Wednesday 9 October 2013

Yttermalung to Stockholm

By recent standards a leisurely day of non-problematic travel. The bus from Yttermalung to Borlangë was on time, I had a 2 hour wait at the station due to a couple of fully-booked trains, and then a direct train to Stockholm. If you ever find yourself in Sweden around 3pm on a friday don't bother trying to get a train because they're all full - everyone in the country has mistaken mid-afternoon for home time and left for the weekend.
I met my host and tour guide, James, at Stockholm train station shortly after 8pm and unlike my previous visit to the station I actually made it into the city.
After a quick stop-off at James' flat we headed out for some dinner and decided on the nice French-style bar/restaurant just down the road (can't recall the name but definitely worth a visit if you're in Stockholm). The downstairs was a cocktail bar and there was a short wait for a table so the innevitable happened, beware cocktails in Sweden unless you're feeling rich - most cost between £10 - £20.. The meal was terrific, Swedish meatballs with mash and Lingon berries, the food may be expensive but the quality is really high.
Food finished, it was time to see what the city had to offer. Bern's was where, after a slightly vague route, we ended-up - I'm relieved to say that youth of Scandinavia also go out at night clutching soft drink bottles containing various alcoholic concoctions, it's not just Britain.
Bern's is a large nightclub venue with several bars, a large ballroom-like ground floor and a balcony area that played really cheesey music, that was the place for us.
Any potential runners should note that this is the advised preparation the night before a tough race, my justification is that a relaxed mind is as important as a physically prepared body. We had a great night and enjoyed quite a few beers before eventually we had to leave at 3am, when they shut. It was noticable that the drunkeness was all very friendly and I didn't see any trouble at all, also Swedish women are well above average on the hotness scale!
In bed by 4am, bring on the Lidingõloppet.

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