Tuesday, 2 October, 2018 – Nice Looking Day Loyal followers of this Blog. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot see the photos and / or the captions or alignments are messed up, please go to http://www.beauperi.com directly and all those problems should go away.
We started with the usual free breakfast which was much less crowded that time of day than yesterday. We get the same table and largely the same foods, Julie Smoked Salmon again. I commit a faux pax by using glutinous bread in a gluten free only toaster. Julie decided not to do a swim this morning and heads off for more prancing.
I have a very quiet day inside for much of it. We decide that we would like to go to the Whiskey Warehouse for dinner tonight. Julie makes a booking through the Net for 6:00. The plan to save some walking is to use the second day of the Hop On / Off to drop us in the Old Town at the start and then walk home.
We board the last bus at a bit before 5:00 and are planning to get off at the early stop for the Old Town but in a good move, Julie asks the driver who tells her that that stop is closed for construction. So we hop off basically in the middle of the street and get there. Yesterday’s Post had a photo out the front.
It is now called Ardbeg, a supplier of a lot of their whiskeysThis Clock not only operates counter clockwise but is also inaccurate depending where the minute hand isThere are a lot of WhiskeysThe Waitress got Julie a 3 ounce shot from the barrel just like Julie is simulating hereJulie’s whiskey + water bottle with pipette for adding drops to the shot glassJulie ordered the Moose for something specifically Scandinavian
The Moose had a gamey flavour but was a bit tough in spots. The beetroot would have pleased Julie.
I ordered the game meatballs with Lingon berries
The meatballs were a combination of reindeer, moose and a little beef. They were indeed gamey and quite good.
Irish Coffee for Julie. Jameson’s Whiskey I believe
I safely negotiate the KM walk back to the Hotel, there was some lubrication with a bottle of red. When we get back, we have to pack as we have an early ride to the Ferry that will take us to Finland tomorrow.
Monday, 1 October, 2018 – Nice Looking Day Loyal followers of this Blog. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot see the photos and / or the captions or alignments are messed up, please go to http://www.beauperi.com directly and all those problems should go away.
Apologies, but several of the aspects I assigned to yesterday, actually happened today. For example, we started the Hop on Hop Off tour today. However, I am not going to go back and change yesterday’s Post so please tolerate the sequential inaccuracy.
We have the buffet breakfast and them Julie goes up to the roof top and jumps into the pool. As promised, I follow her up with the camera.
The view over Stockholm. Notice all the ChurchesJulie Swimming
We then decided to go on the Hop On/Bus tour and Julie got tickets from the front desk.
The girl at the front had a very strong American accent and was the Chief Spruiker.
She told us the bus would leave in 10 minutes, which we know means 25 minutes. Even after that timeframe, they still did not leave – apparently they were waiting and waiting for another group to arrive. Finally, we got on the road.
The Guys at the back of the busOur Chariot
Here is where a lot of the stuff from yesterday about the Old Town etc. would be plugged in. We went on all the way around which was a different route than shown on the map, presumably because of all the road construction.
I went back to the Hotel room for napping and Blogging while Julie went out prancing. Some of her photos along the way.
Like a petrol bowserPastriesMore sweet thingsVarious healthy sandwiches and rollsThe Cafe
After she came back, we decided we would go back to the store where she got our picnic stuff yesterday. Ryan had got a smoked pork hock and that sounded like a good idea.
Various Salmon concoctionsCrayfish and other fishy things
Sadly, there were no Ham Hocks available today, a large group of road workers were in the area and they and snaffled them all. So I go for another alternative:
Pulled Beef and spudsI also got a mess of BBQed ribs
We ate there in the food all with the road workers next to us. Julie had Smoked Salmon and a salad again. I did not finish all of the ribs so we took them with us. It was back to the Hotel to have some more red wine and drift off to sleep.
Sunday, 30 September, 2018 – Nice Looking Day Loyal followers of this Blog. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot see the photos and / or the captions or alignments are messed up, please go to http://www.beauperi.com directly and all those problems should go away.
This Hotel also offers free breakfast. It is quite a good and varied selection. It is also reflecting the issues from yesterday, there are lots of dirty tables and not enough staff to clean them.
Julie’s Selection – Smoked Salmon, of courseMy selection – the chicken balls were good.
Julie has booked massages for us in the top floor. We go up there and then jump into the outdoor pool which is well heated and steaming. We also get a great view over much of Stockholm, including the many churches who have visible clocks on their towers. I did not take a camera so there are no shots from up there. I promise to get relevant pictures from there tomorrow.
I go in for the first massage. Chas, note the Post title is not Swedish Massage. The masseuse is not with a beautiful blonde girl like the one who gave Red Grant a massage in From Russia with Love. Instead, the masseuse was a Turkish guy I called Barry. He really knew his stuff and I ended up with several bruises as a result. He asked me at the end what did I think. I said that I was a real mess and spent too much time on the computer. He said that he could feel that. Hmmmm.
Julie followed me after spending that hour in the pool and the sauna. In the interim, I had a shower and did some hand washing as most of my clothes were quite dirty. When Julie came back from her massage I was virtually ready to go.
We had agreed with the kids that we would do the Hop On / Off bus again. We go out to opposite Central station and board the bus. It is to take of in 10 minutes, as usual that meant 30. No photos from me from the bus but Ryan and Tanika hopped off at the second stop in the tour for the Old Town. A few photos from Tanika.
