To recap: So you've got four days in Stockholm and you want to make the most of it.  Or you're hosting two sets of guests for four days each and you don't want to do the same thing twice.  Here is The EDOW Guide to Stockholm in 4 Days, 2 Ways.

Itinerary 1 can be found here.

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And now, onto the second itinerary!


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ITINERARY 2, DAY 1: THURSDAY

It's funny, I think Winnie and Francis missed each other by about 30 minutes.  Francis and Raymond had an early afternoon arrival and were offered the same snacks chez moi.

Get a bike


Photo by Flickr user Let Ideas Compete, CC Licensed

Welcome to Stockholm!  If I were you, I'd get a City Bikes card right away.  Since you'll be here for four days, I would recommend getting the full season card, which is just 200 SEK (the 3-day card is 125 SEK).  You can go to the Tourist Center in T-Centralen to get a City Bikes card, or go to an SL office at Slussen, Fridhemsplan, or a number of other stations.

The City Bikes system is easy -- you get a card, and you can borrow a bike from any of the many stations around the city.  When you're done riding around, you can leave the bike at any station you can find -- doesn't have to be the station that you borrowed the bike from.  The system is not as big as the Paris bikeshare program, but it's big enough for Stockholm. 

The maximum time you can keep a bike out for is three hours.  The website currently says you can borrow from 6am to 6pm, but actually, they've extended the hours and you can now borrow bikes till 10pm (which means that if you borrow a bike at 10am, you can keep it out until 1am.)

If you keep a bike out for longer than three hours, you get a strike against you.  Two strikes and you won't be allowed to borrow a bike anymore.  If you keep a bike out for more than five hours, you automatically get kicked out of the system.  

All of the bikes have small wheels with a quick-release adjustable height seat, so they work for shorties and tall folk.  We didn't have any trouble getting bikes or finding a free spot to drop them off. Make sure you check your bike before you ride off, though.  While they're supposedly serviced all day long, Francis got one with faulty gears.

Du Gamla, Du Fria

 
This is a good time to walk around Gamla Stan, peeking in at Ye Olde Shoppes and buying reindeer skins if you must.  Gamla Stan means Old Town, and that's pretty much what it is -- all cobblestoned streets, health-inducing hills and sherbet toned buildings.  I don't know, Francis quite liked it, but it doesn't really do much for me.

When you're done, borrow a bike from the Gamla Stan station and ride north along the water, out past the Norstedts building, across the bridge, and up to Vasagatan. This is one of my favorite bike routes in Stockholm, especially at sunset. 

Ride up Vasagatan and follow the bike lane all the way to Torsgatan.  Take Torsgatan to S:t. Eriksgatan and drop your bikes off at the S:t Eriksplan station.  Walk through Vasaparken and down Dalagatan to get to the restaurant for dinner.

Dinner: Melanders Fisk
Melanders Fisk is a good place to start up on the fish and potatoes.  Pictures and my previous write-up about Melanders is here, but I think it's worth mentioning that the gravlax is special -- a coral origami fan of silky, cool fish adorned with a feathery frond of dill is served with a metal dish of hot, cream-enrobed new potatoes.  Divine.  Francis's method was to wrap one of those hot nuggets into a cool lox stole.  The majskyckling, corn-fed chicken, with summer truffled risotto is rich and earthy.  The fish stew I loved the first time wasn't as good the second time.  Go figure.

Melanders Fisk
Dalagatan 9R
T-bana: St. Eriksplan
It's not a super busy place, so I wouldn't say you need a reservation, but you can make one just in case.

After dinner: Music


Photo by Flickr user Bixentro, CC licensed

Okay, so actually, I took Francis and Raymond to Debaser Slussen, but since we already went there on itinerary 1, let's try any number of bars on Söder instead.  Pet Sounds Bar is popular with the indie rock crowd.  The walls are covered in glossy black rectangular subway tiles, giving the place a dark but clean feel.  Pompadoured and star tatted younguns lean their narrow, black jeans-clad hips against the barstools.  The bartenders make really interesting cocktails, including one with apple juice, lemon, and Żubrówka, a grassy Polish vodka.

If you want to stay in one place the whole evening, you can actually eat dinner here instead.  I have only eaten there once, but I remember the food being quite good, especially a gorgeous salad with crunchy pomegranate seeds, pomegranate molasses and chunky lego cubes of walnut-capped blue cheese.



Pet Sounds also has an intimate basement venue where DJs spin when indie rock heroes like Broken Social Scene and Lykke Li aren't playing.  

The whole operation is super sophisticated in a quintessentially Stockholm way.  I mean, imagine getting a composed salad with mixmaster cocktails in a high-design room at the Mercury Lounge.  During the day, check out Pet Sounds's museum of obsolete portable aural devices across the street.

