I forgot to mention a funny incident early on in the trip. I was driving towards our lodging in the middle of nowhere in northern England. Kim was navigating (a potentially marriage ending combination, I might add…). We had, shall we say, a difference of opinion regarding if the youth hostel was on the road on which we were driving or the one heading south. I pulled into a small café on the corner for Kim to run in and ask where the place was. Kim wasn’t even sure it was a café as there were chickens running around the yard, and a bunch of cows staring at us. He thought it was somebody’s house, but consented to ask inside after my repeated nagging and locking him out of the car. He asked th
e woman there who was in the process of cleaning a bathroom. She started to answer, “It’s down the road a bit,” then yelled upstairs, “Les, is the youth hostel on the road in Twice Brewed (no lie, that is the name of a town)?” Les yelled back, “No, this is it!” And, that is the true story of how we found the charming, if elusive, Grindel Youth Hostel (see picture to show just how in the middle of nowhere it is). We jumped out of the car and went hiking. This was the hike that elicited the comment of our hiking from pint to pint, and one of the pints was downed in Twice Brewed. If you count that we each had a pint (only those of us legally able to do so, of course), it was actually Thrice Brewed. Anyway, when we got back to the hostel, our innkeeper had been “visiting” with a friend and could hardly stand up. He advised us to go out for dinner rather than eat there, but welcomed our help in setting the table and cooking for the other guests. He kept saying, “I really shouldn’t have had that session with John.” The “session” involved about a fifth of whisky. And, dinner elsewhere ended up being fabulous.
So, we leave Norway behind. A fabulously beautiful country, with houses located in the most isolated places imaginable, some seemingly inaccessible from any direction, even by hiking, Norway was impossible to not admire. The food was spotty. The breads were great, but I, personally, don’t think caviar is appropriate for breakfast. You may argue that it is eggs, but still, vodka is made from potatoes and I don’t have it for breakfast either (please do not refer back to the Scotland blog in which I refer to trying whisky before a flight). We met a lovely Norwegian couple on our boat ride, however, most of the Norwegians seemed less approachable. When in Great Britain, we talked to many people and found almost universal friendliness. This was not the case so much in Norway. I am fairly certain it wasn’t a language barrier issue, either, as the Norwegians spoke
English flawlessly. Here is a picture of our favorite valley.
The last day in Norway, Ross decided that the opportunity to swim above the Arctic Circle might never present itself again. Despite a cool day with a stiff wind and a decided lack of preparation (read: no towel or suits), he stripped to his boxers and dove in. Now, with the gauntlet decidedly thrown down, I had no choice but to follow him. The water was, umm, brisk! But, we did it! We were less than 2100 kilometers from the North Pole, closer to it than to most of Europe. We then boarded a train, bus, train, subway to reach our hotel in Stockholm, a mere 23 hour trip. Sleeping on the train was kind of fun. It felt like you were on a simulator ride of some sort, with your bed tilting in var
ious planes and stopping and starting.
Stockholm is built on a bunch of islands. These islands are connected by bridges. So far, we’ve been on 7 of the islands. Our hotel is in a boat, directly across from City Hall. This is where the Nobel Prize banquet and dance are held. This picture is from our hotel port hole.
The food in Sweden is similar to Norway, but better. Last night, we had a fabulous Swedish Smorgasbord. There were about 7 kinds of herring, and, yes, Brenda, Siena tried one of them. I doubt she’ll be having more any time soon. The salmon, in all the different preparations, was terrific. They had 3 different smoked salmons, a marinated salmon, poached salmon, and a baked salmon. Reindeer was liked by all, in the various ways we tried it. It does not taste like venison—less gamey and more tender. (I know I will have my hunting friends defending venison, saying that if it is “cooked right” it is great. Well, evidently no one I have met cooks it right, as the best thing I can say about venison is, when it is absolutely at its best, I couldn’t tell it was venison. That doesn’t seem like high praise to me.) The Swedish meatballs are fabulous. We tried Aquavit. This is an alcohol made from caraway seeds. It is served very cold, straight up, and is really very good. And, it gets the taste of herring out of your mouth quickly, an added bonus!
The old part of town, Gamla Stan, is a small, hilly island, with narrow cobbled streets and lovely
old buildings. Stockholm is one of the best preserved cities in Europe. This may be due, in large part, to their remaining neutral in both World Wars. In Norway, the departing Germans burned entire cities to the ground. Stockholm was unscathed. It is interesting hearing how the different countries feel about each other. Norwegians are still rankled by Sweden’s failure to fight on their side. Swede’s view Denmark with distrust after centuries of invading each other.
