the only colourful person in stockholm and other july bits

The more I read, the less inclined I am to write apparently. And I seem to have gotten my reading mojo back in a major way. Hooray. 4 books down in July so far, soon 5 and reading 3 simultaneously.

It should be the other way around, one might think, the more your read, the more you'd feel the urge to write. If you're a writing human being that is. But as things are now, obviously I don't work that way.

So some short glimpses from my world since June 27 then -

:: A lovely lovely writer's talk with the wonderful Stina Wollter, painter, artist, writer, body activist, feminist, wempowering every day on Instagram.

"Never say you're sorry for crying, it is the caring, feeling human that will save the world"


:: Ztina continues to have bad days, good days and pretty great days. Given how few answers that have come from the countless veterinarian visits, tests and money spent I can not see that anything more enlightening can be done that would improve her life. As long as the good and pretty great days are more than the bad ones we will adjust to this life as is.

I wish there was a veterinarian nearby that was truly interested in solving the enigma, and less interested in charging hefty prices for treating symptoms without solving the problem.


:: Continuing on the path of looking for my kind of job, my kind of people. I had another interview scheduled for last week, but it was re-scheduled to August.

I got a message from a job I applied for saying "You have a really interesting CV, but we feel you're going to be more expensive than we are willing to pay. But do give us a call.". I'm too old, too experienced, too jaded to even bother with such calls, if it's not a Dream Job.

I'm also thinking a lot about the fact that all these experiences, these years as my own boss, leading myself, is it even possible for me to fit in in an organisation not in a leading role, just as a "mere" communicating employee? Am I not too independent, too eager to drive change? Too quirky?

Food for thought. Especially with all the utterly weird situations I've experienced since I started this journey of finding...


:: The annual summer substitute buses debacle is ongoing. For the at least sixth year in a row, but probably it's seven or eight. The first years we always went on holiday during those periods so I rarely had to deal with all the stress and nuisance. You loose a lot of hours commuting during these weeks. It usually takes me 50 minutes - 1 hour + from door to door to get into the city. Which is a time one is used to after all these years.

Now add about 1 hour and 15 minutes to that, single trip. And no reduced ticket prices. And noone has yet to see what kind of work is exactly done during all these weeks, everything is very elusive. I'm so grateful I don't have to commute every day.

I'm also grateful for us having a clean, safe, environmental-friendly public transport system in Sweden. That is used by everyone, no matter which social class you belong too. Sure, there is room for improvements, but it's also so very basic for a well-functioning democracy to have a well-functioning infrastructure with decent and safe public transports available for its citizens. And for the environment.

To be dependent on a car to, hopefully, get you safely from A to B, is just unhealthy, unsustainable and not least retrogressive.


:: I've had some really great lunches, with fabulous conversations. Of which a couple with the lovely Lizzy, who so kindly showed me around Heidelberg in 2016 (and can we not talk about the fact that I still have not blogged about that Schwarzwald-trip...). Currently doing a "heritage tour" in Sweden but being able to spend some treasured hours with me.

And have you noticed that with people you don't see that often, you often get more meaningful conversations, you learn more? And with learning comes gratitude for so much in your own life. We all have dark moments, despair and demons to struggle, some much more than others. Then it's good to get other perspectives, learn about other walks of life, situations, to get that deep gratitude of being where you are, have been, grown up in those circumstances you have and so forth. It's so easy, too easy, to take things for granted, to feel entitled, for many of us.

Thank you again, Lizzy. Hope it won't be three years until next time.

And thank you for coining my new fabulous name "The Only Colourful Person in Stockholm"! Yes, the Swedes are sadly well-known for being afraid of colours prefering to blend in with black clothes and other drab colours, but you already knew that, right?



:: Went on a lovely day trip to Örebro Open Art 2019. Love train trips (when everything is smooth and working on schedule naturally) and seeing the world swoosh by outside the window. The exhibition itself was rather disappointing, nothing wow as in the amazing big yellow rabbit of 2011, but just the same, a day well spent (and very tired feet) followed by a good, long night's sleep. A perfect day that gave me a much needed relief from my brain and thought processes.

Funnily enough, the first thing the tourist information woman said to me, when we asked for directions, was "Oh, I love your fabulous, colourful style!". Perhaps I could also be coined the most colourful visitor in Örebro summer of 2019?


:: We've had really hot days. but also cooler days and happy rainy days. I think the summer weather this year on these latitudes in Sweden has been pretty great and varied. And I much prefer cooler temperatures (around +20C), which allows you to breath and function as a normal human being. perhaps this year has been slightly cooler than usual, but this is also the face of global warming and after last year's hellish hot summer I'm every so grateful for this weather.



Current music crush - Joy with Bastille makes me happy.

And until next time, hopefully it won't last weeks, think about this -

public transport shambles, forest fires and baby hedgehogs

I was going to write a lengthy post solely on the nothing short than complete shambles that's the public transportation in Stockholm this summer. But I won't, this will be a three piece post from infuriating, to even more infuriating, to cute overload.

Let's start with the closing of the two major commuter train hubs in the city - the Citybanan and it's two new stations are not even a year old and they costed about 17 billions SEK plus 4,5 billions for new trains. I was highly critical and sceptical to the build beforehand, for many reasons. I still am, very much so - Odenplan and Stockholm city (which is the central station) - because of faulty escalators.

The new commuter train stations are built really really deep underground, below the subway system. So it takes quite a long time before you reach the ground coming with commuter trains to the inner city these days. And the escalators are obviously very long and steep. And scary.

Last Monday there was a frightful incident with one of these scary, long escalators, it scampered and changed direction and a lot of people fell. Luckily noone was seriously injured. Up on inspection of the escalators - from the company Otis - it turned out there were serious problems with corrosion. The escalators aren't even a year old.

They had to close down over 70 escalators and since that means there aren't any safe exits from the stations, subsequently the stations were closed too.

Odenplan is opened up again - but I'm seriously not keen on using that station any time soon. Stockholm city is still closed a week later. In the middle of the holiday season. Here's a bit more information about the situation (in Swedish.)

There are currently so so many other construction works in the public transportation system in Stockholm. I thought I'd point out everything, but I won't because it's exhausting and infuriating. The reason for the embarrassing shambles basically being politicians and authorities have mollycuddled car traffic for centuries and just ignored the dire need for maintenance and modernisation of the public transport system and railroads.

Not to mention, corruption is more vastly spread in Sweden than we like to acknowledge, this situation makes one think about that too.



Which brings me to the next infuriating, but also heartbreaking, thing currently happening in Sweden. It started to be unseasonably warm here in late April already. May was really warm, and global warming was a very obvious fact. Early June was slightly cooler, but July has been nothing short than awful with temperatures +30-34C for weeks now. In many parts of the country it hasn't rained for over 10 weeks. And that has naturally led to extensive forest fires. Over 60 of them.

And the reaction, or rather lack of reaction, from the government and many authorities is simply appalling. Even a moderate amount of true leadership shown here in this man-made disaster situation would have sealed the upcoming election in September. But no such thing. I guess the government and its prime minister aren't very interested in keeping their positions come autumn.

The last straw was the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces saying on the news the other night, that they can't use the helicopters on ground for waterbombing because it's holiday season and the collective labour agreement and holiday laws forbids a suspension of the holidays. It's not our responsability. Seriously.

