Absoluteapartment loves to travel!

Brunch Your Way around Stockholm part 2

2013-03-23T22:26:00.000+01:00

The dessert and cheese selection at Djrugårdsbrunn, picture from their Facebook

To read the story behind and get the earlier reviews in full, please read the first post here! From now on I'll just continue uppdating this post to ensure that everything is easy to find for you.

Långbrovärdshus

Hot-3

Cold-5

Desserts-4

Athomsphere-5

Service-5

Total: 22p

Price: 325kr including coffee/tea.

On the metro out to Fruängen, our expectations were not very high, partly because of the location (quite far from the center) and partly because we thought that it would be hard for any place to live up to a rather steep price tag of 325kr NOT including nonalcoholic beverages like juice. We were almost proved wrong. First we were very happy to find that the service was excellent, from the beginning to the end, friendly efficient and welcoming, best service by far of all the brunches we’ve had. When it came to the cold, a good mix of traditional pickled herring with more modern touches like steamed salmon, wasabi crème with pickled ginger. Good selection, nice presentation and overall great flavors. The hot could have been great, but unfortunately nothing that stuck out, and some was a bit so and so like the over cooked pork and the very salt onion soup. Overall, average. The dessert were good, a wide selection, well presented and our favorite the crème brulee was perfect. Also a nice cheese selection with homemade apple compote and the white chocolate lime mousse was very good. On the downside, the burnt mini croissants, why on earth were they even served? We spent a leisure 2,5 hours here and were not once asked to leave, the waitresses were very attentive, friendly and answered any questions we had. Overall, very good brunch, nice friendly atmosphere without the need to be posh, guests were anyone from a new born to the great grandmother and everyone seemed content. The only minus was the price, if you charge 325kr, we would at least expect juices to be included, I would even expect them to be freshly squeezed, now we orders a fresh apple juice each and made the tab run up another 120sek.. Well worth visit, if you can afford it.

Strand

Hot-2

Cold-5

Desserts-2

Athomsphere-4

Service-1

Total: 14p

Price: 295kr including, coffee, tea, several juices etc

Comment: Beautiful setting, nice walk around the islands right outside and cozy sofas. The cold courses were very very good. A few great salads, excellent marinated Parmigiano, beautifully cured prosciutto, tasty warm freshly baked bread. After this we were extremely excited to continue our leisure brunch, but oh the disappointment! Something called mackerel lasagna was definitely the worst thing we've tasted so far, and the rest wasn't much better. Tasteless, finished before 1/2 of the guests had eaten (despite another serving at 14.00) and just bad all together. They ran out of coffee, they ran out of the otherwise extremely likable fresh oranges that you could squeeze yourself and did nothing about it? Left with 4 empty plates at our table (same goes for the rest of the restaurant) since no one had bothered to pick them up, we advanced to deserts that were uneven to say the least. 4,5 points for the crème brulee, 1 or 2 for the rest of them. When we left the only way to pay by card was to pay in the overcrowded reception, standing in a big line, mixed with other brunch guests and hotel guests checking out. Sad to see the deterioration after such a great start but big plus for freshly squeezed orange juice, and that coffee, tea juice, smoothies etc were included!

Mornington

Hot-3

Cold-2

Desserts-2

Athmosphere-3

Service-4

Total-14p

Price: 210Sek not including coffee/ juice

Comment: This is one of those places you should go to during the winter. Decorated like an old library, nice comfortable sofas and armchairs. The food is comforting but quite average, nothing is out of the ordinary apart from the cured salmon that was great, the best one out of all the brunches we have had. Big plus for the miniburgers but other than that it was just plain.

Elfviksgård

Hot-2

Cold-3

Desserts-2

Athmosphere-5

Service-3

Total-15p

Price: 225Sek

Comment: The setting, wow! Well let’s just say it's worth the train and bus ride. We were here on a beautiful ice cold winter day, and it was like a fairy tale. Sitting inside, in front of a crackling fire while looking out over a white landscape was great, unfortunately the food wasn't. On the plus side, drinks (coffee, juice) was included in the price, the cheese selection was good and there was a great homemade apple marmalade to accompany it that we loved. On the down side, the warm food was well bland to say the least. We were not impressed at all. Amongst the cold we found what could have been a good mango salsa that unfortunately contained frozen (!) mango dices, almost no meat and the bread was dry. Overall, go here, but maybe just for a coffee and a traditional kanelbulle?

Villa Godthem
Hot-5
Cold-4
Dessert-2
Atmospere-5
Service-5
Total 21p
Price: 299kr, ex coffe/juice

A sunny winter day, with glistering snow is a great day to take a walk along Strandvägen out to the peculiar villa on Djurgården, mainly famous for their traditional “Plankstek”. The restaurant gives a great first impression; the service is friendly and has a quite personal touch. The cold range from traditionally light smoked hams, homemade bread, marinated salmon and several Swedish pickled herrings, all beautifully presented and refilled constantly, no risk of running out here! As always, we would have loved some signed to go with the different plates to explain the details, but we try away and are greatly rewarded. The Hot selection is the best part, we skip the egg and bacon, savor the home made miniburgers, the hoisin pork with a beautifully executed root fruit tartlet, the perfect smoked salmon omelet and we are more than pleased. Our coffee is continuously refilled without asking and when we realize we are running out of time, the waitress goes to check with the maître d, and let us keep our table for an extra hour. We love her and give her the biggest tip so far.. The desserts look amazing, however the flavors just aren’t there, and when they are, they are not pleasant. This is something they need to deal with unfortunately. All in all we really do recommend this brunch, we’ll be back!

Hotell Rival
Hot-3

Cold-4

Dessert-4

Atmosphere-4

Service-5

Total-20p

Price: 265kr ex juice, inc coffee/tea

Rival has managed to keep its old charm but yet survive some more modern adjustments to suit the new Södermalm clientele and they have done it well. We are served by a nice waitress that continue to give great service throughout the brunch despite a large working station, that helps when the food isn’t amazing although descent all the way. The cold holds an ok standard and the serve steak tartar that makes the points go up immediately! The hot is ordinary, nothing special and quite bland to be honest. The desserts are better than the hot selection, a rather wide variety to choose from and well executed, the carrot cake is one of the better ones we’ve had. Sad that drinks/coffee/tea is excluded, it’s not really great value without it.