It's also good to check out who's playing at Hornstull Strand, a big venue down by the water.  The young and beautiful cram themselves in wall to wall when international artists like Deerhoof and The Whitest Boy On Earth roll through.

Södra Teatern sometimes hosts interesting local acts.  I saw everyone's favorite Swedish ladies a cappella choir with one of the best band names ever, The Sweptaways.  As an added bonus, it's high on a hill overlooking the best view of the water in the city center.

If indie rock's not your thing, or if you're too old to stand all night with malnourished whippersnappers, look up Cirkus's schedule.  It's a big theater with a restaurant attached sitting in the middle of Djurgården.  There are plenty of seats for your weary gams, and David Byrne and Grace Jones played there this year.  But Chippendales and Cats are also playing there, so take it for what it's worth.

And if you are a REAL party pooper like me, you can just park your ass at home and hunt for Ulla Billquist clips on YouTube all night.
 


Pet Sounds
Skånegatan 80
T-bana: Medborgarplatsen

Hornstull Strand
Hornstull Strand 4
T-bana: Hornstull

Södra Teatern
Mosebacketorg 1-3
T-bana: Slussen

Cirkus
Djurgårdsslätten 4+45
T-bana: Kungsträdgården, but you are better off cycling or taking the bus

 

Getting to and from the airport:

If you're flying from Arlanda, you can take either the Arlanda Express train, which is 250 SEK and takes only 20 minutes to get to T-Centralen, or you can take the Flygbussarna bus, which is 110 SEK and takes 45 minutes and drops off at T-Centralen or a few spots in Stockholm.  I prefer the bus because it picks up and drops off practically in front of my apartment.

You can pay for either with a credit card -- it's cheaper to buy a ticket in the station for the train, and it's easiest to buy a ticket on the bus.  A reminder, the bus does not take cash, so make sure you have a credit card.  If you take the Flybussarna bus on a Saturday, take advantage of the special 2 for 1 price. 

I don't recommend taking a taxi from the airport -- it would cost you approximately 500 SEK, or about $75, and it won't get you into the city any faster. 

If you're flying from one of the smaller RyanAir airports, like Skavsta, your only option is the Flygbussarna or the RyanAir bus, which drop you off at T-Centralen. 


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ITINERARY 1, DAY 4: THURSDAY

If it's a travel day for you, make a little time to get to Cafe Saturnus for a cardamom bun, which I've written about before. Make sure you get the cardamom bun, not the cinnamon bun.  Believe me, you can make a meal (or two) out of one bun.  Avoid the omelettes, which are fried to a greasy crisp.

Cafe Saturnus
Erikbergsgatan 6
T-bana: Östermalmstorg
No reservation required

If you still have a little time, I recommend a nice walk down Birger Jarlsgatan to the water, then over to Skeppsholmen, a quiet little island trimmed with wooden piers and docked sailboats.  Pretend you're at the Pompidou when you walk by the Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely sculpture garden.  Pop into the Moderna Museet, which many Stockholmers say is the best art museum in town.  Tuck into a light lunch of soup or a curry chicken smörgås at the outdoor tables on the pebble patio.

Thanks for coming to Stockholm!  Hope you enjoyed your stay!

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What was that?  You didn't like that?  Looking for something more active, with a little more nightlife?  Let's face it, I'm the wrong gal to take you on a boozy spin through the club scene.  But Itinerary 2 kicks it up a tiny bit, so hang in there.

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ITINERARY 1, DAY 3: WEDNESDAY

Okay, I'm going to cheat here a little, because there was some overlap here.  The only person who'll notice is Winnie.  Anyway, inner monologue, pretend I didn't say anything.

Södermalm

I'm not going to use the H-word, but if you live in the lower east quadrant of Manhattan, or anywhere in the BK, you'll want to hang with your people on Södermalm.  If you didn't blow all your kronor on Norrmalm yesterday, you'll want to save some for the boutiques in the area known as SoFo (South of Folkungagatan, or We-want-to-be-like-New-York-and-who-could-blame-us). 

Nitty Gritty and Grandpa are favorites round these parts, for men and women's dead expensive streetwear, but there are also some great little vintage shops and furniture shops you can salivate in.  Just walk around, get lost and chase your wallet down the street.

The people watching is fab here.  The men have perfected the look that preppy look The Sartorialist loves and that Wburg metros sometimes try at -- the brushed and gelled Cary Grant hair, the popped collars, the little cardi, the aviators, occasionally accessorized with the non-ironic thin mustache.   And the women can be alien gorgeous, all swan neck and flamingo legs in denim and converse with blond bouffants and red lipstick.  

