Viva! Stockholm

Knitting for the Soul

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:41:00 +0000

A great hobby to take up during the chilly Swedish winter is knitting. Not only can you make beautiful gloves, sweaters, hats and scarves to keep you and your loved ones nice and warm but it's a meditative practice tht's good for the soul. Hobbies like knitting are ideal when you are trying to break a bad habit like smoking as it keeps your hands occupied.

There are amazing yarn stores all around Stockholm but Viva! Stockholm's favorite is Sticka by Maria Victoria at Österlånggatan 20, 111 31 Gamla Stan, tel: 08 21 83 49 because of their fabulous unusual pattens and exquisite selection of yarn.

Café Saturnus

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:54:00 +0000

Today's snowfall was something of a minor blizzard so Viva! Stockholm stopped by the phenomenal Café Saturnus and picked a slice of their key lime pie and a vanilla croissant with almonds to go. As always their portions are gigantic and the food is amazing!

Rating: 5/5

Mataffaren.se

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Viva! Stockholm received a promp delivery today courtesy mataffaren.se. We ordered the fruit box and the vegitable box as well as four bags of groceries. Every item was carefully selected and packaged. Online shopping rocks!

Rating for mataffaren.se: 5/5.

Gamla Stan's 2009 Christmas Market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:01:00 +0000

Viva! Stockholm spent the afternoon at the 2009 Christmas Market in Gamla Stan. The market has been a Stockholm tradition since 1915. It is open every day between 11.00 och 18.00. until 23 December. It is held in Sweden's oldest town square, outside the Nobel Museum.

We were accompanied by Alex, an incorrigible black Schabrador (pictured left) who totally disgraced himself as soon as we arrived at Stortorget by stealing a sandwich from a small child! The little girl burst in to tears and, with the permission of her mother, Viva! Stockholm replaced the sandwich with a hot dog from one of the little red stalls. Alex was relegated to a traffic post nearby where he couldn't get into any more mischief.

The little red market stalls were filled with traditional Swedish Christmas items: marzipan piglets, fresh waffles with cream and strawberry jam, round packages of home-baked crisp-bread and hot mulled wine called glögg. There were lovely handicrafts as well: wooden cutting boards, butter spreaders, figurines, pottery, knitted mittens and scarfs.

One stall is devoted to fish: smoked eel, salmon and Arctic charr. The salmon is exquisite, melt-in-your mouth, served on tiny morsels on crisp bread. There is also pickled herring of every conceivable variety.

Another vendor is selling all manner of herbs and spices and exquisite flavored honeys. Of course there are chocolate pralines but we opted to visit Boutique de Chocolat at Tyska Brinken 24 where the broad range of products includes organic chocolates and artificially sweetened chocolates for the environmentalists and diabetics in the family.

Hobbling around the cobble stones gives you a good appetite. We entered Chokladkoppen at Stortorget 20 after the lunch hour and found the place still rather crowded but Viva! Stockholm was keen to try their baked potatoes and vegetarian lasagne.

Much has been written about Chokladkoppen's "atrocious service", and while I cannot say that the service is fantastic, it is not that bad.

The interior of Chokladkoppen is lacking in symmetry and all the other things a modern building craves, but it is profuse with nooks and crannies, winding stairs and church-like arches in one part of the room and a higher, plain ceiling in the other. Tables and chairs are mis-matched and the walls look like they have not seen a coat of pain since the fifties, but no one would want it any other way. It is utterly charming. The ambiance alone makes it worth a visit. It is the kind of place that can only be found in a European Old Town.

Add to that the absolutely delicious lemony fresh Skagenröra (chopped shellfish in a mayonnaise/sour cream sauce, with plenty of dill) baked potato and the impeccable vegetarian lasagne, and it's safe to say that the visit was a very pleasant one indeed.

Rating:
3.5 /5

Address:
Chokladkoppen
Stortorget 20
111 29 Stockholm

Telephone:
+46 (0)8-203170

Website:
N/A

Image 1, Image 2 (private)

Stephen Gyllenhaal Is Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:09:00 +0000

Film producer, director and writer Stephen Gyllenhaal is part of the Swedish diaspora and he also belongs to the endangered species of individuals who possess the rare combination of genuine talent and humility. Check out his impromtu rendition of Rufus Wainwright's Vibrate and his awesome poem Communion in the clip above. For more insight and inspiration from Stephen, visit his blog.

Buy Your Groceries Online

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Going to the grocery store can be a total pain in the neck - especially in the winter! Who needs the drama of cold, icy streets, crowded shops, standing on line at the cash register and - ugh! - packing up and carrying all those grocery bags.

Viva! Stockholm recommends doing all your shopping from the comfort of your own home. Here are some websites where you can order online and have your purchases delivered at your doorstep.

mataffaren.se - Coop's online grocery fantastic, reliable and fairly reasonably priced!
mathem.se - Ica's online grocery. A large and varied selection and just a little pricier.
arstiderna.com - charming ecological fruits and vegetables delivered in adorable crates.

