In Search of the Swedish Chef

This weekend just gone, we went to Stockholm, completing our trifecta of Scandinavian cities. Stockholm probably tops the list though, with Oslo a close second and Copenhagen third. Mark and his friend Liese also joined us for the weekend which was great. It was a little strange not just going into autopilot like we do on weekends now. We’ve got pretty efficient at these things by now.

Our one mission for the weekend was to find the Swedish chef (see picture). The number of “doo-di-doo-di-doo-di”s and “here chicky chicky chicky”s was extraordinary. Unfortunately we just couldn’t spot him.

Friday night we lost an hour flying east so just hung out. Saturday morning we all had brekky late-ish but only had one mission for the day, to go to the Royal Palace. We made it there and Jane and I had a look inside while Mark had a coffee with Liese, who it turns out is one of those annoying Europeans who speaks 22 languages. She’s Dutch, speaks German and English fluently and was teaching Mark French (he’s doing a season in a French ski resort). The Palace was very tasteful, rare for European palaces. After seeing what must be around a dozen now, we’re becoming quite the connoisseurs of royal palaces.

We spent the rest of the day around the old town and eventually even found a place for dinner. On the menu (well technically on the kids menu): Swedish meatballs. The waiter was a little taken aback that we wanted servings from the kids menu but obliged, for the right price of course. Probably the highlight of the trip though was a trip to the ice bar. The whole thing (walls, roof and bar) are made of ice bricks and drinks are served in ice glasses (see pic). It's kept at -5 degrees so you're given the silver capes we're wearing. That's right, we weren't just wearing them as fashion accessories at a downtown bar.

Sunday we spent walking seemingly forever. We went to the Town Hall where the Nobel prizes (except the peace prize) are handed out every year. A very impressive building that the women are taking over: 56 of the 101 town counsellors are women. We then walked and walked and walked to the Vasamuseet. The Vasa was a massive ship built by the Swedes for their armies to fight the Polish in 1628. Unfortunately, their ballast calculations were a little off and the ship tipped, letting water into the cannon bays and the whole thing sank minutes after launching. Most would just pretend it didn't happen but not the Swedes, they lifted this thing of the seabed 330 years later and put it in a museum as a sign of achievement.

So tired and weary we jumped on the plane home. We now have a weekend at home which we are looking forward to big time before heading to Budapest the weekend after. I’m off to the football on Saturday to watch the clash of the titans…Fulham vs Manchester City…ok so not the titans but the only affordable football match available. Most cost around £150-£200 minimum but are sold out months in advance anyway. Then we will head to see the Shaolin Monks on Sunday as I’ve been keen for a few years to see them.

So that’s our last couple of weeks in a couple of nutshells. Hope you’re all well…..