Famous DJs, Salty Licorice and Lots of Ficka--A Stockholm Adventure

Stockholm…probably the most beautiful capital city I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Before I went, I had no idea that it was even based around the sea, let alone surrounded by islands. The city reminded me a bit of Hamburg, but more pretty and the people are completely different. I thought the whole blonde/tall thing was an overused stereotype. But, no...it’s surprisingly true. When you walk through the downtown shopping area, I’d say about half the people you pass are relatively tall and blonde. The other half is mostly made up of tourists...so there you go. Not all stereotypes are untrue.

Anyway, it was a happy surprise to see how most of the city was on the water. Walking along the harbor area, I passed some big old wooden ships and men repainting them with white-wash. On the other side of the water were beautiful old apartments and fancy hotels, all made of beautiful gray stone or painted in bright colors like orange, yellow and red.

View from the top of the Stockholm City Hall

On top of city hall!

My first day, I started off by exploring the Galma Stan—the Old Town of Stockholm. It sits up on kind of a hill in the center of the city, and is amazingly well preserved. The houses are all different pastel colors, wooden with beautiful carved, stooping roofs. Antonia told me that they are actually a German design, since the Germans were the ones who actually turned Stockholm from a small town into a big, bustling city. They even started the first real secondary school is Stockholm, and it is still one of the best. The school is German, but many Swedes go there since it has such a high reputation. And yes, all the classes are in German. Both Antonia and her sister went to the school, and therefore they both speak German and Swedish fluently. I think that is such a good idea- putting your kids in a foreign languages school so they can be fluent in more than just their mother-tongue. I think I will do the same if I ever have kids. (I have been doubting having kids ever since I have become an au pair… The work load they incur is unbelievable. But we’ll see if I change my mind).

Anyway, I explored Glama Stan, passing the palace, which is huge and makes up a kind of wall separating Galma Stan from the rest of the city. I was lucky enough to catch the 12 o’clock switching of the guards. It is very traditional ceremony similar to what they do in London. A group of guards dressed in the Swedish flag colors (blue and yellow) come out from behind the pillars, raising their swords and shouting something in Swedish. They march around, and then split apart, marching to opposite ends of the big square in front of the palace, towards the guards standing in their boxes, waiting to be switched. What I found really interesting about this whole scene was that there was one single women soldier out of the group of about 5 soldiers, and she got to lead off half of the group, leading the chants and all. It was quite interesting, considering it is such an old tradition and is followed as rigidly as possible to when it was first started back in who-knows-when. I guess it was just really nice to see a women leading… I think Sweden, and many of the other Nordic countries, is much more ahead in sexual equality than many other developed countries. They seem to be much more socialist in general. I was talking to my au pair friend Minja a couple of days ago (she is from Finland) and she told me that the runner-up for the next Finnish leader was gay and from the Green Party. This just shows how liberal and open they are there. She also told me that Finland is very strict about keeping religion separate from the government. This means that they have already had a number of leaders who were not even religious. That would never happen in the US! It amazes me that a modern country like the US can’t achieve the same. I mean, it makes sense, you even see proof that this way of running the government works quite well. The Swedish government barley runs into any issues. The general well-being of people in the country is one of the highest in the world. I was in a taxi one night, returning home from a party in Stockholm, and when the driver found out that I was American, he started on a long rant about how he thought the US social security system was totally wack. It amazed me that he knew so much...I think this Swedish taxi driver was more informed about the issues of the US government than a typical American.

The Palace

View from one side of the palace

Me on palace balcony (the guard was checking me out, I swear:P)

Anyway, I wondered the little cobble stone streets of Galma Stan, looking into the old Stockholm cathedral and this impressive statue of a man fighting a dragon,

 exploring some little stores with handmade jewelry, crazy style clothing, as well as more traditional stores selling the typical wooden, brightly painted horse statues (called Dala horses or in Swedish, Dalahäst. They get the name from the region of which they originate—Dalarna).

 I enjoyed some real Swedish ice cream, trying some traditional flavors like lemon curd and salty raspberry licorice. Swedes LOVE their licorice. Especially this really salty kind called  salmiakki (that is actually the Finnish name, but Swedes use it too..it actually means Ammonium Chloride in Finnish, because that is what is used to make the salty taste!). It’s black and looks like normal licorice but in small pieces, but when you suck on it, this strong saltiness comes out and tingles your tastebuds. It sounds gross, but it is actually quite good! They also have an even saltier kind, which is actually covered in salt crystals…that one is a little TOO salty for me, but Antonia loves it. Guess that shows that I am not a Swede.