LUNCH: MACKOR
Swedish mackor, or sandwiches, are fantastic.  I love the morning macka of cheese and vegetables on bread, but lunch sandwiches are fantastic, too.  I still don't know what the difference between a smörgås and a macka is.    
 
Try Louie Louie, my friend Klara's favorite cafe in SoFo.  I haven't been, but I trust her.  I'm never down here during the day.  Or, if the weather's nice (that's the Swedish refrain, sing along with me!), walk west along Hornsgatan all the way to Hornstull Strand.  Far, far, west, you'll find Cafe Vurma, an adorbs little cafe with the menu handwritten on the wall, offering sandwiches with cute, hard-to-pronounce names like Rugguggla, Fjant and Snyggve. 

Pick up solid sandwiches like a vegan falafel sandwich on oat bread, excellent frosted chocolate cake, and, of course, coffee.  Take your sandwich to go and sit out in the park by the water.  If you're lucky, Friskis och Svettis (Fresh and Sweaty gym, the NYSC equivalent) will be holding outdoor aerobics classes so you can laugh at the uncoordinated Swedes at no additional cost.  One warning -- if there's a long line at Vurma, it will take you FOREVER to get your sandwich. 

COCKTAIL HOUR: Eriks Gondolen or Debaser Slussen (or both!)

So say it is 5pm and you are tired of all of the stripes and dangling cigarettes and skinny jeans.  Then take the elevator in the big glass office building up to Eriks Gondolen, a skinny little cabin in the sky where you can have well-prepared cocktails and a pretty fantastic view of Stockholm in all its earthy pastels against chalky gray sky glory.  If it's nice out, go all the way up to the top, where you can have your cocktails on the roof; like drinking at the top of the Empire State.


Photo by Winnie Yang

The uniformed bartender makes a well-balanced Pimms Cup, if a little heavy on the garnish (totally okay by me, as I like my cocktails like "fruit salad", as my friend Malin says). 

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold up.

Isn't this already over?

Nej!



We have an eleventh hour entry from Kungsholmens Glassfabrik on Pipersgatan in Kungsholmen.  Located right next to a school, evil bastards.



Exhibit A: Blodgrape Campari (grapefruit Campari) and mynta lime (mint lime).  Manageable sized scoops, dense and firm.  Flecked with pulp, zest and herb.  Smooth, icy, refreshing.  Chase with a shot of rum and stick an umbrella in your mouth.  Nothing funny about that cone, either.  Smells of caramel and vanilla, the way a good våffla should.




Exhibit B: Citronglass and Polkaglass.  Firm, biteable ice cream, stiff enough that it doesn't melt too quickly.  No air bubbles means zaftig dairy body without too much weight.  Citronglass is like milky lemon curd with bits of biscuit in it.  This is not the lemon perfume spritz of Italian crema.  This is sunny tarte au citron.  It's just puckery enough to make your glands pop but not so tart that you can't chase it down with...
...the Polkaglass.  It's ever so slightly pink, like it just overheard a dirty joke.  And it's pepperminty fresh.  Polka is the word for candy cane.  You laugh.  How about a little polkaglass over kladdkaka, Swedish chocolate cake?  Who's laughing now, buddy?



Exhibit C: Small batches in shades of occurs-in-nature pastel.  Enough flavors for you to want at least two, but not so many that they aren't made with intent.



Exhibit D: Swedish kids can enjoy their glass in the company of Chester, the Acne JR. bear.  Matchy matchy.  We get Fudgie the Whale, made of poo and shaving cream.

Cavity caveat: They're a not-insubstantial bike ride away unless you live in Kungsholmen and they close at 4pm on the weekends.  4pm!  Come on, at least pretend you want my money.

Kungsholmens Glassfabrik
Pipersgatan 14
T-bana: Rådhuset
30 SEK for two kula, which is the word for scoop, which is what I am calling my future ice cream shop.

A few general notes on Stockholm life:

• I feel very safe here (knock wood).  Walking around late at night is fine in Stockholm, even under bridges and through tunnels that I would normally avoid in other big cities.
• Walking is the pastime of choice here in Sweden, to be indulged at least once a day, and the after dinner stroll is the best one. There are plenty of excellent walking paths -- just look for all of the walkers.  Those gaggles of gray geese nesting on the grassy banks may be cute, but be careful -- I hear they can be quite aggressive.
• Everyone pays for everything with credit cards.  Though foreign transaction fees can add up, you can rest assured that you can pay for almost anything in any amount with a credit card.  Also, servers have no problem splitting a bill nine ways on nine credit cards. 
  
