Category: Stockholm

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #5 “How About a Little Danish?”

by reissmd, posted in Copenhagen, Denmark, Stockholm, Sweden

Last night we had a lovely dinner in Toftaholm preceded by some “entertainment” at the hotel.  Frequently on tours we are subjected to, I mean entertained by locals dressing up as people from the past.  It’s like seeing a history lesson on “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”.   I suppose people like this type of diversion because we commonly see it.  Personally. I would take a pass.  Last night they had some woman pretending to be a queen from the past.  As I mentioned this is not my cup of tea so I really can’t tell you much because I zoned out.    

The Toftaholm Herrgard hotel was more like a bed and breakfast.  Our room was small but adequate.  The bathroom was tiny with a shower that was small even by European standards.  Check it out.

Notice the doors are folded into the shower. This is necessary because the bathroom is too small for them to open out.
This is what the shower looks like when it is ready for use.

This morning we were taken by bus south to the Sofiero gardens in Helsingborg, Sweden.  The gardens were gorgeous but the rainy weather was not optimal for viewing.  We had a very sweet guide who kept giggling during her presentation.  I am not sure if she thought what she was saying was funny or was it that she had this group of stupid Americans willing to pay a lot of money to stand in the rain.   Yes, it rained a lot while we were traversing the gardens.  So a beautiful stroll through a gorgeous garden turned into  a “When will this thing end?” event.  Of course it stopped raining as soon as we went indoors to have lunch.  After lunch we were driven through the beach community of  Helsingborg.  I am not quite sure how popular a beach resort would be if the average summer high temperatures are in the low 60s.  

Just a fraction of the gorgeous Rhododendrons at the Sofiero gardens. There were a lot of beautiful plants but I chose this so I could show off that I knew how to spell Rhododendron.
This was an area we were standing while listening to our guide in the rain. Would a grove of trees been better?

The park had a classy bathroom. See below.

Could you imagine seeing real towels in a USA bathroom?

After Sofiero we headed further south across the Øresund Bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark.   I am sure you are thinking why does he bore us with that small bit of info?  I have to confess, the real reason is that I thought it was real cool that I figured out how to type, “Ø”.    Just don’t ask me what it is called.

We entered Denmark at the capital city of Copenhagen.  After a brief stop at the Phoenix Hotel to drop off our things we headed to the famous Tivoli Gardens.  This was much anticipated by me especially since I always thought they were in Italy.  As it turns out I am not a total dufus.  The gardens were opened by Georg Carstensen in 1843 and he named it Tivoli after the town in Italy.  

The Tivoli Gardens was actually more of an amusement park with rides, games, and lots of places to eat.  Most importantly the weather cooperated and let us enjoy the beauty without getting wet.  It is said that Walt Disney got his idea for Disneyland after visiting this lovely park.  

We had dinner at a restaurant in the park where we ran into two couples from our tour. They invited us to join them. It was a great time for sure. After dinner we walked back to the hotel. I wanted to use the hotel stairs to work off some extra calories and saw this in the stairwell.

That is not an illusion. The stairs and much of our room is on a slant.

We spoke with others on the trip and they too have uneven floors in their rooms. I spoke to the people at the front desk and asked about the hotel history. The clerk wasn’t able to tell me much except that the hotel was designed by a very famous architect from the Italian city of Pisa.

That is more than enough for tonight. I need to get in some magic practice. I promised the group I would do a magic trick during dinner tomorrow. I need to figure something out quick.

Godnat

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #4 “Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia!)

by reissmd, posted in Stockholm, Sweden, Toftaholm

Yesterday we finished the group tour in the morning and had the afternoon to ourselves.  We opted to go to the ABBA museum.  I was not crazy about the idea but numerous people had said it was a must see attraction.  I thought it was okay but not spectacular.  I think Patrice liked it more than I did since she got the opportunity to audition to be the 5th member of the group.  See below. 

Clever effect but Björn Ulvaeus (far left) is 5’7″. If the body images were accurate it would mean Patrice is about 4’2″ (by the way, she isn’t).

I’m sure many of you know (I didn’t) that ABBA is named using the first letters of the first names of the 4 group members (Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-frid).  All I can say is that it’s a good thing that the female members joining Benny and Björn weren’t named Olivia and Olga.  Can you figure out the rest?

