Puppy On The Move!
Mar. 9th, 2014 12:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeMonday was the definitive end of Nordic Fuzzcon, the morning after the night of the Dead Dog Party. We had intended to get out of bed early as we were due to transfer to an Ibis Styles hotel in the centre of Stockholm, but me being incredibly lazy and Wolfie being incredibly ill, we opted for our usual lie-in and didn't get down to the lobby until just gone 11am. In a way, this was a shame as it meant we had less time to sightsee but it did enable us to say our goodbyes to Jari, Pinky and a range of other friends before we left the Quality Hotel Winn Hanninge and boarded the commuter train from Handen station into Stockholm Central.
I must admit that once we arrived in the heart of the city, I misread my map. Thinking our hotel was just up the road, I guided our party (which consisted of Wolfie and Entei-rah as well as myself) out of the station and towards the hotel, which turned out to be a 20 minute uphill walk away, which was quite difficult with six items of luggage including a fursuit. Anyway, we got to look down Vasagatan, one of the main arteries of the city, spying a hotel called Clarion Hotel Sign, which may have been some sort of post-ironic gesture. The weather was pretty decent, albeit cold, but I think tempers started to fray towards the end so I was pretty happy once I saw the hotel loom into view. Later in the day, I realised that there was a Tunnelbanan station (T-bann) just next to the hotel - Odenplan - which was only three stops away from the railway station. This would prove very useful the following day when we were scheduled to fly back home.
The best thing about the hotel was the view overlooking the beautiful Gustav Vasa Kyrka, one of the main churches in the city. The white Italian neo-baroque exterior was certainly impressive, almost glistening in the weak winter sunlight, whilst the interior was rather awe-inspiring although we didn't get much chance to see it as it turned out we were gatecrashing a funeral preparation. We had initially walked in through the back entrance, but upon walking around the building, we tried the front as there was a sign saying that the church was open. However, whenever you see a coffin laid out, it's generally a good sign to leave so we snuck out rather quickly and made our escape. Built in 1906, the highlight is definitely the internal frescos, which we only had a glimpse of, but seeing its splendor immediately outside our hotel window was definitely a rather godly way to start the day, particularly when combined with the opulance of the room which had a large cyramic column, not too dissimilar to that of an ancient Greek temple, stood in the corner for some reason.
Anyway, we were about an hour early to check in, but as the room was ready, they let us in anyway and we freshened up before heading for a wander around Norrmalm, the main shopping and business district of the city. In all honesty, this is not much different to any other shopping district really. There was the obligatory Hard Rock Cafe, fashion stores, fast food restaurants and the like, but we did manage to stumble across a local bakery which served some delightful traditional baked goods - so sweet and sticky yet so delicious. I also bumped into a random crazy Swedish person who kept pestering me for something, but money was not it. He soon left. The Norrmalm region is largely what urban generation does if you go down the route of contemporary tastes rather than traditionalism. Built between 1950 and 1975, the area is littered with skyscrapers and concrete blocks although the facades of the streets are of stone and still retain a uniquely Swedish exterior. However, a lot of it, particularly around Sergels Torg is a testament to the efficacy of concrete, so it's starting to look a little tired really. Plus a mall is really just a mall no matter how much glass or shiny shit you put in it.
The bakery wasn't enough to satiate our appetites as we had skipped breakfast (it was back being served until 10:30am rather than noon for the convention) so after a walk to Sergels Torg from the opposite direction to that of Sunday, we decided to go to Max Burger, a Swedish burger chain very similar to Hesburger of Finland. I don't know what it is about non-American fast food restaurants in foreign countries but I generally feel that the quality is usually superior. This is certainly the case of Hesburger, which is my favourite McDonald's style restuarant in the world, and Max Burger was certainly up there. Founded in Gällivare in 1968, Max Burger is a uniquely Swedish take on fast food, which is actually part of their image. They currently have 85 stores, specifically in eastern Sweden (although they are expanding west). The burgers are succulent and the sauces with which they are served are pink and piquant, with an underlying spiceness that you don't get with fast food back home. We tried the Triple Cheeseburger, which was arguably a little too rich and sloppy, as well as the Cheese and Bacon Burger, which really was everything you would want in a sandwich. The fries were crispy and just the right thickness while everything else was pretty much what you would expect from a fastfood chain. The Swedes being Swedes, there were numerous disposal places though - one for your cup, one for your recycling, another for your trash. We liked Max Burger so much that we actually went to one in Arlanda Airport too.
