Emily and Stacy's Visit

Hej (from Emily and her new clown friends)!

Now that I have finally (somewhat) recovered from Emily and Stacy's visit with daily naps, I can blog about it!

Thursday

Emily and Stacy arrived, and were greeted with kanelbulle and kardemum rolls for breakfast. They visited the Vasa Museum, then I met them at Strandbryggan for lunch. Strandbryggan has amazing avocado turkey sandwiches, and shrimp salad, yum!

After work, we had Embassy friends over for a welcome party (note the awesome intern pic). I introduced the girls to some traditional Swedish club music, and the greyhounds were flowing! After that, we continued out to a great outside bar/club called F12. When this bar closed at 3, we ventured to a late late night bar closer to home called Spy Bar. Needless to say, our Friday started a little later than expected.

Friday

On Friday, we explored Gamla Stan. We had a leisurely lunch at a pub by the water, with some much needed fish and chips. We bought souvenirs, shopped around, and then headed to happy hour at the embassy.

Friday night, Amanda and Cecilia joined us at a great french restaurant in Gamla Stan called Le Rouge. It had a great atmosphere, and we had our own dinner/ party room. The night followed at a bar in Sodermalm called 54. We made it an early night for our venture Saturday morning.

Saturday

On Saturday morning, we took a boat ferry to the Archipelago. We went to the island of Vaxholm, known as the capital of the Archipelago. We shopped around, made some purchases in a really cute Marimekko store, and then ate lunch on the water.

Before dinner, we hosted a margarita party with homemade guacamole and queso, delic!! We had to mask the terrible tasting margs with tequila, but needless to say everyone had a great time.

I took them to my favorite thai place for dinner in Sodermalm called Koh Phangan. Even after 9pm, there was more than a one hour wait for a table. So, we did what any normal person would do... We ordered a thai bucket that we could share, and drink out of with straws! It consisted of thai whiskey, Japanese energy drinks, and coca-cola.... yum (well, not really).

After dinner we met Frances at Sturecompagniet, a popular club in Stureplan. Stacy quickly made friends, and the champagne starting flowing. Emily dropped her full beer on her toe, and that seems to be a pretty good recap of the evening. Of course, we finished the night off at Spy bar again... Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Sunday

Sunday, we had brunch at Ruby Grill, and I finally got some eggs Benedict over here... amazing. Stacy and Em found some last minute gifts.

For our last dinner, we ate dinner at East, and toasted to our last night in Stockholm. It is a great sushi/ asian fusion restaurant that is very popular with the locals. It was a great way to end an amazing trip.

We were all sad moose (think sad panda, with a new Swedish wilderness twist) when they headed home EARLY Monday morning.

Thanks for coming to visit me... it was EPIC. Croatia 2011... Who's in?

Ciao!

K Fitz

Bye Bye Bromma

Hej Hej,

Yesterday was a monumental day... We said bye bye Bromma, hello big city. For the past six weeks we have been living in the suburbs. Yesterday, this changed.

Now, we've moved into a great flat located in the city center. Instead of an hour commute, we now have only a 20 minute walk to work.

I'm reminded of Jay Z's song 'Empire State of Mind'

These streets will make you feel brand new
The lights will inspire you

Finally, I can walk across the street to a local grocery store, bakery, or pub... it's life changing really.

K Fitz

It Takes Two!

Happy Birthday Curt and Wynn!

Today, you, my precious neice and nephew turn two. Curt, I heard your new favorite thing to say is,"I did it." SO, congratulations twinks... You did it, today you turned two.

I'm so sad to miss your big pool party and book reading, but Aunt Kat will make it up to you with great gifts from Sweden.

Also, I really loved getting to talk to you on skype last week... After hanging up, Curt (you may remember) asked for "more Kat." Extra bday presents given for missing me!

Can't wait to celebrate upon my return.

Love,

Aunt Kat

Stockholm Week 6

Hej!

This week I welcomed roommates Amanda and Dru to the Bromma House... It is nice to have some company in the house..

