The Swedish "fika"...

I had the day off today, so after finishing the boring things I had to do (like laundry) we took the bus and train downtown. Hubby was done with work early too so he decided to join us. After meeting up with a friend at the station we went to wakamama for some lunch. Ramen! :) The food was good but the music was too loud for me.

Non-Violence sculpture. (You probably recognise it, there are others like it in many cities)

After being properly fed we went for some shopping and a bit of caching. We visited my favourite teastore on Drottninggatan. The store tiny, but it's crammed full of good tea (much of it ecological), and the lady running it is a real tea enthusiast so there's always a good story about every tea you buy.

Yeah... Hubby got a bit carried away.

Another interesting store in the neighbourhood is Stockholms Aeter & Essencefabrik. They sell spices, eteric oils, flavourings for liqour and all kinds of interesting stuff. Gustav (hubby) got some ingredients for making glögg (mulled wine) according to an old pharmacy recepie.

They've been around since 1889. The signs outside are old fashined and really pretty.

It looks a bit like an old pharmacy inside with all the bottles.

Last but not least... I've come to understand that fika is something very Swedish, so I had to let Riki do it sooner or later. We needed a break after shopping and finding a cache so we went to Vetekatten, a well known café in central Stockholm. We decided to leave a bookcrossing book on the table when we left. 

Releasing a book :)

Gamla stan

It was really nice and sunny weather today, but it's still cold outside. Still, it wasn't too windy and it didn't snow so we decided to take a trip to central Stockholm. We had friends visiting and they wanted to try to get some good rice so we decided to combine fun with rice-hunting.

Group of statues near the subway station

We took the bus and then the subway to Gamla stan (old town). There's a great bookstore there filled with all things geek. It's called the Science Fiction bookstore, but they have fantasy, anime, manga, movies, tabletop games, card games... A little bit of everything.

Perfect game for microbes, no?

Yeah, I had to get this book. It was too silly not to buy.

Next we went to Stortorget (The great square). It's not a terribly big square but it's Stockholms oldest. This is where the Stockholm Bloodbath took place. We investigated the large well building. It's no longer working but at one point it must have been a very important feature of this square.

The well on this square used to be the middlepoint used to measure the distance to Stockholm on the roads going to the capital. The well dried up long ago (it was built 1778), but it still stands as a decorative piece on the square. Neat lion heads, huh?

Stortorgsbrunnen

We shouldn't mess with the water supply, but it's fun!

Some buildings at Stortorget

Next stop was the The Royal Palace. We didn't wait around for the changing of the guards, but the building is pretty impressie in itself.

A little kid was very impressed by Riki, I bet he would have wanted to sit there.

An old pharmacy sign in Gamla stan. Most pharmacies in Sweden had names of animals or mythological creatures. This is Korpen (the raven)

The City Hall in the background.

 When we arrived at Riksdagshuset (the parliament house) we were starting to get cold and hungry so we didn't get many fun pictures. (might add those I took later)

After lunch at a somewhat sketchy italian restaurant we started the quest for the perfect rice. I'm not too picky about rice but my friends eat mostly Chinese food and it's a different matter if you want to eat with chopsticks. I think we went to four or five different places before finding rice that was fit for their tastes, and we picked up a lot of bits and bobs on the way.

Riki hiding in one of the many stores we visited.

Our haul. A few different kinds of instant miso and some seaweed snacks for me.

Licorice... And easter-pandemonium...

Easter is a busy time in a large supermarket, and it's no less busy in the pharmacy in it. Riki is with me at work and sometimes it has its advantages to be so close to all the goodies in the store. Look at all the licorice candy piled up right outside the pharmacy. Today was insanely busy, but we will buy some tomorrow after work! :)

Welcome to Stockholm, Sweden!

Riki arrived to Stockholm for round 15 of the little visitor swap this monday. There will be a longer post later, but for now I'd just like to show that she's arrived safely. Today she checked out our collection of apothecary bottles. (she say's it's very dusty up there...oops)

Tynemouth

Today we took a train out to Tynemouth, a small town on the North Sea coast. When we got off the train, we were happy to see that the weekend market was on. There are dozens of stalls where people sell a huge range of goods.


The market is in the Victorian train station, which is now solely used for the Metro system.


Whenever I go to the market, my favourite thing to do is look through the collection of old postcards. There is a huge collection for sale and most of them are from the early 1900s. My favourite part is reading the messages on the back which people sent to their loved ones. Today we bought a few from around 1905. Ricki is going to take these home with her as a souvenier.


After we left the market, we walked down to the pier.



Going down the pier, you could turn around and see Tynemouth priory on the cliffs.


We walked all the way to the end to check out the lighthouse but it was all closed off to the public. I had to hold on to Ricki with all my might because the wind was so strong. I was very worried she might get carried off into the sea from a strong gust!


We walked back from the pier and up to the headland known as Pen Bal Crag.

Upon which, sits Tynemouth Priory. The entrance is through the gatehouse which was added to the site, along with the barbican, in 1390.



The priory dates back to 1110, however only ruins remain now.












And poor Ricki got attacked by the wind once again!


During World War II, the sight was a key defense outpost and there are still reminders of this today.





From the south edge of the headland you can get a beautiful view of the mouth of the River Tyne as it ends its journey at the North Sea.


To the north, you get a view of the town of Tynemouth and one of the beaches.

Durham Cathedral

Today we visited the city of Durham to see the cathedral. The cathedral was built in 1093. The cathedral is a world heritage site and UNESCO states "Durham Cathedral is the largest and most perfect monument of 'Norman' style architecture in England". High praise indeed so we took a trip to see it in person.

This is the view as soon as you exit the train station...


We walked across the river and through the city to get to the cathedral.



The exterior was having some work done on it. Unfortunately the castle was also having major refurbishment so we didn't get to tour it.


The war memorial outside the cathedral...


Looking up at the tower from the cloisters inside the cathedral...


Ricki getting a closer look at the architectural details...


Durham Cathedral is also one of the sets for Harry Potter films, with some of the Hogwarts scenes being shot here. Specifically, the cloisters form the school's quad.