With tummies filled, we opted to head over to Djurgården, an island to the east of the city which is largely unspoiled nature. It used to be a royal hunting park and is still controlled by the king, hence the presence of sturdy oaks and excellently coiffured greenery. Not understanding the bizarre tram ticketing system - we could have got one from Sergels Torg but there were no machines anywhere - we opted to walk as it was only around half an hour away on foot and it was a nice day. In fact, that tram, route 7N is the only tram left in the city. They were all scrapped in 1967 when Sweden went from driving on the left to the right, and this was reinstated as a heritage line in 1991. Anyway, part of the walk is along Strandvägen (Shore Street), which was completed just in time for Stockholm hosting the World's Fair in 1897. Considered one of the more prestigious parts of the city, the views across Ladugårdslandsviken were quite impressive and the tall buildings are reminisicent of Liverpool and the workings of the docks there. By the water, there were a range of quays where boats were lined up, while halfway along the strip, we were delighted to discover digitised measurements displaying the air quality on that particular day. It was another peculiarly Swedish thing, concern for the environment being very deep in the psyche of the Nordic people, probably due to the dramatic countryside and scenery with which they are endowed. Certainly the road towards Djurgården and Djurgården were both very leafy, almost colonial New Hampshire style really, although the rows of trees down Strandvägen definitely had that deliberately cultivated feel.
As you approach Djurgården, the giant Nordiska Museet imposes itself upon you.This building, constructed in 1907, is a multi-layered brick house now dedicated to life in Sweden throughout the ages, from the 16th century through to the present day. The architecture is something out of Jonathan Creek but this was not where we were headed. Skirting around the premises, we headed to the Vasamuseet, one of the must-see sights in Stockholm and thankfully I got student discount to boot.The Vasamuseet is Stockholm's most visitied and arguably unique museum, dedicated to the giant man-of-war Vasa warship. Commissioned by King Gustavus II Adolphus in January 1625, at a time when Sweden was at the height of its imperial power, it was the most expensive and ornate vessel of the time. Launched on 10 August 1628, it managed to sail all of 1300m before capsizing and sinking just off Beckholmen in the east of the city. The reason it sank was it was too top heavy, with two layers of bronze cannon contributing to its instability. These cannon were salvaged in the late 17th century but the wreck itself then laid forgotten until it was discovered in 1956, 32m below the surface. The salvage operation was complicated but in 1961, it was raised and preserved, with this museum opening in 1990. The ship sits at the heart of this museum and there are seven floors from which you can observe its titanic glory. As it was sunk deep into boggy mud, most of the wood has survived, but some reconstruction has taken place so today it looks exactly like it would have done 400 years ago sans the intricate painting. In 1963, teams of divers discovered a range of artefacts from the wreckage and many of these are on display too, displaying exquisite painting and carving, as well as iconography of the age. Pottery, tankards, coins and clothing were also discovered, many still attached to the skeletons of the 18 people who were found buried within it. Some butter and rum - which is still drinkable - were also found. Alongside the large ship - which is truly awesome to comprehend in terms of size - are exhibitions about the scientific preservation behind it. The ship has been sprayed with a chemical to displace all of the water from it while the crade on which it stands is being redesigned to reduce the strain on the timbers. The video presentations also talk about exactly why the ship sank, while scale painted models allowed you to appreciate what it would have looked like in all its glory. Sadly, we couldn't go into the ship - even though there was strip lighting installed for some reason - but from every angle, from the bottom all the way up to the bird's eye view - the boat was truly awe-inspiring and a testament to the skill of the engineers who constructed it.