It's a national crisis, the country is literally burning. The brave and amazing fire fighters and volunteers on the ground can't fight this alone. The lack of strategy and planning is just mad. For f*** sake, get this under control and deal with the bureaucracy afterwards. The stupidity and lack of leadership, be it in politics or authorities, is absolutely mindboggling. Yet, again and again, they get to keep their position (and being paid way more than they deserve).

Needless to say I won't be voting for the current government. I most certainly won't vote for the opposition either. Neither stands for a society and future I want to see. This year I will only vote with my heart, mind and good conscience. I would be deeply ashamed if I didn't.



Given this extensive heatwave I haven't had a decent night's sleep for weeks now. The house is heating up during the days and there isn't enough time for it to cool down until bedtime. I refuse to use more energy than needed ie use the heat pump's A/C system. Besides it showed serious signs of giving up for good by the end of winter, and since I'm not able to replace it as things currently are I need to save it's possible last use for winter.

I don't know how people can function in heat like this. I can't. Taking it one day at a time, like wading through syrup. I desperately long for rain and cooler days. A nights. As do nature. And the cats.

Which brings me to the lack of hedgehog visits - this 17th year anniversary of being a blessed hedgehog drop inn owner - since that first, very early, sighting in May. But then last night I suddenly spotted a tiny one in the garden, the smallest ever.

And this late afternoon there were suddenly a whole family here. One big and three tiny, smaller than the palm of my hand. They're curious, active and slightly mischiveous. And too too adorable. So now I'll just have to help them grow strong for winter, with lots of kitty food and water.

The cats, and especially Zigne, thinks it's super interesting and exciting to open the distinguished inn again.

It's tiny, preferably four pawed, things like this that help keeping the ever present Weltschmerz (and anger at the state of the world in general) at bay. They did appear just when I needed it. Blessed and grateful am I.

at a cemetery in freiburg i sat down and wept

Today it's exactly two years since M passed away. And as important and healing as the grief recovery process was, the subconscious mind works in mysterious ways. I've had trouble sleeping these past few weeks, a general sense of worry persistently present. It was my mother who pointed out the time of the year, this week the date, next week Easter, which used to be my favourite holiday, now forever linked to death and sorrow. Even if the grief isn't ever present, far from, I believe this time of the year will be tainted by it all for a long time. That is simply how life, and death, works.

That day when I by coincidence - which are life's little messages to tell us we are not alone - ended up on a bench at a cemetery in Freiburg on a beautiful October afternoon and cried my heart out seems awfully far away, like a distant, memorable, bittersweet dream.

I've come so far since, looking forward to going much further. In fact this week I took another step in that direction, a step so far outside of my comfort zone I'm still surprised I did it - but it was such an obvious thing the future Pia would have been angry about if I hadn't.

Someone pinged me on a 2 weeks gig as a teacher in social media at a journalist education in Rwanda, I applied. The course would take place April 2-13 already, so I didn't have time to think it over. And I didn't really expect getting a reply. But I got swift and great feedback, which then got me really stressed, because was I ready for this, with such short notice? But luckily, for now, they chose someone else for this gig, though wanted to get in touch again for the courses this autumn. Which I think sounds awesome and give me time to prepare. What an amazing experience it would be, wouldn't you agree?

This week also held a really interesting, inspiring as well as dispiriting sustainability forum at my old Alma Mater, Stockholm university. With topics like How can we achieve Agenda 2030 in a polarized world as is? The future of food, how do we get consensus on the importance of plantbased diets and health and non food waste? The world's crazy dependence on oil - the topic that interested me the least, but it was so enlightening and heartbreakingly scary - and How can academia, the business world and society work together for a better world?



Rounded the week off with having a lovely lunch and much needed, long talk with the one person that has been undoubtedly, undeservedly more bruised by the hurtful mess. The whole situation is a different kind of sorrow to work through. To learn by and move forward from, wiser and stronger.

Which in the end is what every setback, sorrow and disappointment is, a valuable experience and opportunity to change, grow and become a better human being.

As usual music helps a lot in the moving on part of life. This week I'm happy to see that George Ezra's new record is out, Get away is my favourite from Staying at Tamara's so far. And even happier to hear Haevn's first single from their first record to be - Back in the water. Everything they make seems magic to me, always beautiful and soothing. Music always makes sense, even when life doesn't. That in itself is magic.

the organic cotton cat dress

Granted the days for wearing flimsy, pretty dresses currently seem awfully far away -

it has been so cold for the past week, heaps of snow and freezing winds and there doesn't seem to be an end to it anytime soon. Apparently we haven't *enjoyed* this type of snow and weather since 1987... -

but I've missed out on the fabulastic PeopleTree cat dresses for so many years I felt I had to snatch one up asap, being the not so crazy cat lady I am.



It's darling! Organic jersey cotton. Not as roomy as the lovely owl dress, ideally I would have liked it to be given we aren't all flat chested. And it lacks pockets alas. But still really cute. Have many comfy, colourful cardigans to add to the outfit. Looking forward to gentler weather lots, not least for feline dress reasons.





If I team the dress with colourful stockings I might even chose a less colourful cardigan. Like the one I happened to thrift in my own wardrobe recently. I got this grey Gaeltarra Ireland cardigan in Dublin 2003/04, wore it lots back then but have lost sight of it for years. Thought I had given it away to charity by mistake, but I found it when I did that big cleansing a couple of years ago. Wasn't until recently I was reminded that it would be nice to wear it again too. With it's quirky design of holes, not created by moths.



My February begun with me losing my old cosy, faux fur favourite mittens on the train. And I haven't been able to find them despite visiting the lost and found office several times. It makes me really sad, like no other mittens they've been such reliable friends when winter days are freezing. But the month ended with welcoming a fantastic cat dress.

Much of the professional month has been about the issue of my clouded heart, it has been a tough learning lesson, both professionally and on a personal level. But I do believe it ended on a light and hopeful note professionally. Did what I'd realised I must do to try and salvage the situation, followed by a good phone call. And now welcoming a new month in a better mood than I had thought I would only a few days ago.

Plus I have a fabulastic cat dress. And super soft hair.

Thank you, February, 
you have been a tough teacher, 
but with glimmers of sweetness.
Oh, March, you are much welcome 
to bring kindness and awesomeness galore!

goodbye october 2016

Goodbye October, you have been overall gorgeous and awesome in many many ways. I'm ever so grateful for that after a very tough seven months, that you have given me much more highs than lows. My deepest wish is of course that will continue for the months, the years to come.

The hashtag #october2016 on Instagram is limited to nine photos only, which in no way is enough to show every highlight from my month that was, but at least it gives an idea.

So what has been my highlights of October? Here goes -

:: The arrival of Fleur and Li'l Nutter. And cinnamon bun day.

:: The new glasses from the Smarteyes Non-violence collection (have not had the opportunity to wear the new sunglasses becasue honestly we've only had about 8 hours of sun during October...).

:: The writer's talk at the local library with one of my favourite writers, Arne Dahl (Jan Arnald). He seems like such a very likeable guy. And I got to tell him how fantastic I think his language is. And he signed some of my books. (I only chose to take three of them with me, all 15 would have been a bit too much...)

