Europe 2026 - Sweden
- Tim Madison
- May 3
- 47 min read
Updated: May 13
London to Stockholm, Sweden – May 2, 2026
Last night's sleep is at the Hilton Garden Inn. There is nothing ‘garden’ about this hotel which is literally attached to Terminal 2 at Heathrow. The building is encircled by parking garages, freeways, and cloverleaf intersections. In the near distance are airport structures and taxiways. There is not a tree in sight. Our window grants us a perfect view of high speed traffic. On the positive side, everything about our room is modern and functional including the soundproofing. We don’t hear anything coming from the mechanical world outside.
Just as we’re getting ourselves together for a visit to the breakfast room, the fire alarm sounds. The announcement that goes with it orders us to evacuate the building. It is 8:40 a.m. CK has to pull her knickers on. We grab a sweater and our wallets & passports. Everything else we leave behind. The stairwell is full of other guests when we get there, some are dragging their entire luggage suite and blocking the way. There is no smoke or any sense of fire, so nobody is excited in any way. The building’s sprinkler system isn’t tripped. We’d be annoyed to another level if it had. As we exit the building, guests and staff are milling about. Good news: the weather is cool and dry. In 5 minutes los bomberos arrive with their red and yellow trucks, lights all spinning. They don’t seem very concerned, either. They aren’t unloading any firefighting gear or ordering the crowd to clear off. And there’s only 3 of them. At 9:05 a.m. the all-clear is given and we can get on with our plans. We only have to walk up the 3rd floor! Could have been the 12th! Breakfast awaits.
[[Here's sample of the fire alarm: https://youtube.com/shorts/2sA6xK4fiFI]]
It’s too bad we’re at the airport. We’re 1 hour tube travel [2 hours round trip] from Waterloo Place where Banksy recently placed a wonderfully self-explanatory sculpture about the destructive nature of nationalism. If we were still in town I would def go and check it out.
The airport is always an exercise in hurry-up-and-wait. Today our plane is scheduled to depart at 2 p.m. Between the fire drill and wheels up, 5 hours pass. We have two hours in the air, get passports checked, grab luggage, then 50 minutes by chauffeured van to The Lady Hamilton Hotel in the Old Town (Gamla Stan) part of Stockholm. This is one hotel of three that are themed in a mid to early 19th century style. That theme extends to functionality in many ways. Rooms are small. I think The Luna had more square footage than this. There is no HVAC system. Rooms are stuffy. Good news: the window opens. Bad news: the streets are noisy. Bad news: windows stay closed. The bath is a nice modern one, though. The remodelers were put to proper task here. And there is a heated towel rack! Yay! The deco and architecture are very 1790-1840 – ish. The hotel owners are big fans of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson. Lady Hamilton was his mistress. The other two hotels are The Lord Nelson and The Victory. All are adorned with nautical items and deco.
We get unpacked in time to wander out in the streets looking for a bite to eat. We find it in an unremarkable pub-ish place which was a little dog-eared around the edges. Food was ok, though. We’re in the bar and restaurant district which invites us to take a walk after dinner. CK spots a set of stairs descending below street level sporting decorations of the medieval sort. There’s a menu that looks promising with home made sausages and bacon wrapped pheasant breast. This is called Tunnan. We will dine here tomorrow. It looks awesome. A few doors away is another cellar café called Källarbyn. I must investigate.
About halfway down the stairs I hear the very encouraging sound of a jazz piano trio with vocalist. Yes, it’s a live music club. We settle in for a listen. The piano guy is a 20 something, very worthy. The bass man is excellent, as well. They are playing old standards in the classic style, and doing a cracking good job of it. That said, the female vocalist isn’t terrible but not brilliant. She could do with a sound system considerably beefier in amps so she could turn down the gain. Drummer is, like most drummers in a small space, too loud and overbearing, which causes the other players to try to balance to his level. I’m picking wings off of flies, for sure. They put down a good groove. They are pros. However, they desperately need the guidance of a proper sound tech and about $8K worth of gear. At 9:45 they announce ‘open mic’. It doesn’t take long to understand that this isn’t just an invitation for stage struck amateurs. Only accomplished musicians may participate. One fellow unpacks his trombone and rips into a number that was clearly rehearsed with the combo. Maybe the band just wants to project the feel of improvisational inspiration? We couldn’t stay long enough to find out. It is late and we must hit the hay. We’ve had a terrific first experience here.
Tomorrow we are loose and on the prowl in Stockholm.
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Stockholm, Sweden – May 3, 2026
Today is unstructured but that doesn’t mean we are going to sleep all day. Maybe we should but that isn’t going to happen. I like to make comments about the hotel breakfasts because some of them are odd or they fail in some way. Most of them are shockingly similar, at least they are in Europe. Few of them are over-the-top awesome like they were in Italy a couple of years ago. This one in The Lady Hamilton looks very familiar. I suspect the bacon or back bacon, whatever it is, may be underdone but I shall review that again tomorrow. Eggs are usually a rubbery blob of lukewarm yellow protein that dares you to scoop it out of the chafing dish. This place is no exception. If I accept the risk, I exorcize it with unholy ministrations of hot sauce. I haven’t tested the coffee yet, having opted for tea this morning. Liver paté was available. I didn’t notice anyone touching it. Bottom line so far: I don’t think it will hurt us.
Breakfast managed, we’re out to find the Hop-On Bus. We have a vague idea about which direction to go and an even vaguer idea of what to look for. That is, we’re not sure what a tourist bus stop looks like here. I’m finding navigation in Stockholm to be sticky so far. The city is built on 14 islands and 50 bridges connect them. If there’s a grid we haven’t found it. Google Maps points out a route but we wander in a circle until we’re sure about the vector. We arrive at the bus stop but don’t recognize it. After 10 minutes of walking around it and observing the movements of buses we realize that it is located in the middle of the avenue. The main traffic flow skirts around it. Got it. A few minutes to wait, then we find our Hop-On bus. A bus ride like this doesn’t provide good views. We use them to get a loop around the neighborhood, to catch a feel of a few of the districts, maybe catch our bearings regarding some attraction we’re planning to visit later. This time, the bus took us past the open air museum which is on our list. Now we know what to look for and how far away it is.
Done with the bus and trudging back to the Old Town past the Royal Palace. Here we are a little surprised to see the ceremonial sentries chatting with locals and tourists. We discover that these guys and gals will give directions and information. When we first spotted them, we presumed they were like the British sentries at Buckingham who won’t budge a millimeter. Even their eyeballs are frozen in place. But these guys will chat you up. Nice.
There’s some peasants gathering around the corner of the Palace so we go to investigate. The clock tower is closing in on 1 p.m. We learn that this is the daily changing of the guard. Ok. Let’s see what’s up. At 1:15 the process begins. There’s a very wordy speech read in two languages by a military fellow. Then there’s a lot of marching drills and shouting. Next some mounted soldiers appear. Then more mounted soldiers but these guys are a brass band. A mounted brass band playing as they ride and doing a crack job of it. It takes two hands to play a tuba or a trumpet or the drums. There are no hands left to take the reins. We presume the horses are trained to respond to leg pressure from the rider. This was the most interesting part. The rest of this spit and polish nationalism became tedious after 45 minutes. I bailed and headed back to the hotel. CK stayed for the whole thing.
