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We left Ostersund on a high speed train scheduled to arrive in Stockholm in time for a late dinner. Unforunately we hit our first serious travel delay in a long time. Even though it was an inconvenience and our five hour ride took 10 hours and included a bus and another train, I have to give high marks to the Swedish rail service. Though it didn't affect us, several people had connections and I could tell by the announcements and watching what was going on that they had set up hotel rooms, food vouchers and new train tickets the next day for these folks. Maybe the airlines could learn a thing two?
When we arrived in Stockholm slighly after midnight, it was cold and raining and the first cabbie at the stand wouldn't take us to our hotel after we'd gotten all loaded up because he said we could walk...30 mintues, in the dark, in the rain, wasn't going to happen. We did get a very friendly cabby who had watched our first cab experience happen and had felt really bad, it was really nice.
Our room at the Hotel Stureplan was awesome. We had gone for one of their contemporary loft rooms instead of a classicly decorated room. It was the perfect antidote to the hassles of the trip even if the minibar was dinner and drinks. The neighborhood is a great place to stay and play as it seemed, to us anyway, to be the heart of the party part of the city.
We slept in, skipped breakfast and met up with a couple of colleagues from our corporate office in Stockholm who took us to lunch. Everyone had been telling us that we had to go to the Vasa museum. 
We weren't really sure about this, a museum about an old boat, but everyone was so insistent we figured we better check it out. We got ourselves 72 hour mass transit passes, jumped on a bus and headed over. It proved to be an amazing thing to see. The museum houses a 17th century naval war vessel that met an early fate and is extremely well preserved. It was raised from the harbor in 1961. If you only have a couple of hours in Stochkholm I'd put this toward the top of the list. I've never seen anything like it.
Then it was back to the hotel to hook up with a former colleague from the States who lives in Stockholm. While waiting for him, we induldged at the hotel bar, Per Lei, with a champagne tasting that was great fun. It was slow at teh bar so we were able to have a long talk with the sommelier who was a very knowledgable and being Swedish, extremely friendly. We didn't have dinner there, but next time I'm back it looks like a nice place for a long, quiet dinner for two.
After hooking up with Babak he took us for a walk through the old part of the city where we hooked up with a friend of his and then went to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant called Sogni, not too far from our hotel. It was here that all the answers to our alcohol in Sweden questions seemed to come together. They don't drink much wine as it was never grown in the country so beer and spirits are the norm. 
Almost every place you go has a menu of shots worthy of an American spring break experience. They also don't really have bars, what happens is restaurants, like Sogni, turn into bars after dinner and they stay open well into the night. We also found buying anything other than beer for personal consumption hard too. This is because you have to go to what I would call in America a state store. These stores are open with very limited hours and are rarely located in town centers, which is why we could never successfully get a bottle of wine for the train.
Our last day in Sweden, we were exhausted. It had been a great trip, but we had been on the move the whole time so we slept in again and then just walked around. The Swedes do an amazing job of mixing ancient and contemporary architecture in a pleasing way.
We were done touring and just took in the city and the people. It was a fitting end as we spent several hours just rehashing all the ground we had covered and thing we had seen and done and then went back to our hotel room to close all the shades at 11p to hopefully get it dark enough to want to sleep.
The night train to Ostersund was interesting. It wasn't quite as comfortable as we had expected, but we did get some sleep. By now it wasn't ever really getting dark, which made convincing yourself to go to sleep a little hard. And, as fate would have it, the train arrived 40 minutes early. 
The difference between 6:20a and 7:00a always seems like alot to me.
We walked through the sleeping town to our hotel to drop off our bags. Even though we weren't even registered yet they invited us to indulge in the massive buffet breakfast - that amazingly friendly Swedish culture that we experienced again and again. After breakfast we walked around town and waited for the vistor center/bike rental center to open at 9a.
We got a pair of really nice mountain bikes at the visitors center and headed to the bike trails on the island of Froson. It was cloudy and it had been sprinkling a little bit, but the weather was supposed to turn toward partly cloudy. However, about seven miles out of town it started to rain. We stopped to get out of the rain and tour Froso Church, a small, wooden church that was first built in about 800 and had recently been restored. 
It was really beautiful inside with sea themed murals. When we left the church it was still raining so we went across the road to The Music Cafe where we had waffles with cloudberries and hot coffee until we were nice and dry. It was becoming obvious that the rain wasn't going to stop, so we decided to head back to town and our hotel room rather than ride on in the pouring rain. We were cold and soaked when we got back, but it had been a great ride.
It did eventually stop raining and we headed out for a late lunch and to walk around the town. Before we left the next day we took a ride on the S S Thomee, an 1875 lake steamship, to tour a small part of Lake Storsjon. The lake is huge. 
