The Stockholmtown Blog

WAR-BOOTY - KRIEGSBEUTE - WYSTAWA ŁUPY WOJENNE -  ВОЕННЫЕ ТРОФЕИ - VÁLEČNÁ KOŘIST -

KARA LAUPIJUMI - KRIGSBYTE!

This is the name of an exhibition on Livrustkammaren (The Royal Armoury) during this year. If you are from Denmark, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Tjech Republic or Germany, you will find several artefacts from your country, put together in peacefulness. So you will be able to read about it in your native language. 
 During the many wars in Sweden's "Age of Greatness"  (the 17th century), objects such as weapons, armour, books, paintings and other cultural objects were captured, just the same way as lands were conquered and money seized.  In the 17th century this looting was a legitimate part of warfare and proceeded in accordance with the principles of international law as they then stood.

Exhibition is open until february 2009. Welcome to a peaceful Stockholm!

Photo: vanadisbadet

The outdoor swimmingpool area Vanadisbadet will be closed during summer of 2008-2010. The swimmingpool area was built in 1930s and has been open every summer since then. The City of Stockholm have great plans for the former swimmingpool area. It will turn into a sporting center. The new facility will include

• swimmingpool with a waterfall
• several sports facilities (one large hall and some smaller for dancing)  
• gym
• restaurant
• café
• shops
• It will also include a flexible roof which will make it possible to use all year around.

When the prestige travel magasine Travel+Leisure lists the worlds best Airport restaurants. The Swedish Hamburger chain Max on Arlanda Airport reached the third place. They have been rewarded several times for their healthy concept. Number one on Travel+Leisure was celebrety chef Todd Englishs Southamerican inspired restaurant Bonfire on Logan International Airport in Boston and number two was Gordon Ramsays luxury restaurant Plane Restaurant on Heathrow Airport in London.

Photo: Nobiscellar at Operakällaren
Östermalmstorg square in Stockholm will soon have its own exclusive winebar. Primewine Bar opens March 6 on Östermalmstorg 5B, and will offer 90 wines on glass and 600 bottles on the wine list. They will also offer a membership.
The most exclusive wine membership in Stockholm will still be, I believe, The Nobis Club at Operakällaren. Included in the 8000 SEK fee you will get a personal key to the wine cellar and be able to stall your wine there.  
According to Dagens Industri Grevgatan, which is close to the winebar, is the number one winestreet in Sweden.

Photo: from Chaikhana
The weather in Stockholm today is grey - Im longing for a nice comfy sofa, a hot cup of tea and some scones. I would love to spend the afternoon at one of these four places:

Esters The och Kaffehandel, Folkungagatan 95, Södermalm. Swedens oldest serves lovely afternoon tea (friday-sundays). choose between 114 different types of tea and so for 95 SEK.
Chaikhana, Svartmannagatan 23, Gamla Stan. Lovely tearoom in Old Town serves sandwiches, scones or fruitcake and tees costing 120-160 SEK.
Cadierbaren, Grand Hotel, S Blasieholmshamnen 8. Top class afternoon tea incl sandwiches and pastries, including a glass of champagne. 325-445 SEK.
Berns Asian, Berzelii Park. Try the Asian Yum Cha afternoon tea costing 175 SEK.

Väsjöbacken ski slope north of the city centre has plenty of snow this week, due to winterbreak. So bring your skiing gear if you are visiting Stockholm.

Photo: Sofo/Birkastan
Dont miss out on the late night shopping during the Last Tuesday respective Thursday every month.
Tuesday February the 26th its "Late Tuesday" on Rörstrandsgatan etc in Birkastan. 52 shops open until 21.
Thursday February the 28th its "SoFo night" in SoFo on Södermalm.

Several artists will visit Stockholm in March-April.
Smashing Pumpkins, Hovet, 1 mars
Mando Diao, Cirkus, 6 mars
Alicia Keys, Hovet, 8 mars
Rihanna, Hovet, 12 mars
James Blunt, Hovet, 23 mars
Tokyo Hotel, Hovet, 3 april
Kelly Clarksson, Annexet, 11 april
Backstreet Boys, Hovet, 14 april
Mark Knopfler, Hovet, 23 april

You will find even more events here!