Fåfängan

Hot-1

Cold -3

Dessert-2

Atmosphere-1

Service-1

Total-8

Price: 285Sek ex juice, ink kaffe

We thought that we had seen it all when we visited Elverket, but no, there are even worse places. At a restaurant with the best possible view in Stockholm one would think that at least the atmosphere points would be high, but no. Sure, it’s a beautiful walk up towards the top, a picture perfect view of the water towards Stockholm to one side, to the other, a great city view over the older parts of Södermalm but unfortunately that is where the good things end. During brunch we cannot enjoy the view as we are seated inside a white plastic tent with no see through parts. We get to place our jackets on the floor and sit on crappy old wooden benches clearly not made to hold the number of people that are now trying out the balance act. The food was just overall bad. Everything was handed out to the buffet at the beginning of the seating time, nothing was ever refilled and several heater weren’t working making 50% cold and the rest was either bland or just over all unidentifiable. The only good thing we found were the directly prepared shrimp crêpes. Sure, we could eat it, it’s not that but if we pay 285sek we expect a bit more then store bought roast beef and potato salad. Desserts consisted of minipancaces that you prepare yourself, great idea but the irons never got remotely warm, making it take forever to finish one. The chocolate cake was dry and bland. Regarding the service staff, they answered in a friendly manner and where polite when we could find them, but we cleared our own table and sorted our own drink rendering them no tip at all.
All in all, take a walk here, bring a sandwich and enjoy the view rather than paying for brunch.

Långbrovärdshus 22p

Djurgårdsbrunns värdshus 21p
Villa Godthem 21p

ClarionSkanstull 20p
Hotell Rival 20p

Kung Carls bakficka 19p

Elverket 9p
Fåfängan 8p

Uppsala!

2012-09-24T11:19:00.001+02:00

When walking to and from the hospital/
university everyday I get to enjoy the beautiful gardens of Uppsala. Being just a short trainride from Stockholm Uppsala is a nice daytripp, has a lot to offer in terms of Swedish history plus it's a nice town with a good atmosphere! I'll give you a proper guide later on this week, meanwhile enjoy a few pics..

Old town right now

2012-09-22T19:48:00.001+02:00

I Love Stockholm!!

Pictures are the new black..

2012-09-22T15:46:00.001+02:00

well sort of.. Anyhow I'll try to use the blogger app to post pictures to give you a better idea of what we are up to here, and what there is to do. Enjoy!

2nd place in the FINAL!

2012-09-12T21:17:00.002+02:00

Today was the day that we got to compete in the final of this year’s edition of student entrepreneur of the year in Sweden. With a chance of proceeding to the main event in NY, stakes were quite high to say the least, and competition was fierce..

No not at all! The other two contestants were lovely, we had a great time and it was a lot of fun to exchange ideas with other entrepreneurs.

All three finalists, Absoluteapartment, Verendus and Blåbärsgården, got to present their companies in front of a jury of 8 who then proceeded to question us, our ideas and intentions. We couldn't have had more different companies if we had tried but all of us had an unique idea, and we went for it.

All in all, it was a great day, I learnt a lot, got some really good ideas from a few of the jury members and the presentation was very good if I may say so. I also scored a few more apartments for the rest of you to book! =) I might also buy a few Blueberry bushes..
In the end, we winded up in second place, the winner Verendus was already doing amazingly well, the idea and the brilliant company might actually win the whole thing. I wish Dick Petersson the best of luck in NY and thank Entreprenörskapsforum for a great day!

Stockholm Ghost walk, well worth it!

2012-09-08T13:29:00.000+02:00

Picture taken from Do today

So we finally got to do the famous Ghost walk and we can certainly recommend it to anyone and everyone, perhaps not the youngest children though.

We started out at Järntorget in Old town and then followed our guide through the narrow alleys of Old town through Stockholm’s history via great battles, blood baths, diseases and whorehouses. Our guide made the old stories and legends come to life, made us jump a few times with her great approach to old murders of famous people throughout the hundreds of years of history. We were quite a big group, aged between 7 and 70 I'd say and everyone enjoyed themselves vividly. I'm sure all guides have more or less the same approach to the tour so you will not be disappointed even if you don't get our amazing guide.. =)

Since this entry was for you guys, we decided to go all in and try out one of the dinnerpackages that they offered and we winded up on Engelen. This is an old and quite famous restaurant in Old town, they do quite a lot of live bands and the guests are mainly in their forties out for a good night.

It was a set 3 course dinner, at great value I might add, and we were not disappointed at all. In the end we stayed on for a few more drinks, enjoyed the band and had a very nice evening.

All in all, we strongly recommend Stockholm Ghost walk and we hope that you take the opportunity to enjoy it when you are in Stockholm!

Final in the Student Entrepreneur!

2012-09-06T21:36:00.000+02:00

Wow aren't we proud!

Absoluteapartment made it to the final of the Swedish edition of the GSEA competition for Global student entrepreneurs. This is naturally a great honor and I couldn't be happier!

It's thanks to all of our wonderful hosts and guests that we came all this way, and I hope we will go a lot further. Our aim is as always set as high as possible so if we somehow would manage to win the Swedish edition (after all, it's only us and two other great companies left..) then we will be of for the Global Final in NY in early November.

Keeping our fingers crossed that we will get the honor of joining the other companies over there even though we are more then happy to be top 3 in Sweden.

Best of luck to all the participants!

Stockholm Ghost walk

2012-09-05T23:24:00.002+02:00

On friday, me and two friends are going to check out Stockholm Ghost walk that we heard so much about, I'll be sure to update you on how it all went. I'm also going to try to get some sort of cooperation with them for our guests, I'll get back to you on that as well. What they do are guided half theatrical tours through Old town, based on true stories of the famous and not so famous people who lived and mainly died here. Going to be great fun!

Picture taken from the website

Swedish summer, Part one

2012-08-16T23:47:00.001+02:00

Ok I admit, most of you have figured it out already anyway, I’m a lousy blogger.. But it’s been a very hectic summer, trying to split my time between the rental business, enjoying the Swedish summer and repainting my grandparents old house. Along the way I’ve picked up some great things to do however so I’ll communicate them right away instead of making more excuses so that you'll have some things to do next summer!

