Weekend in Swiftholm

 Trip date: May 2024

After a few days in Oslo I was on my way to Stockholm to meet up with my friend Gail. The entirety of this trip was to see The Eras Tour and as a lot of you know, traveling overseas was less expensive than buying tickets in the states. Plus, Scandinavia in summer is the best!

The city had leaned FULLY into the concert and all the people coming for it. There were lots of Swift related things you could do, including meetups, special pre-show parties, bracelet swaps, etc. But the cutest was the rebranding of Stockholm to Swiftholm for the weekend!

My rail trip from Oslo was 5+ hours and only $157, mostly through gorgeous countryside. The train was very new and modern and between cars there were complimentary fika stations set up where you could help yourself to coffee/tea and some sweets. 

All long-distance trains have a car where you can purchase beer and wine, you also have to drink it in there though as it's forbidden to consume alcohol anywhere but the dining car during the ride. Lame but easily skirted by putting rosé in my water bottle. You can bring your own food onboard, which I had done, so a little picnic in my seat, while gazing out the window and relaxing with a bood made for a lovely afternoon.

I checked into the Radisson Blu Waterfront (because that was really the only thing that was not completely inflated cost wise because of the concert) where Gail and I were sharing a room, it's a great central location & across from the train station which was handy!

Before dinner I met up with some other Seattle friends who were in town for the show too! We had drinks at the absolutely lovely A Bar Called Gemma (which sadly closed just a couple of months ago).

After a few rounds and some good catching up, we walked over to Brassiere Astoria for dinner where we met Gail. It's a beautiful restaurant and has a big menu which makes it easy for everyone to find something they like. 

*pro tip- Sweden (like Norway) is basically a cash-free country. You use credit cards or tap for everything. Also they are almost a non-tipping country where you leave only 10% if it was a very good experience or you can round up on the total. You will see that most locals do not tip unless it is fine dining*

We walked home at almost 11pm with this stunning sky!

As this was Gail's first time in Stockholm we spent the next couple of days sightseeing around. Even though this was my 3rd time here, it is such a wonderful city that I was more than happy to see things again, and introduce her to a few of my favorites.

First up, walk to and around Gamla Stan. And we happened to have the most incredible weather for it!

Is it touristy? Yes. Is it also filled with wonderful antique shops, incredible architecture, and royal pageantry? Yes. Spend as little or as long as you like but don't miss this lovely little area. 

Next up, walk over to Sodermalm for a peek around some neighborhoods old and new, a lovely lunch, and some great views. 

We also met friends at super cute Herno Gin Bar for an afternoon cocktail, ah vacation! 

There was A LOT of construction going on over here when we were there, hopefully things are back to normal now!

Gail and I had dinner that night at Lilla Ego. This is such a wonderful spot! We had reservations at the counter which gave us a front row seat to watch the kitchen. Everything was super seasonal, like this dish of white asparagus, and the flavors were just perfect! 

The next morning we started at Vete-Katten for arguably the city's best cardamom buns (there are a few locations, we went to the King's Street one) and some coffee. 

Then we spent the day wandering and shopping and ended up finding a great design store, this fantastic consignment shop and of course I had to take Gail to my favorite fabric shop!

We had a wonderful lunch at Lisa Elmqvist, another one of my faves and now in the renovated Östermalms Food Hall. This is the place for amazing seafood! And the atmosphere is both fun and a little posh. While I had a traditional shrimp salad dish, Gail got an in-house smoked salmon with the softest scrambled eggs I'd ever seen! They were incredible!

After lunch we went down to the waterfront for a glass of wine, this is honestly one of my favorite things to do in Stockholm. Pick one of the floating bars during the afternoon, get something easy like rosé or a spritz, and enjoy the scenery and people watching!

That night we met up with my friends for pre-concert drinks at High Bar at the Radisson Blu Royal Viking. We picked this spot because it was easy for us all to get to and was near the train station we'd be using to go to the show, but I'd still say if you want a drink and a lovely view of the city it is a solid spot! 