After a short rest and a snack we’re back out on the street. CK tore pages out of a Rick Steve's travel book which provides us with a walking tour of Gamla Stan [Old Town].We’re sent down quiet lanes, past curiosities, statues, churches which were closed late Sunday p.m. which irks CK. We see a Viking Rune stone. The smallest public sculpture in Sweden, “Iron Boy”. It's about Liss Erikisson's (the artist) insomnia sitting up at night staring at the moon. Swedish grannies knit hats and scarves for it. A local citizen sees us looking for him and points us in the right direction. “Touch his head and all your problems are solved.” I ask the gentleman if his worries have been banished this way. “I come here often,” he winks. The iron head is polished as bright as iron can get. Rick gives us a lovely tour of the Old Town. CK will retrace some of it later to plunder these churches that were locked up.
CK says she wants to trace the route to the meeting point for tomorrow's walking tour. We feel the need to rehearse this because navigation in this town is boggling us at the moment. It may not be in a few days but right now, our bearings are spinning. We find the spot in good time after some puzzled moments. Now our morning will be less stressful. We spot a gin bar. We must congratulate ourselves for successful orienteering. This bar is labeled Horno. All the gin is labeled Horno. CK orders a French 75. I go for one of their custom Martini recipes. The young guys at the bar make drinks with large gestures and choreographic flourishes. I told them the tale about how nobody knows how to make a Martini in New Zealand. Not sure if they believed me. It’s a very nice bar. Comfortable atmosphere. Nice music. Cocktails are excellent. We recommend. But there is weirdness. In the loo the nice, soothing bar music is replaced by violent rap music at high volume. A not so restful restroom, eh? I’m guessing they are giving users a push to finish business quickly and move along.
We’re planning to dine at Tunnan, The Barrel. We discovered it last night. The fellow we spoke to Saturday night said we wouldn’t have any trouble getting a table on Sunday, today.Nope. There was only one server on duty, no food available. Monday they are closed. So, our next move is to go online and get a rez for Tuesday. Yar. We’ll try again.
Down the street we find a 100% Swedish restaurant: Trotzig, wedged in between 5 or 6 Italian joints. Is there a Little Italy in Gamla Stan? If there is, we found it. Since Tunnan isn’t open tomorrow we may plunder one of these Iti places. But for now, we’re going full tilt Swedish. That means meat and potatoes, pretty much. CK gets a steak. I go for the Classic Swedish Meatballs with pureed potato, cucumber slices, and lingonberry salsa. It is comfort food, soul food, peasant fare. Really good. Service is excellent. Atmosphere lovely. We recommend.
Stay tuned for another tale of two Yankees in Stockholm, tomorrow on this station.
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Stockholm, Sweden – May 4, 2026
May the 4th be with you. We shall draw energy from this thought all day even though it starts off a little gloomy and cool with rain showers. No worries, though. The radar promises that the wetness will move away just about the time our walking tour begins this morning about 10 a.m.
This morning I’m abandoning the tea option for coffee at The Lady Hamilton. There is a drip coffee setup, no coffee bot. It’s a big glass carafe on a warmer. I’m very wary of this. I only fill my cup halfway and hit it with a solid plop of milk. And…. It isn’t the worst ever but also not a coffee I’ll look forward to tomorrow. Back to tea for me. The bacon is definitely undercooked for my taste. I must pick through it to find the leanest bits. I ask politely but there is no Tabasco to save the eggs. I regard them as medicinal protein. On the positive, there is a nice loaf of artisan bread for my toast and lovely marmalade. The butter in Sweden is luscious. Must be a lot of happy cows out there.
There’s a 20 minute walk to find our walking tour guide. After navigating this way yesterday, we proceed with 100% confidence in the route, about 70% confidence in the weather. The streets are wet from recent showers. Even so, we decline to bring our umbrellas trusting in the data shown us by the weather radar app. Arriving at the meeting point we are greeted by a large crew of workers and equipment engaged in re-paving a section of road. Our guide appears out of the noise and confusion and introduces himself. He is Adam. He arrived in Sweden with his parents in the 1980’s from the region of Ethiopia/Eritrea. We’ll be walking around the Södermalm district. Adam’s interests are modern social culture, pop music, food culture, and the changes Södermalm has seen in the past decade or so. Speaking of pop music, he spots a celebrity crossing the street, Robyn. We’ve not heard of her because she is outside our timeline but she scored two U.S. Billboard Top 10 hits in 1995: “Do You Know (What It Takes)” and “Show Me Love”. He explains that we’re visiting a district that is transforming from a blue-collar area to one of middle class with a healthy dose of artists and craftspeople. Restaurants and cafés are moving in, making the area more attractive. The city is also renovating certain streets and parks. It is a zone in transition. He points out a couple of filming locations used for “The Millenium” on Netflix and “Girl With The Dragon Tatoo”.
Cornelis och Cecilia is a 2007 bronze sculpture by Bitte Jonason Åkerlund, located in Cornelisparken on Södermalm, created as a memorial to the beloved Swedish troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk.
Hantverkstenen by Edvin Öhrström Installed in the 1970’s It’s about tools and craftsmanship
Adam shows us a favorite coffee shop. He warns that the owner is a joker and may tease us unmercifully. But the coffee is superb, he assures, worth all the verbal abuse we absorb. The guy really is a joker but a friendly one. Our cappuccino is silky and aromatic, top shelf.
We learn Adam is a connoisseur of pizza in Södermalm . Pizza in Stockholm is about as ubiquitous as it is in Rome and quality of it ranges all over the chart from hideous to worthy. Last Sunday we sampled a slice of the former which reminded us of our first pizza in Rome, a memorably unfortunate experience. Adam sorts through a list of 4 of his favorite shops, none of which I can recall, nor their locations right now. This launches a discussion about the merits of good pizza. This allows me a chance to brag about the strange and extensive backyard pizza culture that exists on Lopez Island, our home base when we aren't roaming. Adam assures me that his pizza shop recommendations in Sodermalm are up to the challenge. Swedish pizza sounds like it deserves another go. We'll see.
On tours like this we often hear about art, architecture, and history but not today. We’re getting more of a conversation with a Stockholm resident about the rhythm of life in the city. Adam is a charming fellow and well-spoken. At the end we feel better in tune with Stockholm’s vibe.
After a short bit of lunch and re-energizing we’re out again to find the Vasa Museum. Our transport plan is to use the Hop-On bus. We know this bus stop from our first day here. Confidence in orienteering is growing. I can feel it. Adam reassured us that learning the city isn’t difficult. I still think it would take a month of riding buses and subways to get a good grip on it.