So inspired were we with the museum that we ended up staying until closing time, by which point it was starting to get dark. We were lucky though as many museums close on Mondays so the fact the main one of the key ones was open, and in winter too, was very welcome indeed. I had heard that the ABBA Museum, which was just down the road, was open until 8pm so we decided to go and check it out as it would have given us a good two and a half hours to explore. However, it turned out that this was not the case and that it was closing at 6pm, and I felt that the £20 expense could not be justified for a 30 minute stay, no matter how much I love ABBA. I was also conscious that Ent and Wolfie perhaps don't share my passion for ABBA as strongly as I do so I contented myself with looking around the gift shop at the range of merchandise they sold before we headed back over the bridge to the main part of the city. I had intended to come back the next morning, when there was more time, but I gave up on this and decided to do something else instead (which I'll detail towards the end of this entry).
With the (Summer) Night City closing in, we opted to go back across the bridge and back into the heart of the city. One of the things we had hoped to do during our stay was visit the BrewDog bar they have in Stockholm. I know it's a terribly British thing, going to a British bar when you are in a foreign country, but we are shareholders and we do have a desire to visit every BrewDog bar in the world (which has become more difficult recently now that they have opened bars in Sao Paolo and Tokyo). The bar was across the city in the upmarket trendy district of Kungsholmen (King's Island) and, still struggling to fathom how the public transport system worked (coupled with the desire to save money), we opted to walk it, with Wolfie guiding as he was the only one of us who had roaming without having to pay for it. A promised 10 minute walk soon became 45 as we navigated past the central railway station, through some offices and into the heart of an area with a strong cafe and artistic culture. There were quite a few small boutiques and galleries in this area but it's a predominently quiet and residential place which felt even safer than the safe feel of the city. In a way it was like an enclave away from the bustle of the heart of the city, noticeably more relaxing and I quite liked it, although we were getting a little tired and cranky due to all the walking (plus I think I was starting to annoy people with my puppy dog ways). We found the BrewDog bar pretty easily and discovered, unsurprisingly perhaps, that it was no different to a BrewDog bar back home - even most of the signage was in Swedish. Still, the beer was great and the tap in the bathroom was an actual beer tap rather than a standard faucet, plus the sit down did us good so we were quite happy.
In the bar, we discovered that we were a mere ten minutes walk from the hotel, having just done a huge circle, so we walked over Eriksgatan Bridge, which spans a glistening waterway and turned right onto Odenplan, where the T-bana near where our hotel is situated. On the way, we noticed some children playing ice hockey on an artificial ice rink cut into concrete in a local park. This wasn't the sanitised type of ice rink in the UK with walls and guards and all that, this was just a patch of concrete which had been turned into ice and kids were playing ice hockey on it. In a way it was quite refreshing as this was something you simply wouldn't see in Britain.
Like in many foreign countries, finding traditional restaurants is somewhat difficult as when people eat out, they tend to prefer choosing something which they cannot cook at home. This is why sushi restaurants and steakhouses are very popular across the world and Sweden is no exception. Consequently, when trying to find somewhere local, going to a chain may not be a bad idea so having spied a few restaurants called Jensen's Bøfhus littered around the city, we opted to go to the one on Sveavägen, another one of the main streets, for some delicious steaks. Jensen's Bøfhus is a Danish restaurant chain with 43 stories across the Nordic countries. There are eight in Sweden and they do some of the most divine steaks I have ever tasted. Things weren't looking good when we walked in and they gave us a long list of the things they didn't have, but they did have the fillet steaks we had hoped to try so we weren't disappointed. Mine was so rare it was swimming in blood and the whisky sauce and garlic butter I ordered with it were both to die for. There were no chips on offer but we had cut potatoes and these were even better, soaking up the blood perfectly and complementing the succulent steak so well. They even had an ice cream factory here - they were clearly aiming for the same demographic as Pizza Hut - but we were so full after our steaks that we opted to skip dessert.
After eight hours of pretty much continuous walking, we wanted to crash so we headed back to the hotel via a 7-Eleven and spent the rest of the evening eating crisps and drinking beer while watching TV (we had the beer we bought from System Bolaget the previous Thursday to drink anyway). Much of the TV in Sweden is in English, with Swedish subtitles underneath, presumably because this is cheaper than making their own shows and dubbing is also expensive. The shows they seem to get are the same American ones we do, the ones of usually high quality while the UK-based shows they broadcast seem to be more dubious. While I was in Sweden, we saw Emmerdale, Trinny & Suzannah, Dragon's Den and Undercover Boss, the latter two on this Monday night. The Dragon's Den episode featured a jerky salesman who was affiliated with BrewDog, a small world, while Undercover Boss dealt with the boss of Southern Fried Chicken, which until Monday evening I didn't realise was a chain. I also got into US comedy How I Met Your Mother in Sweden too, which was surprisingly good, before tiredness took hold and we all headed to bed.