June;

Biggest event in June is always Midsummers, it shouldn’t be, it should be the National day 6th of June, but it isn’t. I celebrated mine partly in Leksand, famous for their huge celebrations and you can see some of it on the above You tube clipp
If you plan to go next year, a great place to start is Siljan. They also boost a lot of other useful information about Dalarna, a nice place to be if you want to leave the bigger cities during the summer.

Photo of a Hälsingegård taken by Jakob Dahlström

In July I mostly painted the farm, looking like this in the end, very proud of myself. Luckily, it’s located in Hälsingland and something called Hälsingegårdar traditionally old farms from this region, became a world heritage according to UNESCO. This might not sound like much fun but they are truly amazing! The paintings in some of these places are just too good to be true. I got to see 3 of them and I can strongly recommend it for anyone heading this way! I found this excellent brochure just now in English for you guys to study. I can also very much recommend the website Hälsingegårdar There are several campsites and smaller guests houses to stay at if you want to hang around for a while.
So ther you go, two things I recommend if you are here next summer!

Upcoming events in Stockholm

2012-05-24T12:23:00.000+02:00

At Kunsträdgården during A taste of Stockholm

I was so excited about the links I found that I completely forgot the original plan, give you an update on what’s going on in Stockholm the upcoming weeks. To say the least, we have quite a lot of things happening but I’ll list my favorites:

26^th-27^th of May

Elitloppet

Some of the guests waiting for the race to start..

One of the top 3 trotting races in the world, Sweden’s equivalent to Prix d’amerique or Hambletonian. Just 30 minutes away with buses leaving from central station I wouldn’t miss this for the world.

1^st-6^th of June

A taste of Stockholm

A food festival in kungsträdgården where you can sample food from all over the world, have a glass of wine in the sun and enjoy smaller concerts. A great way to see Stockholm.

1^st-6^th of June

At the starting point

Stockholm Culinary week

Just as it says, a culinary experience!

2^nd of June

Stockholm Marathon

Doesn’t need an introduction does it?

6^th of June,

Swedens national day!

A day to celebrate, enjoy the oncoming summer and have fun with family and friends.

Links about Sweden Part 2

2012-05-24T10:57:00.000+02:00

It’s always fun to read about your home country, the way someone else experience it. I try to collect links in English that I find interesting and that I believe you will as well. Enjoy!

9 out of 10 tourists are happy with their stay in Sweden

From Old Town to South Island this city is atraveler's dream

Stockholm Sweden Skansen

Marcus Samuelsson’s Sweden

This blogpost vaccinates 95 children!

2012-04-21T15:43:00.000+02:00

UNICEF currently has a great campaign! For everyone who posts the text in Swedish below, and pings theire blogg at Twingly, Apoteket Hjärtat, will donate 95 tetanus shots to the UNICEF vaccination campaign in Afganistan. Spread the word people, it just takes a few minutes and might save lives!

"Den här bloggposten vaccinerar 95 barn Just nu söker UNICEF en hälsospecialist till konfliktområden i Afghanistan. I tjänsten ingår bland annat att massvaccinera miljontals barn mot stelkramp, polio och mässling. Jag skulle gärna ta mig an uppdraget, men eftersom jag inte kommer loss så publicerar jag den här bloggposten istället. Då vaccinerar jag nämligen 95 barn runtom i världen mot stelkramp tillsammans med Apotek Hjärtat. Det är också bra.
Jag är med UNICEF i kampen för varenda unge. Vill du också vara med och förändra barns liv? Bli Världsförälder här: unicef.se/bli-varldsforalder. För 100 kronor i månaden är du med och ser till att barn över hela världen får vaccin, medicin, rent vatten och utbildning. Har du en blogg och vill vaccinera ytterligare 95 barn? För varje bloggare som publicerar den här bloggposten mellan 16 april och 13 maj så skänker Apotek Hjärtat 95 stelkrampsvaccin. Läs mer och hämta bloggmaterial på unicef.se/sprid-budskapet/bloggkampanj "

Travelling to Hua hin with Children

2012-04-05T17:57:00.000+02:00

There are many aspect of travelling with children, safety and things to do are at the top of the question lists. We’ll try to sort it out for you! And as always, we welcome questions and ideas, just post them as comments or email us and we’ll address them a.s.a.p.We'll start with safety and get back to the things to in the next post.

Safety

First and foremost, Hua hin is a safe area, no need to be more concerned than anywhere else in the world. However, Thailand is a tropical country; there are different aspects that you might want to consider, depending on age obviously.

For the youngest, 0-2 years

Vaccinations

It’s getting more and more common to take your maternity leave and head off for a few months to Thailand for example. Before leaving your country, make sure that you go through the vaccination program that your country is providing and that you get the necessary shots that you might want to add. Plan well ahead so that your child gets the necessary protection.

Sun screen

This will be debated forever and ever and I will not get in the middle of it. In my view, be smart. Small children should avoid the sun. Keep them away from the sun between 11-3. The other hours, let them wear UV-blocking suits.

Food

If you are still breastfeeding, good for you! No need to think at all.. If your child is old enough for formula, then I would take it with me, the Thai equivalents are sweet and nasty in my opinion.. If they are old enough to eat? Well great! Let them eat Thai food! Bring a mixer or buy one if you are staying for a long time. Use common sense, obviously less spicy is a good idea, avoid the saltiest and sweetest food. If you are not sure if your child is allergic to peanuts, avoid that to. Mix it with some milk and voila! Fruit, what a great thing. Let them eat as much as they want, yeah yeah sugar yeah yeah. Fruit, freshly grown, eaten ripe = A lot better than the stuff you get in a nestle jar and gladly serve to your children at home.. =) One thing though, pineapple, be restrictive for the youngest. It’s a fruit that might be a bit hard for their tiny undeveloped stomached to handle. Not saying never give, saying don’t let them drink pineapple shakes 3 times a day. Fluids are also important, they will sweat more ergo need to drink more. Bottled water is the only thing you need, readily available everywhere. When they get tired of that, give them some watermelon, lots of fluid there too..

For the older children

Safety will here consist of paying attention to traffic, be careful with the waves and again sunscreen. I’m not too concerned with advice for older children when it comes to safety, because it’s not much different to what it will be in your own country. One thing that I want to point out though is the water, there are strong currents at both beaches but the main beach has higher waves and also stronger currents. On a windy day, you need to be careful not to swim too far out or even walk too far out. At the beaches you also have jet skis, banana boats and parasails. You need to pay attention to those to, jet skis for example apart from being involved in several scams, they are also often drive way to fast and if you are out swimming, your head might not be to visible for an oncoming jet ski.