The Vasa is a gigantic Royal Battleship {1210 tons, 64 guns} that was launched on August 10, 1628 and sank in the harbor after just a few minutes afloat. A poor design with top heavy gundecks and not enough ballast left the ship floating too high. A light breeze filled her sails and heeled her over. The gun ports were open and water poured in. She sank quickly. Over 30 souls went down with her. About 120 escaped. It was located and raised in 1961. Conservation began immediately. For 17 years its timbers were sprayed with polyethylene glycol to replace the water in the wood. Without this treatment, the old timbers would have crumbled to dust. By 1990 conservation was mostly finished and the museum opened to the public. Restoration and maintenance continues today. It is obviously remarkable that such an enormous relic from the 17th century is here for archaeologists and historians to examine. If it had sailed properly, it would have rotted away, wrecked, been sunk in a storm at sea, blown up in battle, or gone to the knacker’s yard. We spent two hours examining it from all angles, viewing the various exhibits. This was tops on my must-see list in Stockholm. We have way too many photos to post.
We get a lot of steps in today with the long walk back from the Vasa to Gamla Stan, over 16,000. We take a break at a cocktail at a bar on the waterfront in bright warm sun. There’s a breeze but it isn’t annoying. We have a pleasant moment watching the world go by.
We have no reservation for our evening meal, but we aren’t worried. There seems to be plenty of tables available everywhere. We look into an Italian place, Michelangelo, on Västerlånggatan near our hotel. CK orders tortellini and I have a cod with tomato and olives. Very tasty and rico. Nice atmosphere and no obnoxious playlist on the sound system. We recommend. Our server, Jessica, is chatty, enthusiastic, and curious to know about us and our travels. Every now and then we hear that Swedes are reserved, private people, unwilling to engage, etc. We haven’t noticed this yet. People have been very open and nice to us here.
We’re investigating another corner of Stockholm tomorrow. Stay tuned.
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Stockholm, Sweden – May 5, 2026
A breakfast at The Lady Hamilton today is much the same as the breakfast yesterday and the day before. However, I’m now actively avoiding the coffee and have thankfully discovered the thin ginger cookies. I’m stealing almost all of them. I don’t even care if they notice that I’m doing it. There is no Tabasco for the eggs so I’m dousing them with the canned beans. This sounds weird, I know, but that’s how it is. I should just hop out to a proper café and get a cappuccino and a Swedish cinnamon bun but no. CK will wonder where I’ve gone off to.
This artwork hangs in the hotel breakfast room.
Adam and Eve seem pleased with their fruit choice
Today is the day we have marked to visit Skansen, what they call an open air museum. First we have to get there. I mentioned earlier that we are still working out how to move around in Stockholm. It is like Venice in the sense that water flows through and around it except that Venice is very compact by comparison. The water here is big. The gaps are wide. The city is sprawling across 14 islands. You can’t get there from here. The only way we know of, at present, to get from where we are to the Skansen is to catch that Hop-On bus. This is only because we’re familiar with it. We hope to discover a better way.
At the bus stop we wait probably 30 minutes but at last the bus comes by to scoop us up. We are instantly spun around to the first stop, The ABBA Museum (2013). I am inspired to ask The Internet Gawds if there is another pop band with a museum dedicated to it. There is only one: The Beatles Story in Liverpool. Don’t worry. We didn’t go in. We just observe the crowds gathering around the entrance waiting for it to open.
The bus drops us at The Skansen. We snag a map at the entrance. It is in English but this doesn’t help much. We find it very difficult to understand, much less identify our position on it. After a brief attempt, we give up and decide to simply carry on. This is an immense piece of property. It is not possible to visit it all in one day. After we realize this, we’re able to relax a bit more. It is more than just a ‘museum’. It is a park, a zoo, a party venue, a playground, a concert venue, an aquarium, a meeting place, a green space, a getaway from the city. The museum part seems to be buildings from previous eras that have been brought here for preservation. Things like primitive farm houses and barns, an old church, a old chapel, and old bell tower, a complete village with shops like blacksmith, iron monger, goldsmith, milk shop, and bakery.
One café in a rickety building is open for business offering a limited menu. CK is peckish at 1 p.m. She orders a butternut squash soup. This seems innocent enough, not very complex. After a 30 minute wait, a bowl of toast and greens is delivered. The server pours the soup (more like a thick gravy) from a pitcher over the lot. It has a strong ginger character but not a good one. It is bitter, unsalted, empty of flavor. There is no milk fat, no butter in this. Odd. This is the Land of Butter. What’s happening here? Is this the experience of an ancient peasant who grew squash but didn’t own a cow? We don’t know and never get an answer to this question. We must move on. Several yards ahead, an ice cream stand corrects our palettes with a healthy dose of frozen milk fat and sugar. Nice.
Soon we find the zoo area. A natural habitat is part of the design here, so some of these animals have really good hiding places. Some of them are impossible to see. In one instance I’m watching a wolverine scamper through its enclosure when a woman next to me addresses me in Swedish. I apologize and ask for English which she instantly switches to. She wants to know what it is and I tell her. She says she’s been coming here for years and has not seen it until today. I believe it. There is another enclosure for owls which is basically a patch of dense shrubbery. Good luck spotting one in there. On the other hand, it is a special day if you do.
We’re out of gas and need to get back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. We have a longish walk ahead of us. We consider a taxi but reconsider in favor of the exercise. As we pass the amusement park we become aware of a water taxi service a few meters away. Upon investigation we learn that it will cost us less than $3 to ferry across the harbor to our neighborhood, Gamla Stan. Yes! We could have been doing this instead of that goofy bus. Now our knowledge of Stockholm has leveled up.
Our reservation for dinner at The Tunnan has been cancelled. An email was sent to us saying that dinner could not be served. We suspect that a cook quit or isn’t showing up. At any rate we’ll have to punt. It shouldn’t be much of a problem in this quarter. Before dinner we have a date to meet up with the charming lass who was our server at Michelango last night, Jessica. She is a curious type, very interested in the fact that we are from the USA and also maybe because we are such ancient travelers. Over wine, bread, melon, and prosciutto we share some substantial conversation about travel, education, ambition, and lifestyle. She’s only 18 with an idea to become a diplomat. She brings us a gift of antique Swedish books which we can translate through the AI bots on our phones. We spend a delightful hour with her and wish her well. It is special to get some personal time with a native Stockholmer.
For dinner we spot a Bavarian style restaurant and beer hall, Zum Franziskaner. From the outside it looks a little dull and dark but the menu says it has sausages and kraut. We’re ready for that. Inside, the scene is much different. It is bursting with customers, all locals. They put us on the wait list, 30-40 minutes they say. We sit at the bar and sip some lager, chat, and edit photos. We have time to appreciate this pub. It is really splendid. Wood paneling, barrel vault ceiling, tile floor, light fixtures all custom crafted glass, each shade a unique piece in the art nouveau style. We eventually get a table and some food which is outstanding. This is only a Tuesday evening and the atmosphere is fizzy with wall to wall people and conversation. We ask the server what could this place be like on a weekend? She says, “You don’t want to know. The wait list is 3 hours. People wait at the bar and get so drunk they don’t know what they’re ordering any more. It’s madness.” We consider ourselves lucky to get a table. We recommend with a bullet, but try to get a reservation or be here when they open because this place gets mobbed.