With our flight leaving late afternoon, we had a little time on Tuesday morning to see some sights so we got out of bed reasonably early (for us - I think it's because we had early bird Ent with us) and enjoyed another delightful continental breakfast, although this one also included scrambled egg which is something I so rarely have that it was an utter delight to sample it here. Soon we were out on the streets and heading to the Stadshuset, again on Kungsholmen, which is the majestic City Hall. Built out of eight million hand-cut bricks, the red building with a green copper roof is beautiful in front of the shimmering waters of Lake Mälaren, upon whose banks it sits. It was inaugurated on 21 June 1923 and is now the place where the banquets after the Nobel Prizes have been handed out take place. The interior is particularly stunning, but we did not have time for the guided tour so unfortunately we only managed to marvel at its exterior beauty (this was frustrating as it turned out later that we could have done the tour - it was only 45 minutes long but I was banking on getting a train from the centre of town to the airport. As it turned out, upon returning to the hotel to pick up our things, which we had left there, the receptionist said a taxi was only marginally more expensive and suggested we did that instead. This gave us an extra 45 minutes in Stockholm so we could have taken the tour). The inner courtyward was quite a tranquil experience, with archways framing the beautiful lake in front of us, but by the time we got down to the stone shoreline, the wind had picked up and it was bitterly cold. Still, it was all rather romantic with gorgeous views over Gamla Stan so we weren't too bothered about the climatic conditions.
With half an hour to kill before we headed back to our hotel, we opted to call in at a branch of Wayne's Coffee, a local (slightly ridiculously named) coffee chain with a font very similar to that of Starbucks, which was situated directly opposite the main railway station. On our way, we saw a rather plush bus heading to IKEA - which was a metaphor for Sweden I thought. At Wayne's Coffee I got a frothy sweet Chai Latte and a Semla, a sweet role made with slightly spiced bread. It contains two halves, with cream in the middle, a little like a clotted cream scone in the UK. These are traditionally eaten on Fettisdagen - Shrove Tuesday - and I felt very lucky that we managed to sample a little slice of Swedish tradition simply because we were fortunate enough to be there on a festive day. Indeed, in this world of globalisation, bakeries are often a good place to go to try traditional produce as these are one of the few places left on the high street which tend to preserve such traditions. Wayne's Coffee itself is a global chain based in Sweden and founded in 1994. It's particularly dominant in the Nordic countries and is very similar to Starbucks really. I like the slight regional variations though and it does seem to serve a little more food, and more traditional food at that, than its American counterpart.
After our coffee, it was time to go back to the hotel so we opted to take the T-bana the three stops from Central Station to Odenplan and our hotel. Oddly, we had to buy a ticket in advance and state the specific train we were going to go on, even though they ran every four minutes. The tickets were also just standard bits of paper so we couldn't use them on the automatic ticket barriers, meaning we had to queue up and show them to an attendent who would have sold us a ticket anyway. Quite odd. Anyway, at least the subway itself was efficient and we managed to find our way back to the hotel easily, at which point the receptionist told us about the taxi and this gave us yet another 45 minutes to kill. Consequently, we opted to walk around the corner to visit the Observatorie Museet which overlooks Norrmalm region of the city. Upon climbing up the steep incline to the top, we discovered that the damn place was closed, but at least we had a charming panoramic view of Stockholm as our final memory before heading back to the hotel, picking up our bags and taking the taxi to the airport, some 45km away. I fell asleep on this journey so I can't really explain much more.