We ended up taking an Uber to and from the show since there were 4 of us, and we all had a fantastic time! One thing about being cashless though is when the stadium had an issue with their payment processing machines they could only take the local equivalent of our Venmo, so we went the entire show without anything to drink, even water! 

On our last day in Stockholm we took one of the Cinderella boats to Vaxholm, the closest of the islands in the Stockholm Archipelago. We had reserved the 1-hour trip in advance as most of these boats sell out in the high season. 

Vaxholm is very small and easy to walk around. We spent the morning just wandering; exploring little alleyways, popping into local shops selling housewares and clothing, peeking into neighbors yards. Especially with the fantastic weather we were having, it's just a lovely little day trip.

For lunch we had a wonderful table outside at Hembygdsgårds Café. This homey spot sits right on the water and is known for their traditional Swedish dishes. We had a delicious cold poached salmon with a sauce made from skyr & dill. For dessert there is a huge table filled with all sorts of desserts that somehow you have to choose from. I loved this cafe!

I absolutely love being out on a boat in the Archipelago here, and with 30,000 islands you definitely have your choice of islands! If you want to head out to the farthest one, you can go to Sandön, which I did a few years ago. 

Back in Stockholm, we grabbed a glass of rosé down by the waterfront again and enjoyed more pretty views. I do find it shocking sometimes at how gorgeous this city is!

That evening we had some lovely cocktails, and even better service, at Lucy's Flower Shop. This basement level speakeasy of-a-sort is dim, busy, and just the right amount of loud to have a great time but still be able to hear your drinking partners!

And because there is no way I am going to leave Stockholm without having a plate of traditional meatballs, we had dinner at Riche. It's a big traditional bistro which has a good selection of Swedish and more modern dishes.

And with that, our weekend in Stockholm was over. And it still remains one of my favorite cities in Europe! In the morning we were off to Gothenburg!

All Stockholm photos here. 

Other posts from this trip:

Oh Oslo!

 

Oh Oslo!

 Trip date: May 2024

I have been known to do odd things just to fly a certain route or on a particular plane and on this trip I flew up to Canada so that I could fly KLM Business class in order to get one of their Delft Blue miniature houses. These adorable recreations of buildings and houses in Amsterdam are filled with Bols genever and are only available on intercontinental flights booked in Business or First. 

Since KLM doesn't fly out of Seattle I spent about $100 on Alaska Air for a 30 minute flight to Vancouver. This was also my first time using my Canadian passport so it seemed fitting to use it in Canada! On my 5 hour layover in YVR I hung out in the SkyTeam Lounge where I had some excellent cold peanut noodles from their noodle bar, then checked out the Plaza Premium Lounge and did some duty free shopping. It's a very nice International terminal!

I had transferred 161,500 Chase points to KLM directly for my YVR-AMS-OSL flight. This was my first time flying KLM Business class and I was super happy with my 3A window seat (but do wish I had gotten a better points transfer). My pod was outfitted with lots of space to stow stuff, an auto charging table, layflat bed and privacy door. And the bathroom was lined in miniature blue house wallpaper!

The 9-hour flight included a very nice drinks and dinner service (I had a Bols genever old fashioned, a poached lobster salad, mango rice with prawns, and a little cheese plate), some absolutely stunning views of the Rocky Mountains, a movie, and about 6 hours of sleep. I was hoping to see the Northern Lights but it never got dark on our flight path!

I will admit that when I woke up and had breakfast and everyone was getting ready for landing I was VERY concerned that I still didn't have a house! But then one of the flight attendants came around with a tray full of them! I didn't know I would get a choice! I was so excited! 

I had a connecting flight in Amsterdam, and security to go thru, but my little booze house fit in my ziplock liquids bag so it was safe! I hung out in the KLM Crown Lounge for 2 hours on my layover; it is a huge lounge with lots of room but also can get very busy. 

