I have been on a few Stromma cruises in and around the Stockholm archipelago and, without any shred of doubt, the best time to go is when the sky is blue and the sun is beaming down. My experiences in various weather situations give me the authority to make this claim. And today, as opposed to most of this December, was the perfect day for a Stromma cruise. Which, coincidentally, was the day we went on one.
The archipelago shone with brightness. It was as if the almost permanent clouds had all gone to some other country to spare us for a day. Thank you, clouds. Or was it Fi, putting in a good word for us with the Cloud Appreciation Society? Whoever is to blame, I thank you. Profusely.
The cruise today included a floating julbord. We were aboard the M/S Enköping.
Before we boarded, however, it only felt right to introduce Denise to the best buns in Stockholm. So, obviously, we popped into Butiken, next door to the Hotel Diplomat. At first there was a problem getting in because the front glass door was locked but, a short diversion via the lobby of the hotel, saw us eventually seated at a three seater (the only available seats in the place) and having very small buns. Sadly there were no cardamom today but the saffron were excellent.
And, to show how classy they are at Butiken, I watched a chap drinking his coke out of a wine glass. Now that’s class.
This wasn’t the only weird drink situation today. I’m going to ignore the waiter’s pun about how Sprite was sprit. Actually, he said he was good at multitasking. He could do three things at once: Listen, ignore and forget. That was a lot more amusing.
No, more extraordinary is the fact that the hot white chocolate at Chokladkoppen on Gamla Stan comes with a bit of orange peel on the side of the cup. Some people might, inexplicably, mistake it for a shortbread biscuit. Well, Mirinda did. Having popped it into her mouth and chewed down, she quickly reversed the action, yelling, “Abort! Abort!” before declaring it was orange peel.
All a bit odd. Unlike the julbord aboard the boat. It was far from odd.
In fact, it was delicious. Both the cold and the hot. Mind you, like Bergs Gård the other night, the meatballs were not as good as the ones at Chez Gaz. Unfortunately, this prompted me to suggest I make them on Thursday night, a suggestion which was welcomed with great cheers of delight.
After cruising around the archipelago for a couple of hours we then wandered up to the top of Gamla Stan where we were entertained by a seemingly, impromptu choir.
The choir was crowded onto the steps at the Nobel Museum and, most of the singers, wore similar beanies. They also had big, black badges on their chests, which led me to believe that they may have been Mormons. I didn’t get close enough to read them.
They sang a few songs then all left for pastures new. It was all very festive. As was the Christmas market, which was in the same square. Denise and Mirinda managed to part with a few shekels at a few of them.
Mirinda, having spat out the offending orange peel, headed off for the Portuguese embassy in order to get a visa which will allow her to get another visa, while Denise and I headed along the main tourist road on Gamla Stan, stopping off to visit with Evert Taube who, it seems was taller than Denise.
We all met up again at Stockholm Centralen though not without Denise and I getting lost in the catacombs beneath the Tunnel bana. That was not particularly pleasant. At least it ended, which was pleasant, as we headed for our train home.
Truly, a wonderful day.