• Tipping is discouraged by the locals.  Servers are paid good wages, and locals don't want you to ruin the no-tipping thing for them.  10% is very generous on a nice meal, but rounding up to the nearest hundred is sufficient.  Tipping for drinks is unnecessary. UPDATE: My friend Anna, who used to be a waitress, says this is a misconception. You should tip, maybe up to 10%.  Leave a few crowns of change for your drinks.  General consensus still seems to be tip lightly, so follow the lead of the people around you. 
  
• Generally true, but not always true -- expect Stockholmers to want to split the bill exactly as ordered.  So if I had two glasses of wine with dinner but you had one glass, I would be expected to pay more than you.  Makes bill time fair but a buzzkill.
• Lunch is a very social activity.  Nobody eats at their desk.  That means that lunch can be an excellent deal in Stockholm (about 80 SEK or $10) and usually includes bread, salad, coffee and sometimes even cookies.  If you're looking to save cash, eat out for lunch and eat in for dinner.
  

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ITINERARY 1, DAY 2: TUESDAY

Shopping!

If you are shopping for Scandinavian design, there are plenty of places to burn through your money.  July and February are GREAT times for sales in Stockholm -- much merchandise goes 30, 50 and 70% off.  Those sales make high end design actually affordable.

For clothing, I like PUB, a small but well-selected department store in Hötorget.  It is a bit like Barney's Co-op, but with housewares as well.  The top floor features lots of young Scandinavian designers, including Carin Wester, Ann-Sofie Back, Camilla Norrback, 2707, and my absolute favorite, Designers Remix by Danish designer Charlotte Eskildsen.  The first floor also has lots of Scandinavian faves like Acne, Rodebjer, Whyred, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Mads Nørgaard and Nudie.

Weekday is the spot for Cheap Monday jeans, the unbelievable painted on denim skins favored by fat free Swedish youth.  I can't rock them, but maybe you can.  Winnie bought a great ready-to-wear Carin Wester dress from the Weekday on Götgatan in Södermalm, which has a broader selection than the Weekday on Drottninggatan and Kungsgatan. 

NK is the Barney's of Stockholm.  I like the Scandinavian corner, with lots of offerings from Malene Birger, Dagmar, Rodebjer, Hope, Acne, etc.  The bottom floor also has a great kitchenware shop and a food hall. 

Filippa K (pronounced Filippa Ko) has boutiques near NK and on Götgatan.  Her clothes tend to look terrible on me, but I like her cool temp color palette. 

I am a fan of Acne's ugly beautiful clothes, so I would recommend seeing the flagship store on Hamngatan in Norrmalmstorg, right by the Filippa K.  I have to admit, though, that I bought a dress from them and I've been too chicken to wear it.  You really have to own it to make it work.  The store has a chic dressing room that used to be a vault.  You will probably also get to see this guy working there.  (For cheaper, previous season stuff, try Acne Archive on Torsgatan.)  

While in Norrmalmstorg, you can also visit the nearby Marimekko shop for the Finnish label's high quality home textiles as well as clothing, accessories, and more.

Speaking of Finnish design, Winnie went to town on a sale at Ittala boutique on Götgatan, the Finnish glass and ceramic designer whose beautiful and very usable pieces everyone has here.   

Stockholm turned me into a label whore!  If you see me wearing weird Swedish duds, though, rest assured I bought them 50% off or more.  (Except for the one Acne dress I'm still not entirely sure about.  But one day, someone will invite me to the right party for it.)

LUNCH: Vete-katten

I am not sure what Winnie did for lunch on this day, but I would recommend Vete-katten.  They have a labyrinthine and quaint kafferum, or coffee room, which is tricked out to look like grandma's parlor.  Try classic Swedish smörgåsar (sandwiches) on house baked bread or baked potatoes with skagen, the shrimp dill mayo salad.  (Sounds a little strange, but trust me, totally delicious.)  What you really want to save room for, though, is coffee and dessert. 


Photo by Winnie Yang

My favorite choklad biskvie in Stockholm can be found here -- an almond paste macaroon is topped with a mound of chocolate buttercream and dipped in semi-sweet chocolate to form a little coolie hat you crack with your teeth. 

If you are lucky enough to be in Stockholm around Fat Tuesday, you must get the semla, a cardamom yeast roll filled with almond paste and chantilly cream.

Vete-katten
Kungsgatan 55
T-bana Hötorget

DINNER: Kvarnen
Kvarnen is one of those classic old Stockholm pubs from back in Södermalm's days as a working class hood.  It's a popular spot for Hammarby football supporters, so don't go in wearing somebody else's scarf unless you want to get your ass kicked.  Otherwise, don't be intimidated -- it's more Sherlock Holmes than Cheers.  The gorgeous, high-ceilinged room has black and white hexagonal floor tiles, funny sculptures mounted on the walls, old wood booths, and lots of stained glass.  