:: The charity picking up yet more big, black plastic bags hence me cleansing more of my home and life of stuff. Oh the relief.

:: That I was able to invoice a reasonable amount of money. To be able to do that regularly would be heavenly.

:: A great evening about the health of our planet hosted by the Consumer Association Stockholm (Konsumentföreningen Stockholm) with speakers such as Tristram Stuart and Mattias Klum. The talks and their subject on sustainability made me both angry and hopeful. 

But to be really honest, I do believe everything we do now is too little too late to save our planet. Most humans want a change, but they don't want to make changes in their own lifestyle. And the politicians we have are just spineless cowards and opportunists without visions and power of action. The best we can do now is to be as good and kind as we can and enjoy life as much as possible while the planet still exists.

:: My Schwarzwald trip. A growth experience on so many levels. So so much to show and tell. And I will. In a post of its own, one day in November.

:: Birthday. The perfect day for inaugurating the Marimekko flowery happy coat. And I loved the Tove Jansson/Moomin exhibition at Millesgården. Followed by a lovely late vegan breakfast/lunch/dinner at Hälsocafét (The Health Cafe). And I bought a couple of raw food pastries that I enjoyed lots the day after.

:: The Yelp elite event making vegan freakshakes with Djurens Rätt (Animal's Rights, the oldest animal rights association in Sweden which does a great job for animals. I've been a member since I was 7 years old.)

The event was a kick-off for the #VeganViking campaign in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen that starts tomorrow on World Vegan Day and lasts for the first week of World Vegan Month. Use your Yelp-app to check in to different restaurants, cafe and shops in these cities to get great offers during November 1-6.

Alas this week will coincide with the same replacement buses for commuter trains calamity as this past summer so I won't be able to take part of as many things as I'd like. But I will go for one dinner, one fika and host a breakfast at least. Edit: I did have a lunch too and it was lovely.

:: Finishing the month off with a sweet afternoon tea with my mother and Stadsmissionen (The City Mission) - not vegan alas but at least all vegetarian. And very good value for money (sadly the only place that do offer that in Stockholm these days. Every other afternoon tea here is posh and expensive nowadays, such a pity.)

:: The cats. Always the cats. They brighten up every month, come rain or shine.

So thank you so much, October, for all your highlights and good people, good things, good food. 

Hello November, please be kind and brilliant.

hello october

It seems like 2-ish weeks is my new every-day-blogging. Not for a lack of things to write about, but rather no real energy to do it. But after a busy few weeks of working and socializing (each exhausting in their own ways, for an introvert) I feel it's about time to make a little recap of my October so far.

:: As glorious and warm as September was, just as dreary and chilly has October been. In fact it pretty much happened over night. I've been so used to being able to take the short walk to our waste bins in the evenings in shorts and clogs that I was absolutely shocked at how freezing it suddenly was on October 1st.

The trees are slowly turning red and the leafs are falling, but not as drastically as that chilly air came.

Not having the heat pump turned on since April I realised it suddenly became a must, when October arrived. Unfortunately it seems like it's singing on its last tune (13 years old) so I can only hope with fingers and toes crossed that it'll last at least this winter season too. Of course I have radiators, but using those would mean I'd bump up my electric bills with 50%. No really a good option obviously.

:: Last week I got an obligatory visit from the municipal water gauge man, they change our water meters every 10th year. As my water meter is located inside my small walk-in closet situated in my pink office I needed to tidy that up. A lot. Because as much as I loved doing up my office back in 2011 I've still used that closet as an out of sight out of mind area of stuff. Mainly fabrics and clothes I'm about to give to charity but still haven't sorted through. 

And when I opened the closet door and fully realised just how. much. stuff. I had there I had a *minor* panic attack. Desperately needed to get rid of it NOW. Today I've packed 9 big, black, plastic bags with textile and two paper bags with clothes. Tomorrow the charity will come and pick them up. Such a relief. It might not be as liberating as the feeling after they picked up the stuff in May, but close enough. I have a couple of rooms that, yes really rooms plural, need a good cleansing too. (Not to mention the garden shed, but I'll save that for spring.) So I'm thinking it would certainly be a good project for a chilly, autumnal week to sort that out and then finally paint one of those rooms that I've been meaning to do for so long now. Liberating for the soul too, to get rid of old stuff that basically just weighs me down and organise the things I still love and need. 

I'm not a hoarder, but apparently you can still accumulate a lot of stuff over the years that you neither need nor want anymore. But you still don't get around to sorting that out. So I'm deeply grateful for the really brilliant option of just calling your charity of choice and arrange for them to pick things up. (Even more so for us with no car obviously.)

:: It is now two weeks since I sent that email to M's brother and sister-in-law. It was cathartic to finally do so. I didn't need or expect a reply, this was just my way of telling them how upsetting and hurtful their behaviour has been, in order for me being able to move on with my (new) life properly. But still, I believe it's nothing less than crazy that people don't want to reply and explain themselves when they recieve such an email. Unless of course I was spot on in the way I've felt and thought.

So the only thing for me now is to completely put aside that part of my life. Not forgetting M and what we had together obviously, but I will no longer in any way have any contact with his relatives. As far as I'm concerned they don't exist for me anymore. It's sad that they decided to behave in this inconcievable, spiteful way, but I can't allow myself to continue feeling so much hurt over it. It's not something I can forgive, but I can accept how it is in order to move on. For my own wellbeing's sake.

:: Next week I'll be heading to Freiburg. Finally. I'll also pop up to Heidelberg to be guided around the pretty city by a sweet blog reader (*waves*). I do have travel fever. As well as being really excited about a change of scenery and new experiences. And I obsess over the planning, packing and details, because I want it to be just. right. I'm sure it will be, but I also feel that if I get all this planning beforehand just how I want it I'll be able to relax and enjoy the experience more once I get there. 

Hopefully I'll get to visit some interesting sustainability projects, walk a lot, ride tram a lot, enjoy fika and vegan food galore. I remember the Schwarzwald area to be really beautiful and lush with pretty architecture. It'll be a lovely getaway and growth experience!

:: Just in time for the trip two new bobbaloos reached the Scandinavian settlement - meet Fleur (she's a coneflower bob) and Li'l Nutter (he's an acorn bob, inspired by one of my favourite childhood stories 'Ocke, Nutta och Pillerill' by Elsa Beskow and of course my love for acorns). He'll definitely be one of the bobs who accompany me to Freiburg, but Fleur is of a more delicate nature thus she'll stay at home.

Since they arrived on Cinnamon Bun Day (the brilliant Swedish celebration of this bun Kanelbullens dag) they if course were treated to a bun or two. 

:: As my iPhone - the replacement for the one that was stolen 3 years ago - has been acting up more and more I knew I would soon have to replace it. It only has/had 16GB memory too and with all my photos that's such an inconvenience. I'm not the least bit interested in getting the latest iPhone 7 nor the 6-model, because I think larger smartphones look daft and are less convenient size-wise. So I was happy when I noticed that there is indeed the SE-model which has the same optics and most features as the 6. I got my new one a couple of weeks ago, and while I'm not super-impressed with the camera - it's just too little difference from the 5-model, the real noticable difference was between 3 and 4 - it certainly runs a lot smoother so I'm very happy with it.