We then had a lovely dinner at Bistro Bestick just footsteps from our hotel (Bryggargatan 8, 11121 Stockholm).  The food and service were excellent.  We shared an appetizer of “Mushroom Toast” and it was great. For the main course Patrice had the Char and I had the Cod.  She made the better choice. 

Typically when we share things Patrice will take a bite or two leaving me the rest.  This can be dangerous because if I am not careful I will find myself eating 2 meals instead of one.  Last night Patrice definitely had her share of the appetizer and did a great job on her main course as well. 

“Mushroom Toast”. Not really toast but it was delicious.
Char ordered by Patrice. Spectacular.
The Cod. Very good but didn’t measure up when compared to the Char.

This morning was a travel day and we were driven to the town of Toftaholm which is about 250 miles from Stockholm and we made a variety of stops on the way so driving time was a little over 8 hours.  We are in a nice hotel that is more like a bed and breakfast.  The room is fine and tonight’s dinner was very good.  

Tomorrow we get an early start so see you then, when, after a morning tour of Toftaholm we leave for  …….. Wait one second, let me ask Patrice where we are going tomorrow. 

Patrice WHAT ARE WE DOING TOMORROW?   She doesn’t seem to be available. I will get back to you on that…………… tomorrow. 

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #3 “Cold? Are You Kidding Me?”

by reissmd, posted in Stockholm, Sweden

Today was our first real day of touring.  We met our group promptly at 8:30 AM and were on our way to take a bus/walking tour of the city.  Walking from the hotel to the bus was only a distance of about 100 feet, but it was one of the longest walks of my life.  I couldn’t believe how cold it was.  The thermometer registered 6° C which converts to 43° F.  Plus it was windy which made it feel much colder.  Just to add a little spice there was a slight drizzle.  I admit it, I am from Southern California and they build us weak there, but this was even difficult for the sturdy.  Well maybe not.  We have a couple of ringers here.  Matt and his wife, Jayme, are from Iowa (via Wisconsin and Minnesota respectfully) so they don’t count.  Here is a picture of Matt and me.  

Can you tell which one of these men is from California?

The city tour was okay.  But traveling around a town in a bus hearing a bunch of facts is not really my thing.  We did make some stops that were of interest.  We visited the City Hall which was very impressive.  Inside, the building demonstrated real warmth.  No not the architecture, the temperature.  it was very warm and I didn’t want to leave.  Our guide, Monica, showed us the Blue Room which for some reason is not blue but actually red. 

Patrice and me in the “Blue Room” in the Stockholm City Hall. Hey, if you had to live in this weather things would look and feel blue to you too.

Above the Blue Room is the Golden Hall.  This was very beautiful and supposedly composed of 18 million pieces of gold mosaics.  I was counting to confirm but our guide said we didn’t have time for me to finish my count.  Really?  What was all that verbiage about tailoring the trip to meet the client’s needs?  

I got to about 150 on my count to confirm there were 18,000,000 golden pieces and I was stopped. Can you believe that?

Use the link below to see a panoramic view of the Golden Hall. Just ignore the narrator who at first calls it the City Council then corrects himself.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ubtwB24rEqk

Here is one more picture of the wall. Notice the depiction of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower.

I can’t confirm this but I was told that Trump has asked that the Swedish government arrange that the Statue of Liberty (93 meters tall) appear bigger than the Eiffel Tower (303 meters tall). I was also told that if this does not happen a tariff on Swedish meatballs will follow.

After our visit to the City Hall was completed we did some more walking around the town. And then I saw an unbelievable sight.

Yes, Matt put on a jacket!  And his wife was wearing gloves!

What I didn’t tell you about the above picture is that I took it while I was standing in a shop.  I have no idea what they were selling. I only know it was incredibly warm. 

Now we are off to dinner and a museum visit.  I will tell you about that tomorrow. 

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day 2. “I Need Some Sleep”

by reissmd, posted in Stockholm, Sweden

Today was a disaster but I only have myself to blame. Much of yesterday we had a lot of snacks throughout the day….. I mean throughout the night. When we were in Copenhagen waiting for our flight I should have eaten something but I didn’t. When we arrived in Stockholm all I wanted to do was get some sleep. Since my body is still on LA time I awoke at about 2 AM extremely hungry. My body was craving lunch or an early dinner but my surroundings said everyone is in bed and you should be too. I remember reading that the hotel restaurant (yes, Restaurant Reiss) opened at 6 AM so I toughed it out until then. Patrice was asleep so I quietly exited the room and headed downstairs only be told that the buffet opened at 6:30. It was difficult but worth the wait. I was well satiated and returned to our room. Sorry, I was too hungry to think about pictures.