And here's some good new for pet owners: you can order high quality food, supplies and toys for dogs, cats, birds, fish, hamsters, bunnies and reptiles from foderbilen.se. They deliver and they even stock prescription veterinary food!

Reduce your stress and use your extra free time wisely in ways that will nourish your mind, body and spirit!

Image: Screenshot from arstiderna.com

Vanquishing The Winter Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:16:00 +0000

One way to keep living your best life during the dark Swedish winter is to keep eating a healthy, nutritious diet. Vitamins and minerals are essential to your well being.

Viva! Stockholm stopped by Life Butiken at Sturegallerian some weeks ago and picked up a bottle of Holistic D3-Vitamin 2000 IE which sends energy levels right through the roof! The body needs sunlight to build D-vitamin and the long winters can lead to a deficiency. A couple of weeks on this stuff and you'll soon feel able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Viva! Stockholm also recommends two phenomenal Bättre Hälsa products: Järn Asparat 40 mg (Iron) tablets and the oh so yummy fruit and vegetable based Mega Vital multivitamin which is chock full of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, antioxidants, greens, Q10, silica and more. A great alternative is Mivi Total Flex - which is superior to Mivi Total Plus in terms of boosting energy.

Some other great products are:

Chokladfabriken's fantastically delicious Crushed Unsweetened Cacao Beans. These are great, energy boosting snack on their own or in your müsli. A caveat: they are super addictive!
Superfruits Dried Goji Berries are delicious on their own or in risotto. Also try Goji Berry Juice which is available in the health food section on the ground floor in NK.
Renée Voltaire has an amazing range of over 100 organic products, including pasta, rice, grains, spices, snacks, superfruits and superfoods
Here's another tip: get your sweetness from natural sugar alternatives. Use wonderful substitutes like Agave. Instead of refined sugar products try healthy alternatives like Innocent Smoothies or stop by Blueberry (Psst! Soon they're opening an online shop!)
One final tip, try an Amino Acid supplement which has been shown to fight off the blues. Viva! Stockholm recommends Amino Pro Life.

Verandan at Grand Hôtel

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:09:00 +0000

Few restaurants capture the Christmas spirit and fuse it with fine Swedish cuisine like Verandan at Grand Hotel. The ambiance this year is simply magnificent and the service is - as always - impeccable.

Verandan is a delight. Viva! Stockholm will have the good fortune to be sampling their legendary Julbord (Christmas Buffet) next week. The remaining bookings are few so don't delay. However if there are no openings, the à la carte menu is every bit as much a treat and we recommend it warmly.

Address:
Grand Hôtel
Blasieholmshamnen 8
103 27 Stockholm
Sweden

Telephone:
+46 (0)8 679 35 86

E-Mail:
verandan@grandhotel.se

Website:
www.grandhotel.se

Screencap from grandhotel.se

Teddybear Seeks New Home!

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Hey all of you Tomtens and Santa Clauses out there! This cuddly, adorable little teddybear's name is Matilda. She's sitting in the window at Svensk Hemslöjd and she needs a home. Matilda would make the perfect Christmas gift for some sweet little person. Sound like anyone you know?

Address:
Svensk Hemslöjd
Sveavägen 44
11134 STOCKHOLM

Telephone:
+46 (0)8 232 115

Fax:
+46 (0)8 232 119

E-Mail:
info@svenskhemslojd.com

Website:
svenskhemslojd.com

KGB Serves Up Homer Simpson's Brew

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:23:00 +0000

KGB Bar & Restaurant on Malmskillnadsgatan is the first bar in Stockholm to serve Homer Simpson's favorite Duff Beer. Now there's a drinking game just waiting to happen!

Address:
KGB Restaurant & Bar
Malmskillnadsgatan 45
111 38 Stockholm

Telephone:
+ 46 (0)8 20 91 55

E-mail:
info@kgb.nu

Website:
www.kgb.nu

Source 1, 2

Late Supper at Café 60

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:43:00 +0000

Viva! Stockholm enjoyed a late supper at Café 60 on Sveavägen. The 1960s ambiance is deliberately rundown but naturally that's part of the charm of this Stockholm staple. The crowd is young and somewhat bohemian. Night owls love Café 60 due to its midnight operating hours and of course the free wireless internet connection. Having just walked in on a cold winter's night, it was so warm and cozy that the snow was quickly forgotten.

The shelves are stocked with a wide variety of exotic teas, gigantic baked goods including pies and sinfully rich sweets. There's also an abundance of soft drinks, organic and otherwise, in stock. As far the menu goes one is spoiled for choice: there are pastas, sandwiches, foccacia, sallads, wraps and much more. Viva! Stockholm opted for the Feta Cheese & Spinach pie and the Cream Cheese and Lax Foccacia, organic antioxidant Honest Ade beverages (Orange Mango with Mangosteen and Pomangranate Blue) followed by a café latte and a black coffee.

Overall the food was not bad but it was rather bland and lacked texture, e.g. half of the foccacia was soggy. Café 60's sallads are superior to their warm dishes.

