Another example of it taking a day to arrive somewhere just a two hour flight away. Not that it matters – we were up and about anyway, had breakfast in the British Airways Lounge at Heathrow and our flight left on time at around 10.30am. Add the hour difference to a two hour flight and we’re into early afternoon, then add another hour or two for collecting luggage and getting ourselves by the Arlanda Express into the city and then to our hotel.
You’ve got to love a city where, on the walls of the baggage reclaim area, a few local inhabitants are introduced, especially when those closest to us included the glamorous CEO of a local company alongside Dag Hammerskjold and Povel Ramel, described as “Word Wizard”.
Except that I misread it first as “World Wizard” and looked a little closer, thinking that he defied the person with a long white beard and flowing robes of my imagination.
Moving right along…
Arriving at our hotel in the late afternoon, we were pleased we’d decided to come back to the waterfront, forgoing a little contemporary styling for the view and the sense of place. When we were greeted with a cheery Hej Hej! followed by the magical phrase “we’ve upgraded you to one of our suites”, then our wise choice was confirmed.
How long do you think before one of us said "I vont to be alone" ?
First impressions were “Ooooh”, followed by a more considered “lots of space but the bathroom’s tiny” and “no desk?”
(ungrateful so and sos aren't we?)
But there is a very comfy looking bed.
A large, round sitting room with rather a lot of “stuff” in it, to reinforce the theme.
And the travelling companions have made themselves at home.
Though they aren't too sure if the lampshades bite! (Neither are we....)
Anyway, having explored what will be our residence for the next 48 hours, we decided to take the air and headed off for a short stroll to get our bearings. Though we’ve been here several times before, it takes a while to rediscover old haunts.
It was a glorious afternoon though the contrast between the bright sunlight and the deep shade was tricky to manage at times.
We couldn’t resist popping into NK, the large department store, where the Dala horses were lined up and looking shiny
Last time we were here, this area of the store was completely covered with Christmas decorations. Now, in the early Summer, there are more traditional offerings. We didn’t really intend to shop right now, so drifted through the store and out into the pedestrianised area on the other side.
We did buy chocolate, though – my hero loves the salt licorice here, and the strawberry chocolate I chose was pretty good too.
Oh, and I might just have stopped in Gudrun Sjoden to see what’s what.
And yes, something might have been purchased, too! (I know, we weren’t really shopping..but when one sees something, one has to take the opportunity, don’t you agree?)
It was gone 5.30pm when we returned to the hotel, a little weary and certainly hungry! What a good job we had a reservation at an old favourite, then.
My starter. Terrine with pickled vegetables. Delish.
My hero had herring, three ways, served with swedish cheese and potatoes.
My main course. Sea bass, smoked and baked. Even more delish!
Raspberry and elderflower mille feuille to round it all off in the sweetest style. How good was that?!
It was still pretty light as we walked back to the hotel around 9pm, with the rotating NK sign standing out on the skyline.
We are so glad to be back in this beautiful city, which is looking at its best in the sunshine!