They did a tour of the Royal PalaceGrandioseRoyal Palace from outsideLooking over the river
They also did a tour of the Vasa. This was an unsinkable ship, just like the Titanic, that sunk on its first journey. It stayed at the bottom of the seas for centuries and was relatively recently raised, in the last 50 years.
The VasaOne of the PassengersNot sure what it was but it is amazing
We got off at the second location near the Old Town as we found the tour to be boring. A couple of photos from our visit.
Looking for Swedish FoodsWhat could be more Swedish that Swedish Meat Balls?Outside the Whiskey Warehouse
I had been in this whiskey shop several times in the past when I was on business tips to Stockholm. It had a different name and owner then. We went in, looked at the lunch menu and I decided it was not for me. We made a booking for that night. We walked back to the apartment, it was only a KM or so, but as we crossed the river, I started feeling really sore. Julie went out prancing and when she returned I told her that I could not do the walk there and back. So she cancelled the booking and went out to the local store to buy some food for a picnic.
Fries from Burger King, Chilli and smoked chicken for meSalad and Salmon for Julie
What with our own wines, we had a good meal at a fraction of the cost. We understand that the kids also got similar food from the super market. The end of a very eventful day.
Saturday, 29 September, 2018 – Nice Looking Day Loyal followers of this Blog. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot see the photos and / or the captions or alignments are messed up, please go to http://www.beauperi.com directly and all those problems should go away.
Start with the usual breakfastSmoked Salmon, of course, for Julie
There was lots of discussion about when we should go to the station. The vote by the other 3 was for a couple of hours early. Ryan, Tanika and I take the tram with the luggage to the station while Julie walks there with Tanika’s carry-on. We all arrive at about the same time.
Waiting around at the station
After a while, another 3-1 vote sent us downstairs to be near the train and with less comfortable seating conditions. It was another case of hurry-up and wait. Then when they finally call us to the train there are zillions of people ahead of us. we are in first class and have reserved seats but the problem is that it is difficult to find storage for the baggage, as it is on all train rides in Europe. Ryan crams the bags into the overhead storage and wedges them in enough so that they won’t fall out. Finally we are off.
A selfie of us in our seats
It was a long ride. Julie and I were seated opposite a nice Canadian couple in my age bracket. The guy had studied at Oxford and stayed in Kebel College, which is where we stayed while at Oxford last year. I had mentioned that I used to play Bridge and the lady kept coming back to it with me asking about things I knew nothing about since it had been 18 years since I had last played. I did manage to do a bit of Blogging using the trains Wi-Fi.
When we arrive in Stockholm, Ryan leads us on a great circular route to our Hotel. I found it quite tiring. On the street we bump into the Canadian couple who had also gone the wrong way. They were staying in the old town where I thought we were staying, Instead we were in an area of town obviously designed for younger people. I had been to Stockholm several times 10+ years ago but I did not know this area at all.
The Urban Camper Hotel
This was a massive Hotel with an estimated 800 rooms. They were able to do this by making the rooms very small.
If you sat at the desk the other person had to climb over the bed to get to where our suitcases were
We had looked at the Hotel menu on the train and thought that would be a good place to eat dinner. It was about 6:30 but the staff told us there were no seats available until after 9:00. There were lots of table empty but basically there were not enough staff to clean them and get the next seating in. The staff in general were very nice at the front desk, the cleaners and in the dining room, there were just not enough of them.
Any way, we asked for advice where we could go to and got a few recommendations that were nearby.
We picked M5
Service was very slow – getting a table, getting a menu and a very long time placing our order. It was the same problem as in the Hotel – they did not have enough staff. We finally got our wine. A few other couples came in, experienced these kind of delays and eventually walked out.
Julie waiting for her dinner
My memory of Stockholm was that it took a long time from when the order was placed to when the food was delivered. This proved to be the case here as there was only one cook in the kitchen. We were backed up behind a large group order which were finally delivered after a lengthy delay, so we thought that we were to have another lengthy delay but our meals came out just after.
Julie’s exotic salmon dish – overcooked apparentlyMy Pork Oscar
Veal Oscar is a famous dish which I had a lot in the USA. It has a veal steak, lobster on top, here it was a few prawns, asparagus and béarnaise sauce – here it was a spicy Hollandaise. I exchanged my asparagus and tomato for Julie’s bacon. It was an OK meal for me.
We returned to the Hotel and went to sleep. At least it was quite quiet, which was a surprise as they seem to do everything else on the cheap.
Friday, 28 September, 2018 – Nice Looking Day Loyal followers of this Blog. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot see the photos and / or the captions or alignments are messed up, please go to http://www.beauperi.com directly and all those problems should go away.
It is our last full day in Oslo and the weather looks OK. We start with the usual breakfast.
Turkey, Mushrooms and eggs
Firstly, a couple of shots from Julie.
International bridge of the year, yes we do bridgesWhiskey without Alcohol???
So I go out on my own. I make a major move by crossing the street to the shopping centre opposite, waiting for the pedestrian signal, of course.
End up in a food courtMy ultimate destinationA Bacon Whopper with no sign of any bacon
After all that excitement and adventure, I decide I have had enough so aim to return home. I cross one street and proceed around but that was really the wrong way to go However, I kept going around and ended up at the back of the Hotel, phew! Now a couple more snaps from Julie.
Sweets GaloreColourful
Julie returned and it had started to rain, but she had planned for it. We go down for dinner, again a soup would have done me.