I don't use my DSLR nearly as much as I used to, but I'll still take it with me on the trip since I think a trip to a *new* (at least it was well before digital cameras was around when I last visited) destination is a perfect way to rekindle with it.

:: It's 5,5 years ago since I last got a pair of sunglasses for my very near-sighted eyes and while I can still wear them their glass isn't strong enough anymore and I do get headaches because of that. So I decided to get a new pair the other week. It would be nice if they're ready before my trip since it would be great to not have to deal with those headaches when the sun is shining. And since you always can get a second pair of glasses for half the price (all frames cost the same) I decided to get another regular pair too. Not that I really really needed them, but before the Non Violence-collection was discontinued I would have loved to get a pair of them, so I did. They're really cool and quite different from any other glasses I've ever had. Hopefully they'll look as good with the glasses inserted as near-sighted me thought when I tried the frames on...

:: And on the job-front? Well, I've been doing a reasonable amount of work for two old clients, sent the invoices last week and now I'll basically have a week of preparing for my trip. Enjoy the trip. Get back home, have a quiet birthday and then concentrate on future clients, jobs and collaborations. Now that I have my beautiful, flowery happy coat as a birthday gift to myself the only thing I can think of that I really would love to get for my birthday is great new clients, assignments and lovely (part time) job offers.

:: Oh, and I won a couple of tickets for the movie 'Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children' both me and my mum loved the books so I'm treating her to the movie this week. Yes, I've really been so very fortunate in winning great things this past year (generous gift card in my favourite clothing store, the Schwarzwald trip, glasses, the annual consumption of mymuesli and now this). 

When life is rough in other aspects, and sometimes you're just not able to think 'happy thoughts to beat the blues', then it's nice to get little cheerful reminders like this that life isn't all about sadness and melancholy.

So far October, you've been pretty good. Please continue to be kind, uplifting and generous. Thanks so much in advance.

september highlights

Hello there. 

It has been over two weeks since I blogged. (The reason is not that the blogoversary celebrations where heavy. Really.) And it certainly isn't for a lack of matters to blog about. I've written lots of posts in my head these past few weeks. None of which obviously haven't made it to online status. And now I'm not really sure where to begin.

So, this won't be structured. This will be deeply emotional, this will be light-hearted and possibly frivolous, this will be about sorrow and happiness. In other words, this will be a bit of a long post.

:: First of all - I didn't get the part-time job I had hoped for. They said they'd settled for someone with slightly more experience of the tasks, but they thought I was great too. At least they took the time to call me up and tell me that. Which is a rare rare thing these days alas... Apparently they never got in touch with any of the referees either so the person they hired must have been oustanding in their fields.

But you know what? The more I thought about the job, the more trapped I felt. Sure it was within easy access from home by train - but it would also mean crossing the county border thus forcing me to pay 100% more for the monthly train card. Sure it was a brilliant half-time job - but instead of me working 2,5 days per week they wanted me to work half-days every day. Which is just crazy since that would mean I had to waste 1,5 hours commuting every day and not really being able to do my best for neither them nor running my business with focus for the rest of the time. And having to comply with that schedule for one year - scary and limiting. Also, the salary level crossing the county borders (even if really, it is a suburb of Stockholm still) means lower payment. Which would obviously mean quite low given half-time plus that mad train ticket as well as the stress of having to deal with working in an office environment every darn day for a year.

So all and all, in hindsight I feel this was for the best. Now I'm all open to exciting stuff instead, that suits my lifestyle and what I want from life. To be honest, I was more upset with the fulltime marketing and community manager job that never happened - because if it had been as great as it sounded on paper and felt after the first interview, it would have been something new and exciting to deal with.

So I'm all good about this. In fact I'm proud of how great I am at this resilience thing. And I'm looking forward to more work and clients that suit my needs and wants better. Welcome, welcome.

:: The Indian summer weather has been pretty glorious for most of the days, sure the evenings and early mornings for most days have become distinctively chillier. But the average temperature has been around +15C degrees, some days even more. From a global warming perspective this scares me a lot. But in the here and now I try to enjoy the surprising warmth and generous sunny days, the vitamin D.

:: Since September 1st I've been consulting per hour for my May client. Which is pretty good, it may not be creatively exciting tasks as such, but I know the organisation and what they want, the people are really nice and I have been able to invoice a decent amount since then. I've calculated that if I could do this regularly - and obviously it doesn't have to be for this client only - for 3 days/week I would almost meet my monthly goal in what I want as a salary. And it's enough that I pop by their office on the odd occasion to talk things through. Perfect.

:: It is now six months since M passed away. For me to move on to the next stage in the sorrow process (whatever that may be, I'm not sure myself) I realise I have to tell the people that have hurt me the most during his passing, his relatives, just how I feel and have felt about their behaviour. 

So I wrote draft a couple of weeks ago - only finally writing it was a relief - and have returned to it, rewritten and thought about it since. I will email it this week. I just want to tell my side of the story, I don't expect or want any explanations or discussions. They have clearly decided to delete my importance from M's life, something I will never be able to forget, obviously its incredibly hurtful for a lot of reasons. Perhaps I will be able to forgive some day, but not now. But just sending this email is catharctic and important for me. Not doing so would seriously belittle both myself and M, and our years together.

:: I've been meaning to write about that organic. muesli I 'discovered' at the Yelp event in May, but I've never gotten around to it. But since I won an annual consumption worth of it last week on Instagram, I might as well write a few words right now.

It's a lovely, German brand called MyMuesli - which encapsulate a lot of things I love: organic, colourful, healthy, vegetarian and vegan (when the products don't contain honey or dairy products like chocolate) with a dash of humour. When you sample the mueslis in store there's always oat milk or soygurt available too.

As far as I know they only have stores in Germany, Switzerland, UK, Netherlands and Sweden (Stockholm), possibly you can order online in the rest of Europe too. You can either mix your own unique muesli (which makes for endless variations) or chose one of their regular lovelies. Because yes, lovely they are. Most of the mueslis I've tried has been great (with a couple of exceptions), but my favourites so far is the Paleo Coconut, Mango, Berry and the brand new one as seen in the happy winning picture above - StockholmMuesli. Lovely design of one of my favourite views of Stockholm and a crunchy, fruity granola-like muesli. Only available in Stockholm or the Swedish webstore obviously (like four other limited editions for Sweden).

I'm such a happy, happy winner! Obviously.

This makes my third awesome win in an Instagram competition in a year. I'm thinking I should add this special knack to my CV.

:: The trip to Freiburg is now booked! One might think booking through a travel agent would make things so much smoother, right? Well it has not. Because even if I'm pretty flexible about dates, it has been quite tricky to get a room at a conveniently located central hotel that accept vouchers. But now I have one - and since I definitely prefered that over a more expensive hotel, for various reasons, I also get to fly with a bit of luxury added - as well as the plane- and train tickets (from Frankfurt to Freiburg, looking forward to travel by train in Germany!). It's weird that it's more expensive to travel solo than in pair, so the 4 days for 2 did not extend into at least a week for 1, but 5 days and 4 nights. Which I suppose is rather perfect for a solo trip as this.

So the week before my birthday I'll head south and enjoy some lovely, lovely days exploring a green city on my own. And before I had even booked the trip I did get that new suitcase I contemplated, it's darling and in bright, apple green. Ready to be filled my many, new and fabulous memories.