The ones in the lower-right hand corner are quite intense...and they are they first ones I tried!

Alleyway of Galma Stan

Funny trashcans in Galma Stan

I walked out of the Galma Stan, coming to a bridge leading to an area called Sodermalm. I had read that there was a famous herring bar there which sold, apparently, the best fried herring in Stockholm. The piece of fried fish was served on a toast of rye bread, and covered with a mustard sauce and red onion. The flavors wen well together and it was quite delicious.

After tasting my first real Swedish herring, I explored the Sodermalm area, which is like the “Soho” of Stockholm. Basically, Stockholm is divided into two very different areas, each with very different types of people. In Sodermalm, which is technically an island connected to central Stockholm by a bridge, the type of people tend to be more “hipster”, laid back, wear vintage clothing (but are still very fashionable, or course. If they weren’t, then they wouldn’t be Swedish). 

Then, you have the people who live downtown, who are a bit more “stuck-up” and like to show off their money by wearing expensive designer clothing and hang out at exclusive bars and beach clubs by the water (of  course Stockholm has many). Antonia of course brought me to one, called the Strand Brygga  (The "Beach Pier"). It was on a floating dock right next to a bridge connecting downtown Stockholm to a green island where some museums are. The beach club had a big white bar with expensive drinks, and then a bunch of orange lounge chairs looking out over the water. It was a very sunny, warm day, rare for Sweden, and so the place was full--full of people wearing designer sunglasses and posing in the sun, drinking their pricy cocktails. Antonia ran into a few of her friends there, including a very attractive man who she later told me was the best friend of a world-famous DJ. And I shook his hand! And then we ran into the manager of Café Opera, the most exclusive club in Stockholm (where Antonia works as a hostess). He was a fat man, wearing a pink button up shirt (which was only half buttoned, showing his hairy chest). You could tell he was loaded. Just the way he sat there in the sun, enjoying his classy drink and having no worries other than how tan he would get. He was friendly though, and was happy to hear that I would be coming to Café Opera that Wednesday night, for their famous mid-week party. Antonia told me that she always finds him at the beach pier, just chilling in the sun. He doesn’t really need to work since he has so many people doing his work for him.

Of course, you can’t generalize the different areas of Stockholm, but actually, for the most part, the type of people and where they spend their time usually go together.

Anyway, in Sodermalm, I wandered around the town a bit, then walked out to the edge of it, facing the city. Sodermalm is quite up high on a cliff, and I discovered a nice walking path following the edge of it, with a great view of the rest of the city, especially the distinctive Stockholm City Hall. Take a look at pictures:

The City Hall

View of Sodermalm from across

 Stockholm is made up of many different parts, each with their own feeling. You have a shopping area with all the unique, Swedish designers and fancy malls. Antonia brought me to one that was quite cool actually, called Mood Mall. It was probably the artsiest, chill mall I have ever been to, but still very big. The little art designs all around were very tastefully made, with modern statues and an iron pipe design snaking along the wall, connected to a spout where you could fill your water bottle. And all these designs were just there to make the mall more appealing to the eye. When I compare this mall to an American one…well you actually you can’t compare them… Let’s just say, American malls are built for practicality. They are there for getting your shopping done. They are built for crowds of people running in all directions, pushing each other around to get the best sales. But this mall was designed for a pleasant, relaxed shopping experience. All the stores were unique designers and there were no extra advertisements or loud music—just simply the quiet singing of birds over the speakers. There were large cafes and Asian restaurants inside (Swedes love their sushi, Antonia says that it is her favorite hangover food), as well as outdoor terraces with houses on stilts with views of the city, which you can rent out and sleep in!

Shopping street

Anyway, then you have the “fancy” part of town on the water, where the apartments that cost billions of Swedish Krone stand, and the most exclusive clubs (Café Opera, for example, which is attached to the Opera house), and the Royal Park.

View from island

Royal Park

 Then you have Galma Stan, which I mentioned earlier. You have the part with offices and such, and a beautiful library in a park. 

Library

And THEN you have all these little islands all around, of which some are connected by bridges while others only by ferry. One of the largest is called Djurgården and it is mostly trees, very green, of course, and contains a couple of museums (including the Abba museum) and Skansen, an open air museum containing lots of original Swedish houses and a zoo.

Visiting Skansen :)

My Swede with her moose!

Doesn't this picture look so much like stereotypical country-side Sweden...

May-pole! They actually dance around this at midsummer, which is not in May, but the end of June. It is the longest night of the year..the sun never sets! Girls wear white dresses and flowers in their hair, and everyone in the city goes to the country to have a party in big open fields and dance around these poles (while drinking, of course).

