Yesterday we got to stockholm amd dropped our stuff off at the hotel that we picked because of its immediate proximity to tge train station. We made a short souvenir detour and then headed to the one event we had planned which was a food tour. We'd done one before in Greece and it was a highlight of the trip. Tgis one was run by another Greek, Dmitrius, whos lived in Stockholm a while. We went to a couple foodhallens and he gave us the history of the city and buildings as we went.
First foodhall we had some cheeses including a really interesting one with Cumin. Then we sampled some cured meats: bear, elk heart, and moose. Though Sarah and i werent sure if it was moose heart and elk or vice versa but we disliked the same one. I liked bear, it was honestly like a slightly tougher but surprisingly not gamey piece of beef jerky. Polished off with some 2.2% beer. Like Minnesota they also have "near beer". You need a liquor license to sell drinks that arent that, and also only the State can sell bottles of liquor. So all liquor stores are state run. Had some meatballs and potatoes with lingonberries, for the 3rd dayin a row :) These ones were inferior to previous ones but Sarah like the actual meatball better. Everything else from gravy to potatoes the ones we had before were champ.
Next we headed away to a foodhall right by the concert hall they also award various Nobel Prizes in. In this one we had a really good tomato and white fish soup. Some small samplings of salmon, a type of cake made from one of the cheeses we tried earlier, langostina/crawfish dill on a cracker, and a cooked herring on rye. Then we moved upstairs to the candy store where we were going to try.... more licorice. Went tgrough regular, salted, and smoked which was fish shaped and was both quite salty and smokey. Then he pulled out the dreaded container that Martin had shown us in Denmark. What we now know are called "Swedish Bastards" the super salty licorice wed tried before. We passed this time and to our absolute amazement there was this lady probably in her 60s or 70s who took a bit and was like "hmmmm... " and then went for another bite and ate the whole darn thing and was like "oh thats unusual, I kind of like it". Then we had one after that tasted similar though maybe a bit sweeter it was still rough and same deal she's like "oh i like that one". So there ya have it Americans can like these too apparently. Had some more of the candy coated ones from Denmark that Nana had in their store.
After that was our longest walk. Went past the palace and parliament and into old town. We had Fika which is just a Swedish term/practice of taking a break and having coffee/drink with a snack, usually bread or sweet. Had coffee with a cinnamon roll, which was pretty good. Asked Dimitri some final questions and then split away.
It was an interesting tour group though. There were 4 women there for an annual Autism conference in Stockholm. One of them did genetic research, not sure if she was presenting, but its a multiday event. Another couple seemed like had a lot of travel similarities and talked to them for a bit. All from US except one guy from China who spoke perfect english but we didnt strike up a convo with him or another lady there.
Oue hotel had a great view of the water and city hall which is pretty cool looking. It has a golden top with crowns and statues on it. We were pretty excited that this was the first hotel with a bathtub. Sore feet + hot water was wonderful. We just grabbed a quick dinner at a place across the street set up like anl 50s american diner called Daiseys. Kebab, burgers, fries, etc. I got the grand kebab and sarah got a burger. Interesting thing was they had bernaise sauce in little condiment cups like you'd get ketchup and it was surprisingly good for prepackaged bernaise. Great fry did idk why its not more of a thing. The fries, kebab, and burger were all really good. Sidenote we both really liked Stockholm as a city. Its pretty and also roomy maybe? Seems more spread out, wider streets, not very hectic.
So thats it, other than more mundane trying to get train ticket and make sure we were set for today. Boarding starting soon so one final thank you to all our hosts! Thanks for anyone following the blog! Probably talk to a lot of you soon
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