On our stagger back to the hotel, I simply must check to see if Galdr’s Krypta Magic Cocktail Bar is open. I noticed this hole in the wall Saturday night but didn’t stick my head in. I went back Monday but it was closed. Today it is open. The door is like a medieval iron dungeon gate. A steep set of stairs leads down about 12 feet below the alley, ducking our heads to avoid the masonry. We emerge into a series of vaulted brick grottos, obviously once an ancient storage area, now an awesome bar space, nicely decorated in a kind of a tasteful Halloween motif sprinkled with dozens of real candles which provides most of the lighting. It has a magical effect. The owners are behind the bar. They only opened it 5 months ago. This is the kind of place where I ask for absinthe. They have it. Soon the guy is setting my shot glass on fire and I’m loving it. We recommend with a mystic bullet. We may come back here tomorrow night. Live music has been promised. Here is a 1 minute vid of this place.
Tomorrow, our last full day in Stockholm
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Stockholm, Sweden – May 6, 2026
My breakfast this morning was a chunk of sausage leftover from last night’s meal at Zum Franziskaner. I washed it down with Earl Grey tea. Maybe not the smartest thing to do but I didn’t want to face eggs and beans again and wasting that sausage would be a crime.
After refueling CK is eager to get out to the cathedral, literally next door to the hotel. During our entire stay here we’ve passed churches more than a dozen times, but they are always locked up. CK is having withdrawal symptoms. She regards an old church as a kind of museum. This morning the cathedral they call Storkyrkan is open for tourists. They charge us $8 each to get in. This church has origins back to the 13th century but the current décor is a mix of Gothic and Baroque. This church has one awesome thing in it: an immense sculpture of St George v Dragon. It was installed in the cathedral in 1489 to commemorate a big Swedish war victory over the Danes. St George represents the Swedish Regent and the Dragon represents the Danish King. There’s a princess off to the side representing Stockholm, being rescued. It’s an odd one in the sense that it is made of oak, elk antler, and steel with some gilt highlights. I posted a photo a few days ago of the bronze copy of it in Kömpmantorget square which dates from 1912. Included are other photos from this church which I’m taking unholy liberties with.
Our next move is to the foot ferry again. We’re going across the harbor to the The Swedish History Museum where there is an extensive exhibition of Viking culture. It features over 2,500 original objects: jewelry, clothing, weapons, tools, hoards of gold, kitchen items, etc. Many of the most valuable items were found in caches that were unearthed by modern construction projects. We find this venue well subscribed by multiple groups of children and schoolteachers. There’s also an exhibit on prehistoric cultures in Sweden. We recommend but the Viking exhibit will only run until January 2027.
This is a relatively slow touring day for us. We only have one more thing on our list: a harbor cruise at 2 p.m. We aren’t going to do much except ride the boat, munch lunch, and watch the world go by. It’s a lovely day to do it: bright warm sun and cool air, my favorite combination. As we cruise by a variety of islands in this incredibly huge archipelago – the Stockholm Archipelago includes 34,316 islands and covers approximately 1,700 km (1050 miles) with 10,000 permanent residences and 50,000 holiday homes – we are surprised by the substantial buildings and homes along the shorelines. Living among the San Juan Islands and the Canadian Gulf Islands, which also form an “archipelago”, there is substantially less density than what we saw on this 2.5 hour boat cruise. Not surprising since Stockholm hosts 2 million souls. Perhaps if our cruise had covered more territory, we would have seen more isolation. We’re back in town by 4:30.
Lunch on the boat was enough food for us today. We’re skipping the evening meal. Tomorrow is a travel day. We’re staying in Sweden but changing towns.
The Lady Hamilton Hotel has provided us a pleasant stay. The Old Town location is useful. The nautical décor with the cabinets of collector’s items and antique furniture lends a unique atmosphere. The room is small but adequate. The bathroom is nicely appointed with a very good shower and heated towel rack (Yay). The windows in the room can be opened! This is something not possible in a modern joint. The downside is that there is no AC. In the summer these rooms could be stifling. The staff is helpful and nice to us. And they have someone on the desk 24/7 which is cool. Overall, we recommend!
One last note. At 9:30 p.m. I decided I could not do without one last peek into Galdr’s Krypta Magic Cocktail Bar, the joint I discovered last night. At that time, they mentioned there would be live music tonight. My curiosity propelled me over there even though CK was ready to turn in. As it happens, the musicians were ill, so that was a bust. The owners are super friendly, and the bar is so cool, I had to stay for a drink. But wait. There are singing voices coming from the next room. There are 6 young men doing very excellent choir work with medieval harmonics totally appropriate with the atmosphere. The brick lined barrel-vaulted cellar has an amplifying effect equal to the alcohol-induced noise coming from the other room. I chat with them as I before I go. They are, in fact, choir singers who perform at the Storkyrkan Cathedral! Excellent fellows and a bunch of jokers, too. I had to buy them a round. Here’s a sample:
If you’re ever in Stockholm check this place out.
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Uppsala, Sweden – May 7, 2026
Too soon, we think, to move out of Stockholm. Just as we begin to gain a level of comfort and understanding about a place, we must pack our bags. We hire a lift to the Central Station where a train awaits to carry us to Uppsala. Of course, along the way, the taxi takes through parts of the city that we would have liked to explore. Alas, there is no more time.
The train to Uppsala is about 45 minutes. This is a town of 200,000 about 1/10 the size of Stockholm. It has been a university town since 1477, when the local Archbishop convinced Pope Sixtus IV to support the project. Universities were all about training religious officials and dogmatic experts in those days. By the 17th and 18th centuries those values were replaced by scientific interests. We are in the land of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy. He initiated the system of categorizing plants and animals into genus and species, giving them Latin names. This allowed researchers all over the world to communicate in more specific ways. The city is dotted with landmarks, cafés, and streets commemorating him. Another hero of the University, Ander Celsius, an astronomer who developed the centigrade temperature scale. Life Science is the prime specialty of Uppsala University, considered a top-rank institution in Europe.
The Voice Map app is a clever thing that we used in London to take a walking tour of the theater district. We’re using it again here to get a walk around the University and the Cathedral. The narrator guides us along a route, giving us information as we go. We can proceed or linger at our own pace. It’s very cool. The downside is that if I use the camera on my cell phone, it crashes the app. This doesn’t happen with CK’s Iphone so I’m mostly using her photos for the post today. I tend to mess with them, however.
The Linnaeus Garden is our starting point for the walking tour. A few weeks ago, the schedule showed it open for visitors at this time but just a few days ago a decision was made to close it until May 14. We can’t get in. Fooey. A lot of it is just dirt, anyhow, this being too early in the season for plants. The garden is a reconstruction of the 18th plot that Carl Linnaeus used to study specific plants. There’s also a museum featuring his tools, equipment, and personal things. We can’t go in but we get a consolation prize: A hedgehog creeps out of the shrubbery to introduce herself. Linnaeus classified it as Erinaceus Europaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae. This is based on an earlier Latin word “Er” which was the word for hedgehog.
We’re guided next to the main University building. It’s ok to look in at the spectacular entry hall and we do. Our narrator lists the names of the giants of science produced by this school.