AMS-OSL... my plane got turned around mid flight! OMG I was terrified! They had pressurization issues so we had to return and wait for a new plane. As this is Europe, I was able to put in a claim for the delay and was refunded $326!

Oslo, finally! I took the Flytoget Airport Express from the airport to Oslo central station which took just 22 minutes for 240 NOK ($25) vs. 40 mins & €90 for a taxi. You can just tap your phone or credit card and they leave every 20 mins. 

My hotel, the Clarion Hotel Hub, was right across the street from the station. I got checked in to my very cool designer room, took a much needed shower and headed to the rooftop bar for sunset drinks and a snack with a view- 4 hours later than planned.

Oslo is such a beautiful city! 10+ years ago I had visited in the winter, so these views were very different. And the next morning when I woke up the weather was outstanding; actually a bit warmer than what I packed for!

I walked everywhere, as the city is quite flat, and really admired how much the city has grown since my last visit and how very cool and modern it is. I highly recommend everything I did as I didn't have a dull moment!

• Walk up on the roof at the Opera House for great views of the harbor and the city.

• Visit the Munch Museum; if you are in town on a Monday it is the only museum open which is great! When I visited the city in 2011 the collection was in a small temp space while this was being built. It's a stunning building! 

And if you are going to see The Scream you should go to the 4th floor as soon as you get there in order to find out the timing that the version you would like to see will be shown. Throughout the day they show one at a time, a painting, a drawing and a print. The others remain in darkness behind revolving walls. 

There's so much more at this museum though! I spent about 2 hours going through the various galleries. There are some wonderful views of the city and harbor here also!

• Explore the National Museum, the largest museum in Scandinavia (and the café & gift shop are super!). And there are usually a few really unique touring exhibits going on. I was lucky enough to catch a Kandinsky woodblock exhibit with items on loan from the Pompidou in Paris. The intricacy of the hand-carved blocks was amazing!

The National Museum also has a few renditions of The Scream as well as a great collection of other modern works, architecture, textiles, etc.

Oslo has over 50 museums to choose from; impressive for the smallest of the Scandinavian capital cities!

• Cruise the Oslo Fjord on an electric catamaran. My friends and I cruised the fjord when we were here in winter, all bundled up in reindeer pelts drinking mulled wine on a wooden boat. This time I took advantage of the summer-like weather and modern technology and saw it in much different light. And with a glass of cold wine.

The 1 ½ hour cruise gives you a chance to see the city from Oslofjord, which runs 75 miles from the North Sea to the Capital. I also saw lots of 100-year old houses, beaches, islands, and some historic ships. I've never met a boat I didn't like and really loved my time cruising around on this completely quiet one!

• Walk all over Oslo! The city is absolutely beautiful, mostly flat, and very safe. 

While traversing around keep your eyes peeled for Stolpersteine, or stumbling stones, small gold squares embedded in the sidewalks outside places where Jews and other victims lived. These places are the last known homes of victims and will generally list their name, birth year, and fates. There are hundreds around, reminding us of the victims deported and killed by the Nazis in WWII.

You can learn about Stefan here.

The Palace is on one end of the city while the Opera House is at the other. The waterfront is where you can rent a floating sauna or just sit and take in the views. And in between are gorgeous parks, tons of cute shops, cool public sculptures, and a few big grand hotels whose lobby bars just beg you to sit for a drink...

• Get a cocktail, or many! Oslo has some fantastic cocktail bars and bartenders using interesting ingredients not always found in the states. As I love a hotel bar, I checked out 2 on this trip (besides my own). 

The Hotel Continental is very well known for its restaurant Theatercaféen which opened in 1900. But I was checking out their modern lobby bar, Boman. This understated and elegant space was a super comfortable spot to take a break from all my walking and their Classic Cocktail menu charmed me with one of my favorites, the Last Word. 

The bar also has one of the largest private collections of art by Edvard Munch in Norway. No Scream though! 

Over at The Grand Hotel, the lobby bar Othilia is luxurious & a little showy. 