The former cinema Draken (dragon) at Fridhemsplan on Kungsholmen will turn into a smaller shopping mall. According to Vårt Kungsholmen

Thank you!!! Half a year ago, August 2, I started this blog and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading it. The amount of daily readers is increasing by the day and month, which is great. Please feel free to continue commenting on the things you like, would like more info on...

Photo: Saltsjöbaden/ Stockholms Läns museum
Stockholm is a great place for recreation and the swimming and spa culture is a vital part of that. If you want to try something out of the ordinary - I have three suggestions:
1) Swim under the vaults of a house fransiscan monks from 16th century in Gamla Stan. Storkyrkobadet is situated on Svartmannagatan 20, 22 in Old Town.
2) Liljeholmsbadet was built in 1929 and is a cold-water plunge situated on Södermalm near the Street market. Mondays for women only and Fridays for men only.
3) Like a wooden castle lays Saltsjöbadens Friluftsbad (cold-water plunge) where you can enjoy seabathing in a beautiful environment. The spa is situated on Restaurangholmen, Saltsjöbaden.

You can also try the exclusive Sturebadet, the nice Centralbadet, the japanese Yasuragi at Hasseluden and the turkish hamam at Nordic Blue, Njuta Spa in Nacka Strand or the Selma City Spa at Clarion Sign.

Skyways opens a new route from Pärnu in Estonia to Stockholm by the end of May 2008.

Arlanda Expressmagasine Xpress focuses on Ecology in their last issue. They list both known and unknown (to me) restaurants and boutiques.

Among the wellknown ecologic restaurants you find Organic Green, Green n' lean, Streetrestaurant and the archipelagorestaurant Oaxen, but also the small winebar and restaurant S:t Eriksgatan 1. Rosendals Gardens on Djurgården, Herr Spiridons Allehanda and Streetfood restaruant at the centralstation are other alternatives.

Among the shops you find the wellknown Ekovaruhuset, Happy Hippo, Cajsa Warg, Bondens butik and Sally Ann, but also Goodstore, Moonsun and Gryningen (on Folkungagatan 68).

The popular childrenbook character Mulle Meck (Freddy Fixer) will get an adventurous themepark for children, and grownups, in the new residential area Järvastaden in Solna/Sundbyberg in Stockholm.  The playground attraction will be open for the public and free of charge. It will open during summer 2008. The amazing scenographer Tor Svae, the man behind the crane girafs on Beckholmen, is working on the project. He has also done the smaller, but very popular, Mulle-Meck-installation at Junibacken.

If you are interested in contemporary Nordic Art you should visit Stockholm this weekend. For the third year in a row, the Nordic leading galleries arranges the art fair MARKET at Konstakademien (Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts), Fredsgatan 12. Thirtyone selected galleries from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland exhibit Nordic and international contemporary art between February 15-17.

Fly Nordic opens a new route between Düsseldorf and Arlanda on June 12.

The Engelbrektskyrkan church offers a nice concert program during the year. This years highlight must be Matteuspassion concert with the Swedish Radio Choir with renowned Anne Sofie von Otter Mezzosoprano as one of the soloists under the leadership if conductor Daniel Harding.  Paul Agnew tenor, Ida Falk Winland soprano, Maximilian Schmitt tenor and Christopher Maltman bass are also soloists. Book your ticket here

By the way. The Engelbrektskyrkan is one of the best examples of Jugend/national romantic style and was built in 1913-14. The architect was Lars Israel Wahlman. The church is situated in a part of östermalm called Lärkstan - all built in the same time. It is - I think - one of the nicest areas in Stockholm - inspired by english small towns.  

The Jumbo-hostel on Arlanda, that I have written about before,  is scheduled to open in November 2008 according to the website.