Photo by Winnie Yang

At some point during my stay, I turned from herring-hater into herring-lover.  Which is good because Swedes can really knock the herring back, at least during the holidays.  The smör och sill sampler at Kvarnen is excellent, four types, served with boiled fresh potatoes, knäckebröd (hardtack? rykrisp? hard bread?) and Västerbotten cheese.  Their matjessill, which you have to order separate from the sampler, was the best I have had so far, sweet and salty spice-cured herring served with minced red onion, chives, sliced hard-boiled egg and potatoes in a pool of brown butter. Such sexy texture.  Don't forget to get an ice cold snaps with your herring -- I like Hallands Fläder, but you can go for the classic O.P. or Skåne.

Husmanskost, or classic Swedish comfort food, really sticks to your bones.  I like to imagine old school Swedes eating a huge meal like this with pitchers of ale, passing out at the end of the day, and waking up in the morning to chop down trees in the snow.  As long as you have a hearty appetite, you'll appreciate the cream gravy moistened älg Wallenbergare (elk burger), served with sugar snap peas and mashed potatoes.  The stekt strömming (fried herring) was beautiful, strewn with diced beets and capers. 


Photo by Winnie Yang

Pytt i panna is my favorite kind of dish -- it's like an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink hash, topped with a fried egg, which you spoon up with slices of cooked beets.  It's the kind of dish you only want to eat at a place you trust not to throw past-due horse meat in.  Unless past-due horse meat is your thing. 

Warning: if you show up early for dinner, pace yourself -- hefeweizen comes in a glass you could give birth in.  In fact, if you can really run yourself ragged during the day, you'll feel a lot better sitting down to a meal this heavy.

Kvarnen
Tjärhovsgatan 4
T-bana: Medborgarplatsen
Reservations not required in the summer, but call to make sure

After dinner, take a long, digestive walk back to wherever you're staying, preferably over some hills or along some water. 

So you've got four days in Stockholm and you want to make the most of it.  Or you're hosting two sets of guests for four days each and you don't want to do the same thing twice.  Here is The EDOW Guide to Stockholm in 4 Days, 2 Ways.  I'm guilty of being an over-planner, but I like filling my time and I assume other people do, too.

Here is a map that I will be adding to as I write the content.  (I am so good at this travel guide shit, somebody should pay me to do it.  Toot toot.)


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Neighborhood stereotyping:
Stockholm is an archipelago made of lots of little islands that trickle out east into the sea for hours.  There are five main islands in the inner city.  Clockwise from the top, it goes Norrmalm, Djurgården, Södermalm and Kungsholmen, with Gamla Stan as the little eyeball in the middle. 

Norrmalm consists of, from left to right, Vasastan, the city center, and Östermalm. Vasastan is like Park Slope -- young families, quiet, lots of good restaurants.  The city center, near T-Centralen, is Midtowny, with Drottninggatan, a main shopping drag, the biggest department stores, and lots of office buildings.  Östermalm is the upper east side and Soho, swanky, boutiquey and expensive for the most part.

Djurgården is the former hunting grounds of the royal family.  It is a gigantic, gorgeous park with marinas, tons of excellent cafes, a huge amusement park and a funny little Ren-Fair-like village called Skansen.  This island is one of my favorite spots in the whole city.

Södermalm is the East Village, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. If you seek hipsters, you will find them here.  There are lots of great restaurants, bars and music venues here, of course. You get the best panoramic view of the city from the hills on the northern part of the island.  This part of the city has working class roots, so there are lots of classic pubs for the people.

Kungsholmen is where City Hall sits.  I don't actually know that much about Kungsholmen.  It's a pretty place to cycle around, and I've been to a couple of good restaurants there, but it's a bit more quiet and residential.  I do my grocery shopping there because they've got Fridhemsplan, a magic little corner with a bunch of grocery stores.  Not that interesting for visitors (unless you are Winnie Yang), but good to know if you are moving here.  

Gamla Stan is the tourist vortex.  It's pretty, and my guests thought it was interesting. I've only walked through once, and can't say it did anything for me. I generally ride around it on my way to Söder.

General tips for visitors:
 

• Stockholm is a reservations kind of town.  Book your tables in advance. 
  
• Everyone speaks English here.  In fact, everyone speaks vernacular-perfect American-English.  So don't be shy about calling and just launching into English.
• Hope you like fish and potatoes.  The Swedes do.  And so do I.
  
• The city shuts down in July, so if you're here in July, you may find a lot of places closed.  Not all, but a lot.  The restaurants listed here are all open, though. 
  
