Beautiful Stockholm

My trip to Stockholm continues and although I missed Thanksgiving and family at home, I still managed to have a very nice time.

Yesterday evening, our relatives arrived and we met them for drinks at the Gold Bar at their hotel. It was very top shelf, as a friend of mine would say. You can see from the photo below why it’s called the Gold Bar.

 

The bar manager’s name is Robby and he’s from . . . of all places . . . Queens in NY. I took an instant liking to him. He was just such a nice guy. And good heavens, can he ever make a lovely cocktail.

 

I had read about this place and it was another on the list of my mental to-do’s while in Stockholm: to have a cocktail at the Gold Bar in the Nobis Hotel.

I had a specialty cocktail called the Strawberry Basil Smash - Vodka stirred with fresh strawberries, basil and ecological agave syrup. Delicious. El had a cocktail from their Temperance menu called L’Air de Panache made with ginger, mint and apple.

 

Before we left, we went to the top of the spiral staircase and I took some photos looking down. I edited this one in b&w because I liked how it looked.

 

Later we walked back to my son’s apartment which is just 10 minutes away. Lots to look at along the way with all of the shop windows aglow, holiday lights, and people out and about. The bar manager explained to us that Wednesdays in Sweden are called ‘Little Saturday’. Half the work week is over and apparently it’s cause to celebrate. And when I say celebrate, I mean imbibe. Ha ~

 

Love these pine cone lights.

 

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Today we met at their hotel and walked over to Djurgarden, an island just south of the city, to visit the famous Vasa Museum. This museum is a must-see when you visit Stockholm. It is the only place in the world that has a preserved 17th century ship and all its artifacts. The displays are absolutely fascinating.

The Vasa Museum (Swedish: Vasamuseet) is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. The Vasa Museum opened in 1990 and, according to the official web site, is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. Together with other museums such as Stockholm Maritime Museum, the museum belongs to the Swedish National Maritime Museums (SNMM). ~ Wikipedia

 

 

We roamed around the museum for a couple of hours, marveling at all of it. Highly recommend if you plan to visit this country.

Afterward, we walked to a café spot my son had found on Yelp. Matt is in charge of the restaurant choices and he has been amazing the entire trip. I’ve had sushi, out-of-this world burgers, a fantastic birthday dinner over in Gamla stan, and I could go on and on.

 

It was a lovely walk.

 

We crossed the bridge from the island back into the city.

 

With me stopping to take photos along the way . . .

And after a little while, we found the place we were looking for.

 

I had the best lobster soup I have ever had in my life.

(Sorry, my Maine friends . . . but it’s the truth). Combined with some rustic bread, a small salad as a side dish, and a lovely cappuccino for dessert, it was just perfect.

 

El & Seamus with my son, Matt.

A very good Thanksgiving day for me.

 

On the agenda for tomorrow: a boat tour of the area.

If we can book it and it’s not sold out!