arriving in Stockholm

Luck was with me on my connection to Atlanta, luck was with me on my connection to Paris (where I landed at 6 in the morning on Saturday, thus in need of a morning breakfast treat)...

And luck remained with me on my flight to Stockholm (where I came in more or less on time, right around noon). I did have to check my suitcase -- it got too heavy for me to lift into the overhead. Once I decided to go that route, I relaxed in my packing and even threw in my flip flops in addition to the new sandals! The more useful item -- also a last minute decision on this one! -- for Stockholm at least, is an umbrella. The one and a half days I'm here are slated to have periods of rain -- tonight and tomorrow. And I am delighted. Rain means I need not be ambitious in my walks through the city. Rain means that I can take longer to head out in the morning and stay close to my hotel base. Yes, rain is my friend this weekend!

[An insert here about traveling alone as an "older" person: I have stamina. I have strength. I have drive. I have fortitude. What is less on my side is that I am easily distracted and thus forgetful. If I dont make a point of counting what I'm holding onto, chances are I'll put something down and forget about it. Like at the Paris airport, where I will have left my passport in the security screening tray. Or at the diner restaurant, where I will have put down my lens cap and then forgot all about it. Lost forever. I do that at home as well -- forget to take something while stepping out of the house, but of course, that is simply annoying and without much consequence. In travel, and especially after a sleepless night, I have to be more careful!]

In Stockholm, I'm staying at the Villa Dagmar. Finding an interesting hotel, centrally located (for me this means close to the best bakeries and to the market!) was not easy. Dagmar was a good fit. And my room is small but pretty!

Note the flowers. They asked if I wanted some in the room and if so, what kind. I said yes and please make them Swedish, in gentle colors. This is what I found:

Gorgeous!

So now what? It's not raining yet. I throw down my suitcase and head out.

Stockholm, they say, is a walkable city, concentrated in a small area and thus easy to navigate. Still, you have to have a goal, or at least a direction. This is a no brainer: I definitely want to see the older parts of the city (Gamla Stan, on the island). But before I get to that, I pop into the market, which actually has a secret doorway to it, straight out of my hotel.

It's a lovely and somewhat dignified market.

In addition to produce... (chantarelles! colorful tomatoes! strawberries!)...

 

 

... cheeses, fish and three kinds of lobsters...

 

 

 

... you could also buy one of these:

Their open-face sandwiches are so pretty and so tempting, but I resist. I'm focused on the bakeries, where I plan on following a Swedish tradition of stopping for "fika," which is their afternoon cake and coffee pause.

For this I go to Stora Bageriet -- one of the many bakeries with a solid following. There's a line, but not too long. And the pastries? Exactly as I had imagined them to be -- beautiful. My idea of the perfect, absolutely perfect companion to a milky coffee.

Which would you pick?

I walked away with two: the traditional cinnamon one (right, below) and the plum topped pastry (left, below). Superbly delicious, both of them.

I did not come all the way to Stockholm to limit myself to just one! I eat them at one of the numerous outdoor tables where I do some serious people watching.

(twins, dressed in Swedish colors...)

 I like my hotel neighborhood because it is on a street that for a good chunk of the day is totally car free, and the stores aren't for tourists, they're for Swedes. Or at least there are a lot of Stockholm locals. 

 

 

Walk over to Gamla Stan and everything changes: the old town is packed with visitors. I mean, not nearly as bad as some of the major capitals of Europe, but still, there are a lot of souvenir shops and people looking for souvenirs. 

 

 

 

Nonetheless, it's all very colorful. Much more so than I had imagined. And I also had not grasped the significance of the waterways here. I knew Stockholm was on the northern coast of the Baltic Sea, but the city itself is deeply inland -- part of an archipelago of many islands, and so I wasn't thinking I'd be always along a water's edge. And yet...

Stockholm is in fact spread over 14 islands and beyond that, there are thousands more and you can take a ferry ride to admire them. (If you stay on a ferry long enough -- like for about ten hours -- you can wind up in Turku, Finland.) Ferry rides take time and are a passive way of exploring a city you're visiting for only a day and a half, so I wont do any of that, but I do like walking along Stockholm's waterfront. (There is an unexpected cloudburst right as I get to the open waters, and of course I did not bring my umbrella along for the walk! Dumb me. No matter. I wait, it passes.)

 After crossing several bridges, I get to the island with the old town. I head toward its heart, which everyone would agree is at Strotorget Square. [On my walk there, I pass the Royal Palace. Sweden still has royalty -- the current monarch, Carl XVI Gustaf has been at it for quite a while -- since 1973! Talk about holding on to power past your prime!]

 

 

(Buildings along Strotorget Square)

 

I dont think of Stockholm as a real museum city, though they do have a very old ship you can admire at the Vasa (maritime) Museum and high on the list of popular sights is also the ABBA museum. No thanks. I prefer to just walk.

(Off the beaten path...)

((note pointy rooftops!)

Okay, I am officially tired. A brief pause at the hotel. And now it's time for dinner. I had chosen the Hantverket Restaurant for tonight's meal. I really do not remember why. I do these things back at the farmhouse when I have a spare hour -- I go through lists, check websites, and put in a reservation. 

People eat here at an earlier time and this makes me very happy, because I have not slept since my farmhouse night and even that wasn't restful because, as you may recall, I had to pack late into the night and get up early to catch my flight out. So I am tired.

And I want Scandinavian food! I order to fill that need. 

Mackerel, cucumber, potato crutons, yogurt...

 

Followed by rye bread toasts with chantarelles and spiced cheese, and finishing off with  strawberries with mascarpone ice cream and elderberry and strawberry consomme. I think there's a cookie in there as well.

 

The evening didn't quite end there. I'd been people watching and I'd noticed quite a few rainbow themed shirts and such out there. Too, Stockholm is bedecked with rainbow flags. Initially, I thought nothing of it. So the city is supportive of its LGBTQ community. No surprise there. But when I idly googled Gay Pride in Stockholm while waiting for dessert, I found out that actually this was Gay Pride week in Sweden and Stockholm had had a celebratory Gay Pride parade earlier today. Related to that, or maybe not related to it at all, there was a very glitzy drag queen joining some diners at the table behind me and after a while, she got tired of their company and came over to chat me up.

 

There was a lot of discussion of whether I should go out with them to some gay bars after dinner, but I gave a hard no to that. I'm twice their age and I've been traveling and I am dead tired. My late night bar hopping days are over under the best of circumstances. We settled for some photos and then I left.

So ends a very full day! Lovely city, lovely walks, great food, fantastic bakeries, friendly people. And aside from that one downpour, it didn't even rain. Yet. Maybe tomorrow! One can hope!

with love...