Except for this picture. How could I pass up Restaurant Reiss?

After letting my food partly traverse my digestive track I then returned to bed. Less hungry I was able to get some sleep. Patrice being a much better sleeper than me headed to the Royal Palace. She sent me this picture from outside the hotel.

Sorry, I can’t tell you anymore than they are men on horses who look like they might be police.

Feeling more rested I joined our group for a chance to meet the other travelers on the tour. There are a total of 24 people on the tour, 8 men and 16 women. That is a ratio I liked when I was in my 20s. At 75, who cares!

The tour took us to the Vasa Museet (museum). This is a structure built to house a 64 gun war ship that took its maiden voyage in 1628. The Swedish ship sailed for 25 minutes. Yes, the ship was unstable, too heavy, and sank shortly after it left port. Actually it never got out of port. I am used to seeing displays honoring great accomplishments. Maybe you have gone to the Smithsonian and seen Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” or Chuck Yeagar’s “Glamorous Glennis” (in which he broke the sound barrier). But a museum to honor a ship that was a total failure? The ship might not have been seaworthy but it was and still is quite beautiful.

Ornate sculpture on the side of the ship. Not bad for something that is about 400 years old and spent about 340 years underwater.
Rear of the ship is also a true work of art.

We then headed to dinner at Villa Godthem (Rosendalsvägen 9, 115 21 Stockholm). The food was very good. Lobster soup followed by Swedish Meatballs, and Chocolate Mousse cake.

Apparently they forgot the soup part of my serving.
Swedish Meatballs. The red glob was a portion of lingonberries (in the same family as blueberries and cranberries). I was told Swedes love them. Maybe I am part Swedish?

I am now in a place I have been looking forward to visiting all day. Yes, I am in bed.

Goodnight all. Or good afternoon to you.

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day 1. “That Was a Long Day!”

by reissmd, posted in Stockholm, Sweden

Well seems like it was just last month that I was blogging about our trip to New Orleans for the ACP meeting.  Actually it was last month.  Today, actually last night, we left for a trip to Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.  Neither of us have ever been to these countries so it should be an interesting adventure.  We are once again using Tauck tours.  I remembered my mother talking about enjoying the Tauck vacations so we gave them a try last year when we travelled to Croatia.  That was a fun trip so we are giving them another chance.  I know some of my friends prefer to set up their own vacations so they can dictate the itinerary but that can be so much work and sometimes quite expensive.  Last year we investigated a private tour of Scandinavia and a two week trip was going to cost us an unspeakable amount of money.  I didn’t even bother to reply to the agent.  When the travel company followed up I told them they misunderstood my request, I wanted to visit Scandinavia, I didn’t want to buy it.  They offered to alter the tour to make it more affordable but we thought going to Croatia with Tauck was a better decision. 

The flight from LAX last night took us first to Copenhagen.  Our friend, Mike, was kind enough to give us a ride to LAX.  It was very fortuitous because he is quite strong and I don’t think I could have lifted our luggage into a cab.  The flight to Copenhagen was uneventful except for a brief period of severe turbulence.  Of course I was in the bathroom when it started making for an interesting excursion.  That being said the flight and service was quite good.  I guess these days if a door or window from the plane doesn’t come off and you don’t hit a helicopter when coming in for a landing it has been a good trip.  The crew of the SAS flight were very good.  I found out that SAS (Scandinavia Airline System) hires attendants from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.  The crew members all speak English but talk to each other in their native tongue.  The languages are similar enough for our Swedish flight attendant to understand her Danish co-worker even though they are speaking 2 different languages.  Apparently not that different.  

In Copenhagen we had a 3 hour layover until departing for Stockholm. Patrice occupied herself by reading her book, checking emails and Facebook, and ignoring my whining.  

The flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm was also uneventful (I am very happy to report) and we were met at Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) by our driver Sven (I made that up since I didn’t hear him say his name).  He quickly took Patrice’s luggage and carrier, leaving me to fend for myself.  

Sven or Bjorn, or whatever his name, putting Patrice’s luggage in the car while good old what’s his name brings up the rear.

We made it to the hotel and I am now chilling in our room. I need some sleep.  Our trip starts tomorrow. Something about his hotel makes me feel at home. See below.

Bar and Restaurant Reiss. How perfect of a start.

See you tomorrow, if I wake up.