The Cathedral is nearby. We go there next. Here our narrator gives us a lengthy and detailed lecture on the life and times of Catherine Jagiellonica. A Polish princess, she married John III in 1568. She is credited with promoting cultural, scientific, and architectural advances of Europe in Sweden. This attitude was carried on by her descendants Maria Eleonora, and the more well-known Queen Christina. She has a terribly nuanced story which includes elopement and imprisonment prior to her elevation to Queenly status. The Cathedral was begun in 1270 and finished in 1435. King John and Catherine installed Renaissance deco. Fires in other centuries forced further remodels. In the 19th century it was given a Neo-Gothic remodel which, some say, clashes with the Renaissance features. I had to look this up because I was confused by the architecture. A building that old should have Gothic features if it hasn’t been remodeled. Inside it has nothing from the 13th century that I could see. And outside, the building looked too well put together to be from that period. The history of it explains all of this. Next door to this Cathedral is a church which is much more interesting, in my opinion.
Helga Trefaldighets Kyrka (Holy Trinity Church). It has its origins in the 12th and 13th century, a much more primitive building then. Walls and vault painting is what I enjoy most about this. This is from the 1470’s mostly. There was a renovation in 1805 which painted over some of the 15th century art. It was cleaned off in the 20th century. When it comes to churches I’m usually more admiring of the architecture, the construction, etc. If its Gothic I look for Green Man. Here, the designs used on the ceilings and the 15th century illustrations are the main attraction.
The disembodied voice of our tour guide directs us a few hundred meters over to the Royal Palace. It is a hulking piece of pastel pink masonry sitting on, perhaps, the only hill in Uppsala. There’s a royal garden on one side, a view of the town on the other, and another view of the Cathedral. King John III kept several cannon pointed toward the Cathedral to remind the Archbishop who was boss.
Our tour ends on a viewpoint over the town which is nice because it appears to be the only one. This place is flatter than Kansas. These tours are excellent, informative, and a great value for the $. It cost us $20 for a 1 ¾ hour tour. But a personal tour guide is always more fun.
Our hotel is called Home Hotel Uppsala. It looks very plain from the outside but is well appointed on the interior. We have a spacious room and a very functional bath with a (YAY) heated towel rack, our favorite thing. The evening meal is not a culturally adventurous one because a buffet meal is included with our stay. The salad was superb but the soup? Yikes. Little more than warm, fatty milk. There were heartier items but I’m trying to go lite.
I’ll write up more impressions of Uppsala tomorrow. We have a full day here Friday before we move along.
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Uppsala, Sweden – May 8, 2026
We have a full day in Uppsala today, but it will be a low-key operation. Could be that the easy-going style of Swedish culture is rubbing off on us. It isn’t the worst thing that could happen. On the other hand, we wouldn’t be running out to join a hockey team or run a Marathon in any case. Even though this town is pulsing with University students, bicycles whizzing everywhere like it was Amsterdam, there is a laid-back pace here. Stockholm was a little that way, too. The vibe is unworried and competent, steady and unhurried. When the students need to let off some steam they have a thing going where they open the windows of their dorms and scream in unison out into the void. There’s a plan for everything. I’ve also realized that I feel like I’m traveling in an English-speaking country. This is because it is true. The people here start learning English in elementary school and continue through secondary, so everyone is fluent. Folks often address us in Swedish but switch to English without hesitation when we beg ignorance. This kind of ease of communication adds to the comfort level.
Our sightseeing choice is Old Uppsala or Gamla Uppsala. This is a park that was created out of the original location of the Uppsala settlement. It is a short bus ride from our hotel. I should mention that buses are totally convenient here. We don’t need a special rider card. A credit card and Bob’s our Uncle. 30 minutes on the bus is all it takes. Very similar to the Skansen, this is a kind of museum of older wooden buildings. There is a modern museum, an old church, and extensive burial mounds. People moved into this area 7,000 years ago following the retreat of the ice age. By the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, Uppsala was an economic, political, and religious center home to the Yngling dynasty. The burial mounds date from the 6th to 12th centuries and probably contain the bones of the Yngling family who reigned during the time depicted in the Old English epic Beowulf. The museum is full of artifacts found in this region, much of it survived as burial goods. By the 12th century the Norse gods were replaced by Christianity and a church was founded here complete with its own Archbishop which made it a Cathedral. By 1273 a new location for a new Cathedral was selected to the south. This was the big church we saw yesterday, the Storkyrkan. A new city grew up around the new church and became Uppsala while this location became a quiet village called Gamla Uppsala. The church is still here but it hasn’t been a Cathedral since the Archbishop moved his throne to the big church.
The church today is mostly a 15th century design which has been subject to a lot of repairs. The best things about it are the design motifs in the ceiling arches and the chalk paintings on the walls which date to the 1400’s. Many images are just shadowy wisps but one is identifiable as an illustration of St George rescuing that damsel in distress again and dispatching a giant lizard in the bargain.
Our visit to the museum reveals many of the kinds of Viking objects we’ve already seen. But there’s always room for more helmets in the blog. These things look very much like that Sutton Hoo helmet in the British Museum. No doubt it came from the Norse culture.
A coffee break in Sweden is a Fika. Somehow the word for coffee, ‘kaffi’, was reverse engineered to become ‘fika’. It was first recorded as a word in 1910. Generally, it is an informal social event that could happen any time of day: coffee and cakes. The higher idea is to slow down, recharge, refocus, and socialize before diving back into the work schedule. But for us, Fika is another excuse to plunder the coffee shop for something tasty. Luckily, Gamla Uppsala has that for us. Maybe not so lucky for CK who selected a sandwich. This sandwich was made of two leaves of lettuce, two small slices of cheap cheese, and half of a slice of processed ham. The bread was inedible. Her apple pie dessert was the only food benefit she managed out of this Fika. I went for the pie and tea, not liking the looks of the sandwich at first glance.
We finish our visit to Gamla Uppsala with a stroll through the burial mounds. And what a day to do it. It is blue sky again with a cool breeze and bright sun. How did we get so lucky on this trip? The weather has been brilliant, the flowers spectacular, and the trees all leafing out as fresh as anything. The Disney production magicians could not run a better show.
Back in town, CK leaves me to look for a barber because I need a haircut. I plan to walk 15 minutes to find one. Instead, I stumble across a nice shop just half a block from the bus stop. My man was a pro, very meticulous, but not chatty. He gave me a proper shear and left no loose hair on my neck. It only cost me $3 more than it does at home. CK is off to get an official Swedish massage this afternoon. I’m happy she could arrange it.
A pre-dinner walk evolves into a scouting party to the train terminal. We realize that we don't understand this building and its bifurcated arrangment. But we figure it out after 10 minutes of puzzlement. Now we know our route tomorrow without consulting the phone's map. We're also discovering that the bars around the train station are tre-chic hangouts for the TGIF crowd. We wander as far as the River Fyris before making our way back.
Our evening meal is a buffet in the hotel. We’re opting for convenience again. This way dinner is 45 minutes instead of 2+ hours. We need some sleep tonight because we’re moving again tomorrow. Part of it is by train and part by bus. With luggage in hand, buses can be inconvenient if they don’t have a storage area below. And in any case, buses have the smallest seating spaces of any of our transport options. My artificial knees object to this very much. But I’ll live.
We have to be out to the train station tomorrow by 8:45 a.m.
Stay tuned.