I like Sweden, even though it seems the most British of all of the countries I have ever been to. Swedish is quite similar to English and you can see a lot of both languages reflected in each other. The architecture is also quite similar in both countries I find, while the food is not dissimilar either (apart from a greater love of fish on behalf of the Scandinavians). The Swedes tend to be more laid back and attuned with nature than we are and this was reflected in the convention itself. As for Nordic Fuzzcon, it was a brilliant con, consistently good without ever reaching the highs (or lows for that matter) that some other cons have, and I hope to return again sometime. There's still lots of Stockholm and Sweden to see too, but whether that will be next year, only time will tell.
I must admit that once we arrived in the heart of the city, I misread my map. Thinking our hotel was just up the road, I guided our party (which consisted of Wolfie and Entei-rah as well as myself) out of the station and towards the hotel, which turned out to be a 20 minute uphill walk away, which was quite difficult with six items of luggage including a fursuit. Anyway, we got to look down Vasagatan, one of the main arteries of the city, spying a hotel called Clarion Hotel Sign, which may have been some sort of post-ironic gesture. The weather was pretty decent, albeit cold, but I think tempers started to fray towards the end so I was pretty happy once I saw the hotel loom into view. Later in the day, I realised that there was a Tunnelbanan station (T-bann) just next to the hotel - Odenplan - which was only three stops away from the railway station. This would prove very useful the following day when we were scheduled to fly back home.
The best thing about the hotel was the view overlooking the beautiful Gustav Vasa Kyrka, one of the main churches in the city. The white Italian neo-baroque exterior was certainly impressive, almost glistening in the weak winter sunlight, whilst the interior was rather awe-inspiring although we didn't get much chance to see it as it turned out we were gatecrashing a funeral preparation. We had initially walked in through the back entrance, but upon walking around the building, we tried the front as there was a sign saying that the church was open. However, whenever you see a coffin laid out, it's generally a good sign to leave so we snuck out rather quickly and made our escape. Built in 1906, the highlight is definitely the internal frescos, which we only had a glimpse of, but seeing its splendor immediately outside our hotel window was definitely a rather godly way to start the day, particularly when combined with the opulance of the room which had a large cyramic column, not too dissimilar to that of an ancient Greek temple, stood in the corner for some reason.
Anyway, we were about an hour early to check in, but as the room was ready, they let us in anyway and we freshened up before heading for a wander around Norrmalm, the main shopping and business district of the city. In all honesty, this is not much different to any other shopping district really. There was the obligatory Hard Rock Cafe, fashion stores, fast food restaurants and the like, but we did manage to stumble across a local bakery which served some delightful traditional baked goods - so sweet and sticky yet so delicious. I also bumped into a random crazy Swedish person who kept pestering me for something, but money was not it. He soon left. The Norrmalm region is largely what urban generation does if you go down the route of contemporary tastes rather than traditionalism. Built between 1950 and 1975, the area is littered with skyscrapers and concrete blocks although the facades of the streets are of stone and still retain a uniquely Swedish exterior. However, a lot of it, particularly around Sergels Torg is a testament to the efficacy of concrete, so it's starting to look a little tired really. Plus a mall is really just a mall no matter how much glass or shiny shit you put in it.
The bakery wasn't enough to satiate our appetites as we had skipped breakfast (it was back being served until 10:30am rather than noon for the convention) so after a walk to Sergels Torg from the opposite direction to that of Sunday, we decided to go to Max Burger, a Swedish burger chain very similar to Hesburger of Finland. I don't know what it is about non-American fast food restaurants in foreign countries but I generally feel that the quality is usually superior. This is certainly the case of Hesburger, which is my favourite McDonald's style restuarant in the world, and Max Burger was certainly up there. Founded in Gällivare in 1968, Max Burger is a uniquely Swedish take on fast food, which is actually part of their image. They currently have 85 stores, specifically in eastern Sweden (although they are expanding west). The burgers are succulent and the sauces with which they are served are pink and piquant, with an underlying spiceness that you don't get with fast food back home. We tried the Triple Cheeseburger, which was arguably a little too rich and sloppy, as well as the Cheese and Bacon Burger, which really was everything you would want in a sandwich. The fries were crispy and just the right thickness while everything else was pretty much what you would expect from a fastfood chain. The Swedes being Swedes, there were numerous disposal places though - one for your cup, one for your recycling, another for your trash. We liked Max Burger so much that we actually went to one in Arlanda Airport too.