If you happen to be in accident and need medical attention

Hua hin offers good hospital care and as a tourist I would go to either Bangkok Hospital or San Paolo hospital. Both offer good care, I’d say that Bangkok hospital is a bit more specialized and would be my first choice if it’s something serious, but for normal care (cuts, smaller car accidents etc). I’d use San Paulo. There are also several other options, policlinics, Red Cross and many many more but as I said, the 2 above is the first choice.

Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin
Tel: 032 616 800
Email: huahin@bangkokhospital.com
Theire webpage

Sao Paolo

Tel: 032 532576-85

Getting around Stockholm

2012-04-04T17:57:00.001+02:00

When you are a temporary visitor in a city, transportation is essential to be able to explore it to its limits. First part is getting from the airport to town and depending on the airport you have a few different options

Arlanda

You essentially have three ways of getting from the airport to your destination. What might surprise you is that Taxi is usually the cheapest solution but it depends on how many you are, where you are going etc.

TAXI
Readily available outside the terminal at Arlanda they drive on fixed prices to any destination in central Stockholm. The prices vary a bit depending on the company but should all be around 470-500SEK and the price should be written on the outside of the car. Don't ever go by meter, the prices are fixed! If you are more than 4 persons you might want to consider preordering a large taxi that takes up to 8 people, ask your host to help you with this.

Arlanda express
The fastest and most environmental friendly way of getting to central Stockholm. It takes about 20 min to get to central station and the trains run all the time. Unfortunately it's expensive so usually it doesn't make sense if you are more then 2 persons but there are exceptions. Usually they have a weekend special where you can go 2 adults for less and a summer special where children go for free etc. Problem is that once you hit central station you will still probably want to take a taxi to your destination.. However, if you are going to Arlanda during rush hour, this is unbeatable! To see the current prices please check out their webpage where you can also buy tickets in advance: Arlanda express

Airport busses
The cheapest way of getting to central station. It takes quite a lot longer then a taxi due to all the stops and they don't run as often as the trains but is a cheap way of traveling. Again, you will however be dropped off at central station and have to make your way from there to your destination. For prices and schedule, check out their webpage: Airport busses

From Skavsta

First things first, Skavsta is quite a long way from Stockholm, despite what Ryan air says, so don't be surprised if the journey takes a while. From here I would only really recommend travelling by bus. A taxi is ridiculously expensive so this is a big no no if I were you.

Airport busses
The busses matches all arrivals/departures so you rarely have to wait for it. A good idea is to buy a 2 way ticket right away since it's cheaper and it saves you the hassle of doing it twice. For schedules, prices and more, check out theire webpage: Airport busses

Around Stockholm

Public transportation in Stockholm is really good if you don't happen to be here during the winter when the occasional snowstorm brings everything to a stop.. It's run by SL and if you are here for a few days you can get a visitors pass that are good value. When you get a pass you can go on the commuter trains, the metro, all the busses and trams plus a few boats so it's a really good idea. SL has got a good visitor's page that you can reach from here: Public transportation in Stockholm

Stockholm City bikes or as they are more commonly known: "Alvedoncykel"
The advil bikes.. Yes, sponsored by the Swedish version of Advil, these bikes are readily available all over Stockholm. They are cheap, really smart way of getting around and good for the environment. Pick up a bike at one stand, drop it of at another, never have to worry about locking up your bike or where to store it at night. Join the movement! See their webpage for prices and more info: Stockholm City bikes

One last time..

2012-03-17T17:19:00.001+01:00

There is something about old buildings that intrigues me. I never was much for modern architecture. It can be fascinating, posh, cool and quite astonishing, but to me it’s soulless when it's brand new. Perhaps it's because I grew up in Old town, where I learnt to love leaning floors, senselessly high sealings and cobble stones that are nice to look at by a nuisance to walk on? But building don’t have to be from the 15th century to get my attention, it's got a lot to do with the history of the building and the people that have passed through.

As I am a faithful supporter of one of the football teams in Stockholm, AIK, the subject of affection towards historical grounds has been brought to my attention recently.

They are tearing down our stadium.

Next year, the ground that is ranked amongst top 10 classical stadiums by FIFA will no longer be. We will all be moved to a modern arena, for sure more comfortable, for sure completely soulless.
Råsunda stadion, finalized in 1937, one of only 2 stadiums in the world that have hosted the final for both the men’s and women’s World Cup. The place where Sweden and Brazil played the final in the World Cup in 1958 (5-2 win for Brazil), where historical games, battles and songs have long echoed. The place that is now being torn down.

It is a rugged stadium. It built out of, and actually has the character as well, of cement,it's nick named "Mordor" by other teams, our "fortress" by us. The place where I've been supporting my team for almost 20 years. It might be trivial, in an ever changing world, but I for one will not be able to hold back my tears when the tearing begins.

Before all this, there is however a chance for one last time of everything. The chance to vintess it all, one last time. One last time, the season premiere will be held here. We'll meet the players with chants and fireworks. One last time we will host a Derby game against a local rival. One last time we will get to follow our team on sacred ground. And hopefully, one last time, we will bring the gold medals back where they belong.

This will be documented by many, mourned by all. One of my oldest friends, Henrik, will document this through his lens and you can see the amazing pictures here.

Several short movies have also been made, 2 of my favourites are:

If I were you, I would not miss the last of this for the world.

Get your tickets here.

Twitter!

2012-03-15T21:18:00.002+01:00

I'm in love with twitter, hence I need to spread the word.
It's such a fast and effective way of communicating, gets me the latest news way ahead of even web based newspapers plus I get to check in on a lot of my friends.
That is how I stumbled upon the Curators of Sweden, an amazing idea that you can read about here and follow here. Many other countries and cities have now followed suit and I love it. The idea of getting to know a country by following people from different parts of Sweden, with very different backgrounds is amazing. Yes, naturally, it's a kind of commercial and it works, it gets people curious about the country and the fact that we so far have seen everything from the daily life of a female truck driver to a sheep farmer and a librarian really says it all. If you use twitter, don't miss this!