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Växjö, Sweden – May 9, 2026
Yesterday CK had the presence of mind to inspect the train tickets for today's move. They were arranged by a travel agency. CK prefers not to use agents but in this instance she felt the need to do so. The train schedules weren't making sense when she was trying to understand them months ago. The agents are more likely to know their way around that detail. Anyhow, she discovered that our tickets were not going to take us to Växjö but to some other town. She instantly shot them a call and luckily the agency picked up. Issue resolved with new tickets sent to her phone. We could have easily ended up in a different town and in a state of confusion. Why are we going to Växjö? Stockholm was the main draw for us but we have learned that visiting the smaller towns is where we get a better feel for the country.
At Uppsala train station, platform 7A. It’s hurry up and wait again, about 25 minutes before our train. We share the waiting area with a schizophrenic fellow having a debate with himself in Swenglish. I'm sorry for him. Or maybe not. His world may be very cozy for all I know. However, listening to his word-salad mixture of Swedish and English gives me a possible view of the future of Swedish language: a fusion of the two? French, German, and Anglo-Saxon were tossed together to create English. Why not? When cultures overlap, this is a common result. I’ll never know, of course. I’ll file this under “Random stuff that occupies my brain in Swedish rail stations.”
Swedish trains are like German trains in the sense that they are pretty much on time as well as smooth riding and quiet. This, as opposed to the UK trains which make a lot of track noise and lurch about in all directions. We switch trains in Stockholm. The next train won’t take us to Växjö beyond Moheda because the tracks are taking some maintenance. We must continue by bus. The bus isn’t too crowded but it is overheated inside. It doesn’t make for the most comfortable ride. The good news is that it doesn’t last very long.
The bus lets us out at the rail station, which is a good thing to know. We’ll be back here with our bags Monday. After 5 minutes of collecting our bearings, we’re doing the luggage drag toward the center of town in search of our hotel. Up ahead we hear some thumping dance music. A pod of multi-colored balloons and banners crosses an intersection two blocks ahead. Must be a parade. Of course we must investigate. All of our luggage is in hand which makes parade watching a little awkward, but we have no choice. The parade is moving down Storgatan street which happens to be the route to our hotel. This is a Pride Parade and it is heavily subscribed. Literally thousands of people turned out for it and it’s a rolling riot. Powerful PA systems mounted in trailers, loads of balloons and flags, wacky costumes, DJ’s running dance contests, it is just nuts. The best bit for me was a trailer packed with maybe 6 people in T-Rex suits all bouncing to the music. I can’t describe why this hit my funny bone the way it did. It was awesome. Those are people I would love to get to know. As the end of the parade moved past, we grabbed our luggage and joined it. The parade lasted quite a while. When they stopped going one way, they reversed direction and marched back. I’ll guess it lasted 90 minutes end to end. Here’s some bits of it in video form:
https://youtu.be/5KR8XHo9XTk (YouTube’s AI informs me that the video contains copyrighted material. It can hear the commercial music being played in the parade. Clearly this is ridiculously ridiculous and another reminder of how AI is here to f+k up almost everything. So, your attempt to watch this video may be blocked.)
This isn't just a parade. There are different events and gatherings scheduled over the next week.
We found a Hen Party, too! The sign says "Who is the lucky guy?"
We have 4 possibilities.
We are at the PM & Vanner Hotel. This is a very nice pad, the poshest of all of our stays this trip. Our room is spacious, airy, clean. The bath is nice but… no heated towel rack! Fooey.
Our evening meal is in their bistro. They brag of 1 Michelin star for their cuisine. The servers are uniformed and slick. We see no female servers yet. We know of a certain Italian restaurant in California where this is the case and we kind of think we know why but why they would do that here is a mystery. We’ll check them out again tomorrow. CK has a sirloin steak that she happily absorbed. I order a Nettle Soup with lox together with half a dozen French oysters. This is my first experience with Nettle Soup. No, it isn't spicy.
Tomorrow we have a full day in Växjö to see what we can see.
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Växjö, Sweden – May 10, 2026
Yesterday the center was exploding with flags, banners, dancing, costumes, music, and shenanigans. The partying continued through the night. As we turned in, the thumping dance vibes from the clubs wasn’t slowing down. All is quiet by sunup and the party atmosphere is replaced by deserted streets occupied only by a cool breeze and foraging jackdaws. Our breakfast is in the PM & Vanner ritzy style hotel. They have everything we need, including made-to-order barista style coffee. Not evident, initially is a toaster. We can’t recall the last time a hotel breakfast did not have a toast option. An inquiry resolves this issue: they order toast from the kitchen, which is in the basement 4 floors down. The order zooms up on a very modern looking dumbwaiter. I didn’t indulge in this today but I’ll have to do so tomorrow.
For sightseeing there is a church to look into and a couple of museums. First stop, the church, the Domkyrkacentrum. We find it after a short walk through some eerily quiet streets. Upon arrival it is clear that the faithful are in the middle of services. Our sightseeing won’t be tolerated. We move on to our next stop, the Glasmuseum. We arrive just after it opens, 11 a.m. We are the first customers. The nice lady welcomes us but informs us, alas, that the credit card reader is kaput and, because it is Sunday, nobody is around to fix it. They can only accept cash for the entrance fee. We have 100 krona and need 300. Google shows us an ATM at the train station about two blocks away. No worries, off we trot. We find it, no sweat but problem: it is out of order. Drat. We follow Google to another one closer to the main drag but problem: it is out of order. Double drat! Our third possibility is pretty much back in the neighborhood of our hotel. This one is functional! With cash in hand, we can hike back to the Glasmuseum. Here is where we learn that glass making was a considerable industry in Sweden going back to the 5th century. In the 16th century is when the fancy craftsmanship began to show. By 19th and early 20th century Swedish glass had achieved a level of artistry equal to the Italians of Venice. This museum presents some well-curated examples. I’m including some of the pieces that caught my eye.
Next door to the Glasmuseum is another museum dedicated to the diaspora of Swedes to the USA in the 19th century. There are a lot of nuances as to why this happened. Between 1750 and 1850 the population of Sweden surged but available farmland did not. Free US homesteading in the 1860s was a big draw. A famine from 1867-1869 drove many away. Taxes and military draft sent young men to the US. There were other factors but those were the main ones. There are displays showing where they went and how they fit into the New World… or didn’t. One zone they settled in is familiar to us: Seattle. 1932-1941 a shanty town community of Swedes developed there. It was given the name of Hooverville. In the 1940's it was demolished to make way for ship works. Of course, this was before our time but photos of show landmarks we're familiar with.
We can only do museums so long before our brains begin to glaze over. Besides, we think that services should be over and we can get into that church now. Only a couple of blocks away, the church doors are still open. All the ritual is over with but there’s still activity in there. We walk in on a boy choir choral rehearsal. Here’s a little sample:
For sightseeing, there isn’t much in this church. Like many Nordic protestant churches, there isn’t much deco and almost no iconic figures, statues, paintings, art or even stained glass. The most extreme version of this style we’ve seen is the cathedral in Reykjavik, Iceland. It’s like the inside of an iceberg.
