49 replies to this topic

[Sneakeater]

I am so intolerant of the new climate that I MUST go somewhere cooler in the summer. (No, I don't mean to the Southern Hemisphere for mid-winter.) My vacation time, unfortunately, is the last week of August, running into Labor Day weekend.

In the almost inevitable event that I can't get into Noma, I'm thinking of Oslo or Stockholm. Stockholm is generally thought to be wonderful. Oslo is one of the contenders for the "next" city -- but I wonder if there's anything there yet, or if it would pay to wait a year or two. Anybody have any intelligence on this?

Of course, on a price basis it would be better to go somewhere in the recessed Euro zone this summer, rather than super-expensive Scandinavia. Anybody have any thoughts on anywhere far north enough to be cooler? I've recently been to Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest, so they're all out. And I've spent enough time in Hamburg to not feel any great need to return. Berlin -- is it less hot there?

For solo travel -- as this will be -- I only like cities.

Thanks.

[Sneakeater]

Hmmmmmm. Berlin looks like it generally stays in the low 70s.

[Anthony Bonner]

Caveating this by saying last trip to Oslo was '01 and last trip to Stockholm was '06 (Though it looks extremely likely I'll be going to all of the nordic capitals+Bergen and Aarhus this summer for work) - but I'd vote Stockholm and it isn't really close - especially if you are looking for an Urban environment. Oslo has better nature close at hand, but Stockholm is just much bigger.

Not to say that either city would be a mistake.

[Sneakeater]

Thanks.

[Anthony Bonner]

Thanks.

Bear in mind I told you CPH was boring as hell and you loved it...

[squibble]

I haven't been in three years and our food budget was more restricted than yours will be, I assume, but I will ramble on anyway. All of our trips were in fall and winter. Oslo is a smaller, quieter town than Stockholm, but you might enjoy taking the train to Bergen and doing a fjord trip, something we didn't do because of the cold and snow. Stockholm had more and better restaurant offerings and it's a beautiful city with good museums and great food markets. The boat trips around the archipelago will be pleasant in summer. We liked P.A. and Company which used to offer multi-course fixed price French cuisine. To me, it seemed more fusion than classic French.. The seafood and all the fresh produce - fruits, mushrooms, vegetables are great in Oslo and Stockholm, reindeer and lamb dishes were quite nice.

I had a couple of solo meals at the bar in The Victory hotel where we stayed several times which came from their Leijontornet Restaurant. Those meals were quite good - simple choices though like lamb or reindeer fillets. The Grand had a fabulous Christmas smorgasbord with an acquavit tasting menu, not very helpful to you, but when they offer a special buffet, it's loaded with wonderful varieties of smoked salmon which are my favorites.

My good friend in Oslo showed me how to make traditional Christmas meals - rakefisk, lutefisk and pinnekjott at her home. Bygdoys' museums are a lot of fun. We also ate at the restaurant up on Holmenkollen - nice traditional reindeer in a blackberry sauce. Frognerseteren is quaint and has great views, nice place for a piece of apple cake and a coffee. The restaurants down on the waterfront weren't my favorites, but maybe you will find something special there . . . it's such a gorgeous place to sit on a nice day at an outdoor table.

Berlin has a lot to offer in restaurants, cafes, museums, art and nightlife. I preferred the international food choices over typical German fare. I can't recall the name, a sushi place under the old railway tracks on the East side was quite nice. I was sorry to have only gone in winter, but saw it once in early fall which was pleasant. The city really transforms in summer with outdoor cafes, leafy canopies over the rivers and people boating. The museums are fabulous. It's well worth taking a trip to Dresden and Potsdam. We really enjoyed staying at The Grand Hyatt in The Potsdammer Platz which is convenient to museums, restaurants, Sony IMAX theaters, shopping. KaDeWe's food floors are fun. I liked the sushi place in KaDeWe's food floors, but the choices I could not have may be more to your liking if you want to have lunch there - lobster and so on. Check out the smoked meats and fish section. Every region of Germany is represented - amazing sausages and salamis. I hope you get to stay at The Adlon. I would have loved that, I"m sure.

Oh, almost forgot, there's a duck breast/foie canape in the prepared foods area of KaDeWe, you can't miss it, it's kind of near the opening from the escalator, small, but delectable.

Ok, enough useless dribble from me! Sorry to go on like that. I really look forward to reading about your trip. Have a marvelous time and stay cool!

[Sneakeater]

Bear in mind I told you CPH was boring as hell and you loved it...

As Søren Kierkegaard once said, when a man is tired of Copenhagen, he is tired of life.

[Sneakeater]

Thanks a lot, squibble. That was very helpful! Whatever else you were going to say after you stopped, please write it.

The Victory is where I would hope to stay in Stockholm, actually.

[squibble]

Things will pop into my head and I will post them. I love The Victory! Great choice. The room they usually gave us, I think it was the 5th floor, looked into this very pretty apartment - an old building of course, but furnished in modern Swedish decor - minimal, really lovely. They threw a party one night and I wanted to go over and ask if I could join them for a drink. The rooms come with a Bang & Olufsen stereo that I think will play CD's if you decide you want to bring some of your favorite music.

And, Skansen is fun. Get yourself some of that homemade Swedish coffee cake they make there. It's scented with cardamom. The walls were dripping where they make the bread - smelled wonderful with yeast and spice.

[squibble]

The Ostermalm Saluhal in Stockholm has a great seafood restaurant for lunch and their espresso is superb or was. The cod dish I had was great and the boiled potatoes in cream with dill was very nice. Why those things are so special in these places has to do with everything, so even simple things are going to be great. Hotorget Market has these enormous hot Turkish sandwiches for 7 euros - it's like five different patties on there, pickled vegetables and hot sauce - get all the fixins if you try it. That market has the best fruit salads - these are carry-out items.

You can see I was alone dining a lot and therefore, I did a lot of take-away and self-catering, but always the best quality stuff I could find.

[SLBunge]

I've never been to Oslo but I liked Stockholm quite a bit and have never been to Oslo. My trip to Stockholm was in August and they really understand how to exploit summer. Excellent ice cream shops that are sort of an obsession with locals. Very easy to get around. I stayed in a great hotel in Sodermalm but am blanking on the name. I'll look in my notes when I get home tonight.

If you feel like you need to, you can easily pop over to Tallinn. Interesting city that's worth a couple of days of exploring but not a week.

[Sneakeater]

Thanks a lot. You guys are so helpful! (If you could pull the name of the hotel, I'd appreciate it.)

[SLBunge]

It is the Columbus Hotel. It was in a very quiet part of the neighborhood. The room I was in had beautiful windows that opened up onto the lawns of the church yard behind the building. Easy walk to the subway.

I don't remember eating there but people seem to like the food.

[Sneakeater]

Thanks!

[SLBunge]

Actually, it occurs to me that I splurged and spent my last night in Stockholm (after being in Tallinn) at the Rival Hotel which was very luxurious and had great service. Across the street from a beautiful park with lots of families milling around. It was great as a place to drink wine and relax the night before the flight home.