Absoluteapartment obviously has an account as well; however I'm afraid I can't find the time to tweet both professionally and private, (I'm after all still a med student who also run a company..) so the account is just linked to our Google+ and to our Facebook page. In the future I hope to do more, just need to find some more time for this amazing form of microblog.

Highly recommended things to do in Stockholm

2012-03-06T20:11:00.001+01:00

What is it that you are just not allowed to miss while you

are in Stockholm? Well it naturally depends on season and how much time you have but we rate 10 things that you can't miss no matter when you are here or how little time you have:

1.Old town (Gamla stan)
The heart of Stockholm, where it all started and where much of it is kept. You can still walk on the same cobble stones that Axel von Fersen (Marie Antoinette’s lover) was killed upon, see the slop where the big blood bath took place. Eat at one of the many cafés located 16th century basements, admire the royal castle and see the changing of the guards.

2.Archipellago
Yes, we know you need some time to do really see the archipelago but there are ways to do it fast too if you are in a hurry. It's something amazing about the archipelago in Stockholm a sunny summer day, diving of the cliffs, fishing, sunbathing, sipping wine at one of the small harbors or challenging your friend to mini golf. Most of all, just see the beauty of it and enjoy! For a quick spell we recommend Fjäderholmarna and if you have a full day, don't miss Sandhamn, the real jewel of Stockholm’s archipelago!

3.City hall
This is where the Nobel prize celebrations are held. The Nobel prize was founded by Alfred Nobel, the guy who invented dynamite, and is one of the biggest events in Sweden each year. It's a full on week with ceremonies, speeches and it all ends with a large dinner at city hall! It holds the 3 crowns, the symbol of the Swedish hockey team amongst others and you can climb the tower to get a great view of Stockholm.

4.The ice bar
Ok yes, a lot of people will argue that it's not fair to put this on 4th place in Stockholm but we feel that it really tells a typical story of Sweden and it's a cool place! The entire thing is made out of ice, the bar, the glasses, the tables etc. They lend you a furry coat, gloves and hat so you can go in the summer and still be warm.

5.Boat sightseeing
This makes for a great way to see Stockholm, Venice of northern Europe. A few hours guided tour is an effective way to see many different places in Stockholm and it's a nice ride.

6.Dining
Comes naturally perhaps, but food is important in Swedish culture. We have a couple of places that we love that we will publish as soon as we can, but take time to dine, enjoy the Swedish specialties and it doesn’t have to be expensive! If you are staying in an apartment, try things like cloudberry jam, herring and crisp bread at home, no need to pay extra for that at a fancy restaurant or take the opportunity to eat many of the Swedish specialties at a local Brunch place.

7.Skansen
A large open air museum that hold a bit of everything from a small cute animal park where you can see wolfs, moose, bears and many other animals but also a place to visit the historic Sweden in miniature. If you happen to be here during one of the larger celebrations such as Lucia, midsummer, new year’s etc, then you can celebrate it traditionally in Skansen.

8.The Vasa museum
The only preserved 17th century ship in the world. Sank on its maiden journey in 1628, was brought back up in 1961. Situated on Djurgården this could easily be combined with Skansen and a mini boat ride from Slussen, makes for a full day.

9.Any sports event
Depending on season this might be Hockey or Football but you should take the opportunity to go see a game live. There are 3 football teams that are big in Stockholm, AIK, Djurgården and Hammarby and you can see the game schedule and by tickets at ticnet.

10.Walk
Sounds stupid, we know, but walk around Djurgården, stop at local cafés and enjoy the peace and quiet. Walk around Old town and soak in the atmosphere. Walk home a late summer night along the waterfronts of Stockholm, enjoy the 24hour daylight and feel the Nordic spirit. Stockholm is not big, you can walk almost everywhere and you should because it's simply the best way to get to know the city.

Brunch your way around Stockholm!

2012-03-05T23:20:00.000+01:00

Waking up Sunday morning after a late Saturday out with your friends, or because you just simply had a good nights rest, a brunch is always a great way to end the weekend. It will either bring you back to life with well needed food and drinks or it will be a pampered luxery experience with your loved ones, preferably a combo.. No matter what your reasons are, a brunch is the right way to end the week end!

I and one of my best friends, David, went to med school together for a few semesters before I switched university from Karolinska to Uppsala. We decided to stay in touch by brunching as often as we could and we have tried out a lot of great places in Stockholm. We always talked about rating them, starting up a brunch blog to guide others but we never came that far. Hence, when I now have a travel blog, set up to recommend things to do around the world, I decided that I will share some of the places here with you. The rating is always based on the same criteria, hot food, cold food, desserts, atmosphere and service. I have also added price, and a personal comment.

Djurgårdsbrunns värdshus

Hot-5

Cold-3

Desserts-5

Athomsphere-5

Service-3

Total: 21p

Price: 249Kr, not including drinks/coffee

Comment: Wow! The hot food is great and includes both classic brunch dishes and delicacies like smoked salmon fins and perfectly poached eggs. We were unlucky on the service department the first time, but second time we had great service. During the winter you sit inside, watch the bright white snow outside while feeling the warmth from the open fire. The desserts are the real winners even if the hot selection is really good too but that dark chunky moist chocolate brownie cake is truly to die for!

ClarionSkanstull

Hot-5

Cold-4

Desserts-3

Athomsphere-3

Service-5

Total: 20

Price: 260kr, Standard juice/coffee is included

Comment: Our first brunch was here, hence we loved it! Could have been that we are getting pickier but this one is still one of the best. It's a cross over between hotel breakfast and brunch, giving you a wide assortment of things that make up a great sandwich (Philadelphia -bagel with salmon was my favorite!) together with the essential hot stuff plus a few cute add ons as mini hamburgers. The desert section was fun, including a Swedish thing called smågodis, essential! The staff was attentive and let us stay way past closing time, without a fuss. Great!

Kung Carls bakficka

Service-5

Hot-2

Cold-5

Desserts-4

Athomsphere-4

Total: 19

Price: 235kr, not including drinks or coffee

Comment: The fact that we were allowed to stay until they had to set our table for dinner was something that we really cherished. It also says a lot about how much we liked it! Biggest plus goes out to the beef tartar. Absolutely astonishing! The pickled Swedish Chanterelles served to the prosciutto.. Wow! When it comes to hot food there was nothing wrong but just the ordinary bacon and eggs, nothing special. Waffles, pancakes makes for a nice dessert. Coffee is not included but the barista is really good so it's worth the extra!