After riding for more than an hour we came upon the open center of the lake and though we could see the moutains rising on the other side, we couldn't see the shore as it was beyond the horizon. The lake is said to be home to a lake monster that is a relative of the Loch Ness Monster.
It was a great train ride from Malmo - the Swedish rail system is wonderfully pleasant, efficient and friendly - to Orebro.
After checking into our room at the Plaza Hotel, we went out looking for some dinner. It's a small town and things were rolling up early so we ended up at a local Pizza joint that seemed pretty busy. Great pizza and great fun. We were far off the tourist trail and only one person in the restaurant spoke English. The chef from the back came out and we talked about our order. He found it hard to comprehend that we didn't want meat or fish on our pizza, but was happy to make it with onions and peppers. It was special for us to be in this town in the heart of Sweden and the pizza chef thought it was really great to meet two Americans who had come his way.
We spent the next day touring the town. It's got a true medieval heart centered at Orebro Slott. The castle itself has actually been turned into a conference center, but they offer a fun guided performance tour that features people from the tower's history reenacting scenes and involving the audience. It was fun. If you have kids a definite must.
Orebro is a big destination town for camping and cycling in Sweden. While we were there they were having their annual summer arts festival. In addition to public sculptures, we caught some public performances of dance and music.
Just down from the Slott is Wadkoping, one of several open air museums in Sweden where buildings and life from medieval times are preserved. We saw the one in Lund from the outside, it was very museum like. 
The one in Orebro is a living museum, with shops, restaurants and lots of activities for kids. We also visited St. Peter's church and caught the noon chimes of the clock at the Radhuset or city hall.
The other fun thing in Orebro is the Svapen or water tower. A famous design that has been copied by towns and cities around the world. It has an observation platform on the top with, of course, a coffee shop and a gift shop.
After a day of touring we hung out in a nice outdoor beer hall in the center of town with a view of the castle before catching the night train.
We went to Lund primarily to meet up with our friend and colleague Matts who wanted to officially welcome us to Sweden. Before hooking up we checked into our room at The Grand Hotel. The room wasn't too grand, but the rest of the place was in a classic way. The staff had that incredible Swedish friendly thing going on and you had this feeling like you were staying in one of the hotels from the early days of the U.S. transcontinetal railroad.
Lund University, founded in 1666, is Sweden's biggest research focused university and heavily influences the feel of the town from a personality and architectural standpoint. Matts was running late so we took a walk around.
We met up with Matts back at The Grand where he had made reservations for dinner. The restaurant is considered one of the best Swedish restaurants in the area and has an amazing wine list. As part of our welcome, Matts guided us through a first course of three kinds of herring, Swedish akavit and beer - simply sublime. For dessert we had another Swedish speciality, cloudberries, which were served with ice cream and a 
confection that translates as "cake baked on a spit", but seems to be a meringue with added flour that is piped out and then baked. Cloudberries are very special, if you ever get a chance to have some, don't pass it up. After dinner Matts gave us a walking tour of town.
The next day we made sure to make time to retrace a few of our steps to visit the Lund Cathedral, which was founded in 1085, and i renowned for its astrological clock. Then we jumped on the train to Malmo for the day.
Malmo is a great small city, with a beautiful medievil center. We only had a few hours there and so only took a walk around, visited the oldest church in town and had a few beers. If we had, had more time, a visit to the contemporary art museum seemed like a good idea as well as a visit to the Turning Torso tower which, as Sweden's tallest building looms above the city from miles away. 
Though as I understand it, you can't actually enter the building as a tourist. I remember watching the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering about the building of the tower. It was really exciting to see it so close.
In June I went to Kew Gardens twice, each time with a different friend visiting from the States. If you have even the slightes inclination to gardens or parks, this is a must see when you visit London. A key word of caution...guide books say you can see it in 3 to 4 hours, well I spent a total of 10+ non-stop hours over two days and saw most, but not all and my pace wasn't exactly leisurely.
Both times we took the train from Vauxhall in London and used the Southwest Trains summer 2 for 1 offer to get in, which given £13 for a ticket was good savings. It's just a short easy walk from the Kew Bridge train station. There's a nice pub with tables out front for a beer when you leave the park.
On my first visit the focus was on the "glass houses":
I also did the
Treetop Walkway, 
the Davies Alpine House and the Rose Pergula. All amazing.
The second trip we got tickets to ride the Kew Explorer (think DisneyWorld parking lot shuttle), which allowed us to see much more of the grounds. We visited:
Again, all amazing.
Even though there are plenty of visitors and you certainly don't feel alone, you don't ever feel crowded...there's plenty of space. I really can't wait to go back and see it in different seasons.
My key word of advice is that the food is typical cafeteria food. There's no lovely place to sit and enjoy a meal and be waited on, so bring a picnic! And comfortable walking shoes.
My friend Katherine is bringing her two teens to the UK for summer holiday next month and she asked me for some recommendations. So here are my top ten for things to do in London with a teenaged guy and a teenaged woman...in no particular order.
