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Stockholm. Busy city! Trains every 20 seconds in some parts! So many beautiful old buildings your eyes hurt. Churches so huge and old they look spooky and like they are out of a dodgy gothic movie.
Waterways roaring out to sea with meltwater that keeps on coming. And its constantly below 3 deg. Food tour was 5 stars.
(Susan) i can see why this scandinavian city made of fourteen islands is repeatedly voted the world's most liveable city or at least in the top ten. We couldnt have asked for a more pleasurable day when experiencing the stockholm food tour. Francisco met us promptly outside the osterhalm saluhall...what a stunning market: a feast for they eyes and tummy at every turn. Naturally we had to sample the swedish delicacy - semlor, which is a cream filled bun(real cream!), tasty almond paste and believe it or not cardomon! John and i shared one.
Next it was game meat samples... Yes, rudolph and elk. I personally preferred the elk... Salty but perfection with a slice of swedish cheese. We were surprised to be handed a glass of beer to wash these treats down! After leaving the Saluhall we stepped into our first swedish deli and were each handed a plate of turkey meatballs , lindenberry (much tastier than cranberry) accomapnied by mashed potato... I dont know what the Swedes do with their potatoes but jeeeez, are they moorish! After devouring our meatballs with zest, Francisco said we were lunching soon. I knew i should have passed over that last meatball to john! We then waddled via the cobblestoned streets of stockholm to our next tasting destination. I recall Francisco mentioning "food court". To my delight a foodcourt in stockholm is very different to a brisbane foodcourt! We devoured Smorrebrod (open cut sandwich) laden with the best smoked salmon i have ever tasted, scrumptious prawns, potato salad with dill and a seafood chowder on the side. Again we were handed more alcohol (glass of white wine)... Two glasses of alcohol all before 12!! I suppose at the time it was beer o'clock in Australia. After lunch we walked through the streets to the old town 'Gamla Stan'. This was my favourite part of Stockholm filled with iconic buildings and cozy little cafes filled with candles and more pretty looking pastries. This town dates back to the 13th century and cosnsists of medieval looking alleyways. The square where we enjoyed a hot chocolate was the site of the swedish bloodbath of 1520 where the Danish king filled the very square with blood!! Brutal.
Abba museum
After a chilly but fresh 4.5 km walk into town, we discovered the abba museum. I was excited but John was hesitant or perhaps he was just a little hesitant about paying $40 for the privilege and having to listen to abba songs for the next couple of hours.. I secretly think he enjoyed it as I witnessed him tapping his foot and shaking his hips a few times.
As you can imagine, the museum was full of abba memorabilia including platinum records and recognizable costumes. Frida and Agnatha were tiny women. There were numerous rooms and studios depicting their offices/studios at the time. There was even a karaoke room where you can sing along and star as the fifth member... I opted out of this, much to john's disappointment. There are some things people do not need to see on social media.. However, I was brave enough to try out one of the smaller private rooms where I sang along to Waterloo. Who thought one could have so much fun in a museum. Towards the exit there was an area set up showcasing other swedish bands, e.g. Roxette, Nina cherry, Europe and the cardigans...I left the museum with good memories and abba tunes etched in my memory.
Next step was the stockholm aquarium.. Not quite mooloolaba's underwater world, but cosy and quaint all the same. They had a mini rainforest that was toasty warm and had piranhas and ducks... Needless to say, the ducks still had their feet so the piranhas must regularly get a decent feed. John was particularly moved by the faux tropical thunderstorm with thunder, lightning and torrential rain.. For a brief moment we felt at home. We finished our museum trips with a swedish hotdog and yes, more caffeine!
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