Fotografiska

Hot-4

Cold-2

Desserts-5

Athomsphere-3

Service: 4

Total: 18

Price: 325kr, including regular coffee, juices.

Comment: Cool idea with small tables of tiny portioned brunch dishes (or simply food, not too much brunch over it) with each table representing a different decade. Some decades were however better then others to say the least. A thing that we still talk about was an omelet version on Jansson with lots of finely chopped red onion and crème fraiche, Delicious!! The deserts were served on table spoons, nicely arranged in a mock wall. Hard to explain I know, but imaging the holding ends of large beautiful spoons, filled with lovely bites of desserts, stuck into a mesh system of holes in a white wall. You'll have to see for yourselves. Plus a good excursion on a rainy day to see the great exhibitions at the same time. Expensive for what you get however.

Villa Källhagen

Hot-3

Cold-3

Desserts-3

Athomsphere-4

Service-4

Total: 17

Price: 275kr, including regular coffee

Comment: Food was overall average, a few twists like Nobis dressing instead of the standard Caesar, an amazing mustard sauce for the cured salmon but apart from that, bland. Very few hot dishes to choose from and the desserts were uneven to say the least. The best ones were the crème brullé and a great chocolate mousse, both served in schnapps glasses so perfect size as well. The chocolate cake and waffles looked god but tasted absolutely nothing. A lovely place, a nice walk out there and back, cozy, but stop for a glass of wine or coffee instead.

Elverket

Hot-2

Cold-2

Desserts-1

Athomsphere-2

Service-2

Total: 9

Comment: Well.. Eh. No. Food was unispiering and quite bland. The only thing that stuck out was the corn bread that was very tasty. Apart from that, service was nonexistent, the waffle iron had a melted plastic spatula inside it and when I pointed this out, the waitress said "use the other one". Price way too high for what you get. We won't be coming back and no, we won't link to them either, just don't go there.

To be continued!

"Winter" in Hua hin

2012-02-25T18:32:00.000+01:00

As you may have noticed, there has been a lot said about Stockholm lately. That's fine, there is heaps to do in Stockhlm, hence a lot to recommend. But as I usually spend December/January in Hua hin in our house there, I'd like to give you a taste of what a winter without snow can be like.

When people think of Thailand they usually think of Phuket or one of the many wonderful islands around it. Some think of Koh Phi phi, Koh Samui or Koh Pa-nga with its full moon parties. Some think of amazing dive waters or secluded beaches. Me, I think of Thailand as my second home. I think of getting out of the taxi after a long flight and then drive, entering our house. I think of the getting there late at night, eloping 1m of snow in Sweden to arrive at 25 degrees and going for the first swim in the pool. I think of the first morning, waking up and taking a couple of seconds to realize that it's not a dream. I'm actually there, in paradise.

When it comes to Hua hin, I am simply at ease. It's a town that can make anyone feel comfortable, no matter what age you are. It just has something to offer everyone. I'll share some of my personal favorites with you here, making it a tad bit easier for you if you are heading over!

Where to stay?

Well for me it’s easy, I obviously stay in our house (you can to, if we're not there!). But I think you should consider the location of your stay carefully when you decide to go. First, what are your needs, wants and budget? Do you want a private pool or hotel breakfast? Do you want to stay at the beach or do you want to be able to relaxed dinner on your private terrace? Do you want to stay in town or are you ok to pay a tuk tuk around 150baht to get there, just to be able to enjoy not having to listen to the 24h traffic?

Absoluteapartment offers a wide range of places to accommodate most tastes. But we have our priorities set straight, our guests want private swimming pools mostly. They want to be able to have maid service, massage, meals etc a phone call away. And they want the comfort of a home away from home. To me that is what we are offering. No matter if you choose to rent one of our places or to rent from someone else, we do think a house is the best way to experience Hua hin!

Fishing- Catch and release

This is an expensive trait in Hua hin, god knows why, but it’s also fun and if you love a good struggle, do it! There are 2 main locations, depending on budget but check out Fishing lodge and Greenfield.

Hua hin Safari & Adventure Park

4WD, paint ball, elephants and much more. This is where I head out if I'm staying for a long time and need some excitement; I especially recommend a game of paintball with your friends, much more exciting than a round of golf.

Beaches

Main Hua hin beach: Big, lots of tourist and big hotels. Go horseback riding, relax, rent a kite board, and have fun!

Takiabi beach: More relaxed, less people and friendlier. This is where I'd go with children who aren't the youngest but not big enough to tackle the wind and waves at the main beach.

Military beach: Some Thais on vacation otherwise deserted. Private, cheaper, no hawking and no sun beds. Very nice!

Kao Tao (turtle beach): Small, clean secluded. A paradise if you are with small children!

Markets:

Several different, most famous is the Night market, in the center of Hua hin where they sell clothes, food and jewelry. Most is fake but quite descent quality! Fruit markets are scattered around town at different days, one is up by soi 114 and has good prices on anything that you can eat!

Elephant riding

Heaps of places around town, most include a quite boring elephant show however..

Restaurants in Hua hin

Ahw, well, by now, if you have followed us for a while, you know that I'm fond of food. Hua hin is as well, lucky me! As usual when it comes to Thailand we are very keen on empathizing that you shouldn't miss out on the local markets, the local hawkers, the fruit carvers and all the rest of them. The best local food is usually found in the smallest most modest places, but there are exceptions.

Local, cheap and good

Not being fluent in Thai, I will try to describe the locations instead..

On your way to monkey mountain, at the very end of the main beach in Hua hin, you find a small and simple sea food tavern. Actually you will find lots of them, but to get to this one, walk on the beach and pick the last possible place. I dare say they serve the best seafood in Hua hin! Don't miss the crab!

The market at Soi 114, serves anything basically, cooked fresh, and lots of other things to buy to in terms of fresh fruit, sea food and deserts.

The market outside Grand hotel has lots of good half restaurants (egg hawkers with a few tables and chairs), some of the best sweet corn in Hua hin and much more.

If you walk the night market street from the beach and upwards, you get a large restaurant at the second intersection to the right. It looks kind of shabby but the food is excellent!

On the parallel street to petkhasem, next to the railroad, walk from the station towards the south and you'll find plenty of ok cheap restaurants filled with Europeans that spend the winter in Hua hin. One that stands out is Kim’s kitchen, they do excellent basic Thai food at outstanding prices and they deliver!