• Taxis are stupid expensive.  Still, don't bother with the long term train card.  You can pretty much walk to get everywhere.  Even better is the incredible City Bikes system.  The city is wonderful at bike speed, with lots of bike lanes and a good number of city bike stations.  At 200 SEK for the entire season, it can't be beat.  Especially since the advertising that paid for the bike system is completely lost on you.
• Eating out is expensive here. If you are on a budget, do as the locals do and eat picnics in the many parks.  But remember that you can't get cold bevs at the Systembolaget.  Folköl, beer that is up to 3.5% alcohol, is available at grocery stores all the time, though.
  
• It may rain.  Check smhi.se for fairly accurate local weather.  Bring a raincoat.  But don't be deterred by the rain, either.  It tends not to pour.  Just be a viking and get out there and do what you would normally do.
• That said, try to come for the summer.  Summer is pretty spectacular here.  Why see the city when it's less than its best?
  

ITINERARY 1: Made for Winnie, who came from Monday afternoon to Thursday morning.  Winnie just got back from El Bulli and was looking for a taste of life in Stockholm, but nothing too fancy since she'd just blown a wad of cash in Spain.  She was also pretty beat from running around San Sebastian and had some work to do, so we kept it pretty light.  Since it was a weekday trip, I also couldn't indulge in late night partying.  Winnie doesn't cycle, so we didn't have any bike trips.  Not that grandma would have, anyway.

ITINERARY 2: Made for Francis and Raymond, who came from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning.  The two of them were up for anything, and were really pliable to whatever I suggested.  Since they were here over the weekend, we had a few late nights (at least, late for me) and I was able to do more tour guiding.  They had just come from Berlin and were keen on bicycling, so we got to see a lot more of the city.  Francis was also willing to do a fancy hit with me, so this itinerary offers one upscale restaurant visit.

ITINERARY 1, DAY 1: MONDAY


photo by Winnie

Settle in and have a snack.  Winnie had an afternoon arrival.  If I'm not going to be home to greet guests, I like to make sure there's a nice variety of snacks available for them when they first arrive.  They should at least be able to have a bowl of cereal.  I'm always ravenous when I get off a plane.

After a snack, walk around the city. If you're in Vasastan, check out the brief but lively Rörstrandsgatan for good shopping, cafes and eateries.  Or if you are in Söder, walk up Götgatan and South of Folkungagatan (SoFo). 

Dinner: Tranan
This cozy Vasastan bistro is everyone's favorite place to eat in Stockholm.  Golden candlelight bounces off of mural-painted walls and red and white checked tablecloths.  The noise level is  pleasant -- no disco woofers and just enough room sound that you can hear the Skål! at the table next to yours but not the details of the conversation.  The menu offers a good variety of updated Swedish classics.  When the bread basket comes around, make sure to get a few pieces of the amazing black bread.  It's sweet and almost chocolate cake-y, shot through with spices and hazelnuts and all manner of delicious things.  I have no problem with slathering butter all over a piece of chocolate cake-like bread.


photo by Winnie

Try sikrom toast, pictured above -- a chicken egg-sized scoop of yellow whitefish roe is served with butter-fried toast points, red onion, chives, sour cream and lemon.  I could make a meal of it.  Yumz.  Meatballs, served with the classic accompaniments of rårörda lingon (sugared lingonberries), pressgurka (sweet pickled pressed cucumbers) and mashed potatoes, are some of the best in the city.  They aren't always on the menu, but they're always available.  And the stekt strömming is a classic example of breaded, fried herring, highlighting its fresh sweetness.  But skip the tomato salad -- I have yet to have a properly sun-ripened tomato here.  I know it is a little early, but we were able to have some in Italy in May that were divine.

If you are here in a month other than July, you can also try Bar Tranan, attached to the restaurant.  Hand-written chalkboard menus offer lovely girly cocktails like champagne with elderflower syrup.  The dark wood and candlelight create a convincing pub-cave effect.  The electronica DJ can be a bit assertive with the volume, but you shouldn't come to this bar to have an intimate chat.  Grab a booth against a wall and watch the young Vasastan peacocks and mantises check each other out.

Tranan
Karlbergsvägen 14, Odenplan
T-bana: Odenplan
08-52728100
You can also book tables through their Web site

(OMG, writing up this whole itinerary is going to take me forever.  I have already missed an two hours of sunshine today and I only got through one day.  Gah!  Bear with me!)

Is it unethical to talk about my internet dates?  I hope you don't think so, cuz I'm about to do just that.

