GAMLA STAN+MEATBALLS

† it started to snow today... and currently it's still dumping. i went for a stroll this morning to go get some snacks at the local supermarket. i took some photos of the surrounding neighborhood. i think the main thing that strikes any born and raised american that travels to europe is just how awesome all the old european style neighborhoods look. if i could imagine how the insides of these apartments look, i would imagine them to have oak floors, floor to ceiling bookcases, antique globes, cantors of whiskey, and doilies.

† after the store, i walked in the snow over to gamla stan. gamla stan is an island located south of stockholm and is connected to downtown stockholm by a short bridge. it is considered the old town and has classic old european style buildings built super close together. of course it also has cobblestone streets. i was freezing my ass off as it was -3 degrees centigrade which is about 26.6 degrees fahrenheit (i officially hate the u.s. for giving us a completely bullshit measuring system). the old town has the royal palace (which i haven't visited yet) and it also has the nobel museum.

† and of course i can't forget about the food i ate. after visiting the nobel museum, i went over to a restaurant called martins gröna. for dinner, i signed up for a swedish dinner making session with some belgian girls from my hostel. here are the menus:

lunch: mixed vegetable rice wrapped in steamed baby cabbage "dolma" style with a side of potato, carrot, and root purée; served with a side salad with ligonberry dressing; and a small helping of chopped cucumber, tomato and lentils tossed together with a vinegar dressing (best vegetarian meal i've ever had).

dinner: moose meat and beef meatballs with cream sauce, ligonberry compote, boiled potatoes, and cucumber salad.

dessert: coffee and swedish sugar cookies. sooooo good.