Herring Two Ways…

This year for my birthday we jetted off to Stockholm, a city I have had on my (long) list of places to visit for a while. Now that Marc and Heather live there it seemed to be a perfect time to go.

Sweden has been basking in the warmer weather that has been bringing the rains to the UK and so we did not see much of the expected snow.

It is a compact city with a good public transport system that means the many islands that make up Stockholm don’t stop you from getting around with ease.

We visited the Vasa Museum to see the huge royal flagship that sank on its maiden voyage and spent a third of a century at the bottom of the sea before being raised and preserved in its custom built museum.

Gamla Stan – the old town has lovely cobbled streets full of tourist shops, squares with grand buildings such as the Nobel museum and royal palace.

Fotografiska – is a photograph gallery created out of an old customs building. It houses several galleries with different artists on display such as -

Elliot Erwitt

Jill Greenberg – Works 2001 – 2011

Corinne Mercadier – Wicked Gravity

At the top is a lovely café that sells fabulous kanelbullar (I recommend the cardamom toped one) and offers a sweeping panoramic view back across the water towards the city and the old town.

The Swedish History Museum has a great collection displayed in an interesting manner. We spent time in the

The Gold Room, Prehistory and Vikings areas.

We stumbled upon the Hedvig Eleonora Church as we tried to (unsuccessfully) meet up with Heather after work on day. It is a lovely bright and surprisingly bling church.

The Ostermalms Saluhall was our planned destination. Here we strolled through the market stalls displaying a stunning array of foodstuffs and mouth-watering delicacies. Eventually it was too much and we had to stop and have lunch. Cakes were bought and carefully transported back to share with Heather at home.

To celebrate their wedding anniversary Marc and Heather took us out to eat at Nalen, a modern Swedish restaurant where the service was impeccable and the food divine (I had to indulge in a bit of ‘food porn’ photography). It was a lovely evening.

During our stay we did try a few local delicacies including herring, elk, kottbullar (meatballs), kanelbullar (baked rolls, cinnamon, cardamom), all quite delicious though as is everything in Stockholm, quite expensive too.

We had a brilliant time with Marc & Heather and we are hoping to revisit for one summer in the near future.

More of wot I have seen…

August: Osage County

This is a dark comedy about the most dysfunctional of families that are reunited after the death of the father. It was based on a stage production and so much of it takes place in the family home and has quite a lot of dialogue. It is a difficult movie to watch at times and it more about revealing character relationships than plot. The acting is superb and strong throughout and without exception. Makes me even more grateful for the family I have.

The Monuments Men

This is an adventure movie that is heavily influenced by the great war films of time gone by. It has a star studded cast who seem to be enjoying themselves thoroughly as they act out the rather flimsy plot. Still it is great fun and the story is worthy of telling.

Inside Llewyn Davis

This is a quirky and darkly comedic story that is heavy on the melancholy about a singer in 60’s New York at the edge of the folk scene as he struggles with his day to day troubles. Fabulous acting with some slightly over-egged characters is entertaining. The cat just adds to the weirdness.

More of wot I have heard…

If You Wait by London Grammar

I fine young band with a mature yet fresh sound to them. Two guys and a girl the band is described as being Trip-Hop, however they are much more accessible than that label might lead you to believe. Keep an eye on them; I think they will go far.

More of wot I have read…

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I have read several books by this author and loved American Gods and the Neverwhere TV series. This is a book with a similar theme and has the same humour and lightness of touch as those others, well worth a read.

‘Fat Charlie Nancy’s normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn’t know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother.

Now brother Spider’s on his doorstep – about to make Fat Charlie’s life more interesting and a lot more dangerous.’

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This is the first part of a trilogy of books for young-adults that is set on another planet where several groups of settlers are trying to recover from a devastating war. The protagonist is a boy on the verge of manhood who finds himself on the run from the only place he has known into a new world that makes him question everything he thought was true. It is an interesting proposition but because it is spread over three books it takes a while to start to reveal itself, nevertheless the journey is quite exciting.

‘Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown.

‘But Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets.

Or are there?

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence.

Which is impossible.

Prentisstown has been lying to him.

And now he’s going to have to run…’