The upper part of Drottninggatan has been a bit dull the past few months, I think. The reason is that the fabulous Grill bar and restaurant have been closed due to fire. The restaurant will open again soon, March 4, and hopefully we who love Grill will be able to recognise the atmosphere though the website says that they have had an  "Extreme Grill Makeover"

Photo: RTS
The Swedish Travel and Tourismorganisation RTS launches a national travel service named Hela Resan. From the website (in english, swedish or finnish) you can find out how to get from one address to another in the entire Sweden and you can search via address or by map, or both. I must say.  it's absolutely the fastest and most accurate guide I have ever used.

You see, I have a summerhouse literally in the woods and the place name confuses even the best address-search engines in Sweden. But when I searched on Hela Resan I got a perfect route by car or by subway-train-bus to our house. I even found out the name of the busstop closest to us. Thats a great service!!!!

In march 2008 RTS will launch a booking and paying service, according to Travel News.

Eco Tours Stockholm is a company offering all-day and half-day tours in Stockholm and its surroundings. The company shows you the way to ecological fashion design, food and architecture in the city. Another help in finding ecological alternatives in restaurants, interiordesign, vintage, beautyproducts and things for the children in Stockholm can be found att Asfaltblomman website (only in Swedish)

Visited the talented designer Matti Klenell's studio on Södermalm the other day, and got a preview of his glassworks.  He has been experimenting with glass in a glasstudio and interpreted vases and flowers in his own way.
- I think that glass is really ugly, so I have really struggled to find a way to make it beautiful, says Matti Klenell.
I just got to check out his solo exhibition showing the results at  Inger Molin Gallery in Stockholm until February 20.

Some of the most popular artists in Sweden will perform unplugged at Verandan in Operakällaren during Saturdays this spring starting February 9 with the jazzsinger Jennifer Brown. There will be more swedish Jazz the following Saturday February 16 with Jessica Folcker.

The eventmagazine Nöjesguiden has chosen winners for the Stockholm Prize 2007. Carl Michael restaurant on Djurgården was chosen the best restaurant in Stockholm, followed by Le Rouge and Xe Ôm. Here is their entire top ten list.

1) Carl Michael, (swedish traditional) Allmänna Gränd 6, 667 45 96,
2) Le Rouge, (Popular bar, french inspired) Österlånggatan 17, restaurang:  Brunnsgränd 2-4, 505 244 30,
3) Xe Ôm, (Vietnamese) Gästrikegatan 3, 34 15 15,
4) Frantzén/Lindeberg, (new gourmet) Lilla Nygatan 21, 20 85 80,
5) Restaurang 1900 (swedish tradition) , Regeringsgatan 66, 20 60 10,
6. Matbar, (Mathias Dahlgren's less expensive) Grand Hôtel Stockholm, Södra Blasieholmshamnen 6, 679 35 84,
7. Leijontornet (neo swedish) , Lilla Nygatan 5, 506 400 80,
8. Om mat och dryck , (personal) Birkagatan 14, 30 60 07
9. Berns asian, (their own asian style)  Berzelii Park, 533 322 22,
10. Vassa Eggen, (gourmet) Birger Jarlsgatan 29, 21 61 69,

Vår Gård in Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm arranges a speeddating luxury weekend for singles aged 35-55 years old. According to Punktse the first Single weekend will take place March 8-9. The 1995 SEK price includes speed- dating, dinner, mingle, dance and a late breakfast. Vår Gård in Saltsjöbaden plans another single weekend in april and two this autumn.

Between the sky and the sea in the breathtaking Stockholm archipelago, you will find Vår Gård Saltsjöbaden, only 15 minutes by car from downtown Stockholm.

The UK based Easy Living Magasine lists Rosendal's Gardens in Stockholm on their top five places list. Other places on the list were Gotland, Westcoast, beaches in Skåne and Midsummer.

Photo: Bathroom at Malmen by Murman
The Scandic-Hotel chain announced a competition in order to find the best solution for new hotel rooms. Five architects have now been selected to refurbish a prototype room each at Scandic Hotel Malmen at Södermalm. Light interir, practical workspace and smart solutions for warderobes are some of the guidelines given. The five architects are: Artek from Finland, Stay from Norway and Murman, Doos arkitekter and Krook & Tjäder from Sweden.

