Through the mysterious magic of science, we left Oakland Airport in the evening, and early the next afternoon we walked out the door into Stockholm, Sweden. Ten hours flight: enough time to read, sleep and eat.
Despite a delay, another comfortable, non-stop flight on Norwegian Air.
If you click on the photo of the little map here, you will see why the polar route is the most efficient way to go. Along the way, we flew directly up the Sacramento Valley of California. I made sure that the pilot hit the "spray chemicals" switch, and we left a big old fat Chem-Trail behind us.
I think this particular batch, if inhaled, brainwashes people into wanting to visit the Socialist Enclaves of Northern Europe.
Or, at least develop a craving for IKEA furniture.
Yes, that tricky, mysterious subject that was so hard to pass in school: Science.
The airport itself is modern, with simple clean lines and wood floors. Well laid out, it does not feel crowded at all.
I needed a coffee; Gail wanted water.
Then we caught the very convenient Flygbussarna Airport Coach (bus) from the airport to Central Station downtown. A few stops, convenient and affordable, it took about 40 minutes.
Here is a first impression of Sweden from the bus ride in: it is clean. Amazingly so. Once I noticed it, I made a concentrated effort to look for trash and grafitti. One cliff had one graffiti painted on it, and I saw two small pieces of litter. Once we hit the city, the trash picked up to maybe one thing per block, and there was more graffiti. But, compared to most cities, especially a place like San Francisco... amazingly clean.
A second impression: lots of American influence of the wrong kind. McDonalds, Starbucks and Burger King, not to mention the "American Food And Gift Store (stocking all the worst crap) or the USA food truck downtown in the "international street food" section by Sergels Torg (one of the main squares).
Because it was getting late we dropped our bags and headed out to eat.
The Plat du Jour was written in Swedish (I had to ask what it was) but the menu has English translations. Sure enough, all the people around us were locals, and we sat outside.
We had Toast Skagen Original to start. It was fresh shrimp with mayo, on toast, topped with roe from kalix. There was a small pile of grated horseradish on the side.
Then we had two "Klassiker" meals.
Gail had Hauets Wallenberagre which was a seafood burger (patty) with spinach, white wine sauce, tomatoes and new potatoes. It was good, not salmon but something good and fish-tasting, and the sauce was excellent. I had Våra Hemtrillade Köttbullar. That is their "famous" meatballs served in a sauce of stock, cream, jelly and port wine with our own lingonberries. There was pickled cucumber and potato puree (mashed potatoes) on the side. Let me tell you, the meatballs should be famous if they are not. I have never has simple meatballs in such a great sauce, and the lingonberries just made everything explode in my mouth.
See the photos below.
We sat and ate and watched the people walk by (Third and fourth impressions: there are a lot of blondes here, and 99% of the people wear black.) for a couple hours.
One thing about Sweden (and Norway and Iceland...) is that prices are steep. Hotels, food and alcohol are all expensive in comparison with other countries. You can eat on the cheep: eat more at lunch, look for the delis and smaller local places.
So, for dinner we had a bottle of red wine from Australia, because the prices were so steep. The least expensive bottle of wine was 395 SK (about $48 USD), a glass cost $14 USD and up. The entire meal was priced more like a meal in San Francisco, less like a meal in France or Italy.
But it was really great food.
I woke up several times the first night, and it never did get "black" outside the window. There was always that late evening light in the sky. Right now the sun rises at 3:35 and sets at 21:59 for an official 18.5 hour day.
But the sun doesn't sink too far below the horizon.
So we walked.
We wandered all over our neighborhood, window shopping and relaxing. It just felt good to get out after sitting on the plane.
Impression five: there is a lot of public art. A modern metal sculpture, a gold roofed cabin, a huge goth-street walker... lots to look at tucked among the modern buildings.
There are churches and spires tucked in here and there, and some older looking government type buildings.
About 23:00 we turned in, but I was still up with the sun the next morning.
When the rain increased, we sat in the Espresso House, drinking and warming up as the cold rain sputtered out.
California Dreaming was playing on the stereo.
We set out again. The rain was over, but it was replaced by a cold wind. I was freezing as it went right through my fleece. It is 46 degrees here, a full sixty degrees colder than at home, just three days ago.
We huddled as we walked, ducking into the occasional church or gift store to warm up.
We walked into the big Cathedral and walked back streets looking at statues and art.
The smallest statue I have seen was tucked in a garden behind the Finnish Church. It was wearing a knit cap (made by some local?) and was surrounded by offerings of Kroner. Gail removed the hat to reveal a brassy, bald head... the shiny brass indicates that is the "good luck" spot to rub.
And that is how we happened upon an organ concert in the Finnish Church (1725), across from the Royal Palace. A combination of cold and good luck. The organ is the oldest in Stockholm. We increased the total audience to six.
We wandered over through the Södermalm, where the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo books take place, which is a pretty upscale part of Stockholm.
Our last meal was at the Urban Deli, where I had Rökta Räkor, or smoked prawns and aioli. They were the perfect mix of sweet and smokey, and paired perfectly with the recommended Grüner Veltliner wine.
Gail had Kokt Krabba: fresh crab with mustard mayonnaise. Paired with a dry Riesling, it was good as well.
The bill was totally outrageous for such a simple lunch, so, though Stockholm is a pretty city, we were not too heartbroken to head to catch our overnight ferry to Estonia.
1. How to use your USA style chip card in Sweden. Here the cards have a PIN number you use when using the card. The US cards don't ask for a PIN when you use them in the states. I called Capital One and asked, and they said if I am prompted for a PIN, use the one I would use for cash withdrawls at an ATM. So far in six transactions I just insert the card but do not have to use the PIN. I do have to hit the green "Approve" button.
2. I could not use my credit card at the self-service kiosk to buy the Flygbussarna tickets. I had to go to the easy to find airport TI and buy them there.
3. The Swedish language is pretty easy to figure out, reading, not pronunciation.
Read this note in the photo here, to the right:
4. Oakland Airport is a dream to fly out of. No lines at the ticket counter, small and easy to get around, and the security checkpoint is fast. Like 5 minutes fast.
Although this time they did swab my pack interior for chemicals (explosives and drugs).
5. I usually try to book a window seat and aisle seat on the airline, hoping that no one will sit between us. If they do, one of switches out, so no harm done. We got lucky this time, the middle seat was empty so Gail could actually lay down across the seats and rest her head in my lap and sleep for a solid four hours or more.
It was a good flight.
6. Fact: We used no cash our entire time in Stockholm.
Zero.
No coins or bills, all charged. Nor did I see anyone pay in cash.
This has never happened to me in any country before. A cashless society.