Gothenburg

Cecilia hosted us in Gothenburg this past weekend. Gothenburg is Sweden's 2nd largest city, and is located on the western coast of the country. It is smaller than Stockholm, and has a more laid back and "chill" atmosphere. Volvo is also located outside of Gothenburg.

We had a great dinner at Vino Pasta Due. I ate a delicious fish dish with lobster ravioli, and champagne of course.

Being on the coast, Sweden is known for their seafood. Saturday, we had lunch at the Feskekorka, meaning the "Fish Church" in Swedish. They have great shrimp sandwiches and salads. We also bought crab, crayfish, and shrimp to eat for dinner on the boat.

Kanelbulle

Have I talked about kanelulle? AMAZING Swedish homemade cinnamon rolls. On Saturday, Cecilia took us to Cafe Husaren, a bakery located in the Haga district of Gothenburg.

They have a life sized kanelbulle (see business card for scale). Luckily, the three of us decided to share one, instead of getting our own. Now, all I have to do is learn how to make them at home.









Marstrand

Saturday afternoon we headed to Marstrand, an island about an hour from Gothenburg. The second week in July, Marstrand is "transformed into a boiling kettle of the world's best sailors, artists, vacationing families and the top notch of the business community." The Stenna Match Cup Sweden has become Sweden’s largest international sailing event and one of the very hottest summer places. Ben Ainslie, British sailing legend, with three straight Olympic golds and eleven World championships in his baggage, collected the victory after winning two straight matches in sun tricky winds against Danish Jesper Radich in the final. Go Ben!

Cecilia is on the sailing team at Brown, and we stayed on her family's sailboat. Located on the VIP dock, we were docked next to all of the competition sailing boats, like the audi one pictured here.

We took the train home, and our four hour train ride turned bad when the trains were forced to share one track... The ride took five hours, on a train without air conditioning!


Upon our return, we rushed to a bar by the train station to catch the second half of the World Cup Championship. Go Espana!


Vasa Museum

This week we visited the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is Stockholm's largest tourist attraction. The ship, built in the 1600s, sunk 1300 meters into it's maiden voyage. It was not until the 1950's that the ship was salvaged, and recovered. People say that Swedes embrace failure, as their biggest tourist attraction is a ship that sunk after only 20 minutes at sea. To date, they have been able to salvage and display more than 95% of original ship.



Strandbryggan Sea Club

This floating house bar, located on Strandvagen, is a local favorite located on the water. Strandbryggan is located in Ostermolm, close to the embassy.

One Week and Counting...

Emily and Stacy arrive one week from today, and I can't wait!! I have been working on their itinerary, and I'm looking forward to sharing Stockholm, and the nice weather with them!


Ciao,

K Fitz

Mi Amo Lake Como

WOW! I forgot how much I missed Italy until my return. A lifestyle where taking in the "Italian culture" involves eating pizza, pasta, gelato, and drinking prosecco, Chianti, and other fine Italian delicacies is le dolce vita.

Breathtaking views, friendly people, and a language I can understand... Now that's more like it.


After living in Sweden, I felt like Lake Como was cheap... Very frightening thought. In fact, the prosecco I ordered at the bar was $2.50 a glass, about 5x less than in Stockholm.

Another great thing about flying out of Sweden is duty free. A bottle of Absolut vodka, made in Sweden, is between $40-50 US dollars. However, in duty free, this same bottle is less than $20. What is wrong with this picture?

The Incident


As many of you know, I have many "incidents." My mom, to be diplomatic, refers to me as "accident prone" as opposed to clumsy.


For those of you at Hollis's wedding, you might recall "the incident." Deciding to ride bikes with my friends after a mere 10 years off the bike, an incident occurred. We had been riding about 50 feet when I lost control and started heading full speed ahead towards a tree. I had to "jump ship" onto the pavement to avoid colliding with the tree. A local security guard rushed to the scene, about 15 minutes later to file the essential accident report. Luckily, I only had a cut toe and some scraped knees. The rental company was kind enough to refund my bike rental fee, considering the short duration of my ride. For those of you who say, "it's just like riding a bike, you never forget"... Well, you were wrong.