Up market but definitely worth it

Coco 51: At Soi 51, towards the beach, really really nice, good food, relaxing beautiful setting. Lie music during the evenings and good atmosphere.

Hilton: Roof top restaurant, very good, very pricy.

Brasserie de Paris: Naresdamri road, at the waterfront. Good food!!

Along Naresdamri road, towards Hilton you also have a little dock side restaurant, I wouldn't call it upmarket but it isn't cheap so it gets to be here anyway. However, it's really cozy, very relaxed, good place for children and the seafood is good!

Sofitel: Several restaurants, beautiful settings.

Marriott: Great for special occasions, their buffets at the beach for thanksgiving for example are stunning. Great service and so beautiful.

Above all of these I’d like to really stick my neck out and say Dusit. Their Monday all inclusive buffet could be the best in Thailand in terms of value for what you get. For 1200Baht you get not only the hotels selection of red, white and sparkling, but mainly a really good buffet that goes all the way and include anything from Fresh oysters and roe to different steaks and seafood. Do leave room for the large dessert section and then finish with a large cheese platter. A place that holds anything from a chocolate fountain to Oyster for 1200baht is excellent value!

Night life in Hua hin

In general one can say that Hua hin nightlife is quite calm and more focused on late night diners that continue until the wee hours but there are exceptions.

Sun set cocktails

Above all, literally, is Hilton. Take the elevator up to the sky bar, enjoy a cocktail while the sun sets over Hua hin. Great view in all directions, good service and perfect cocktails.

Sofitel, nice charming atmosphere, at the beach you can see the last of the sunbathers leave the beach while sipping a cool drink and having some nibbles of good Thai cuisine.

A bit later..

Depending on your type of scenery but Soi Binthabat is the definite bar mecka of Hua hin. Naturally there are lots of lady bars but this is simply the Thai scenery. A few places that are better than other according to us is the Irish bar O’Neil’s, good music, good atmosphere and descent food and beer selection. Hua hin Brewery has a relaxed outside seating area and a good nightclub inside. A must for the late crew but ok for the rest as well if you sit outside. El Murphy’s stand out when it comes to live music, their band is the best in town for sure, but come early they stop playing around midnight and tip heavily, they don't earn nearly as much as they should!

To get a good idea of where everything is, please use this Great map of Hua hin Bars that HHAD has created.

Stockholm as seen by others part 1

2012-02-20T23:19:00.003+01:00

When we stumble upon something that we think is good, we would like to share it with you. Today I got to read this: 25 reasons to go to Stockholm and decided to put together some of the links that I find helpful and have come across the last couple of weeks. A webpage that is a really good start is Visit Stockholm, they have lots of good tips and ideas with a wide range of activities to choose from. My personal favorite amongst things to do in Stockholm is to walk around and just see the city. A place that most of you who come here will visit is Old town and a good read is found here.

I love to read travel guides and articles about Stockholm, foremost because it's an eye opener into things that are so much every day to me that I've stopped noticing them, things that I would photograph and pose in front of if I would have been abroad myself. One of those things is the metro system in Stockholm. I use it daily and don't even see it. Here it's been voted one of the coolest metro systems in the world!

A page that has a little bit of everything is Vacation rentals, their section on Highly recommended really quite sums it up for me.


Picture from Stockholm Gay and Lesbian network

Stockholm is also one of the most gay friendly cities in the world, something that we are very proud of! I usually don't like to make a statement about this since it divides people into groups and that is not something I do. I think it's like saying we are one of the most human friendly cities in the world. But I am truly happy that anyone, of any couloir, sexuality or age feel welcome in Stockholm and the Stockholm Gay and Lesbian network has an excellent webpage loaded with good ideas, not to mention the amazing pictures, just look at this one to the left!

CNN had an interesting piece with the title "What's wrong with Stockholm?" well worth reading if you are heading our way. If you plan to go out drinking, bring the big bucks!

Let call this part one, then I'll dig up some more links for you for the second part. Enjoy!

Winter in Sweden

2012-02-17T19:55:00.000+01:00

Winter in Annefors, last years view from my kitchen window..

Yes, I know, you think of eternal darkness and suicide stats. Even though I'm more of a summer-beach-sun-person myself, I'd like to challenge that view.

Yes, Swedish winters are colder than winters are for most of you. Yes it's also darker then in many other countries. The suicide stats are well... Kind of true but not entirely so. We are 30th in the world per capita according to Wikipedia (not a great source, I know). Anyhow, sad as that is, today, with minus 5 degrees Celsius, snow covered grounds, glistening treetops and a bright winter sun; I was reminded on why I love the Swedish winter!

I walked to the train at around 6.30am this morning, still completely dark outside. All the cozy streetlights with an air of early 1900 about them gave a nice glow to the deserted streets where I was plowing forward with the snow crunching underneath my shoes.

On the train between Uppsala where I study and Stockholm the sun started to rise and I got to see a bright white landscape, wrapped in an enormous coating of snow passing by outside my window. Getting off and hustling to Uppsala University I caught a ride on a friends bike. The bicycle lanes had been brushed with sand, and despite the cold it was a nice ride. During lunch we took our coffee outside, sat down and let the early winter sun warm our faces. Back home, right now, there are candles lit all over the apartment. A large casserole of Kalopps (Swedish meat stew) based on moose is puttering away on the stove. A glass of red in hand, my favorite possum socks from NZ on my feet I'm planning away for a winter wonderland weekend. Tomorrow we are going for a long walk out to Djurgården with the rest of Stockholm. We're going for “Afterpulka” (pulka means toboggan) at Djurgårdsbrunns värdshus. We'll be in skiwear in their lovely laid back chairs, enjoying the music, sun and good food. Simply embracing the Swedish winter, the way it should be embraced.

So don't be afraid of the Swedish winter, it's actually kind of great!

A love letter to our hosts!

2012-02-16T22:22:00.000+01:00

Without our hosts, we would be nothing. Simple as that.

We tell them as often as we can what an amazing job they are doing and how important they are to us, but we can't say it often enough so let’s publish a love letter here as well!