:: Early March I saw this stunner of a coat from Marimekko online. All flowery in orange, yellow and white on a black background. It wasn't obvious what kind of material it was made of, but I saved the photo on my mobile and have had a crush on that coat ever since. 

When it finally turned up in the Autumn collection last month it turned out to be a padded coat devoid of animal matter, which made me want it even more. Rather pricey, but not nearly as prices as some of their other coats or clothes. I thought I might at least try it on in store to see if it was something I should continue to dream of or not. It was gorgeous. The upper sleeves were too tight for me, but the rest was just as stunning as in that initial picture.

I've thought a lot about this coat. In fact, as ridiculous as it may seem, it has become symbolic in many ways. Apart from its gorgeousness - the print is a revival from 1970 called Pieni Pioni - it's vegan (I'm not shucking out my old wool clothes or leather shoes, but at least I can make better choices from now on) and completely different both in fabric and style from anything else I have in my wardrobe. It's another kind of happy coat than the Marimekko one from 3 years ago, for another type of weather.

I decided it would be one of those new, positive memories, from a year that turned my life upside down in sad sad way, and what would be better than give it to myself as an early birthday gift? From deciding on that to it arriving at my door, less than 48 hours.

And you know what, it fits so well! Just as the above mentioned happy coat #1, even if the model is very different. And given it'll be a great autumn/winter coat for many years it's a reasonable price really. Welcome fabulous happy coat #2!

There, happiness, sorrow, frivolity and emotions - two weeks of my life turned into one blog post of highlights.

goodbye august, hello september

It has been quite the summer, both incredibly slow and very happening. It is now officially autumn in Sweden. September is upon us. Wistful and exciting at the same time.

The weather was glorious and warm today with mild breezes and glimpses of sun. A lovely start on the season of new beginnings. And I hope there'll be plenty of opportunities for breakfast in my special corner of the garden still.

August has been an overall great month, and the things that didn't go my way have at least been great lessons learnt.

On the very last day of August I had a lovely meetup with a friend that I met once upon at time at one of those networking walk and talk sessions - she has been very supportive after M's passing and also on a professional level. In general we just click a lot when it comes to how we look at work vs living, freedom vs security. We meet up about once a month or every other month and spend hours talking over coffee or lunch. Uplifting, inspirational, affirming and overall fabulous in all its simplicity.

In the evening the local women's shelter showed the movie "Suffragette" at the town hall. Great movie, infuriating, moving and inspirational. We've come a long way when it comes to gender equality but there is still a long way to go.

And needless to say it is disheartening that in this day and age, the 21st century, there are still countries, cultures, religions and men that oppress women and human rights in the worst of ways.

I haven't heard back from the interview I went to last week yet, unfortunately - and you know the feeling that the more days that pass the more uncertain you get about those great vibes... - so please, keep those fingers crossed still.

But today, on the first day of September I had a good meeting with that May client and we've decided on a casual long-term arrangement with me working as a consultant per hour when they have extra communication and web work that needs doing and I have the time. I can work from home but am welcome to sit in their office if I want/need to. Neat indeed.

Apparently they haven't gotten in touch with either of my referees yet regarding the job above, so who knows when the that feedback will come really, despite them telling me at the interview that it would be this week. Usually I wouldn't obsess so much over this, employment process can be a long-ish winding story, but since the one year temp job would start on September 12 there's not much room to play with... Plus, at this moment in time I would really love to get those work puzzle pieces in place...

Be as that may, somehow those pieces will fall perfectly in place this autumn I'm sure. One way or another. If one door closes, others open. And that's a fact not only a clichè.

I'm also quite excited that I will now be able to finally plan for the Schwarzwald trip I won last November. I've decided to travel solo, which hopefully will mean I can stay longer than those 4 days for 2 persons. And the solo-bit will certainly be an adventure all on its own. Whenever I've travelled solo up until now it has either been within Sweden or to visit friends abroad.

I've always been both curious and impressed by those people who seem to enjoy travelling solo, because despite my (social) introvert personality and loving to spend time in my own company I definitely prefer to share travel and food experiences, plus it generally feels more secure to be two when in a foreign country. But I'm also aware that I have been relying too much on M in certain parts of my life, thus I may make a bigger deal of this than it really is. This trip will simply be a fantastic opportunity for growth and inspiration. And healing. Not least have I bookmarked lots of vegan restaurants on Yelp, that they apparently have a plethora of in Freiburg. How great is that?!

I'm contemplating the perfect time for the trip, given the travel agency can book everything with my instructions, I will probably go late September or possibly late October on my birthday. Although admittedly, the notion of dining solo in Freiburg on my birthday doesn't really fill me with joy. It may be a step too far for a solo travel adventure.

Since my old suitcase is a bit too large, rather worn and torn, so I'm also looking for a great new one. A new suitcase for collecting new memories. It must be colourful (green or pink obviously), practical, sturdy and reasonably priced. After reading reviews I think I know which one it'll be, but these days it seems awfully tricky to find irl shops with the full range of colours in whatever thing you are looking for. Online shopping in all its convinience, sometimes it is preferable to be able to see, touch and try before buying. Especially something as symbolic, in this case, as a new suitcase.

Goodbye August, you were pretty awesome,
hello September, I'm quite excited to meet you!

my guide to stockholm

First of all, welcome to Stockholm, the beautiful capital of Scandinavia!

Please note that this post was written in 2016 and it has been updated here and there, as much as possible, ever since. For the latest information, adresses and opening hours I recommend you look at the respective website.

The city consists of seven major districts; Norrmalm, Östermalm, Södermalm, Kungsholmen, Vasastan, Gamla Stan (Old Town) and Djurgården. Read more about them here but also keep in mind that the post is from 2007 so a lot has changed since...

Second of all, I really recommend you buy a travel card, they come in different variations but one thing they have in common is that they are much cheaper compared to single tickets which basically are a rip-off. You can't buy travel cards or tickets on buses and trains anymore so make sure you have your fair in order before stepping on the trains, trams or buses because the penalties can be pretty steep. Having a travel card is the cheapest and best way to get around the city and its suburbs.

And please skip the sightseeing buses, they are appallingly bad and expensive, the routes taken unimaginative and the stories told via the headphones (if they work) ridiculously obsolete.

Instead get a good guide-book (or guide) and make your own way around the city. I strongly recommend you take the Tvärbanan tram for a really lovely suburb tour with views and different architectural styles. The Nockebybanan, Saltsjöbanan, Lidingöbanan and Roslagsbanan are other nice trams/commuter train lines too. And of course, being slightly biased, I think the commuter trains are a great way to see more of Stockholm suburbs too. Just beware that a June 11 - August 8 a fair bit of its northern lines are replaced by buses which is very inconvenient and stressful (I know this too well, it's *my* part of the commuter train lines that's affected).
EDIT 2017: This applies July 4 - August 13 for the commuter trains, and the Tvärbanan and other rails are affected too alas. For more information see sl.se 
EDIT 2018: Even more extensive works this summer, inluding railways, commuter trains and subways, see SL.se for more information.

I also think hopping on and off the regular blue inner city buses 1, 2, 3 and 4 is a great way to experience the inner city.

