under the chestnut tree/under kastanjeträdet

Last Sunday we met a friend for a fika in the Old Town/Gamla Stan, it was one of those beautiful crisp autumn days. We walked around the Castle and the Parliament and studied all the amazing architecture. We met at Under the chestnut tree/Under Kastanjen, a bistro located in a charming square in the Old Town, next to a big chest nut tree. They have a wide selection of gluten- and lactose-free pastries and of course Elsa and her friends are welcome. 

It is not very dog friendly except that you get to take your four-footed friend with you. Some visitors who do not know about that room to the left is for dogs gives us strange looks when we are sitting there enjoying the pastries with Elsa next to us. It's all the same really nice to be able to enjoy a gluten- and lactose-free fika with our little girl although they are not offering a special menu for dogs or even a water bowl.

I söndags mötte vi en vän för en fika i Gamla Stan, det var en vacker och frisk höstdag. Vi gick runt  slottet och regeringsbyggnaderna och beundrade den fantastiska arkitekturen, för att sedan träffas på Under Kastanjen, en bistro som ligger i ett charmigt torg i Gamla stan, förstås bredvid ett stort kastanjeträd. De har ett stort utbud av gluten- och laktosfria bakverk och naturligtvis är Elsa och hennes vänner välkomna. 

Det är inte speciellt hundvänligt förutom att du får ta med dig din fyrfotade vän in och vissa besökare som inte vet om att rummet till vänster är till för hundar tittar lite snett på oss när vi sitter där och njuter av bakverken med Elsa bredvid. Det är i alla fall riktigt skönt att kunna njuta av en gluten- och laktosfri fika med vår lilla tjej, trots att de inte riktar sig till hundar med vare sig meny eller  ens en vattenskål.

dinner in the dark

A few weeks ago hubby and I celebrated our anniversary! We decided long ago that we should share the responsibility between us every other year for how to celebrate the anniversary day. This is a lovely tradition, so this year it was hubby's turn to take care of the details and I was the one trying to figure out what kind of evening he had planned for us. We met for drinks at Ljungren's terrace, a very casual but hip roof top bar at Sodermalm. After the drinks we took a stroll down town, to the lazy streets of Sofo, the cozy quarters with all the boutiques and antiques. And suddenly we stopped outside this very small and simple entrance that did not reveal much. Svartklubben (Dark restaurant) was the place for the anniversary dinner, a three course in total darkness served by the blind owner and his staff. They entertained us with music and songs, we were seated next to another couple who we spent 4 hours singing and chatting with - and with no clue about how they or the other guests or interior even looked like.  It was an amazing and enlightening experience that added a new dimension to my senses.  That strange feeling of pouring up the wine in the dark, tasting it, allowing myself to relax and just listen to the voices around me, eat the food without seeing the plate, without knowing the colours, the origin or anything about the menu! I recommend you all to give it a try! Things we sometimes take for granted is not always the reality for others.