"This
is what Sweden is -
quiet people leaning over the newspapers and coffee cups, each one with his own
thoughts and destiny."
~ Henning Mankell
Finishing our trip in Stockholm. We took a bus trip around
the city, sitting on the top flight of a double-decker bus. We made note of
those areas that we thought we may want to come back to. Stockholm has lots of
parks and green swathes of shaded grass where it seems the Swedes like to
gather and lay about of a sunny afternoon. The architecture was, again,
phenomenal. Near our hotel we found a lovely little coffee shop where we could,
indeed, lean over our newspaper and coffee cup, enjoying exceptional
coffee and pastries.
While on this bus, we skimmed around Old Town, a part of Stockholm that we really wanted to see. Our brief glimpse of Old Town showed that the streets were clotted with tourists.
So, we continued along being told of the sea-faring history, notable history, the culture, and the art.
But . . . we did go back to Old Town after all. And found that if we went down the narrow side streets that we were away from the crowds. We also found all sorts of little treasures. Like the little cafe, down through a narrow arched street that had a lovely patio set up in the midst of 16th century apartments and shops - including a shoe maker that still did that - made shoes by hand. Wonderful!
The next day, our last day in Stockholm, and our last in Europe, we woke early and sat and people-watched in the small park outside our hotel. We watched as fit Swedes walked by us after their run, and as a gypsy woman bathed in the fountain.
We took a farewell walk around the area, finding more wonderful architecture, unique doors, and a lovely Turkish cafe with an effusive owner that was willing to talk to us about the weather, politics, Turkey, and the best coffee (his), while he smoked and smoked.
And on this last day, we treated ourselves to real, authentic Swedish pancakes with lingonberries. They were delicious !