Lake Como Incident

When arriving in Lake Como, I noticed that people were swimming in the lake. I was very excited about this seeing as the water in Stockholm is in the 60s, and I can't even go swimming at Barton Springs.


So, I thought... I will just walk down this boat ramp and put my feet in. I was carrying my luggage for the weekend, and trekked down. To my dismay, I was wearing flip flops and encountered some algae at the point where the water meets the cement (see photo). My feet slipped out from under me and I went plummeting into the lake. Still having my bag with me, I was using all of my energy to push the bag to safety... My camera and iphone were in it. Once that was rescued, I tried to stand up to walk up the ramp. The algae got me again, and again I fell back into the water. No one even saw me to help... On the third try I finally made it out of the water alive, with a soaking wet skirt. I am now proud to say that I have fallen into Lake Como!

Bellagio, Bellisimo

Bellagio was so beautiful, and made the whole trip. There were sidewalk cafes to choose from on every corner, and some good Italian shopping.


My hotel, Hotel Belvedere, (pictured on the left) made the whole trip. They hotel is located above the city center, and has a spectacular view of lake como and the mountains. The infinity pool also had a hot tub that looks directly down on the lake. They also had a great spa, and I finally got the pedicure I've been dying for... Pedicures are not popular in Sweden, and very expensive.

I took a boat ride to Como and a nice couple in front of my pointed out George's house on the lake...

Erba
Hotels.com can be misleading. I found a hotel that I was convinced would be amazing, and "close" to Lake Como. The hotel, Castello di Casiglio, forgot to mention that you cannot get to their hotel without a car, and that the town of Erba does not have cabs or public transportation. After attempting to walk uphill for 30 minutes the hotel agreed to send someone to pick me up.


Other than being remote, the hotel was beautiful. It is an ancient castle from the 1400s that was converted into a hotel. The pool also had a beautiful view of the surrounding hills.

Italy, Ciao for now!

K Fitz

Stockholm Week 5

4th of July

This week the Embassy celebrated the 4th of July, in Sweden... On June 29th naturally. Set up like an american state fair, tents from the east coast, west coast, and "fly over states" were represented serving local fare from the various regions. Ben and Jerry's provided unlimited ice cream favorites, and I was finally to fulfill my texmex crazing with a quesadilla.

The Ambassador sported some levi jeans, boots, and a pearl snap shirt. This Texan could not be prouder.

There were some other sharply dressed attendees as well. When I see this gentleman, I think of the bud light radio commercials.

Bud Light proudly Salutes
Real American Heroes,
Real Men of Genius

Today we salute you, Mr. frat-tastic King of Preppy. Armed with charm, style, a green blazer, and a little help from a J. Crew catalog and your yellow hanky, your pink pants have helped you win best dressed 2010.

So, crack open a cold bud light and a can of starch and you're ready to go!

Dinner with Oscar

One of our family friends put my in touch with her Swedish cousin that lives in Stockholm. Oscar and I met for dinner on an old ship on the water facing old town and the royal palace. We drank rose, a Swedish summertime favorite. Oscar owns a bakery here in Stockholm, Friends of Adam, and I can't wait to frequent it. We also discussed possible places for me to find chocolate chips in Stockholm, a delicacy here!

The Gondalen

On Thursday night, I was invited to attend a work function at the Gondalen, a famous restaurant in Stockholm that has the best views in the city. My favorite dish of the night was a grapefruit infused salmon ceviche. so light, delicate, and refreshing for a cool summer evening.

Congrats!

I wanted to send a special "shout out" to Carrie and Daniel getting married this weekend. Congratulations, and so sorry to miss out on the big day. Have an amazing time in the Caymans!

I look forward on updating you all on my trip to Lake Como in the coming days.

Ciao!

K Fitz

Stockholm Week 4

You know you're in Sweden if...

1. 1. You are willing to wait in a cue 50 people long just to enter the System Bologet (Swedish alcohol monopoly) leading up to a holiday where they could be closed for three days straight. It's a love/ hate relationship.
   
   2. You celebrate Midsummer Eve (June 18th) by participating in potato sack hopping, singing Swedish songs while circling a maypole, and toasting to the summer solstice. You also eat steak and potatoes (believe it, it was my only option).

