Druncle Gaz and the twins

When I first went to the Spritmuseum back in March, I wasn’t able to sample the taster tray because there was a private function in the bar. I left disappointed. I had decided the museum was a good place to begin our Stockholm pub crawl, and I was hoping there wouldn’t be a repeat of that disappointment today.

But before we ventured into the Absolut Collection, we had to catch the bus to Liljeholmen so I could treat the twins to their first experience of the T-bana. And it was fortunate I did, otherwise Lauren would have missed out meeting her somewhat dishevelled boyfriend.

He told her how beautiful she was, in English, on the platform. He was carrying a bag full of cans and looked like he probably hadn’t washed for a year or two. And he was quite short with a few teeth missing. It was an odd encounter to start our day.

We escaped his clutches, hopped on a tram and were soon heading for our cultural fix for the day. Here’s my charges enjoying something cultural in the Midsummer display.

This was after we’d sat in the caravan and listened to a few drinking songs.

And, I’m very happy to announce that we did manage to have a tasting tray. Four Swedish spirits, one almost undrinkable, were sat before us with a card describing each one. I suggested we sip a little bit of each one in order to determine the order in which we’d finish them. It’s important, after all, not to end with the horrible one. We all agreed on the worst and knocked it back quickly.

Following a follow up beer (I introduced Jason to wheat beer), we headed out into Galärvarvskyrkogården (the cemetery behind the Vasa), it being All Saints Day. There were a few candles burning on graves but, it wasn’t quite dark enough for the magical scenes we saw a few years ago.

A bus ride later and we went to the Glashuset for a somewhat late lunch. Actually, when we left the bus, Jason and I walked to the traffic lights while Lauren decided to risk the open road. Once we reached the other side, we couldn’t find Lauren anywhere. Jason tried calling, but there was no answer. It was as if she’d been abducted by aliens.

Unbelievably, she was inside the Glashuset having gone to the loo.

An odd thing happened in the Glashuset. I ordered a drink from the beer section of the menu only to get a gin drink. It was a bit weird. I can only imagine it was a typo. I drank it, obviously, but I won’t make that mistake again. What wasn’t a mistake was the steak tartare which Jason and I had. It was delicious. Lauren just had cheese.

Actually, there wasn’t a lot of eating. There was a light meal at the Glashuset and then a bowl of chips somewhat later at Stigbergets Fot. Oh, and the kids bought wraps at Central Station for the train ride home. And there may have been chocolate.

Having walked to Gamla Stan so that Jason could buy a necklace and a mug, we walked into the pirate bar and unknowingly ordered two enormous bottles of sour beer with rum chasers. We could have easily shared one bottle. It was a tad confusing but we drank them.

I’ve been wanting to visit the pirate bar ever since first discovering it back in 2023 but, sadly, it’s always been closed. Well, it certainly wasn’t closed tonight. Mind you, the next time I think I’ll just order the glass rather than the bottle.

Not far from the pirate bar is the Viking bar which was very full. We almost managed to get a seat but were beaten to it by two other eager drinkers. We decided the best thing to do was to have shots at the bar, then head out again. Which we did.

Before leaving Gamla Stan, I introduced the kids to Evert Taube. Lauren may have given him a kiss. The weird crowd of people standing around him may have wondered why.

Our final drinking hole was a craft beer place I visited last summer. It’s just around the corner from Slussen and it’s called Stigbergets Fot. It was also full but a kindly barman told us to wait for five minutes in the front area and he’d sort us a table. True to his word, we were soon ensconced between two pillars, enjoying our beers.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. Jason and I enjoyed our beers. Lauren ordered a beer called lipstick which, she said, tasted like it was made with melted down lipstick. None of us liked it very much, though the colour was pretty.

Following a glance at the time, we realised we’d have to hoof it back to central or risk sleeping in a park. We comfortably made the last train back to Vagnhärad.

A splendid day out. Well, I think so anyway.

I almost forgot…I was in the loo at the pirate bar, reading the stickers on the door, when I was given a sudden and unexpected weather report by Lauren. “It’s snowing!” She shrieked, very much like her mother did the other day. And, yes, it was snowing, but the flakes looked more like dandruff as they floated down then vanished before they hit the ground.

The sticker above comes from a group that has a blog here.