Another small island has Stockholm’s very own amusement park, and another very small island hoses the Modern Art Museum, the architecture museum, and a few other attractions all tucked into greenery and lots of trees. Another thing that makes Stockholm so unique—most of its museums are in a quiet, green place away from the craziness of the city. That is something a really loved. In 10 minutes, you can walk from a bustling downtown shopping area to a green island getaway where you can enjoy quiet and nature. In how many cities can you do that?

On the way to the museum

View from island

View from island

famous ship

One day, I met up with Antonia after her work at Hollister, and we went to her boyfriend’s bakery downtown for a “fika.” “Fika” is something Swedes love to do. They do it every day around 3 in the afternoon. Can you guess what it is? It’s basically an afternoon coffee and a small something to eat. And Swedes do it religiously, every day. Antonia says that’s what she always did with her friends after school. They just said, “Fika everyone?” and went to some café downtown to enjoy a coffee and Kanelbullen. So, she brought me to what she considered the best bakery in Stockholm, to try some Swedish pastries. One kind of looks like a cinnamon roll, but seasoned with cardamom instead of cinnamon, and not as sweet (this is what a Kanelbulle is). Another specialty is these chocolate balls, which are basically dark chocolate mixed with some kind of flower and rolled in coconut shavings. Swedes normally call them, rudely, “nigger balls.”

Thursday afternoon, I took the train to Gavle, two hours north of Stockholm, to visit my friend Nicole. She went to school with me in New York, but her family and Swedish, and so she decided to move back to Sweden for her studies. She lives on a beautiful big lake. The house is quite modern looking, but all made of wood. And Nicole and her brother each have their own little houses in the yard, separated from the main house, where they sleep. They also have their own kitchens and bathrooms…very cool. A good way to practice living on your home, while still having your parents right there across the yard. Anyway, the first night, her mom welcomed me with a homemade meal of Swedish meatballs, steamed potatoes, pickles and lingonberry jam. It was delicious and actually really nice to finally have a warm meal at the dinner table. I’ve forgotten how cozy it is for the family to sit around a freshly cooked meal and enjoy it. Here in Brussels, my host family eats Abendbrot, which is basically bread with cold meats and cheeses. That is very German. Germans eat a large, warm meal for lunch and a small, cold dinner. I think it’s a fine idea, but personally I enjoy sharing a warm meal with the family. And I am really looking forward to that when I get home!!

Anyway, Friday night, she invited some friends over and we had a BBQ, then started up the sauna (her dad built a traditional wood one, in its own little Swedish house right next to the lake. It runs off real wood logs, which you light and then blow air on with one of those weird air bowing things that you squeeze and they look like an accordion kind of.) 

Sauna house

View from her house!

Look at this beautiful lake!

At 11pm, the sky was still light. I couldn’t believe how big the giant, white moon was--hanging directly in the sky over still, dark blue water. 

Suddenly, Nicole suggested that we go swimming. I first I thought she was joking, but when she kept asking, I realized she wasn’t. Then I thought about it a little more:  I mean, we do have the hot sauna to jump into after.. So why the hell not? I have to be like a Swede and ignore the cold. In the winter, Swedes love to roll naked in the snow before going in the sauna, so why am I being such a wimp about going in the lake? We put on our bathing suits, took one deep breath, staring out at the frigid-looking water, and then ran in. My legs numbed up immediately. I waded deeper and deeper, trying to ignore the cold stinging my legs and arms. I felt revitalized, looking up at the beautiful big white moon, the tall pine trees on the islands, sitting a little ways out in the lake. I breathed in the fresh, clean air. I hadn’t smelled such clean air in a while...living in Brussels, or Belgium in general, you don’t have the luxury of unpolluted air. I looked back towards Nicole’s house, and noticed that she had already ran out of the water. I started to wade back after her, but then she yelled, “no, no, stay! I have to take a picture of you!” She  grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos of me.  Then, I ran out, excited to relieve my freezing body with the natural warmth of the sauna. What a true Swedish experience: ) We went to bed at half past midnight, and the sky was still light. I don’t think it was ever completely dark the entire night.

When we woke up, Nicole made me a traditional Swedish breakfast (basically, it’s what she eats every morning, along with every other Swede in the country). Can you guess what it is? Because I couldn’t have...