Yes, there is a subway system in Stockholm too, I rarely use it these days, for various reasons. I prefer buses, which I find is a much nicer and convenient way to get you from A to B. And seeing lots of the city while doing it.

Don't miss the Sjövägen (Lakeway) ferryboat which takes you from Nybroplan to the Nacka suburbs and even out to Lidingö on some tours, and back. It's a really affordable (since it's part of the public transport SL it's included in the regular travel card) way to see the city from the lakeside and you can hop on and hop off where you like.

This is a very condensed list of the one in Swedish on Yelp.

Sights:

Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) - this is my number 1 favourite place in Stockholm. A Unesco World Heritage site of immense beauty and serenity all year round. Nearby you'll find cafés such as Enskede Bakgård and Gamla Enskede Bageri.

Stockholm City Hall - one of the most beautiful buildings in Stockholm. Host to the Nobel Prize ceremonies. Wonderful city views and if you dare venture up the tower it'll be even grander. Don't miss the unpretentious cafe just outside the walls where you can enjoy a cool/warm drink, icecreams and sandwiches in beach chairs by the water. A stone's throw from the Central Station.

Gamla stan + Järnpojken - the charming medieval part of Stockholm where everything begun. The main street Västerlånggatan is basically just a sad sight full of tourist traps and shops full of junk these days. But do head up to Stortorget and meander your way down narrow alleyways, Köpmannagatan and Österlånggatan for more authentic shops, cafes and restaurants. Do not miss the little statue Järnpojken (The Little Iron Boy), tucked away in the courtyard of the Finnish church. In Gamla Stan (Old Town) you'll find the lovely animal art shop Charlotte Nicolin and cafes like Grillska Husets Brödbod (sit on the rooftop veranda!) and Under Kastanjen.

Djurgården + Djurgårdsfärjan - take the tram, bus or the lovely ferry Djurgårdsfärjan (included in your travel card) to the beautiful, lush island part of the city where you'll also find attractions like Gröna Lund amusement park, Nordiska museet, Vasamuseet, Waldemarsudde, Thielska galleriet, Junibacken and not least wonderful nursery and cafe Rosendals trädgård.

Norra begravningsplatsen - another beautiful, but more old fashioned, cemetery in the northern outskirts of the inner city, a stone's throw from Karolinska hospital and Hagaparken.

Drottningholm castle - another Unesco World Heritage Site in Stockholm, this mini-Versailles on the island of Ekerö in the suburbs is well worth a visit. A boat or bus will take you here. This is also where Sweden's monarchy lives, not in the palace in Gamla Stan. But since I'm a hard-core republican (anti-monarchist) that is most certainly not a feature I'm interested in. Don't miss the pretty little Kina slott and the nearby waffle house.

Stockholms stadsbibliotek - our beautiful city library, full of not only books but also ambiance and quirky architectural features galore. Nearby you'll find Café Himlavalvet and vegetarian/vegan restaurants Lao Wai, Organic Green and Kokyo. Edit 2018: Lovely Mahalo has opened up its second place nearby too,


Viewpoints:

Monteliusvägen - near Mariatorget you'll find this gem of a walking path with outstanding views over the city. If you're lucky you can find a spot to sit down and have your picnic lunch/fika here too.

Katarinahissen + Fjällgatan - the elevator itself is no longer in use with the extensive construction works at Slussen, but you can walk out on it from Mosebacke torg and have a grand view over Stockholm and also walk/take the bus up on nearby Fjällgatan street,

Norr Mälarstrand - this is on the opposite side of the lake Mälaren from Monteliusvägen and Södermalm, at the Kungsholmen side you'll see Söder and at the end of Norr Mälarstrand you'll find Stadshuset.

Västerbron - if you are a really keen walker you can actually walk all in a long circle from Monteliusvägen, Gamla Stan, Stadshuset, Norr Mälarstrand and up on the large Västerbron bridge and continue down to Hornstull and then up Hornsgatan back to Mariatorget.

Högalidskyrkan - in my old childhood hoods of Hornstull you'll find this spectacular church which its twin towers that can be seen near and far over Stockholm. Some days they have guided tours up into the towers and that's well worth your time. A bit scary, endlessly interesting and the views at the very top is spectacular.


Restaurants:

Needless to say, all these are all vegetarian/vegan or vegetarian/vegan friendly.

Falafelbaren - (Söder) best falafel in town? They have two locations now, but the original one is the only one I've visited so far, near Mariatorget.

Greasy spoon - (Söder and Vasastan) breakfast and brunch alla day, every day. And a few brilliant vegan options too, like delicious buckwheat pancakes, full English vegan and smashed avocado sandwich. Lovely food, not cheap though.

Green Peas - (Kungsholmen), great vegetarian and vegan food, open both for lunch and dinner. Don't miss their fresh springrolls with tofu, delicious! EDIT 2017 - this restaurant is permanently closed alas.

Gro - two creative chefs in a minimalistic restaurant with about 20 seats serving organic food pretty as a picture. It used to be a popular lunch restaurant, with at least one vegetarian option on the menu, but now they only serve dinner Tues-Sat. One omnivore and one vegivore tasting menu are the only options, but you will not be disappointed. If you ask well ahead they can make a vegan option. Edit 2018 - sadly permanently closed.

Indian Street food & Co. - (Vasastan) foodtruck turned lunch restaurant. One gem I found at my latest gig in the hoods and quite probably the best Indian food I've had in Stockholm, brimming with flavours. The menu is short, only four dishes, where one is vegetarian, one is vegan and two are for non-vegetarians. EDIT 2017: They now have a restaurant in the city centre too, at Drottninggatan 73B.

Lao Wai - (Vasastan) Near Stadsbiblioteket you'll find this miniscule, popular restaurant that serve Asian, vegan food making their own soy and tofu dishes. Open for lunch and dinner, booking a table for dinner is essential. Don't miss their fantastic soymilk cappuccino and amazing ice cream.

Légumes - (Söder) situated at Bysistorget square near Monteliusgången and Falafelbaren, this is a classic vegetarian/vegan buffet restaurant. I only discovered it a few years ago because I've always shyed away from it due to the shabby interior. The food is very affordable and flavoursome. Always fresh since you point and they ladle your plate with all you can eat and refills. (Imho much better food and value for money than Herman's at Fjällgatan, minus the views.)

Kalf & Hansen - (Söder) at corner Mariatorget/Hornsgatan you'll find this little organic, healthy fastfood restaurant with many vegan options. Award-winning place run by wellknown Danish chef father and son duo. Great picnic food too.

Kokyo - (Vasastan, near Stadsbiblioteket) Chinese restaurant with a generous vegan menu. They make their own tofu and it's delicious. Open both for lunch and dinner.

Mahalo Hälsocafét - (Söder) Wonderful and very popular healthy, colourful now all vegan cafe. They make amazing smoothie bowls, noodle salads, wraps, sandwiches, smoothies, juices and raw desserts. Don't miss their amazing burger plate, with a delicious vegan burger (sans bread) and sweet potato fries, or the Knivsöder noodle salad! Edit 2018 - They have opened up a second place in Vasastan too.

Minh Mat - (Vasastan) Popular Vietnamese restaurant with lots of delicous vegan options. Open both for lunch and dinner, one vegan dish on the lunch menu, more in the evenings. My favourite is the dishes with the (organic) tofu, noodles and their fantastic soy sauce. Bookings for dinner is essential. Edit 2017: Closed in July, will open again in August.