Today we are going to explore some more of Stockholm before leaving tomorrow for Russia. This will be the first place where language will be a major issue. Not only do the people there not routinely speak English, but the alphabet is completely different, too. Wish us luck! And, Skol, (cheers, in Swedish—actually spelled with an “a” with a circle over it) to all of you.
e woman there who was in the process of cleaning a bathroom. She started to answer, “It’s down the road a bit,” then yelled upstairs, “Les, is the youth hostel on the road in Twice Brewed (no lie, that is the name of a town)?” Les yelled back, “No, this is it!” And, that is the true story of how we found the charming, if elusive, Grindel Youth Hostel (see picture to show just how in the middle of nowhere it is). We jumped out of the car and went hiking. This was the hike that elicited the comment of our hiking from pint to pint, and one of the pints was downed in Twice Brewed. If you count that we each had a pint (only those of us legally able to do so, of course), it was actually Thrice Brewed. Anyway, when we got back to the hostel, our innkeeper had been “visiting” with a friend and could hardly stand up. He advised us to go out for dinner rather than eat there, but welcomed our help in setting the table and cooking for the other guests. He kept saying, “I really shouldn’t have had that session with John.” The “session” involved about a fifth of whisky. And, dinner elsewhere ended up being fabulous.So, we leave Norway behind. A fabulously beautiful country, with houses located in the most isolated places imaginable, some seemingly inaccessible from any direction, even by hiking, Norway was impossible to not admire. The food was spotty. The breads were great, but I, personally, don’t think caviar is appropriate for breakfast. You may argue that it is eggs, but still, vodka is made from potatoes and I don’t have it for breakfast either (please do not refer back to the Scotland blog in which I refer to trying whisky before a flight). We met a lovely Norwegian couple on our boat ride, however, most of the Norwegians seemed less approachable. When in Great Britain, we talked to many people and found almost universal friendliness. This was not the case so much in Norway. I am fairly certain it wasn’t a language barrier issue, either, as the Norwegians spoke
English flawlessly. Here is a picture of our favorite valley.The last day in Norway, Ross decided that the opportunity to swim above the Arctic Circle might never present itself again. Despite a cool day with a stiff wind and a decided lack of preparation (read: no towel or suits), he stripped to his boxers and dove in. Now, with the gauntlet decidedly thrown down, I had no choice but to follow him. The water was, umm, brisk! But, we did it! We were less than 2100 kilometers from the North Pole, closer to it than to most of Europe. We then boarded a train, bus, train, subway to reach our hotel in Stockholm, a mere 23 hour trip. Sleeping on the train was kind of fun. It felt like you were on a simulator ride of some sort, with your bed tilting in var
ious planes and stopping and starting.Stockholm is built on a bunch of islands. These islands are connected by bridges. So far, we’ve been on 7 of the islands. Our hotel is in a boat, directly across from City Hall. This is where the Nobel Prize banquet and dance are held. This picture is from our hotel port hole.
The food in Sweden is similar to Norway, but better. Last night, we had a fabulous Swedish Smorgasbord. There were about 7 kinds of herring, and, yes, Brenda, Siena tried one of them. I doubt she’ll be having more any time soon. The salmon, in all the different preparations, was terrific. They had 3 different smoked salmons, a marinated salmon, poached salmon, and a baked salmon. Reindeer was liked by all, in the various ways we tried it. It does not taste like venison—less gamey and more tender. (I know I will have my hunting friends defending venison, saying that if it is “cooked right” it is great. Well, evidently no one I have met cooks it right, as the best thing I can say about venison is, when it is absolutely at its best, I couldn’t tell it was venison. That doesn’t seem like high praise to me.) The Swedish meatballs are fabulous. We tried Aquavit. This is an alcohol made from caraway seeds. It is served very cold, straight up, and is really very good. And, it gets the taste of herring out of your mouth quickly, an added bonus!
The old part of town, Gamla Stan, is a small, hilly island, with narrow cobbled streets and lovely
old buildings. Stockholm is one of the best preserved cities in Europe. This may be due, in large part, to their remaining neutral in both World Wars. In Norway, the departing Germans burned entire cities to the ground. Stockholm was unscathed. It is interesting hearing how the different countries feel about each other. Norwegians are still rankled by Sweden’s failure to fight on their side. Swede’s view Denmark with distrust after centuries of invading each other.Today we are going to explore some more of Stockholm before leaving tomorrow for Russia. This will be the first place where language will be a major issue. Not only do the people there not routinely speak English, but the alphabet is completely different, too. Wish us luck! And, Skol, (cheers, in Swedish—actually spelled with an “a” with a circle over it) to all of you.
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