weekend in Stockholm

For hubby's birthday I surprised him with a classic afternoon the at the Cadier bar and dinner at Mathias Dahlgren's Matbaren. We left Elsa with a friend and checked in at Grand Hôtel for a our mini vacation. The afternoon tea was just as excellent as expected, they offered a great selection of gluten and lactose-free options including an assortment of sandwiches, scones with lime curd, whipped butter and cream, homemade jams and tasty pastries. And of course hubby enjoyed a glass of Champagne from Pol Roger to all the goodies. 

After the tea session a nap was on the agenda and after that we took a stroll around Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen. The weather was just perfect and the views idyllic. Stockholm is just  so very beautiful and breathtaking with its mix of nature, water and grand architecture. It amazes me everyday how this bustling city can be so tranquil. We had a cinnamon bun/kanelbulle at af Chapmans (it's not a coincidence that hubby's birthday is at the same day as the annual cinnamon bun day...) and drinks at Långa Raden at Hotel Skeppsholmen. After more of the breathtaking views we had to fill up our energy with amazing drinks at Lydmar, one of my favourite places which hubby had never been before!  For your information I'm on my bikram yoga-period, so the whole weekend was free from alcohol (and will be for the next month). The drinks was of course great, I love Lydmar! 

After a quick change we had a lovely evening at Matbaren, the staff was of course very attentive and the food good to great. Matbaren is awarded with one Michelin star, so of course we always expect a little bit more. The idea is to select one dish at a time, the portions are small to medium-sized and you will need at least three dishes to feel satisfied. And if you are my husband you will need five or six. He had the best dessert ever and was very happy with the whole setting, I on the other hand felt that there were limited options - I had a salad that was good, but it was only a salad. And I was recommended the herring, the waiter said that the chief could make up something new, but would rather stick to the menu. So my meat, lactose and gluten-free options was a bit limited, the bread was delicious though, I forget to ask if it was home-baked. The herring was also good, not great, As a Swede you eat lots of herring and this dish was beautifully presented, but did not charm me. And the great part was when the staff said that they wanted me to leave the restaurant with wonderful memories,  so the waiter apologised for "tricking" me to choose the herring. Of course they could make up something new and they did - I had a fantastic cod that really left me speechless. Okay, but only for five seconds, then I continued with words such as "ooh" and "aah". We fell into bed at around 2 am, satisfied and happy.

We woke up 5 hours later with such energy, dressed in our plush bathrobes and comfy slippers we headed to the spa and floated around in the stillness for an hour before diving into Grand's giant breakfast buffet. We ended our fantastic staycation with a fika in Old Town with Elsa. More of that next week!

strängnäs

Vid den lilla staden vid Mälaren strosade vi bland gamla trähus, utforskade en av landets få sex-armade kvarnar från Holland, lunchade på mysiga restaurangen Thai Garden och njöt av lokalt tillverkad glass från Slagsta. Går man förbi gästhamnen och mot domkyrkan får man uppleva pittoreska gränder kantade med vackra trähus, kullerstenar och stockrosor. Däremot är vägen in mot Strängnäs från motorvägen mindre charmig, där får man intrycket att detta är en gammal och trött arbetarstad, men så fel man kan ha. Om du har vägarna förbi, ge Strängnäs en chans!

At the small town of Lake Mälaren, we strolled among the old wooden houses, explored one of the few six-armed windmills from Holland, had lunch at the cozy restaurant Thai Garden and enjoyed locally made ice cream from Slagsta. If you walk past the marina and  to the cathedral, you will experience the picturesque alleys lined with beautiful wooden houses, cobblestoned streets, and hollyhocks. However, the road towards Strängnäs from the highway is less charming, where one gets the impression that this is an old and tired town, but that is of course not the case. So if you are passing by,  give Strängnäs a chance!

blå blå känslor / blue feelings

 

 

 

På semestern unnar jag mig att göra sådant jag inte hinner annars: besöka barndomsvänner, sova över hos föräldrarna på deras gård, gå omkring i makens alldeles för stora skjortor, fantisera på ett bokomslag till en lika fantasifull roman, titta på stjärnorna medan jag lyssnar på tranornas sång, spana efter ugglor... Idag åkte vi med grannarna på en liten badutflykt, skogen var fylld med blåbär så det tog ett litet tag innan vi kom fram till den lilla sjön. Eller kanske borde den kallas för en tjärn, fantastiskt mysig med näckrosor och tallar som stod som en mur kring vattnet. Det var minst 32 grader i luften och säkert 25 grader i vattnet. Badkrukan hoppade i! Mitt tredje dopp denna sommar, redan det ett rekord! Till middag blev det grillad lax, som tillbehör slängde jag ihop svartkål, mangold, röd vårlök, kinesisk gräslök som jag lade i folie med lite olja över samt salt och peppar. Det fick ligga på grillen tills grönsakerna mjuknade, sedan pressade jag på grillad citron. Det smakade underbart gott!

During the vacation I treat myself to things I do not have time to do otherwise: visit childhood friends, sleep over at my parents' on their farm, walking around in my husband's way too big shirts, fantasize on a book cover to an equally imaginative novel, watch the stars while listening to the cranes singing, watching for owls ... Today we went with the neighbors on a small excursion, the forest was filled with blueberries so it took a little while before we arrived to he small lake. Or maybe it should be called a tarn, incredibly intimate with water lilies and pines that stood like a wall around the water. It was at least 32 degrees in the air and certainly 25 degrees in the water. I jumped in! My third dip this summer, this is a record! For dinner we had grilled salmon, which I chose to serve with grilled veggies. I threw together kale, chard, red spring onions, Chinese chives, which I put in foil with a little oil, salt and pepper. I grilled until the vegetables softened, then I pressed on grilled lemon. It tasted wonderfully delicious!

flight mode

 

 

 

Är äntligen på landet, där luften är friskare och gräset mycket grönare. Trädgården exploderar i gröna nyanser och livet känns så mycket enklare. Vi njuter av stillhet, egenodlade grönsaker, champagne med jordgubbar, ett kvällsdopp i sjön, läsa pocketböcker på verandan, yatzy och pannkaksfrukost.

We are finally at the cottage where the air is fresher and the grass is much greener. The garden explodes into fifty shades of green and life feels so much easier. We enjoy the stillness, home-grown vegetables, champagne with strawberries, evening swims in the lake, reading paperbacks on the porch, playing yatzy and eating pancake breakfast.