When I was there the cocktail menu theme was "From Canvas to Glass" & was reinterpreting works of art into delicious drinks. This wasn't my first time at this bar, I had been there all those years ago and had loved my classic martinis. So happy to see it continues to hit all the marks. 

The Grand Hotel is a stunner and is definitely worth a walk around before you leave!

At Svanen, or The Swan, the cocktail bar has taken over the space that was a pharmacy from 1896 to 2014! The Swan Pharmacy's interior is still intact, with marble and wood counters and columns, adorned ceiling, and lots of those cool apothecary cabinets. And swans, lots and lots of swans.  

The drinks however are all very modern, and very delicious! Such as my "Stolen Apples" with rum, gin, green apple, lapsang souchong, ginger & shiso. There's also a full menu of classics and some N/A options. All this and the bar is currently #32 on the World's 50 Best Bars list. 

I'd say the most famous cocktail spot in Oslo is Himkok (they also own The Swan) and it's marked only by a small H outside the front door. They are #14 on the World's 50 Best Bar list so this is definitely one you don't want to miss!

Inside you'll find a full distillery making Aquavit, Gin, and Vodka, which the bar uses to create inventive cocktails. There's another bar upstairs that specializes in high-volume draft cocktails. And an outdoor terrace in the summer for beers. It's a whole little city of booze! And on top of it, the bartenders are super nice and happy to give recommendations for other interesting spots around town. 

• Eat local and new nordic cuisine. My timing (Sun-Tues) did not allow for one of the big Michelin starred restaurants this time but I still had some absolutely lovely meals!

Fiskeriet actually has 2 locations, both are busy seafood markets selling freshly caught fish. And both offer delicious menus of seafood along with some lovely wines. I sat outside and had an absolutely incredible fish & chips along with a minerally glass of Alsatian white wine. I also did a bit of shopping, not for fish, but they have all sorts of food-centric goodies! 

Vaaghals is known for their house cured ham; think country ham meets prosciutto. I settled into a chair draped with sheepskin outside on their terrace and ordered the cured ham which comes with butter, homemade chicken liver paté and bread delivered in a cute paper bag. It's fantastic! My main course of perfectly grilled hake (white fish similar to cod) and roasted potatoes was similarly great! And during dinner you can create a 3, 4, or 5-course tasting menu from the offerings. 

For dinner one night I walked out to the new-to-me neighborhood of Tjuvholmen. This area used to be shipping docks and then in 2005 went through a 9-year redevelopment which turned it into a stunning and modern area with apartments, marinas, offices, parks and the Astrup Fearnley Museum. It was great to see the finished efforts!

The restaurant Sjomagasinet which in their own words is "part restaurant, part seafood bar & delicatessen, part wine bar and part event & meeting space." The name actually means "sea store" and it's an absolutely gorgeous space.

While my dinner was flawless with wonderful flavors and presentation, service was quite lacking. But not for the other tables around me, which were mainly large groups. I was definitely rushed along as a solo diner. 

By far, my best and favorite dining experience in Oslo this time was at Arakataka. There's an open kitchen on one side of the busy restaurant and the other is a wall of windows looking out to the neighborhood. The menu is set and you can choose 4 or 6 courses with optional add-ons. Wine pairings are also available. Basically this restaurant felt like it was saying "yes" to everything as long as you were enjoying yourself! 

Every dish was excellent, but if I had to pick my favorite it would be the white asparagus, XO sauce & chili. It was stunning (but really all the dishes had that new-nordic look and taste) and really unexpected! Highly recommend Arakataka and would not be surprised at all to see them with a 1-star anytime soon. 

And with that my visit to Oslo was over. I walked across the street to the train station the next morning and boarded a high-speed train to Stockholm.

Oslo has changed so much in the 10+ years I had last been there. I was so happy to go back again as I loved it much more than I did the first time! Also my KLM Delft Blue house looks adorable on my bar cart... it probably needs a neighbor!

All Oslo photos here. 

