A full month in Stockholm...you'd almost think I live here!

For the second time this year I've managed to spend an entire month in the city I now claim to live in. This has given me the opportunity to take up a new sport, try out a few more of Stockholm's restaurants and cafes and tick off some important Swedish experiences, helped by a visit from my brother Tom at the beginning of the month.




Tom came over for a week long 'writing retreat' earlier this month

Ice Hockey

to focus on getting a chunk of his PhD thesis down on paper. This seemed to be a successful trip and we managed to find time for some Stockholm exploration between the study sessions. First evening was a trip to the ice hockey to cheer on Djurgården along with Charlotta, Eva, Simon and his fiancee Emily. This did the trick and Djurgården managed to scrape a win in the penalty shootouts, making for a nail-biting finish. The game Felicty, Martim and I attended the following week was a little more clear-cut with Djurgården annihilating Malmo, 4-0, giving plenty of cause for cheering and chanting! On the Friday, Tom got to meet a few more from my department at the monthly GeoPub (the geology department's drinks) where you can find some of the cheapest beers in Stockholm.

Tom at the Vasa museum

The Vasa

By the weekend, autumn had arrived in full force so we dodged through the
rain to the Vasa museum as Tom hadn't yet seen the very impressive ship. The Vasa sunk about 1300 m into it's maiden voyage back in 1628, and has since been incredibly well preserved in the silt of the Stockholm channel until it was subsequently exhumed in 1961 so it can now be seen in great detail in the city centre museum. I'd thoroughly recommend a visit if you're ever in Stockholm.
Once we'd had our fill of Swedish history we took a rather soggy walk into the centre to visit a few fish markets, where I searched in vain for some smoked haddock (in my opinion an essential ingredient to any fish pie), then went for some fika before heading back to my place to chill (and slot in a spot of work).

That Sunday, I ticked off two very typically Swedish experiences, quite on the other end of the spectrum to a trip to the Vasa museum: riding an electric scooter along the waterfront and picking up a grilled hot dog from the corner shop, Pressbyran. The electric scooters, that you hire using an app on your phone, are incredibly popular here in Stockholm. I must admit they're great fun as you can whizz along at up to 20 km/h without any exertion; the trouble is, there doesn't seem to be any system as to where they are stored so the city it now littered with 'Voi', 'Lime' and 'Tier' scooters, sometimes in the most random spots! In any case, Tom and I had a great time scooting along the waterfront of Kungsholmen and finished off our ride with a 'grill korv' (this is a frankfurter-style sausage, served in a small bread bun with ketchup and mustard and is probably even more popular than cinnamon buns over here; any corner shop or fuel station will have a selection of these sausages lined up on heated rungs to be picked up for as little at 10 kr (80p) and munched on the go).
After a decent walk, Tom and I had worked up enough of an appetite for a classic Swedish fika of cardamom bun and coffee at my new favourite cafe: Petite France (they also do a somewhat delectable pain au chocolat). Then it was time to return to mine for another study session and dinner.

Lunch at the botanical gardens

For Tom's final evening in Stockholm, I booked us tickets to
the Banff Mountain Film Festival as Tom's early birthday present. We started with a wholesome soup at Kajsas Fisk then settled in for an evening of short films showing various awe-inspiring adventures from across the globe, including cave diving in Northern Spain, solo survival in northern Australia's outback, bareback horse racing in Calgary and mountain climbing in the Alps. It really made you want to get out there and tackle some more exciting challenges, just maybe not to the extreme of 82, 4000 m peaks in a year or dropping Corbet's Couloir on a mountain bike!
Come Wednesday, it was Tom's final day in Stockholm, so we enjoyed lunch in the botanical gardens before I joined my Swedish class and he made his way back across to the airport. It was great to have him over here and I think a very useful week for both of us (his computer skills came into their own).

Eva, Charlotta and Felicity at Raw and Sushi

Since Tom returned to the UK, I've had a  jam-packed few weeks with presentations at work, a 2-day unit meeting just south of Stockholm, many dinner parties out, at mine or at friend's places, a few parties and a range of sports classes, including my first attempt a bouldering.
I'm not quite sure why October has ended up being such a food and wine filled month but I'm not complaining! I had a very fishy week back at the beginning of the month with a sushi night in town with Chalotta, Eva and Felicity on the Monday then I had the same group over to mine for fish pie Friday (I had to make do with smoked prawns to substitute for the lack of smoked haddock).
The following week I managed to fit in a trip to

Tovetorp Fallow Deer

Wagamama's and the cinema to see Downton Abbey with Eva before heading down to Tovetorp research station, about 1.5 hrs south of Stockholm with 13 others from my research unit. There, we spent a couple of days getting to know each other, seeing what they get up to at the station, organising teaching and unit activities for next year, walking around a nature reserve and, of course, eating. Tovetorp station prides itself in providing exceptional catering so we were spoiled with extensive breakfast, lunches, a 3 course dinner and multiple fikas. As well as providing great food, the station belongs to the zoology department so is home to a rare breed of chickens, fish, birds and very tame, young fallow deer, a particular highlight for many of us!

Hello, what's this?

This week has continued on a foody theme (of course). It's now tradition that I have my British friend Felicity over for dinner after our gym class on Mondays, then on Tuesday it was the Bolin Climate Centre PhD day, so we spent the day presenting our work and learning various PhD skills while being fueled by free lunch, a couple of fikas and a vegetarian dinner, accompanied by copious amounts of wine. Thursday was Eva's birthday so a group of us had lunch in the botanical gardens, followed by cake (recipe from my new Swedish cook book). That evening, I joined Felicity and her friend from hockey for a go at bouldering at a huge climbing centre in southern Stockholm; it was great fun and quite a challenge (I can still feel my shoulders today) so I hope to make this a weekly thing. By the time we'd finished at the climbing centre it was quite late and we were ravenous so we headed to a nearby burger joint before catching the train home.
Saturday rounded off the week with a final feast. Eva had a birthday party at her place where she had prepared a huge range of Portuguese dishes, including octopus, mussels, prawns, cured and smoked meats and multiple salads. Eva's husband, Nelson, is currently taking a wine course so he delighted in the opportunity to crack open a selection of fine wines, progressing through the day from champagne to a citrusy white, then a full bodied white, followed by a light red and then on to a selection of dessert wines. All in all, Eva and Nelson outdid themselves; they've given themselves a lot to live up to for their Christmas party next month!

The CQ research unit

Finally, today I managed to have a chilled day with a decent, but pretty damp, walk with a friend around Djurgården to blow away the cobwebs after an indulgent week.
It turns out I should stick around in Stockholm a bit more often, we'll see if the wining and dining continues over the coming month and a half; I'll certainly have to keep up the innebandy, sports classes and climbing if it's to carry on at this rate!