We’re back out on the street by early afternoon. Now we are certain that they roll up the sidewalks on Sundays around here because the streets are still deserted. Our language learning levels up as we gain a solid understanding of the Swedish word “stangt”: closed. We manage to find one café open, the Kafe Deluxe. There we find a burger to split and a cider to quaff. It was a fine burger but the fries were too greasy.
I should mention that we found a talking trash bin. We don’t have much of a clue what it said but I think it said ‘thank you’ for something at the end of its speech. Here it is:
Back at the hotel CK indulges in a visit to the spa, basically a gentle jacuzzi and a pool. There is a sauna but she didn’t indulge. I stay in the room editing photos.
Our evening meal involves a short hike to an Italian restaurant CK wants to find in hope that it is open. Drat. Stangt. But no worries. Back at our hotel, their bistro is open and ready to bring us some classy dishes. CK opens with a French 75 and mine is a Hendrix martini. Her food is a cheesy risotto. I have half a dozen oysters and a small cheese plate with artisan bread. All of it is very rico and filling. It doesn’t take much to fill the void.
We’ve had two interesting days in Växjö and they were perfect opposites of each other. One was a wild celebration, the next was one of quiet meditation. Tomorrow, we’re on the move again. We catch a mid-morning train to Kalmar.
Stay tuned.
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Kalmar, Sweden – May 11, 2026
Poor CK is stuck in these hotel rooms with me all night. Even when the room is spacious, like it is here is Växjö, there is no escape from the outrageously offensive snorer I have become in my ancientness. Her only defense is to order separate beds for our rooms. This grants a small and insignificant distance between us, something that amounts to no more than a psychological buffer which is mostly to my benefit since she would need to get up and out of bed to get close enough to punch me. Her desperation has not yet reached the point of reserving separate rooms. I am 100% certain she has considered it.
Be that as it may, our breakfast in Växjö is very much like the breakfast yesterday with the exception of toast. They made it happen. I cut a slice of bread and handed it over to the lady who sent it down the dumbwaiter. I took all of five minutes (probably more) for it to return. It was a nice job of toast, and it smelled like it had been on a charcoal grill. It was nice. There are other oddities with this operation. There is a tea-making station with all the goodies but there is no place to put the used, soggy tea bag. There is a chafing dish of bacon and sausage topped with an antique copper lid. Very chic, you know, but with a plate in one hand and the lid in the other there is no extra hand to deal with the food and no designated place to put the lid down. One must improvise a solution. Once we manage to park the lid somewhere, there is only a serving fork to stab the bacon. This is a fail. One wants to put down the fork and go in there with one’s fingers but, of course, our hygiene filter cancels that impulse leaving only annoyance in its wake. Ah, first-world problems! Perhaps these are all carefully curated situations intended to guide us away from the deadly sin of gluttony, but I doubt it. I’m convinced that the chef in charge has never partaken of his own breakfast service.
Today we change towns. We’re leaving Växjö behind, catching a train this morning to Kalmar. This town is 1/10 the size of Stockholm and this makes it easy to navigate. We know where the station is and can drag our luggage there without the need of a vehicle. The train is on time and soon we are gliding down the line on the slick and quiet Swedish tracks.
Last week we arrived in Stockholm on a Saturday afternoon. The city was quite alive that evening. All the bars and bistros were hopping. Two places we stopped in to were too full to seat us. The next day, Sunday, the town was very quiet. Most shops and bars were closed. Streets were absent of cars almost. Monday, same thing, dead quiet. We had to wait for Tuesday for things to really get started again. Now we get a re-run of this in Växjö, arriving on a Saturday afternoon to a blazing riot of a Pride Parade followed by a Sunday and Monday of ghostly silence on the streets. I mean to say it feels like Covid returned overnight and the quarantine was imposed by the constabulary. A herd of rhinoceros could roll through town and not scratch anyone. I think this is a major feature of Swedish culture we’ll take away with us, this complete shutdown over Sunday and Monday. The second will be the difficulty of finding the National Dish on a restaurant menu: meatballs and pureed potatoes with lingonberry sauce. They have Texas barbecue, pizza by the score, Italian this and that, tacos & burritos, Ben & Jerry’s, burgers everywhere, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, fusion, etc but we have to search door to door to find Swedish Meatballs. Stay tuned because we think we found a spot to plunder tomorrow. It has to be tomorrow because this is Monday in Kalmar. The key word is “stangt,” closed! The streets here are even more deserted than Växjö.
Our hotel here is the Calmar Stadshotell. Yes, Kalmar is sometimes spelled with a C and we have learned that this is normal. Far be it from us to argue. We stash our luggage with the desk while we go for a patrol around town. Weather is a little iffy. There is solid cloud and a small chance of showers but we’ll risk it. CK has a fist full of notes to follow which serves to get us to the Old Town. This is a collection of 18th and 19th century houses. The original Old Town burned in 1647 which caused the city fathers to move Kalmar to the adjacent island and encircle it with defensive walls, some of which still exist. We find an ancient cemetery and a public garden zone featuring its own coffee shop. We take advantage of our position to locate the meeting place for our castle tour tomorrow afternoon. Also, we looked into the church which is just next door to our hotel. Even though it is of the baroque era, the Lutheran-ness of it prohibits any kind of boisterous decorations or filigree.
Our meal is in the hotel tonight mostly because other options are STANGT because, you know, Monday. It is a good meal, very Cordon Bleu and chic which I must confess is not my style.
Tomorrow we shall have more to say about Kalmar.
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Kalmar, Sweden – May 12, 2026
Our room at the Stadshotell is not spacious but it isn’t cramped. The bed seems a bit weird. There’s a kind of pillow top on the mattress that gives me the feeling that I could slide off of it and plop on the floor. The shower is powerful and hot, very pleasant. The odd bit is that the water doesn’t drain well. It tends to flow all over the bathroom floor. I want to roll up a towel to sandbag the flooding but then we’d be short a towel. Breakfast is nice but the eggs are very strange. Again, with a chafing dish of cooked egg globs but this version has all the quality of a tasteless custard. I’m wondering if they used cream (horrors!) with this egg prep. Tomorrow, we have the opportunity to graze this offering again. I will most intentionally avoid this mysterious egg material. There is a spa here. CK has booked a time to use it. I should go to use the sauna but I’m pretty sure I want to spend the time recharging my little gray cells with a nap. Weather today is misty and gray, very October-ish. There’s a spit of drizzle now and then. Nothing stormy but there’s no warm sun at all. We won’t complain because we’ve had amazing weather since the beginning of April. Our sightseeing is targeted to the County Museum and the Castle, all within walking distance.
At the museum the prime thing we’re interested in is an exhibit featuring another ill-fated Swedish battleship of the 17th century, the Kronan. It was an extremely large ship of the line, displacing 2,300 tons, twice as large as the Vasa. Commissioned in 1672, carrying about 114 guns, 500 sailors, and 300 soldiers. During the Battle of Öland an incompetent commander ordered a sharp turn without making proper preparations. The ship heeled over and gunports dipped below the waterline. The ship capsized 90º, held on its side for a few moments, then blew up when a lantern fell into the powder magazine. There were about 40 survivors. In the 17th century, diving bells were used to recover 60 of the cannons. In 1980 the wreck was rediscovered by the same fellow who located the wreck of the Vasa, Anders Franzén. Since then, they have pulled up many guns and thousands of objects. These are the things we’ll muse upon at the exhibit. Curiously, a good deal of clothing items survived in reasonable shape.