Organic Green - (Vasastan/Norrmalm, near Stadsbiblioteket) Affordable, generous, no fuss, tasty vegan/vegetarian food.

Stockholm Brunch Club - probably the most Instagram-friendly place in town. Breakfast, brunch, lunch all day and they have some lovely vegan options too.

Wagamama - (Norrmalm, adjacent to Centralstationen). British chain-restaurant with a lovely array of vegetarian (and vegan if you ask) dishes on the menu. My favourite is the Pad Thai Yasai. They used to have a divine seaweed salad starter, but alas no more. Their freshly made juices are great too, ask for more ginger in the carrot ginger one.


Cafes:

Älskade traditioner - (Söder) currently my number one cafe crush in Stockholm, this retro cafe should not be missed. Very popular and not only amongst the hipsters who roam the area. Their speciality is wraffles, filled food waffles (my favourite is the one with hummus, beetroot and coleslaw) and dessert waffles. There are vegan options for both food and fika. Their breakfast (small, medium, large) is lovely and don't miss the yummy cinnamon buns.

Systrarna Andersson (previously Borgs Café & Brödbod) - (Vasastan) Cute cafe with an interior made up with missmatched thrifted furniture. Fika, sandwiches and salads.

Chic - (Söder/Mariatorget) Very unpretentious, liberatingly non-hipster cafe with good fika, salads and sandwiches.

Espresso House Vasagatan + Sheraton - (Norrmalm) You will find the Swedish coffee chain Espresso House all over Stockholm, but their coffee is so much better than all the other chains (and Starbuck's, really, their coffee quality is so poor compared to most any other coffee chain in Sweden). Usually very friendly staff and cosy interior, free Wi-Fi so good for working (when not *everyone* is connected, which can happen).

And they make the best soy latte, to go or to sit down, your choice. The vegan spinach wrap is really good and filling. The chocolate balls are vegan too. My two favourite EH cafes are the big one at Vasagatan - sit in the armchairs sofas in the window and enjoy people watching galore. Be very aware of pickpockets though, it was here my iPhone got stolen a few years back - and the little one situated a short stroll down the street at Sheraton hotel. It's small, kind of intimate and cosy. And the toilets are the ones in the hotel lobby so they're very fresh (and have Molton Brown toiletries).

Sturekatten - (Östermalm) Classic Stockholm cafe (used to hang here often when I was in high-school) with a very cosy granny flat-interior in different little rooms on two stories (thus the infamous pram mob shy away from this place). Tea and apple pie with custard is my favourite here.

Johan & Nyström - (Söder, Mariatorget) Very popular hipster cafe - the staff can be either very friendly or ignoring you because you're not hip enough, beware. Since Johan & Nyström started out as a coffee- and tea-merchant (excellent quality) you can also buy their coffee and teas here. Great oat latte, iced latte or a fruit rooibos tea are my usual choices here. Enjoy their vegetarian sandwiches a lot too. Edit 2018 - They have more cafes and shops in the city now, find the locations on their website.

Stikki Nikki - (Söder, Mariatorget) Swedish icecream chain which sell their own organic gelato in tiny shops all over the city. Half of their gelatos are vegan, sorbets and creamy gelatos. The change flavours all the time, but hopefully they'll have some of my übertasty plantbased favourites when you stop by: sunflowerseed, peanut butter and pumpkinseed. Edit 2018 - ALL their icecreams are vegan at their Mariatorget shop.

Kafé Himlavalvet - (Norrmalm/Vasastan, near Stadsbiblioteket). Situated on top of the Observatorielunden and its observatory, this cafe is rather a little secret in the middle of the city. Lovely summer cafe with both lunches, food, sandwiches, fika and not least waffles. Plus homemade elderflower cordial not to be missed.

Vete-Katten - (Norrmalm) Not far from the central station you'll find another classic cat-related cafe (katten = the cat). Award-winning pastry bakery with lots of nice things to chose from and light lunches. The old parts of the cafe and the inner couryard is much much nicer than the rebuilt part which you step into from the street, so venture further back please. Also remember that a lot of those delicous looking pastries does contain animal gelatine, but they have other vegan options too if you ask. They serve a great, affordable afternoon tea (August - mid June) and their vanilla buns are de-lovely.

18 smaker - (Söder, Mariatorget) Stockholm's best icecream? Lots of vegan options, 18 Swedish flavours every day so you're never really sure what's on offer except that it's delicious. My favourites are usually the vegan liquorice, dark chocolate and raspberry sorbet. And saffron. Free wi-fi. Edit 2017 - closed alas.

Fru Marias Bak - (Älvsjö) Very cosy and cute cafe/bakery situated in the suburb Älvsjö. Lighter dishes, vegetarian options and lots of tasty buns and fika. The proprietor Maria is very friendly and so is her young staff. My favourites are the baguettes and vanilla buns. Free wi-fi.

Konditori Lyran - (Bredäng/Mälarhöjden) This cafe is situated in my second childhood-home hoods. A beautiful turn of the century villa overlooking lake Mälaren (you simply must sit on the outdoor veranda with a view!). Classic fika, sandwiches and lighter dishes.

Ulriksdals Slottsträdgårdscafé - (Solna) In the suburb of Solna, near Ulriksdal castle, you'll find this lovely, dog-friendly nursery and garden cafe with lots of vegetarian options. They have a vegetarian lunch buffet on weekdays and they've written a few vegetarian cookbooks (of which one is my favourite). A little lush, friendly oasis with its own garden-cat.


Museums:

Free entrance to public owned museums now, but apart from Hallwylska not to these which are privately owned.

Thielska galleriet - (Djurgården) My favourite museum, still I don't visit it all that often since it's tucked away a fair distance out on Djurgården. Beautiful building which hosts different art exhibitions and also has its own permanent exhibitions. As well as a beautiful tower room with a mural. The cafe in a bathroom is very cute too.

Fotografiska - (Söder) Fantastic photo museum with a great, award-winning restaurant with a view. It's a rather unpleasant walk to and from the nearest subway/bus station and it's still a mystery why they haven't their own bus station, since it's a popular destination. That said, well worth a visit with lots of interesting exhibitions (my favourite still being Nick Brandt's).

Carl Eldhs ateljémuseum + Cafe Bellevue - (Vasastan) Tucked away in the park Bellevueparken in the northern outskirts of the city, this little beautiful sculpture museum/home/garden of artist Carl Eldh is a well kept secret. Guided tours only. Nearby you'll find the Cafe Bellevue which is a little gem for fika and lunch.

Millesgården - (Lidingö, suburb) Beautiful sculpture garden and the former home of Carl Milles built on the cliffs overlooking one of the inlets of Stockholm. The modern building hosts different art exhibitions and the museum shop is really nice. Unfortunately the adjacent cafe that used to be lovely changed owners some years ago and is now a very animal flesh oriented cafe/meat shop.

Hallwylska Muséet - (Norrmalm/Östermalm) Lovely inner city museum/palace which is the former home of countess Hallwyl and family. Over the years it has hosted interesting and unusual exhibitions like the story of perfume, House of Elliott costumes, Downton Abbey costumes and flower artist Tage Andersen's camelia show. Recently they opened up an evening bar in the inner courtyard.