Internet dating in a foreign language can be a liberating exercise.  Because I don't have a very strong grasp of the language, I can't really understand what the profiles say.  Any prejudices I might have against bad grammar, misspellings or local pop culture are null and void.  All I can do is look at the pictures and wink at any that appeal.  I'm too lazy to even do the conversion to figure out a guy's height.  It's great!

But if I want to discern a tiny bit about someone, I can put their profile through Google translate.  You have to light incense and cross your eyes a little to divine the meaning.  But really, how different is that from monolingual internet dating?  Here's a sample:

From a 37-year-old man, wearing Santa suit in one picture, Obama t-shirt in another:
"A dream job for maximum intellectual stimulation, very craft with hands when I run the experiment, daily exchanges with the rest of the world, and the chance that someday, if all the flaps, to make some kind of benefit."

From a 30-year-old man, dark, jaunty hair, skinny tie:
"I like to fjällvandra and sport fish, preferably with a flugfiskespö deep in the woods in a quiet stream or in the evening at a mirror blank lake."

From a 34-year-old blond haired, blue-eyed pair of dimples:
"Is confused sometimes, obviously, in a charming way, to the next moment have total focus. Ofatst I leave the job when I go home, but have an understanding of the opposite." 



I did go out on one date with a totally hunky, meaty-shouldered six+ footer, but I never wrote back because I don't think he was attracted to me.  I know I'm not supposed to say shit like that, but whatever. 

Date started at the beautiful and romantic Blå Porten.  Situated on Djurgården near Gröna Lund, it's an excellent place to meet up for pastries or coffee before cycling through the park.  I don't love it as fervently as I love Rosendals Trädgård, but the sweets selection looks divine. 

The archway entrance opens into a white stucco and flagstone courtyard filled with wrought iron tables and chairs.  A fountain bubbles merrily in the middle, embraced by exuberant flowering bushes and roses.  The seagulls shriek and soar overhead, cutting through the cafe's busy din.

I think the date was over during this exchange:

HUNK: So where do you like to go out?

ME: [cackling] Oh, I don't go out.

HUNK: You don't go out?!

ME: No.

[Silence.]

ME: I like to ride my bicycle.

[Silence.]

ME: Do you want another drink?

HUNK: Maybe we should just go ride around now.

He was a good sport and took me on a totally excellent tour through Djurgården, as promised in our email exchange.  And it would have been totally romantic if I were a tall, tan Brazilian with more pedestrian taste in Stockholm nightclubs.

Any hopes that I would be less remedial at dating in Sweden than I am in the States have been dashed.  Anyone have any advice on how to unstick my chicken ass from the wall?  I am all ears.

Everybody in my office is on vacation.  Sweden shuts down in July, and of the 70 people usually in my office, we're down to about 10.  I think I'm the only person in Sweden not taking any vacation in July.

Today the sky matches the shirt I'm wearing, my new favorite.  It's a light blue cotton gauzy thing that looks good no matter how many cinnamon buns I have eaten.  It's especially nice to wear when I ride my bicycle out because the wind rips right through it and it feels like I'm riding around in my underwear.  My new rule is to not buy any more black clothing.  Yes, I am totally turning into an Eileen Fisher crone.
 

As you can see, I'm also pretty tan.  I think because we actually go outside for lunch everyday and soak up a little bit of sunshine each day.  I'll admit, I am not looking forward to eating lunch over my computer when I get back.  My SPF 15 face cream probably isn't cutting it, but when in Sweden...

I have been having trouble writing my blog, I think because I feel time winding down quickly and I don't want to spend it chained to the laptop.  There's a Swedish phrase, tidens tand, which means the teeth of time.  It's usually used in reference to a thing or person being ravaged by time, but I also like the idea of time eating, eating, eating life away.  And it is eating my special little experience up.

It's been fully five months, and now I have about six weeks left before I come home.  Of course I'm starting to freak out that I haven't done enough.  But Finland!  Norway!  And I never went back to Paris!  North of Sweden!  Aurora Borealis!  Sauna and frozen lake!  GAH!

I'm really excited to be back in Brooklyn and to see all of my beloved friends, but I have to admit that I'm a little worried about returning to New York.  Is it going to be too stressful?  Am I going to have a hard time adjusting?  Am I going to wish I did more while I was here?  Is everyone going to think I've gotten fat?

My appreciation for Sweden goes in and out, though.  When the weather is nice here, like it is today, I feel like there's nowhere else I would rather be in the world.  I fall in love with the flowers and the bike lanes and the life-first work ethic and the leggy blondes.

And when the weather sucks, which is not uncommon, I feel like, what was wrong with me, why do I think I like it here so much?  I only get the jokes about 50% of the time. Where are the colored people?  Why does everyone wear the same clothes?* 

And the things I've missed back home!  Michael Jackson!  Goldman is turning a big profit now?!  I haven't been to Governor's Island or the High Line.  I missed going to the Hudson house this year.  I don't even want to think about the catch-up I'm going to have to play when I get back to my regular job. 

