Stockholm - Day 4

The "hotel" has a "buffet" breakfast. We scrape together a sandwich and a bowl of muesli, but the coffee is not drinkable. So, first stop, a cafe.

We head to nearby Pascal which is recommended by the locals. The coffee is strong, and that's the main thing. Courts has her first fika of the day by pairing her coffee with a croissant.

We are aiming to meet Sarah and Arlo in Gamla Stan (Old Town) today, but there is no rush, so we meander down Södermalm into record stores, candle shops and anything else that looks interesting.

Over the bridge and into Gamla Stan and instantly we are in a different city. There are tour guides and tourists everywhere, but it doesn't detract from the first impression of the narrow, cobble-stoned alley ways which are beautiful. You feel like you've stepped back in time, if you can look above the ground level souvenir shops.

We head to the main square featuring the Nobel Prize Museum and a beautiful fountain (Stortorgbrunnen). The water is flowing out in a way that makes it look like you should drink it. Jeff needs a little reassurance that its safe though, and asks a nearby street artist who gives it the thumbs up. Turns out they've been drinking from here for 250 years, so yeah, should be fine mate. Its cold and delicious (and places to refill your drink bottle are sparse in Europe, apparently).

We meet up with Sarah and find a good looking spot for some food. The menu looks great, so we turn it into lunch. Jeff goes for the Elk which comes as one big meat ball along with the standard trimmings. Its a great default dish. Courts goes for the pork schnitzel and the other girls get toast skagen after the first time around was so impressive.

Its hot in the sun, but cold out of it; a dangerous combination when the sun has a bit of sting in it.

We cover off on a lot of the town by zig-zagging our way up and down the alley ways. Stella buys some sunglasses.

Time to head out of Old Town and we head to Riddarholmen; a square with a beautiful old church catching the sun. From here we head across the bridge to the impressive Stadshuset (Town Hall). We hang around here a bit. Jeff takes 5.

Surely time for a fika break. We take a 5 minute walk to a place that looks like they know what they are doing. We are not disappointed. All the baked goods are exceptional and the coffee is decent. They have "flatwhite" on the menu, but were a bit confused when I ordered it.

We meet Tomas in a park on the next island where there is a lot of activity. Plenty of soccer and lazing the in sun. Its about 430pm.

Off to dinner (despite the belly still full of fika), a contemporary Swedish place called Knut that starts with a "North Plate" full of cured meats like moose heart, elk and some delicious cheese and their spin on dumplings. A great start.

Jeff orders reindeer calf and Courts goes for the lamb. The reindeer was cooked perfectly, quite rich but offset well by the lingonberry. The desert was fried vanilla sponge cake topped with ice-cream with cloud berries and caramel sauce. Wow, yep, that works. Probably got room for another, actually!

We aim to walk off the dinner a little bit and head for a bar in another area. There are lots to choose from. We settle on a nice outdoor spot at a simple pub. Courts and Jeff are on the alcohol free stuff today and there are plenty of options. Tomas needs to get Arlo home to avoid a melt down. Courts and Jeff decide to walk the 6kms home through a different part of the city.

Its after 9pm and still the sun is hitting the buildings, giving us some good shots of Parliament House and other parts of the city we hadn't got to yet. Well worth it.

We have our bearings in Södermalm now and find our way home thoroughly exhausted. Another big day in the sun.