First, to address the elephant in the room. Everyone's question will be does Sweden recognize the 4th of July. Of course they do. Just like they recognize the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of July. Just a normal day here. Of course on the ship, they had decorations up all around. And of course a hot dog eating challenge. And, I didn't enter.
On Monday we had a food tour. There are many food halls around Stockholm and ours started at Saluhall which is the oldest.
Each stall is named for the family that has operated it for years. Started with three kinds of cheese. Greve - similar to Emmental, Westerbuten - similar to a parmesan and Boxholm which was a spiced cheese - almost like a candle. We also had Cloudberry Jam with rye cracker. Similar to a marmalade but sweeter.
At Fagel and Vilt we had reindeer heart, moose heart and bear sausage. My favorite was the reindeer heart. Very much like corned beef. Although the bear sausage was also very tasty.
At M Seger we had the Swedish staple: Meatballs!! Traditionally served with pickled cucumber, potato puree and lingonberry jam. So tasty!!
Next stop was at Kajsas Fisk where we had a tomato based fish soup, fried herring on crispy chip, salmon with mustard, shrimp salad on bread and greve (cheese) pie. The herring was my favorite. Crispy and salty!! Second place was the savory greve pie.
And you can't visit Stockholm without having a Fikae!! This is their traditional coffee break. We had ours with tea and a cinnamon bun.
After our amazing tour we decided to see a museum. And can you say you've visited Sweden without visiting the ABBA museum? Of course not. It's a very well curated museum. If you are a fan, you'd likely cry with all the original costumes and memorobilia they have. Plus so many interactive exhibits. You can sing with a holographic version of the band!! Definitely spend the few dollars to get the audio tour. Some great information from the whole band that really helps you understand more about the sound they were trying to create.
After two hours of ABBA, we had a snack at the attached restaurant. The smoked shrimp was fabulous with a couple of local beers. Super secret: It was really crawfish . We then headed back to the ship. It was a long day and we headed to bed.
Today we started the day with a waterways cruise. You really get a sense of the city by being out on the water.
And after our two hour cruise, we walked into an area called SoFo and had brunch at a local cafe. Delicious scrambled eggs on toast with avocado!!
Time to get back onboard.
Dinner tonight was at Bayou Cafe. My expectations were low since I had not been to a New Orleans themed restaurant on a cruise ship before. They brought out some Johnnycake and cheese bread!! Good start!? For starters we had the Sausage Grillades and Oysters Sieur de Bienville. The sausages were a twist on andouille served over creamy grits with some scallions. The oysters were baked with a creamy combination of shrimp, onion and garlic along with a touch of vermouth. Both dishes were very tasty.
For our next course we had the jambalaya and gumbo. While the jambalaya was really excellent, the gumbo was the best I have ever had. Including Emeril Lagasse's restaurant in New Orleans. Such a rich base from a great roux. Well combined trinity and really respectfully cooked seafood. Such a great dish.
Next was cornmeal crusted catfish and Cajun shrimp. Both such well seasoned dishes and seafood cooked with respect. The catfish was my favorite. I've had this dish before and the breading was so thick and overpowering. Not in this version. Just a thin breading to provide enough crunch. I asked for some hot sauce which added some additional flavor.
Dessert was a "Tale or Two Cities". The Chocolate/Peanut Butter Bar lacked in peanut flavor and didn't have a good chocolate layer. The bread pudding was surprisingly good. Sometimes this dish can be so heavy. It is made with bread after all. This version was like an airy angel food cake. Delicate and light. And it had a tasty, slightly toasted, caramel drizzle to balance out the sweetness.
Such a wonderful meal. Certainly exceeded my expectations. I would definitely want to have that gumbo again and again.
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