You put up your private apartments for rent to make some extra money. Some of you are students trying to get by University without being forever in debt, some are travelers that want to give back to other travelers and some are single parents. Actually, a bit surprisingly, a lot of you are single parents, our biggest group of hosts! You simply let your apartment the week that you don't have the kids to afford to keep the apartment after a divorce, now that's just great! Some of you hosts let your apartments during the summers to afford your own vacation. And all of you are unique, responsible wonderful persons who complete strangers into your homes!

What makes up a great host is a hospitable attitude. That is the base, the fundament on which we stand. You need to like travelers. You need to be confident enough to open up your own home to stranger. You need to make them feel at home in a new city with basically no knowledge about it or the country for that matter. You need to have laid out some ground rules for the apartment, what needs to be done prior to departure and what may not occur while they stay there. You need to point them to the closest metro, grocery store and bus. And you need to like travelers of all kinds from the smallest babies that arrive sleeping to the elderly couple that need help with their luggage because they might all like to stay in your apartment

But you our wonderful hosts go beyond that. You check arrival times, help with travel advice and book taxis for your guests. You greet them at all hours of the day and night, smile in place, keys in hand. You have left coffee & tea for your guest to when they arrive, made dinner reservations, booked ferries, arranged for baby cots and strollers. You have planned anniversaries, bought roses and decorated.

Truly amazing things that trickle back to us via our guests. That is what we call above and beyond. So again, thank you to all the hosts at Absoluteapartment, you are what we are made of!

How we got started

2012-02-14T21:41:00.000+01:00

When I had made it around the world, worked for a few years abroad and at home, learnt Spanish where it is supposed to be learnt (Madrid and Malaga), trained to become a chef, worked as a manager for a Swedish softball club and travelled some more, I got accepted to Med. school. That came as a surprise, especially to me. I was so sure that I would never get accepted that I had kind of given up that dream. This also meant that I had to start staying in Sweden for longer periods. I did however sneak away as often as I could. By the end of the second semester I knew that I had to find some other way to make money but to work night shifts at restaurants. I could barely stay awake during the days and my studies were suffering. My only asset was my apartment so I decided to advertise it via some agencies. It worked alright, but it still took so much time and energy going through the requests that mostly didn't generate any rental, endless phone calls with the agencies about anything and everything plus the fact that they took more than 30% of my income. I decided that this wasn't going to do it. Things were just too complicated.

One night over quite a lot of wine, I spelled out everything that was wrong with the situation. What I would do better. What was missing and what was dumb. I went quite far and on the metro on my way back home, I wrote it all down. If none of the agencies would provide me with what I wanted then I was going to do this myself. Next morning I called up a friend and set up several meetings with programmers and signed all the registration forms to start up my own business. This was in October 2008. It should have taken 2 months to set everything up and build the website. It took almost 2 years. But when I launched www.absoluteapartment.com in July 2010, one month ahead of the medical conference, and the bookings started to accumulate I knew I had made the right choice. We were up and running. Actually we hit the ground running. And we haven't stopped yet!

From then to today, the short version..

2012-02-13T22:09:00.000+01:00

I grew up and started to accept the fact that eventually I would have to go home, I was still screaming silently though. With my family I got to see many countries, 1000 of beaches and met so many amazing people along the way. I loved every single day of it, but it was first when I started to travel by myself that I really became mesmerized by it.

I and 2 friends decided to go around the world when we finished our school. We worked every weekend, ever single afternoon, between final exams and school we managed to save up what we needed for tickets, insurance, all kinds of vaccinations and 6months abroad.

Just the planning was endless hours of dreams, assumptions and hope entwined and brought down to earth by a tight budget. Even though we were well aware that millions had done the trip before us we felt like pioneers. 18, ready to concur the world!

Can't stop laughing when I think back at that first long 6 month trip. God the rookie mistakes we did! The ridiculous budget we had that made us sleep 3 in one bed most of the time, just to be able to stay away for a while longer. I was appalled that one of the girls ordered orange juice for breakfast. Budget people, budget! I may also mention that we booked our plane tickets so stupidly that we had to go on a bus for 60 hours to the airport because we decided to fly in and out from the same airport. We did this twice, first from Bangkok (had to head back from Bali to Bangkok to fly to Australia.. ) then from Sydney (yes, we made it to the far north just to get on the bus all the way back..). We also booked a month in California, in February, but only backed for sun and beaches. Walking around Beverly Hills, freezing equipped with every piece of clothing we had made up for a fun picture. Same in Mexico where we ventured in hopes that it would be warmer. It wasn't..

But we had fun, we were in a sense brand new, shiny and happy. We met so many people that I will never forget, some I'm still in contact with today, 12 years later.

Coming back home after that trip I knew 3 things. I was in no way as grown up as I had thought, Stockholm was always going to be home and I would never stop traveling.

To start us of, some history..

2012-02-13T00:11:00.000+01:00

It all started out when I was 5 years old. My family were on their yearly vacation, this time at Grand Canaria. After a week of warm weather, friendly people, horrible attempts at communicating in Spanish and overall just being charter tourists it was time to go back home. When my parents packed one last time, removed all the sand from the towels and got ready to head back to the hotel that we already checked out of to shower by the pool before getting on the bus to the airport, I refused to leave. I was furious, I ran towards the water outside of Mas palomas where we had been tanning all day (yes, this was during the 80s, one could do that then!) and screamed that I wasn't coming with them. I caused quite the scene then and there at the beach and then when I finally surrendered, probably due to some vague promises of ice cream, I filled my pockets with as much sand as I could fit. I'm sure my father was very happy with me at that moment.. I sulked all the way back home to a snowy and cold Stockholm, refused to put hand over my sand filled shorts and just kept on saying I didn't want to go home.

Back in Sweden, being February, it was cold and snowy. When we finally got back to the apartment, I asked for a jar, pored all the sand into it. I placed the jar on my bedside table so that I could always dream of the endless sand and sun..

Apparently I don't remember any of this, but I've been told that this is what happened. True or not? Who cares, it makes up a good story to understand my want, no that's not a strong enough word, my need is more like it, to travel and travel. That is what has driven me around the world all these years, that made me meet all the fantastic people I've met during my trips, that always makes me long for the next airport. That is also what has driven me to start my own business in the tourist sector. I want to give something back and obviously still be able to make a living out of it. But hey, we are just at the beginning, so let’s see where this will take us!

I still have the jar by the way, it's just now filled with sand from all over the world, to keep the dream alive...