Caviar. Yes, fish eggs. Fish eggs from a tube. You can buy these giant tubes of caviar for as little as 3 Kr. And Nicole told me this interesting story about the brand of Kavier she had (which was the most famous one in Sweden). On the tube, there is a smiling, very blonde and very blue-eyed boy smiling—the  symbol of “Kalles Kavier.” Apparently, there was a bunch of controversy over the past few years about the company’s logo. People were saying that is was racist having such a “typical” Swedish boy on the tube. Swedes are very much against racism. They are very open, almost too open, some people think, to immigrants, and letting them peacefully join their society. They hate it when people talk about the as being the perfect example of Aryan race.

Anyway, I had never had caviar in my life…and I was a little hesitant about trying it. But, I am adventurous, and always up for trying new things, so I let her prepare me the traditional way of eating it. Basically it is a slice of white bread which you then spread with butter (I also learned that Swedes have a very special knife which they ONLY use for butter. It is a dull knife, made of a light colored wood, and usually has some kind of design carved into it), and then caviar on top of that, and then, this special soft sausage cut in slices, and laid on top. The sausage is mild and wrapped in a red coating. Not sure what it is called, but it is also a very common Swedish food.

Well, the butter-caviar-sausage bread tasted AMAZING. Perfect for when you wake up really hungry in the morning and craving something salty (kind of like when Americans wake up and eat scrambled eggs and bacon). The caviar is very salty, but has a yummy fishy taste that is somehow addicting. I had to bring a tube home for the Kochs. Sylvie was very surprised, I think, that it was in a tube… But she tried it. I couldn’t tell if she liked it, but the next few days, I was the only one who seemed to be eating it. Then, a week later, when I was looking for it in the fridge to make a sandwich, it wasn’t there anymore. Sadness… could she have really thrown it away? Could be… Sylvie has a fear of eating food that’s gone bad, and throws things away much too early. It’s quite a waste actually. Especially because caviar can last for a while, when you have it in a tube.

That morning at Nicole’s, we feasted. We also had yogurt (very different from American yogurt, more liquidy (it comes in a milk carton-like container) and a sour taste…and even the strawberry one is not very sweet. But that is the way I like it. And usually it is eaten with muesli (a mix of oats, nuts and dried fruits).

Nicole and I both took the train back to Stockholm on Saturday morning. We were heading to a big “Day Party” on an island in Stockholm, which Antonia’s boyfriend organized (he is not only a baker, but also a famous event-organizer, who would have ever guessed?) The party took place at a fancy restaurant/bar with a giant outdoor terrace looking out over the harbor and the Baltic Sea spreading out beyond. Palm trees encircled the VIP terrace, which stuck out the farthest into the water. Wicker couches with plushy, white cushions stood everywhere, filled with pretty girls dressed in short, delicate summer dresses and big sunglasses. They surrounded glass tables, each one with a giant ice bucket in which laid the biggest bottles of champagne I had ever seen, and surrounded by fine-looking drinking glasses. Wealthy looking young men wearing light colored button up shirts stood at the tables, smiling at the girls and pouring them more and more champagne. A DJ played blasting house music in the background, and every time the music hit a climax, smoke would burst out of a pillar and into the sky. 

Nicole and I in Stockholm

Nicole and I walked into the crowd of amazingly beautiful people, finding Antonia, who was dressed in a pure white, long dress and wore a crown of fresh flowers on her blonde head. She looked so Swedish, it was almost too much. She pulled herself away from some young man, who she later said was another famous DJ, and came up to us. She gave us blue VIP bands so we could get onto the terrace. We chatted quickly, and then she flew off, talking to other guests, sipping from her gin and tonic. Nicole and I could feel people staring at us as we walked over the bouncer guarding the VIP area. But I noticed that we weren’t the only ones being stared at. Actually, everyone was checking everyone out. You don’t notice it at first...people do it nonchalantly. But it’s quite obvious once you start looking. This was a party where you go to be seen. You go to check others out. Find a hook-up or a good connection. This was a real Stockholm high-class party.

Me at the party, being obviously checked out by that girl behind me...

As the day wore on and evening came, girls were getting obviously drunk, and guys were getting very happy. Suddenly, I saw coupled passionately making-out on the sofas, and some girl’s dancing wildly around to the music, their round breasts popping out of their dresses. Apparently (according to Antonia and my own eyes) girls in Sweden tend not to wear bras when they go out. Why? Antonia says it looks better…but only if you can keep your breasts cold so they stay firm. Not sure how that would work if you are in a warm club all night, but alright. All I can say is, these girls at this party were really following the no-bra rule, and the guys were loving it.

Well, that was the end of my Sweden experience. After a nice lunch with Antonia on Sunday, it was my flight home! All I can say is, “LET’S FICKA!” 

If you would like to see more pictures from my trip, please check out my album labelled "Stockholm" on facebook!