I arrived in Stockholm on Monday by train and took a taxi to my Air B&B. It is an apartment not too far from central Stockholm, a very nice room and a very nice hostess, Irene. She has a dog named Teddy and I think you can guess why? And he is as lovable as a teddy bear.
On Tuesday, I bought a 7 day, Senior discounted😵, train ticket so I can travel all week by train anywhere I want to go! I took the train to Östermalmstorg where I met the tour guide for the Stockholm Food Tour that I had booked a couple of weeks ago. My daughter Lauren, is a food tour guide in West Palm Beach, FL and encouraged me to do this! I had never heard of such a thing until she did it. I'm so glad I did. Not only did we sample a variety of foods in different venues, the guide showed us so many places in the city that were interesting and gave us the history of each place. We started with 3 kinds of Swedish cheese and two breads, topped with cloudberry jam at a cheese shop in a food market. We proceeded to a meat deli named Hausman's Deli, which literally means man's house and delicious things to eat! There we were offered, smoked moose, smoked reindeer and reindeer heart....yes, reindeer heart 😍. I didn't want to be that person that said I won't eat that, so I did.... gulp....It wasn't bad at all, but I couldn't do it again. The smoked moose was very dry and the smoked reindeer was pretty good. We chased it with a 3.5 Swedish beer. It didn't take away the image of Rudolph's heart😔 We went to so many different places and tried turkey-based foods, lots of fish, candy, chocolates and coffees. It was a fun day with some fellow Americans on the tour. Afterwards, I walked around for a couple of hours and took the train back to my B&B.
Starting at 1 o'clock: smoked reindeer, reindeer heart and smoked moose
My favorite
After the boat trip, I did my souvenir hunt for my family and wandered around Gamla Stan, Old Town, until dinner.
I booked a reservation at a Viking restaurant named, Aifur Krog. It was recommended to me by two young men on our Stockholm Food Tour. It was great! I was seated with a man and his daughter from southern Sweden. The little girl had been visiting her grandparents near Stockholm and he was here to pick her up.
The seats have faux fur pelts on them
This is an elevated private table that you have to climb a ladder to reach!
An old wooden boat suspended over my head
Not a very good picture, but I had venison tenderloin with creamy mushroom sauce, hash browns on root vegetables and lingonberry. I was told that you say lingonberry or lingon, not lingonberries.
A Viking dinner would not be complete without Swedish Mead. I had Mazurskie. I always thought mead was a type of beer, but it is not like beer at all. It is a fermentation of honey and water. There are different kinds depending on what you add, such as apple, herbs, spices, etc., and from different countries. The Mazurskie was described on the menu as "a sweet and tasteful mead that tastes exactly how a mead is supposed to".
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On Thursday, I decided to sleep in and then take the train to Gamla Stan to see the Royal Palace. Sweden is a hereditary monarchy and has been since the 16th century. It is a representative democracy in a parliamentary system. The Monarch and members of the Royal Family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and representational duties within Sweden and abroad. Carl XVI Gustaf became King on 15 September 1973 when his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolph died. The Royal Palace, or Stockholm Palace, is the official residence of the King. It is mostly for offices and State occasions by the King. They officially live in Drottningholm Palace on the island of Djurgarden.
A new law passed in 1980 established absolute primogeniture which means that the eldest child, regardless of sex, is the heir apparent. Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife Sylvia, have 3 children: the oldest is Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Madeleine. Crown Princess Victoria married her personal trainer (a commoner!) and they have two children. Prince Carl Phillip is married and Princess Madeleine is married and has two children. Here is a Wikipedia picture of the palace and the family.