Fiordlands of New Zealand

 Trip date: January 2024

The finale of our New Zealand trip was spending a couple of days out in Te Anau, the small town on the shores of the huge lake by the same name. This town is also known as the gateway to Fiordland & Milford Sound. We were all really looking forward to, and hoping for, some incredible scenery (spoiler alert, we got it).

It's a 2+ hour drive from Queenstown so we decided to spend the morning in nearby Arrowtown, an old mining town now known for wine shops and meat pies.

It's very cute, and very small, and there are a lot of tourists. We wandered around a bit before going to the bakery and ordering meat pies for lunch. They've got some outdoor tables and chairs so it's easy to find seats while you eat. The pies were good, I prefer a darker crust than they do but that's just me. 

We spent some time shopping the boutiques and then all met back up at The Winery to taste a few wines. It's a great shop as they have dispensers so you can pour your own and choose the size. There is one like this in Seattle now but when I was here, it was the first I had seen. 

Time to hit the road! It is really beautiful rugged country driving south along Lake Wakatipu. We passed lots of deer and lamb ranches and some very small towns, but that was about it!

In Te Anau we all had rooms at Distinction Hotel, which sits right across from the lake with fantastic views. The rooms are older but very large and everything was clean. And lucky for us the weather was warm and sunny. We grabbed a picnic table outside on the lawn, played some games, drank some drinks, and took in this amazing sunset.

The next morning we headed out to Milford Sound with Southern Discoveries. They had a bus that picked us up & dropped us off right in Te Anau. It's a long day out and back so it was really nice that neither Forest or I had to drive and we could all just sit and enjoy the amazing scenery. 

We made a few stops on the way out, some were quick, others involved a little walk, all were beautiful. Eglinton Valley looked like a scene straight out of Switzerland, Mirror Lakes lived up to their name by mirroring the mountains behind in their clear water, at Monkey Creek we not only had incredible mountain views but we saw a Kea; a large curious parrot from the area that are pretty funny to watch.

The Milford Sound Highway is a stunning & winding drive. We went up through a couple of mountain areas, passed countless waterfalls and dense forests before arriving at the Homer Tunnel which is the only land access through the Darran Mountains to Milford Sound. It's a single lane road so there are line ups on either end. And it's dark inside! And steep (1:10 gradient or 10% slope). And 3100 feet in elevation. Once out of the tunnel the road was a series of switchbacks all the way to the sound. 

No photos can do justice to how beautiful Milford Sound is. We were on the very comfortable Spirit of Milford for a 2-hour cruise down one side of the Sound to the Tasman Sea and then back up the other side. It was absolutely stunning! So many waterfalls (and the boat got close enough that we got wet!), amazing sheer cliffs, seals sunning themselves on rocks, and even dolphins!

We were provided a box lunch and there was a bar where you could buy soda or wine. Our cruise also stopped at the Underwater Observatory which is a floating discovery center with underwater windows giving you a view of sea life, coral, etc. Like an aquarium only in the wild. It was really cool!

The entire day was fantastic! And the weather was just perfect! 

We had a long drive back and the bus didn't stop in order to get to Te Anau before dark. Back at the hotel we headed outside to our picnic table again with drinks, smoked salmon from our gourmet shopping, games, and pizza ordered from the local spot. And we were treated to another amazing sunset. 

Before leaving the next day we all went on a great walk around part of the lake to the bird sanctuary and then back into town for a local pie from Miles Better Pies. And then we were on the road back to Queenstown to catch our flight, with a quick stop on the Garston Highway for more amazing views. 

The 19th annual NYE trip and it was fantastic. 

And the last of an era as my BFF Forest passed away on Nov 28, 2024. There will be other NYE trips but there will never be others like the ones her and I spent 20 years planning and traveling. And there will never be another BFF like Forest. You are missed daily Xx

All photos from Te Anau and Milford Sound here.

Other posts from this trip:

Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand)

North Island New Zealand Explorations

Picton to Queenstown Road Tripping

New Year's Eve in Queenstown New Zealand