With tummies filled, we opted to head over to Djurgården, an island to the east of the city which is largely unspoiled nature. It used to be a royal hunting park and is still controlled by the king, hence the presence of sturdy oaks and excellently coiffured greenery. Not understanding the bizarre tram ticketing system - we could have got one from Sergels Torg but there were no machines anywhere - we opted to walk as it was only around half an hour away on foot and it was a nice day. In fact, that tram, route 7N is the only tram left in the city. They were all scrapped in 1967 when Sweden went from driving on the left to the right, and this was reinstated as a heritage line in 1991. Anyway, part of the walk is along Strandvägen (Shore Street), which was completed just in time for Stockholm hosting the World's Fair in 1897. Considered one of the more prestigious parts of the city, the views across Ladugårdslandsviken were quite impressive and the tall buildings are reminisicent of Liverpool and the workings of the docks there. By the water, there were a range of quays where boats were lined up, while halfway along the strip, we were delighted to discover digitised measurements displaying the air quality on that particular day. It was another peculiarly Swedish thing, concern for the environment being very deep in the psyche of the Nordic people, probably due to the dramatic countryside and scenery with which they are endowed. Certainly the road towards Djurgården and Djurgården were both very leafy, almost colonial New Hampshire style really, although the rows of trees down Strandvägen definitely had that deliberately cultivated feel.
As you approach Djurgården, the giant Nordiska Museet imposes itself upon you.This building, constructed in 1907, is a multi-layered brick house now dedicated to life in Sweden throughout the ages, from the 16th century through to the present day. The architecture is something out of Jonathan Creek but this was not where we were headed. Skirting around the premises, we headed to the Vasamuseet, one of the must-see sights in Stockholm and thankfully I got student discount to boot.The Vasamuseet is Stockholm's most visitied and arguably unique museum, dedicated to the giant man-of-war Vasa warship. Commissioned by King Gustavus II Adolphus in January 1625, at a time when Sweden was at the height of its imperial power, it was the most expensive and ornate vessel of the time. Launched on 10 August 1628, it managed to sail all of 1300m before capsizing and sinking just off Beckholmen in the east of the city. The reason it sank was it was too top heavy, with two layers of bronze cannon contributing to its instability. These cannon were salvaged in the late 17th century but the wreck itself then laid forgotten until it was discovered in 1956, 32m below the surface. The salvage operation was complicated but in 1961, it was raised and preserved, with this museum opening in 1990. The ship sits at the heart of this museum and there are seven floors from which you can observe its titanic glory. As it was sunk deep into boggy mud, most of the wood has survived, but some reconstruction has taken place so today it looks exactly like it would have done 400 years ago sans the intricate painting. In 1963, teams of divers discovered a range of artefacts from the wreckage and many of these are on display too, displaying exquisite painting and carving, as well as iconography of the age. Pottery, tankards, coins and clothing were also discovered, many still attached to the skeletons of the 18 people who were found buried within it. Some butter and rum - which is still drinkable - were also found. Alongside the large ship - which is truly awesome to comprehend in terms of size - are exhibitions about the scientific preservation behind it. The ship has been sprayed with a chemical to displace all of the water from it while the crade on which it stands is being redesigned to reduce the strain on the timbers. The video presentations also talk about exactly why the ship sank, while scale painted models allowed you to appreciate what it would have looked like in all its glory. Sadly, we couldn't go into the ship - even though there was strip lighting installed for some reason - but from every angle, from the bottom all the way up to the bird's eye view - the boat was truly awe-inspiring and a testament to the skill of the engineers who constructed it.
So inspired were we with the museum that we ended up staying until closing time, by which point it was starting to get dark. We were lucky though as many museums close on Mondays so the fact the main one of the key ones was open, and in winter too, was very welcome indeed. I had heard that the ABBA Museum, which was just down the road, was open until 8pm so we decided to go and check it out as it would have given us a good two and a half hours to explore. However, it turned out that this was not the case and that it was closing at 6pm, and I felt that the £20 expense could not be justified for a 30 minute stay, no matter how much I love ABBA. I was also conscious that Ent and Wolfie perhaps don't share my passion for ABBA as strongly as I do so I contented myself with looking around the gift shop at the range of merchandise they sold before we headed back over the bridge to the main part of the city. I had intended to come back the next morning, when there was more time, but I gave up on this and decided to do something else instead (which I'll detail towards the end of this entry).