Queen Sylvia(Brazilian and German) and King Carl XVI Gustaf
Mr. Chris O'Neill, Princess Madeleine holding Princess Leonore, Prince Daniel, Crown Princess Victoria holding Princess Estelle, Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Sofia. The daughters, Victoria and Madeleine have had sons since this picture was taken, Princes Oscar and Nicholas
I got to the palace in time to see the changing of the guard. It was led by a Royal Band and many Royal Guards...here are some pictures:
The front of the Palace
The view from the Palace gates
The Palace gates
The outdoor courtyard where the changing of the guard took place
Led by the Royal Band
They played a small concert
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On Friday, I went to Gamla Stan to get the last of my souvenirs! I packed and took the train to Arlanda Airport where I am staying the night and leaving on Saturday for Washington Dulles Airport! This has been an amazing trip. I've had a great time and learned a lot about Sweden and met some wonderful people. Thanks for reading my blog!!!
Our tour guide Soma
Turkey meatballs with gravy, potatoes and lingonberry
Assortment of turkey products, salami, etc.
Entering a food court
Smoked salmon, pickled herring and shrimp salad
Confections
Fresh market
Candy Store
Our group at the end!
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On Wednesday, I took the Archipelago tour that I was supposed to take when I first got to Stockholm, but missed the boat.....literally!
When I got on the boat and sat down outside, I looked across the bay and saw this ship or yacht? I googled the name on the side and WOW!
It is the "Azteca" owned by Mexican Billionaire Ricardo Benjamin Salinas Piego, CEO of group holdings like TV Azteca, Elektra, Iusacell, Unefon, and Banco Azteca. The yacht cost 83 million and he bought it to delight himself, his wife and his 6 children. He is well educated and VERY successful. It is one of the largest yachts to have ever been built in Italy by CRN. I feel like I have seen a work of art!
Back to reality....here is the boat that I took my tour on, the Strömma Östanå. It was quite comfortable and the tour guide did a great job in Swedish and English.
I took way too many pictures, so I'm going to just show a hundred😋 First, Stockholm is built on 14 islands, although there are 30,000 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago. The outer islands used to only be inhabited by fishermen, but in the 1980's it became the place to buy property for summer houses. We saw an island for sale today with a really cute house on it, only 7 million Swedish Kronor. My favorite was a tiny island with 3 houses on it....what happens if you don't like your neighbors?
I had lunch on the boat with a nice couple from Germany. They were very friendly and nice to talk to.
I booked a reservation at a Viking restaurant named, Aifur Krog. It was recommended to me by two young men on our Stockholm Food Tour. It was great! I was seated with a man and his daughter from southern Sweden. The little girl had been visiting her grandparents near Stockholm and he was here to pick her up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Thursday, I decided to sleep in and then take the train to Gamla Stan to see the Royal Palace. Sweden is a hereditary monarchy and has been since the 16th century. It is a representative democracy in a parliamentary system. The Monarch and members of the Royal Family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and representational duties within Sweden and abroad. Carl XVI Gustaf became King on 15 September 1973 when his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolph died. The Royal Palace, or Stockholm Palace, is the official residence of the King. It is mostly for offices and State occasions by the King. They officially live in Drottningholm Palace on the island of Djurgarden.
A new law passed in 1980 established absolute primogeniture which means that the eldest child, regardless of sex, is the heir apparent. Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife Sylvia, have 3 children: the oldest is Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Madeleine. Crown Princess Victoria married her personal trainer (a commoner!) and they have two children. Prince Carl Phillip is married and Princess Madeleine is married and has two children. Here is a Wikipedia picture of the palace and the family.
Mr. Chris O'Neill, Princess Madeleine holding Princess Leonore, Prince Daniel, Crown Princess Victoria holding Princess Estelle, Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Sofia. The daughters, Victoria and Madeleine have had sons since this picture was taken, Princes Oscar and Nicholas
I got to the palace in time to see the changing of the guard. It was led by a Royal Band and many Royal Guards...here are some pictures:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Friday, I went to Gamla Stan to get the last of my souvenirs! I packed and took the train to Arlanda Airport where I am staying the night and leaving on Saturday for Washington Dulles Airport! This has been an amazing trip. I've had a great time and learned a lot about Sweden and met some wonderful people. Thanks for reading my blog!!!
