Dear friends, it’s been over a month since my 5-day visit to Stockholm!  Part work/part leisure, this trip was really kinda out of this world. So out of this world, in fact, that I wanted to write blog post upon blog post telling you about every single detail. But life has a way of straightening out your priorities, so here I am six weeks later with a short-but-sweet post instead.

Highlights from the work portion involved attending a formal dinner at the Swedish Parliament with the King of Sweden, a traditional Swedish Smörgåsbord at City Hall (where the Nobel Prize banquet is held) the following night, and making small talk with ambassadors, NATO leaders, mayors, and members of parliament from various countries. I was even invited to meet His Majesty during a coffee break — being introduced to a king is definitely one of those moments in life where you wonder: how in the world is this even happening?!

Apart from work though, this time I managed to see a bit more of Stockholm than I had during my brief visit in April. Highlights included dinner at Urban Deli in Södermalm, cinnamon rolls and coffee in Fabrique, checking out the public art of the Stockholm’s subway stations, half-an-hour in a bar made entirely of ice, and a fantastic exhibition of photos by Anton Corbijn (until December 4, 2016) and Bryan Adams at Fotografiska.

Already flying high from the exhibition, my friend and I took a chance at Fotografiska’s restaurant — and got really lucky when someone cancelled their reservation just nearly as we walked in the door. The restaurant doesn’t offer a typical menu, but instead creates a weekly menu based on local, high quality products. The dishes are relatively small and “are cooked and combined based on colour, form, aroma and texture.” We decided to go for the full taste menu — choosing four small dishes each (1 cold, 2 warm, and 1 dessert), paired with drinks for each dish (photos from dinner are in my Flickr album, if you’re interested). The whole experience was beyond amazing and we savored each bite, along with the lookout over Stockholm’s harbor. Definitely a must and worth the splurge the next time you’re in town!

I could certainly go on and on, but it’s time for this post to finally get published. What a fantastic city! I very much hope that I  will have another chance to spend even more time there. If you’re interested in more photos — check out my album here.

What are your thoughts on Sweden? And how about royal families — are you a fan or do you find the it a bit silly?