1. You can't bring a young lady to London and not have proper tea, but what's the young lad to do? Take tea at the British Museum. Tea is served at the Court Restaurant, from 3p to 530p, reservations are highly recommended: +44 (0)20 7323 8990 or email: eat@britishmuseum.org. While the ladies are having scones and finger sandwiches, the lad can wander the galleries.
2. Take a tour boat - not just a transit, but one with a guide that narrates - to Greenwich. Make sure you arrive in time to be close enough to the Royal Observatory to see the ball drop at 1p as it has every day since 1833, before taking your picture straddling the 0 degree meridian that marks GMT. Consider lunch at Trafalgar Tavern, built in 1837, Dickens drank there, plan accordingly as there might be a long wait. Other things to check out in Greenwich include the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, the Fan Museum and the National Maritime Museum.
3. Have lunch from the stalls at Borough Market. Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, this is a truly London moment. Bring your appetite and cash, most stalls take credit cards, but what a pain. Don't miss the grilled cheese and chopped onions sandwiches, look for the raclette signs. After lunch head to Tower Bridge for the tour or if you'd prefer something more macabre the London Dungeon.
4. You can't come to London for the first time without going to the Tower of London.
5. Over the weekend spend some time at Camden Market, open noon to 6p daily, but weekends are most interesting.
6. See a show for half price. Like New York City, London has an official Tkts Tkts service - and lots of not official ones so beware - where you can get day of tickets for shows at half price. What is listed the day before is a good indication of what you'll get the next day. Show up at 10a for the best shot. Want to see something special, most sold out shows offer excellent tickets for sale (usually 10 to 30) for day of show that go on sale when the box office opens. Remember "stalls" means "orchestra section".
7. Grab a coffee, or an expensive lunch, at the Tate Modern Restaurant on the 7th Floor of the Tate Modern for an amazing view of the city. When you're done take in some art, or head out the front door to the right to tour the Globe Theatre.
8. It's really hard to understand World War II and what it meant to the Londoners that lived through it. Other than imagining sleeping on a tube platform by flashlight (aka torch) a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms can help people get a sense of the reality.
9. Gain an understanding of British culture through the centuries by spending a few hours at the Tate Britain. The museum displays the world's largest collection of British art from the 16th century through today. If the weather's great, when you finish go right out the front door and walk across Vauxhall Bridge and have lunch or dinner on the waterfront at St. George Wharf (the giant high rise that looks like cruise ships). If the weather's lousy, go left out the front door to the Millbank Tower where you'll find a Pizza Express (make sure to check the website for great 2-for-1 coupons good at their outlets all over the city).
10. Because you will go to Harrods, with a teenage daughter how could you not, you'll need a destination beyond the Egyptian Escalator. I really recommend for a high level Mother/Daughter moment - send the lad sporting goods on the 5th floor - Harrod's Chocolate Bar.
Don't forget to visit Transport for London to find out how to get around town and most importantly how to get your Oyster card.
We left Ostersund on a high speed train scheduled to arrive in Stockholm in time for a late dinner. Unforunately we hit our first serious travel delay in a long time. Even though it was an inconvenience and our five hour ride took 10 hours and included a bus and another train, I have to give high marks to the Swedish rail service. Though it didn't affect us, several people had connections and I could tell by the announcements and watching what was going on that they had set up hotel rooms, food vouchers and new train tickets the next day for these folks. Maybe the airlines could learn a thing two? 
Our room at the Hotel Stureplan was awesome. We had gone for one of their contemporary loft rooms instead of a classicly decorated room. It was the perfect antidote to the hassles of the trip even if the minibar was dinner and drinks. The neighborhood is a great place to stay and play as it seemed, to us anyway, to be the heart of the party part of the city.
We weren't really sure about this, a museum about an old boat, but everyone was so insistent we figured we better check it out. We got ourselves 72 hour mass transit passes, jumped on a bus and headed over. It proved to be an amazing thing to see. The museum houses a 17th century naval war vessel that met an early fate and is extremely well preserved. It was raised from the harbor in 1961. If you only have a couple of hours in Stochkholm I'd put this toward the top of the list. I've never seen anything like it.
Almost every place you go has a menu of shots worthy of an American spring break experience. They also don't really have bars, what happens is restaurants, like Sogni, turn into bars after dinner and they stay open well into the night. We also found buying anything other than beer for personal consumption hard too. This is because you have to go to what I would call in America a state store. These stores are open with very limited hours and are rarely located in town centers, which is why we could never successfully get a bottle of wine for the train.
Our last day in Sweden, we were exhausted. It had been a great trip, but we had been on the move the whole time so we slept in again and then just walked around. The Swedes do an amazing job of mixing ancient and contemporary architecture in a pleasing way.