Shopping:

For hipster overload I recommend the shopping around Hornstull and Nytorget/SoFo with lots of independent stores in all price ranges. And many second hand shops of course. Slightly less pretentious it is around Mariatorget/Hornsgatan (my favourite part of Södermalm), where you'll find one of my fav shops

Bric-a-Brac and many more.

Charlotte Nicolin - (Gamla stan) Fantastic animal art, both original paintings, prints, postcards and souvenirs. Don't miss!

Goodstore - (Söder) vegan, organic food store (one at Nytorget, one at Hornstull where they also recently opened a vegan cafe, Delivore).

House of Rym - (Söder) A lovely little shop with adorable pottery, home fabrics, prints and selected things like tea and chocolate.

Iris Hantverk - (Norrmalm) Great Scandinavian craft and home shop, with both own design and other selected designers.

Kaolin - (Söder/Mariatorget) Cute coop pottery shop with Stockholm designers only.

Krabat - (Norrmalm, Kungsgatan 53) Quirky, colourful interior and gift shop for all playful ages. It has a special Moomin selection corner too.

Marimekko - (Östermalm) The flagship store for the famous, colourful Finnish brand that design colourful, inspiring clothes, fabrics, bags and ceramics with a 60ies vibes.

NK - (Norrmalm/Östermalm) One of Stockholm's two department stores. This one is the posh one, but I usually prefer the other one.

ReMake - Stadsmissionen's (City Mission) upcycling projects shop where they sell remade clothes, toys and clever gifts. The shop can be found in different places but the original one is situated inside Kulturhuset at Sergels torg.

Åhléns City - (Norrmalm) The largest one of the two department stores and my favourite. Great beauty department with Dermalogica, Bare Minerals, Kiehl's and alike.


For tea (and coffee) -

Johan & Nyström - (Söder/Mariatorget) The above mentioned cafe.

Stockholm Tea Centre - (Söder/Mariatorget) The first specialist shop dedicated to tea. They have their own blend, Söderblandning. Nice, but I prefer their cherry tea.

Thehuset Danielsson - (Norrmalm) Really nice tea shop in the inner city with a selection of teas and coffees, sweets, pottery, tins and gifts.

Sibyllans Kaffe & Tehandel - (Östermalm) Founded in 1916 it's a posh tea- and coffee shop with delightful teas, coffees and biscuits. My favourite tea blends are the black Änglate (Angel's tea) and Svenska frukter (Swedish fruits) rooibos. The window display and the interior is a feast for the eyes (and nose).

Tehuset Java - (Vasastan/Östermalm) - Apart from their own tea blends - that come in cute packagings - they sell a full range of Kusmi tea (but alas not the sister brand, my favourite organic Löv tea), coffee and a lot of pretty pottery, pots, chocolate and luxurious gift baskets. My favourite teas of theirs are the Fredagsmys and rooibos with orange/cactus.

Chaikhana Teahouse - (Gamla Stan) This is also a posh tearoom, but to be honest the quality of that (if you're vegetarian) has declined over the years so I only buy tea here. Quite expensive tea, so it's not a regular thing.


For books -

Akademibokhandeln - Bookstore chain that can be found all over Sweden and Stockholm. My favourite is the large one at Mäster Samuelsgatan/Regeringsgatan, great selection of Swedish and English books. The store has a cafe too.

Bok & Bild (Norrmalm) Friendly family-owned bookstore at Drottninggatan with really great prices.

Bokslukaren - (Söder/Mariatorget) Sweet children's bookstore with a little cafe that serves miniature pastries.

Bysis Bok- & Pappershandel - (Söder)  cute bookshop with cafe and an unusual selection of books.

S:t Pauls Bokhandel - (Söder/Mariatorget) Small, friendly bookshop with an unusual selection of books, postcards and stationary. 

Well worth a visit outside Stockholm:

Drömkåken cafe - (Norrtälje) Lovely garden cafe and shop situated in an old countryside missionary house with a vast garden. Painted and decorated as if Barbie and Pippi Longstocking met and bought a house together. Lovely fika and light dishes like pies and sandwiches. My favourite is the vegetarian foccacia, but it's very filling so you might want to share if you want a dessert to (and you do). Edit 2018 - new owners, might be very different. More information on their Facebook page.

Sigtuna - Sweden's oldest town, adorable and picturesque town which is actually more a suburb to Stockholm within reasonably easy access by public transport.

Skokloster castle - Beautiful 17th century castle well worth a visit and guided tour.

Vaxholm - beautiful little archipelago town, perfect little day trip within reach by car, bus and boat. Independent craft shops, picturesque architecture and lots of restaurants and cafes. Near the harbour you find the excellent organic restaurant Sva Marga that has a wonderful vegan Hälsotallrik (Health plate) with tofu on the menu. For fika I suggest the adorable Vaxholms hembygdsgård by the water with a mouthwatering pastry table. It's very popular and the queues are often long. The garden seating is lovely and the best seats are on the deck with sunchairs.

Växplats Nybyn - (Norrtälje) My favourite garden cafe. Organic nursery and pick your own flowers field. The fika is only vegan and vegetarian, fairtrade and organic. So are the nice things in the gift shop. A haven of kindness.

Wenngarn castle + Dammstugan Vedugn - (Sigtuna) Recently renovated castle, hotel and park with conference facilities, restaurant, cafe etc. But my favourite thing is the adorable pizzeria in the pond cottage - supertasty gourmet pizzas made from organic, locally produced ingredients. You will love it. And the interior.

Äppelfabriken & Wiksunds trädgård - (Ekerö) Supersweet organic summer garden cafe with an apple factory situated far out on the island of Ekerö. The fika is great, the ambiance too but it does take a long time to get here by bus from the city and there's a long walk to and from the bus stop.

PS Apart from my When in Stockholm-list on Yelp I have several others for different cities like Berlin, Copenhagen, Gdansk, Krakow and Helsinki and more. You'll find them here DS.

what to see, do and vegetarian eat in stockholm

Was kindly asked to give my recommendations on what to see, do and eat in Stockholm. And since I love sharing the things not to be missed in this beautiful city, mainly off the boring tourist tracks, I happily said yes. I've been meaning to do one for years now, but never gotten around to it.

I already have several lists on Yelp on the subject but they are in Swedish and if you are like me, not a fan of Google translate, the only indications are my ratings, so I'll give you a few highlights here in blog. Some of my favourite places are a fair distance from Stockholm by car or bus, but the tips in the post to come will mainly be for inner city Stockholm and its nearby suburbs.

As I'll only chose a few to highlight in my next post - since I could go on and on forever... - you'll find the rest on the aforementioned Yelp-list in Swedish (there is one major one for "don't miss in Stockholm" but there are several others focusing on vegan/vegetarian restaurants and food-places, cosy cafes, thoughtful shopping, day trips etc).

When I began to compile the list I realised it will take quite some time to do so, thus I thought it would be nice to let you know it is at least coming along and will hopefully be finished this weekend.

Once upon a time I did a couple of Sweden Q&A, perhaps those can be of some use if you're planning a trip to Stockholm/Sweden to. Part one and part two.

And by all means, feel free to ask if you have any specific questions!

EDIT: My guide to Stockholm can now be found in this post.