The service staff are pleasant enough but with so many cutomers, they're rather stressed out and therefore they miss out on things like wiping the tables consistently once guests have departed. However they'll make sure your candle is lit and service is prompt.

Café 60 is two floors and very informal. No music is played. Yes they serve your food from the kitchen but you must collect your utensils, serviettes, etc. by yourself.

This establishment is ideal for socializing but as far as culinary experiences go it's charmingly mediocre.

The total cost for this meal: SEK 243. This is almost exactly half the price of the Pol Roger’s Champagne Breakfast at the Cadier Bar. Hmm...now there's an idea!

Rating: ** / *****

Address:
Café 60
Sveavägen 60
111 34 Stockholm

Telephone:
08-23 55 22

Website:
cafe60.gastrogate.com

Dolph Lundgren: Stallone Gave Me Hell!

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:49:00 +0000

For the first time since Rocky IV, Stockholm native Dolph Lundgren will be co-starring with Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables.

Lundgren is excited about the project: "In this Stallone film there's a little more comedy. Stallone decided he was going to draw out my charm, as he says, so he gave me a hell of a time! I actually thought about quitting for a while there. When he was giving me a hard time I'd think, 'if he screams one more time, I'm going to punch him and quit!' But now I think this comedy thing is a lot fun. That's a bit unexpected."

In a recent interview Lundgren, a former European Heavyweight Karate Champion, didn't doesn't mince words about the fighting skills of Hollywood action heroes like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Steven Seagal and Jean Claude van Damme.

Arnold Schwarzenegger:
"He has a bunch of bodyguards now so he's hard to reach. But I could've taken him. These guys are no fighters. I know Arnold a little bit, I met him when I was together with Grace Jones, before I got in to the film business."

Mickey Rourke:
"He's kind of a little bit cool. He was a fighter for a while so at least he was actually in the ring. I used to party with him in the 80s. We owned a club together in Hollywood with some other guys at that time, Black and Blue."

Steven Seagal:
"I think when he was younger he was dangerous. But now he's put on too much weight unfortunately, and that's not good if you're going to fight. He needs to lose some weight. I hope he doesn't read this, haha!"

Jean Claude van Damme:
"He'll probably have to quit with the late nights if he's going to have a chance. He's actually...No, I won't say anything mean."

Lundgren also reminisced about his ex-girlfriend Grace Jones:

"I haven't seen her in five years. The last time was in Cannes. We were together for four years. I was here toyboy back then. Then, unfortunately, I got in to films and got more stuff than she did, that's why it didn't work. But she's still going strong, I hear. Her music is incredibly modern, the old music is fantastic actually. She was very much ahead of her time."

Look for Dolph Lundgren on your screen next year when he co-hosts Sweden's 2010 Melodiefestivalen on SVT!

Source, Screencapture from svt.se, photo by Carl Johan Söder/SVT

Salvador Dalì at Moderna Museet

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:03:00 +0000

Need some inspiration? Visit Dalì Dalì - the fantastic Salvador Dalì exhbition at Moderna Museet (The Modern Museum) from 19 September 2009 - 17 January 2010.

Afterwards stop buy the museum store where there are shelves of fascinating books on painting, photography, architecture as well as biographies and fun, quicky stocking stuffers! If the snowfall's got you feeling too lazy to go then indulge in a bit of retail therapy at Moderna Museet's Webshop.

But really it's worth it to go there because you can eat some of the heavenly fare at Restaurangen which boasts one of the most exquisite views in all of Stockholm. They're serving a Christmas buffet as well. Though it's very informal, due to the its popularity, it's wise to reserve a table in advance. Tel: +46 (0)8 5195 6291 .

Address:
Moderna Museet
Skeppsholmen
103 27 Stockholm
Sweden

Telephone:
Museum: +46 (0)8 5195 5200
Restaurangen: +46 (0)8 5195 6291

E-Mail:
info@modernamuseet.se

Website:
www.modernamuseet.se

Tiger Woods Gulfstream Arrives in Sweden

noreply@blogger.com (Viva! Stockholm) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:02:00 +0000

UPDATE: Dec. 15 - OK Magazine spotted Elin Nordegren in Orlando, Florida. She was with her children and commented that the kids, "are doing fine."

The previous report from Aftonbladet was speculation and inaccurate. It may have been Governor Holmberg returning to Sweden as she is back in office today.

EARLIER: According to reports in the Swedish news media Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren are in Stockholm. The couple travelled by a private Gulfstream jet from Boston and arrived at Säve airport just outside of Gothenburg at 9.00 p.m. last night. They are currently at their duplex apartment at Karlaplan, Stockholm (pictured left in screencap).

The pair slipped by the media but visit Aftonbladet for video footage of Elin and Tiger's plane arriving in Gothenburg.

Elin's mother Barbro Holmberg, governor of Gävleborg, who collapsed while visiting her daughter in Florida last week, has made a a full recovery. Governor Holmberg will report back to work today.

Stockholm is ideal for a bit of rest and relaxation. Hopefully this family will find healing and peace during the Christmas holidays.

Source 1, 2. Screencap from okmagazine.com