Not all those who wander are lost

| 27-May-2012 | Don’t look for anything to be open at 7:00am on a Saturday – coffee shops included. Settled for a latte and croissant from the nicest 7-11 you’ve ever seen. No real plan today other than some shopping in anticipation of things being closed tomorrow. Here are some pictures from our wanderings.

A side-street near the apartment in Södermalm. The densely-populated residential island is also home to great cafes, retro-chic clothing boutiques, decor shops and indie hangouts.

Just don’t look for a cup of coffee before 9am.
Happy Color – a beautiful yarn and design boutique in Gamla Stan. Holly may have acquired a handbag …

Östermalms Saluhall, a temple for fine food. Fresh fish, meats, fruits, vegetables, artisan cheese, baked goods and chocolate. We sampled chocolate and baked goods – both were fantastic.
Wine and liquor are only available at state stores in Sweden (sound familiar?). We strolled through a huge one today and saw some amusing items. Though tempting, we passed on both the Kiss and Mötorhead varieties and instead selected two half bottles for this evening: Flat Roof Manor Shiraz/Mourvedre/Viognier 2009 from South Africa and Dandelion Vineyards Shiraz 2009 from Australia.
Passing through the Royal Palace grounds today on our way to a boutique and happened on the changing of the guard, complete with cavalry.  We had to haul ass from where we first caught glimpse of the proceedings up to the square to catch the full deal, but it was totally worth it!
Pleepleus enjoying local baked goods at Saluhall, coffee from local chain Wayne’s Coffee, and a treat from the enormous candy store on Drotthinggatan, a shopping promenade in city center.
Enjoying a beer on the patio of Eken Bar, conveniently located at the Hilton across the street from the apartment. Great people-watching and views of the city.
Two pizzas from nearby St. Paul’s Pizza, the aforementioned wines and a salad from Wayne’s Coffee. Music by Bloodgroup. 🙂

Random observations:

    1. Coffee is served warm, not hot

    1. Manpris are even more popular in Stockholm than Helsinki, if that’s even possible.

  1. Bicyclists with helmets are in the minority.

  2. Eurovision is HUGE. We might have watched it on TV ….