Some days, I feel like I'm having Stockholm Syndrome with Stockholm.  I've fallen in love with my captor.  And then some days, the love feels very real, and I know I'll dream of my summer here.  This experience has been so very different from my year abroad in London.  I'm pretty sure I was uniformly miserable there.  I've had heartbursts of brilliant joy mixed with hard, tumbled stones of loneliness.  But mostly, life has been sweet, a little bland and sparkling, like the homemade elderflower champagne I had at a picnic the other day.

There's much to look forward to in the fall.  We have a subscription to the Met again and I can't wait for opera season to start.  I'm going to eat an entire jar of kimchi and tofu stew and ramen and congee and let someone else do the dishes.  And I'm going to do my laundry for six hours straight at whatever time suits me best.

I'm going on vacation in a few weeks to Gotland.  By myself!  I'm really going to be The Solitary Cyclist.  My plan is to cruise around the upper coast of Gotland before taking a bus to south Gotland to hang with the Swedish P.Diddy equivalents.  I plan to read and hand-write and unplug as much as I can.  Halla!**     

*Not joking, not a day goes by that I don't see at least one woman or man wearing this shirt.  Often, you'll see whole groups of women wearing it, hugging each other, becoming a wavy amoeba of nautical stripes.

**A Swedish joke.  Get it?  Yeah, give it five months.

 

Name: Björn Jeffery

Occupation: CEO & Internet Strategist of Good Old

Neighborhood: Johanneshov, Stockholm
 
Relationship status: Living with my girlfriend

What did you eat today?

I just ate a veggie bagel for breakfast. But yesterday I had so good food that it inspired me to answer this thing - finally. I had an amazing deep fried salmon roll with Chinese mustard (red hot), followed by some amazing noodles with flat iron angus steak on top. Fab!

What do you never eat?

Things in shells, if I can avoid them. Not at all fond of crabs, crayfish, mussels and that stuff. I think the shell is there for a reason - someone's telling us to leave them alone.   

Complete this sentence:  In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Mustard - the ultimate condiment that you can have on absolutely anything - including a cheese sandwich.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

An old school pot for making stews and casseroles. Throw something in there, leave it for a few hours, and somehow it always tastes good.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

The local thai place. Surprisingly good for being a local actually. Apart from that, I like Jacobs on Riddargatan that does both Danish smørrebrød and French main courses. Clearly underrated place.

World ends tomorrow.  What would you like for your last meal?

Something Asian - probably something fairly simple like proper Kung Pao Chicken with those amazing garlic stirred beans that they have there (in China that is - I've never found them anywhere else). No point making things more complicated than they have to be if you're going to pop your clogs in an hour or two anyway.

And now, a special non-Stockholm, non-New York YAWYE!

Name:  Molly Wizenberg

Occupation:  food writer, sometime photographer, and co-owner of a soon-to-be restaurant

Neighborhood:  Ballard, Seattle

Relationship status:  married

What did you eat today? 

As of right now (2:30 pm): homemade granola with milk, banana bread with cinnamon sugar, blueberries, rigatoni with sweet onions and leeks and chives and ricotta salata, more banana bread, more blueberries.

What do you never eat? 

I have textural issues with raw oysters.  And brain.  I think brain is my final frontier, food-wise.  [

Complete this sentence:  In my refrigerator, you can always find:

eggs, extra sharp cheddar, milk, hot sauces, jam, peanut butter, Roland Dijon mustard, unsalted butter, and Polaroid film.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I love my kitchen towels. They're all very soft and well worn, and many of them have stripes.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Lately, a taqueria called Malena's.  It's in our neighborhood, and it's not really all that great, to be perfectly honest, but their guacamole is solid.  So we get guacamole, rice, pinto beans, and a few corn tortillas, along with salsa and chips.  It's cheap and quick and always hits the spot.

World ends tomorrow.  What would you like for your last meal?

I'm terrible at this kind of stuff.  But I think I would choose a cheese pie at Di Fara and a beer.  And then a scoop of Graeter's black raspberry chip ice cream, on a cone.

I had a blast with Molly in Rome last month.  She's a lady.  I'm such a fan.  If you were in Rome on the same day that we were, you might have seen Molly looking totes cycle chic in sweet black ankle strap flats, jeans, a wavy auburn ponytail and Audrey Hepburn specs.  I was the greasemonkey riding next to her, sweating through some Old Navy cankle khakis and a saggy green wifebeater.  You can follow Molly's adventures at orangette.blogspot.com.