Stockholm has been a roller coaster so far. The train journey from Copenhagen to Stockholm was uneventful, i was sat with a very miserable American mother and daughter duo. They weren’t chatty at all and just spent their time bitching about everyone that walked past. Charming! So after taking in the sights on the journey and block them out with some music i was keen to get to the place where i was staying when i finally arrived in Stockholm, rest up a bit and get out for something to eat. It was a Saturday night after all!
I got myself a transit card (like an Oyster card) from the devilishly handsome man at the train station and made my way to the apartment. The location was great, right in the middle of town. But the place itself was not quite as it was billed. In quality, but also in the fact that the host does not actually live there. So when i arrived it transpired that although he may have started out doing it by the rules, over time he has put beds in every room (including the lounge!) and moved into his boyfriends house. Which is not what i signed up for at all. It was 8pm, i was tired and hungry so i locked up my stuff and went to get some dinner.
I was so tired and knocked sideways by the accommodation debacle that i very nearly sacked off proper dinner in favour of fast food. My god i’m glad that i didn’t! I gave myself a man up speech and hopped on the Transit (underground) after a bit of Nanny navigating i arrived at The Pelikan. It’s an old brew house and is a stunning building. It has traditional wood panelling on the walls and some stunning (if not rather random, monkeys on the ceiling!) paintings along the tops of the walls and ceilings. It’s really quite grand in it’s stature with really tall ceilings but still has a really cosy feel as all the colours are warm and inviting.
As usual when i first went in i was treated with disdain by the maitre D, they much prefer seating tables of four+ than tables of one. However, that magic trick of pulling out my little Smythson notebook got them falling over themselves to make sure i was OK once i had sat down. I LOVE THAT GAME! It will never cease to amuse me. So i merrily scribbled away my thoughts and observations for the day over what was one of the best meals i have ever eaten. There was a board of beautifully delicately balanced Swedish charcuterie to start, which i don’t think the waiter thought i was going to finish. But there was no way i was leaving any of that behind! The meat was beautifully thin and perfectly seasoned, accompanied by some beautiful Swedish bread and the ubiquitous rye bread.
I went native and had a local amber ale to accompany it all which went really well with the proper Swedish meatballs that followed. They were a million times better than those grey little things you get in IKEA. They were giant, gently flavoured and accompanied with the most stupendously creamy mash and fresh lingonberry jus. I would happily have eaten it all again!
I enjoyed being away from the apartment so much that it was abundantly clear that i needed to move as soon as i got back. So i got straight on the internet to find myself somewhere new to rest my head. I found a great brand new hotel a little further out of town (Motel L) and got it booked up. I emailed the host to tell him that i would be leaving, the decision was made for me as the trust had gone. Time for a rather broken nights sleep!
