavian dishes influenced by Japanese cooking methods and flavours. Complex creations that are easy to enjoy.”
We began our meal with: Kimchi Josper bread with soy butter; a Spicy tuna handroll with chili, lime, and coriander; and a Crab handroll with pickled celeriac, seaweed tempura, and tarragon dressing. Our entrees consisted of: Celeriac and potato terrine with lingonberry hoisin, hazelnut furikake, and cabbage and pear salad; Kakuni braised pork belly with soy, honey, fermented plum, pickled plum, and garlic kale; and Norwegian Cod with cauliflower purée, hoshi ebi sauce and shrimp crumble. The meals were very good and beautifully presented. In addition, I had a “Caramel and Whiskey” cocktail made with Shinobu 10 year peated whiskey, bourbon, miso-butter, and bitters. The drink had an orange twist on top and was different from any cocktail I had every tasted. It was wonderful! After dinner we accompanied our daughter back to her train and returned to our hotel for the evening.
Tuesday, January 23
14,546 steps, 6.2 miles, 57 minutes exercising.
This morning began with coffee and a banana in the hotel room. We checked in for our flights, backed our bags, and checked out of the hotel. We left our bags with the front desk, grabbed a Semla for breakfast at the Espresso House (kind of like Starbucks in the U.S.), met our daughter, and made our way to the Nordic Museum, located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, near Skansen. According to Wikipedia, the museum is “dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to begin in 1520) to the contemporary period. The museum was founded in the late 19th century by Artur Hazelius, who also founded the open-air museum Skansen. It was, for a long time, part of the museum, until the institutions were made independent of each other in 1963.” A central figure in the museum is the statue of Gustav Vasa (1496-1560). According to the plaque at the museum, the statue (see the photo below) was sculpted of oak by Carl Milles and painted purple and gilt by his wife Olga. The early 16th century was a troubled time in Sweden. The king of Denmark ruled the country and there was much dissatisfaction. A revolt was planned and when the time came Gustav Vasa became one of its leaders. He was elected king of a united Sweden on 6 June 1523.
After spending several hours touring the museum, particularly the Arctic exhibit, we ate lunch in the museum cafe, did some clothes shopping, retrieved our bags, and made our way to the train station. We said goodbye to our daughter, boarded the Arlanda Express, and travelled to the Arlanda Airport Radisson Blu hotel for the night before our early morning flight. We ate dinner at the local bar (a hamburger and veal schnitzel). We then retired for the night in anticipation of our flights home.
Wednesday, January 24
6303 steps, 2.76 miles, 18 minutes exercising.
We awoke early this morning, checked out of the hotel, made our way through security, and waited in the Pearl Lounge (KLM’s lounge). At the appointed time, we went to our gate only to learn that our flight had been delayed due to the winds in Amsterdam. We returned to the lounge to await a later boarding call. In the end, our plane ended up taking off more than two hour after its scheduled departure time, causing us to miss our connecting flight out of Amsterdam. Because we checked in for our flights through KLM as directed by the Delta app, we were unable to make any changes while in the air, and unable to call Delta to figure out when we could get on flights to get us back to Fargo. When we landed, we immediately called Delta and were informed we had been booked on a flight in two hours that would result in our arrival in Fargo only three hours later than our original schedule. Not a bad result given the situation in Amsterdam! Unfortunately, our luggage chose to stay behind in Amsterdam for a few days, and arrived at our home on Friday, January 26th.
In Closing and Some Additional Photos
Our trip was very enjoyable. Having gone to Sweden four times in recent years, we are getting more and more familiar with the culture and Stockholm. We find the people to be very friendly, the food to be delicious, and getting around to be fairly easy! We encourage you to give it a try!