Our next appointment is with a tour guide at the Kalmar Slott, the castle. This one has its origins in the 12th century. Some masonry from that period still exists but what we see today is a mix of 16th-century construction and 18th-century blundering along with contemporary conservation projects. Our guide is Frederich. We’re about 10 minutes late to the meeting because we had mis-remembered the time. If we hadn’t stopped for a Fika at the museum we would have been early. But no worries. He was very understanding and happy to see us. He is dressed in period costume, very classy touch. He’s part of a team of guides that have a contract with the city to provide the tours. Our guy gives us an in depth description of the architectural changes the castle has seen. He’s full of information about the politics and genealogy of the royal families that controlled it. Of course, there’s a walk through key rooms in the building. Basically, there’s a waiting room, the Queen’s bedroom and study, the King’s bedroom, a banquet hall, a grand reception hall, and the kitchen. There are other parts we didn’t see having to do with military things, the garrison, etc. I think they are still developing those areas for tourists.
We’ve had a lovely last day in Sweden, plenty of interesting things to contemplate and history to absorb. The weather wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t horrible, either. Our evening meal is in a small place, Storgatan Restaurant. It can only seat about 15 people. There we get our Swedish Meatballs with pureed potatoes and lingonberries. Great comfort food, perfect for a misty day.
Tomorrow, we trundle off to Copenhagen by train. There we’ll get one sleep before we board an Iceland Air flight toward Seattle. If we get any sightseeing there it will be a bonus.
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Copenhagen, Denmark – May 13, 2026
We’re starting the day at the Stadshotell in Kalmar, Sweden. Can’t say that I slept all that well. The room’s air circulation wasn’t the best. But the shower is really nice. No complaints. Breakfast is what it is. There’s lots of nice food, I’m sure. I’m just unenthused about it. The cold cuts don’t have any flavor for me, the cheese is remarkably bland, and I don’t understand muesli. It is like floor sweepings, not that I’ve ever eaten floor sweepings but muesli tastes like what I imagine floor sweepings would taste like. I fill my plate with cookies, mandarin oranges, and mini croissant, washing it down with Earl Gray tea. After yesterday’s experience I promised myself to avoid that mucous-like egg scramble. I can follow through on this, no sweat. CK scolds me for my lack of protein selection. There’s some bacon in there and it’s ok. Bacon. Yeah. Twist my arm.
All kidding aside, we’ve had a nice visit to Kalmar. Our intention in visiting Växjö and Kalmar was to get away from the big city and see what some of the hinterlands of Sweden were like. We’ve done some of this same thing in Germany and always found interesting things. Here is no different. The vibe is low and slow except when it isn’t. The Pride Parade in Växjö is a good example. Sundays and Mondays in Sweden are ghostly. To anyone planning on spending vacation time in this country, my advice is to be sure you have your business and shopping taken care of by Saturday afternoon because good luck getting anything done over the next 48 hours. They roll the sidewalks up. Every town has its story and a way to tell it. There’s an old church, an ancestral castle, an old fort, a shipwreck, a university, a scientist, a great bar in a cellar, etc. There’s always something to learn in these places.
Today we are catching a train at 11 a.m. By 2:30 p.m. we will be disgorged into the Copenhagen International Airport where we will board our flight back to Seattle tomorrow afternoon. Today, our plan is to grab the light rail to central Copenhagen, about a 17 minute ride. Very conveniently we can catch it at the airport. When we put this trip together 3 months ago, a visit to Copenhagen beyond the airport wasn’t part of the agenda. But now, hey, Bonus Scandanavian Adventure! Why not?
The rail system delivers as promised and lets us out in the tourist district. Actually, we emerge in the bowels of a gigantic, fancy department store, Magasin Du Nord. This bewilders us not just a little bit. We imagined a subway platform with escalators leading to the street. Instead, these escalators dumped us into the middle of a retail wonderland. Ladies shoes here, foundations there, cosmetics, accessories, men’s jackets, kitchen utensils, and perfume by the quart. CK is most interested in a Swedish Fika. She is famished since breakfast is already 7 hours ago. We happen to be standing next to their food court which is a bewildering maze all by itself. Two small cinnamon buns, an apple juice, and a cappuccino, $20 US. It was all fresh and the coffee was excellent. Best cuppa I’ve had in Europe this trip. But we’re still lost in this building. CK is circling in the passageway looking for a clue. There’s a shop next to us where a likely looking fellow with bright red curls flying out the side of his uniform cap seems willing to engage anyone. “Excuse me, we’re new here. We’re trying to find the street, can you help?” Up the escalator and to the right, says he. He’s very friendly and I compliment him on his hair. It really is spectacular. At the top of the escalator, we still don’t see a door to the street. It is simply a forest of retail exhibits that block any attempt to see further than 7 feet or so. Of course, we eventually find a way out but it wasn’t nearly as obvious as we felt it should have been. Our route was through the back door of another coffee shop, through the shop and out. Outside, on the street we look back at this Magasin store. It takes up about two city blocks, 690,000 square feet of retail space, 5 floors above ground, 2 floors beneath. If you can’t find it here, it’s not worth finding.
Shopping isn’t what we’re up for, today. We want to get a mini taste of Copenhagen before we have to beat it back to the airport. There’s a one hour boat tour on the canal that presents itself almost immediately. The weather is cool and gray but it isn’t raining. We’re going for it. Through an earpiece we get a narration about some history and various sights along the way. Like most of the cities we’ve toured, there is an initial settlement in the Dark Ages like the 9th or 10th century which doesn’t change much until the 15th or 16th century when sea travel and trade becomes prolific and profitable. That’s when the city begins to expand with serious buildings and fortifications. We see a Royal Yacht, an Opera House, the Royal Residence, a fort, the headquarters of an international sea freight company, old buildings from the Napoleonic War, abandoned drydocks, and some history about why there’s a canal system that resembles Amsterdam. Of course, there’s interesting stuff for my camera.
Tour is over and dinner time is upon us. Luckily, we’re in the restaurant district and we have loads of choices. We don’t waste a lot of time looking. A place called Zirup looks nice. It is warm and cozy inside, nice flower arrangement, and the music is reasonably pleasant, not some kind of Eurovision nightmare. CK orders a steak. Mine is a pasta with wild boar. Dessert is a shared Tiramisu. It’s nice food, standard bistro stuff. The place seems to be popular with locals, though. The cost wasn’t bad for Scandanavia. We recommend.
We have no trouble finding the subway back to the airport. This is very slick and well done by the City. This gives people with long layovers, like us, a chance to get into town no problem.
We’ve had a lovely trip through Europe, from Easter in Germany to stage shows in London to snooping around in Chester, punting the Cam, narrow boating the Llangollen Canal, prowling Stockholm, Växjö, Kalmar, and Copenhagen. The skies got a little gray at the end but for the most part we had brilliant weather. I never needed my storm coat or an umbrella.
If we travel again next year, I’ll blog about it. Until then, ciao and thanks for following the journey!
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