With the (Summer) Night City closing in, we opted to go back across the bridge and back into the heart of the city. One of the things we had hoped to do during our stay was visit the BrewDog bar they have in Stockholm. I know it's a terribly British thing, going to a British bar when you are in a foreign country, but we are shareholders and we do have a desire to visit every BrewDog bar in the world (which has become more difficult recently now that they have opened bars in Sao Paolo and Tokyo). The bar was across the city in the upmarket trendy district of Kungsholmen (King's Island) and, still struggling to fathom how the public transport system worked (coupled with the desire to save money), we opted to walk it, with Wolfie guiding as he was the only one of us who had roaming without having to pay for it. A promised 10 minute walk soon became 45 as we navigated past the central railway station, through some offices and into the heart of an area with a strong cafe and artistic culture. There were quite a few small boutiques and galleries in this area but it's a predominently quiet and residential place which felt even safer than the safe feel of the city. In a way it was like an enclave away from the bustle of the heart of the city, noticeably more relaxing and I quite liked it, although we were getting a little tired and cranky due to all the walking (plus I think I was starting to annoy people with my puppy dog ways). We found the BrewDog bar pretty easily and discovered, unsurprisingly perhaps, that it was no different to a BrewDog bar back home - even most of the signage was in Swedish. Still, the beer was great and the tap in the bathroom was an actual beer tap rather than a standard faucet, plus the sit down did us good so we were quite happy.
In the bar, we discovered that we were a mere ten minutes walk from the hotel, having just done a huge circle, so we walked over Eriksgatan Bridge, which spans a glistening waterway and turned right onto Odenplan, where the T-bana near where our hotel is situated. On the way, we noticed some children playing ice hockey on an artificial ice rink cut into concrete in a local park. This wasn't the sanitised type of ice rink in the UK with walls and guards and all that, this was just a patch of concrete which had been turned into ice and kids were playing ice hockey on it. In a way it was quite refreshing as this was something you simply wouldn't see in Britain.
Like in many foreign countries, finding traditional restaurants is somewhat difficult as when people eat out, they tend to prefer choosing something which they cannot cook at home. This is why sushi restaurants and steakhouses are very popular across the world and Sweden is no exception. Consequently, when trying to find somewhere local, going to a chain may not be a bad idea so having spied a few restaurants called Jensen's Bøfhus littered around the city, we opted to go to the one on Sveavägen, another one of the main streets, for some delicious steaks. Jensen's Bøfhus is a Danish restaurant chain with 43 stories across the Nordic countries. There are eight in Sweden and they do some of the most divine steaks I have ever tasted. Things weren't looking good when we walked in and they gave us a long list of the things they didn't have, but they did have the fillet steaks we had hoped to try so we weren't disappointed. Mine was so rare it was swimming in blood and the whisky sauce and garlic butter I ordered with it were both to die for. There were no chips on offer but we had cut potatoes and these were even better, soaking up the blood perfectly and complementing the succulent steak so well. They even had an ice cream factory here - they were clearly aiming for the same demographic as Pizza Hut - but we were so full after our steaks that we opted to skip dessert.
After eight hours of pretty much continuous walking, we wanted to crash so we headed back to the hotel via a 7-Eleven and spent the rest of the evening eating crisps and drinking beer while watching TV (we had the beer we bought from System Bolaget the previous Thursday to drink anyway). Much of the TV in Sweden is in English, with Swedish subtitles underneath, presumably because this is cheaper than making their own shows and dubbing is also expensive. The shows they seem to get are the same American ones we do, the ones of usually high quality while the UK-based shows they broadcast seem to be more dubious. While I was in Sweden, we saw Emmerdale, Trinny & Suzannah, Dragon's Den and Undercover Boss, the latter two on this Monday night. The Dragon's Den episode featured a jerky salesman who was affiliated with BrewDog, a small world, while Undercover Boss dealt with the boss of Southern Fried Chicken, which until Monday evening I didn't realise was a chain. I also got into US comedy How I Met Your Mother in Sweden too, which was surprisingly good, before tiredness took hold and we all headed to bed.