Vidbynäs is located 30 minutes south of Stockholm. It opened in 2004 and has rapidly earned a reputation throughout Europe for it's challenging design and beautiful setting. Its greens was chosen "Best greens in Sweden" by one of Swedens most prestigious golfpapers in 2007. With the beautiful and exciting woods and the enigmatic castle in the background, Vidbynäs GC is surely a great place for any golfer. The people of the golf course are now initiating a cooperation between the golfcourses in the Stockholm area - hoping to turn Stockholm into a golfers destination.

Photo: Xoko and Ejes Choklad
Chocholate has antidepressive ingredients and sets anandamin free, which makes you more happy. Why not use winter as a good excuse to enjoy some nice homemade chocholate in Stockholm. And if this is not enough you can try chocolate massage at Ellies Hudvårdssalong and at M Beauty . Here are five chocolate favorites

Robert E's Choklad , Odengatan 72/ Åhléns City - Sells lovely quality chocholate with different essences added.
Xoko, Rörstrandsgatan 15, is a dessert bistro which sells bread, cakes, icecream and chocholate. The place it self is also a treat.
Ejes Choklad, Erik Dahlbergsgatan 25 - is a classic and traditional place to buy quality chocholate and purveyor to the Royal court.
Chokladfabriken, Renstiernas gata 12/ Regeringsgatan 58 sells their own lovely chocolates.
NK Choklad, NK, Hamngatan 18-20 - Traditional place for chocolate and pastries.
Lux dessert och choklad, Patentgatan 7, Lilla Essingen - By the waterfront, a great place for food and desserts.

Photo: Iris Hantverk/Skansen
I have noticed that Im interested in traditional swedish handicraft. I believe its a longing for the things that lasts and a side effect of the ecotrend at the moment. I want things around me, that are made to last for a lifetime. Here are my nine favorite shops for that lifelong love -  and a nice design as well.

1) Iris Hantverk - Iris hantverk is owned by the impaired vision organisation and sells brushes and nice handicraft in their store on Kungsgatan 55, City/ Götgatan 37, Södermalm/ Västerlånggatan 24, Old Town.
2) Svensk Slöjd - WoodwoNybrogatan 23, Östermalm 
3) Svensk Hemslöjd, Sveavägen 44, City
4) Sally Ann - Salvation Army owned store with Fair Trade made things for your home. Situated in PUB.03, Hötorget,City/Nytorgsgatan 27, Södermalm.
5) Nordiska Museet Shop - The nordic museum sells traditional handicraft and books on Djurgårdsvägen 6-16, Djurgården.
6) Skansen it self is a great place for shopping traditional handicraft, but if you just want to shop you can visit the Skansenshop just outside the entrance. Inside skansen you can visit the Glassworks, The Pottery, The old Grocery shop, The Coop-shop, The ironware shop, the Lodge and the Seasons shop. At Skansen Byggnadsvård you can also buy traditional Falu-red colour for houses.
7) Kulturhantverkarna - selling only linseed oil based colours and Falu red colour. situated in a small yellow building from 1740 on Norra Stationsgatan 40 A. (homepage only in swedish)
8) Embroidery shop, Drottninggatan 100, City.
9) Handkraft Swea, products of swedish designers. Västerlånggatan 24, Old Town

Semlor are immensely popular in Sweden, this time a year. Traditionally, Semlor should be consumed

on Fat Tuesday (Shrove Day) or "Fettisdagen" as its called in Swedish, which is the day before the Christian Lenten fast begins, which falls on February 5 this year.

A semla is a wheat bun fi lled with marzipan and whipped cream that is sometimes served in cold or warm milk. Stockholmtown suggests classical cafées for a great semla:

Vetekatten, Kungsgatan 55, City
Riddarbageriet, Riddargatan 15, Östermalm
Tössebageriet, Karlavägen 77, Östermalm
Sturekatten, Riddargatan 4, Östermalm