With our flight leaving late afternoon, we had a little time on Tuesday morning to see some sights so we got out of bed reasonably early (for us - I think it's because we had early bird Ent with us) and enjoyed another delightful continental breakfast, although this one also included scrambled egg which is something I so rarely have that it was an utter delight to sample it here. Soon we were out on the streets and heading to the Stadshuset, again on Kungsholmen, which is the majestic City Hall. Built out of eight million hand-cut bricks, the red building with a green copper roof is beautiful in front of the shimmering waters of Lake Mälaren, upon whose banks it sits. It was inaugurated on 21 June 1923 and is now the place where the banquets after the Nobel Prizes have been handed out take place. The interior is particularly stunning, but we did not have time for the guided tour so unfortunately we only managed to marvel at its exterior beauty (this was frustrating as it turned out later that we could have done the tour - it was only 45 minutes long but I was banking on getting a train from the centre of town to the airport. As it turned out, upon returning to the hotel to pick up our things, which we had left there, the receptionist said a taxi was only marginally more expensive and suggested we did that instead. This gave us an extra 45 minutes in Stockholm so we could have taken the tour). The inner courtyward was quite a tranquil experience, with archways framing the beautiful lake in front of us, but by the time we got down to the stone shoreline, the wind had picked up and it was bitterly cold. Still, it was all rather romantic with gorgeous views over Gamla Stan so we weren't too bothered about the climatic conditions.
With half an hour to kill before we headed back to our hotel, we opted to call in at a branch of Wayne's Coffee, a local (slightly ridiculously named) coffee chain with a font very similar to that of Starbucks, which was situated directly opposite the main railway station. On our way, we saw a rather plush bus heading to IKEA - which was a metaphor for Sweden I thought. At Wayne's Coffee I got a frothy sweet Chai Latte and a Semla, a sweet role made with slightly spiced bread. It contains two halves, with cream in the middle, a little like a clotted cream scone in the UK. These are traditionally eaten on Fettisdagen - Shrove Tuesday - and I felt very lucky that we managed to sample a little slice of Swedish tradition simply because we were fortunate enough to be there on a festive day. Indeed, in this world of globalisation, bakeries are often a good place to go to try traditional produce as these are one of the few places left on the high street which tend to preserve such traditions. Wayne's Coffee itself is a global chain based in Sweden and founded in 1994. It's particularly dominant in the Nordic countries and is very similar to Starbucks really. I like the slight regional variations though and it does seem to serve a little more food, and more traditional food at that, than its American counterpart.
After our coffee, it was time to go back to the hotel so we opted to take the T-bana the three stops from Central Station to Odenplan and our hotel. Oddly, we had to buy a ticket in advance and state the specific train we were going to go on, even though they ran every four minutes. The tickets were also just standard bits of paper so we couldn't use them on the automatic ticket barriers, meaning we had to queue up and show them to an attendent who would have sold us a ticket anyway. Quite odd. Anyway, at least the subway itself was efficient and we managed to find our way back to the hotel easily, at which point the receptionist told us about the taxi and this gave us yet another 45 minutes to kill. Consequently, we opted to walk around the corner to visit the Observatorie Museet which overlooks Norrmalm region of the city. Upon climbing up the steep incline to the top, we discovered that the damn place was closed, but at least we had a charming panoramic view of Stockholm as our final memory before heading back to the hotel, picking up our bags and taking the taxi to the airport, some 45km away. I fell asleep on this journey so I can't really explain much more.
I like Sweden, even though it seems the most British of all of the countries I have ever been to. Swedish is quite similar to English and you can see a lot of both languages reflected in each other. The architecture is also quite similar in both countries I find, while the food is not dissimilar either (apart from a greater love of fish on behalf of the Scandinavians). The Swedes tend to be more laid back and attuned with nature than we are and this was reflected in the convention itself. As for Nordic Fuzzcon, it was a brilliant con, consistently good without ever reaching the highs (or lows for that matter) that some other cons have, and I hope to return again sometime. There's still lots of Stockholm and Sweden to see too, but whether that will be next year, only time will tell.