3. You receive a traditional Swedish massage from a Swedish woman at the Grand Hotel. The hotel's new spa, Raison d’Etre, was first class all the way. The Nordic-inspired Raison d’Etre Spa celebrates the history and landscape of the Swedish archipelagos and expertly blends Swedish materials, design traditions and natural resources with a contemporary design. Stunning features include waterfalls and the use of slate in the swimming pool to create the sense of Swedish waters, heated lime stone floors and ash-clad walls (ash was the World Tree in Nordic Mythology) and beautiful mosaic walls with pictures of the Swedish archipelago, one which forms a backdrop to the cold water plunge pool.


4. You appreciate prepsters, polos, and pastels... Who doesn't? Swedes embrace the "warm" summer months by dressing in vibrant colors, seersucker, and pastels. Colored converses and leggings are also in style (Emily... you are in luck). I am told that people here dress in black during the winter (as if the weather doesn't make it dark enough already?).

5. You listen to ABBA, read the Steig Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tatoo books, and appreciate the adventures of Sweden's own Pippi Longstocking.

K Fitz

Stockholm, Week 3

Hej!

I have now been in Stockholm three weeks. Time is flying by. Tomorrow, June 25th, is the Midsummer's Eve holiday, and the office is closed! This week also marks the longest, and lightest days of the year.

On Friday, our marine friends hosted a geeks and gangsters party at their house. While I didn't dress up, my lovely friends Amanda and Cecilia were inspired by Revenge of the Nerds. Oh, the days of theme parties makes me miss college!


We then went to a club called Berns, popular with our local Swedish friends. Berns is a hotel, restaurant, lounge, club, and is huge! The chandeliers hanging in the lounge/ asian restaurant over the grand hall are fabulous (pictured here).





On Saturday, I shopped around and at sushi at the Hotoret market "Hay Market", a new favorite! Sushi, miso soup, and green tea hit the spot.

Saturday night, we ventured out to try a restaurant in Gamla Stan (Old Town) owned by a family from Paris, Texas! Called Grill Ruby, this restaurant bottles their own homemade barbeque sauce, and is popular with locals and Texans alike. I ordered a chicken quesadilla, and a margarita. While it may have been the most expensive tex mex ever purchased, it was worth it! I'm hoping to have a mexican fiesta at my house where I can introduce texmex food and margaritas done right for my Swedish friends.

I am trying to get caught up on my posts, so more to come soon. Ciao for now!

K Fitz

The Royal Wedding

On Saturday, June 19, the royal wedding in Stockholm commenced. The Swedish Crown Princess Victoria married Daniel Westling.


The wedding totalled more than $2.5 million, half of which was paid for personally by the King. More than 1,000 distinguished guests attended the wedding ceremony, including Royals from all over world. See the guest list here.

An estimated 500,000 people crowded the streets surrounding the Royal Palace to see the Princess address the crowd. The crown Princess started out by saying “I would first like to thank the Swedish people for having given me my prince." How cute! The Princes seems humble and happy!

We went to watch the royal procession following the ceremony on Standvagen by the embassy. The happy couple paraded by in a royal carriage before getting on a boat rowed by 18 naval officers back to the palace. There was a royal flyover My friend Susan had us over to her apartment after the procession to watch the rest of the wedding coverage, and we toasted the royal couple with champagne.

Wondering what happens to Daniel's last name? Does he take her last name, or maybe keep his own? Actually, reporters announced that he no longer has a last name... He will from now on just be Prince Daniel, Duke of Vaestergoetland. This is a title not bestowed to a "commoner" since the middle ages. I also learned that Daniel was the owner of a popular gym chain in Sweden, and was required to sell his business before becoming royal. In fact, he was the Victoria's personal trainer.

To all the single ladies... feast your eyes on Prince Carl Philip (31), Princess Victoria's hot eligible brother.

Royals were rumored to be staying at the famous Grand Hotel across the water from the Royal Palace. The Grand Hotel is also the official hotel of Nobel Prize winners each year.

Spotted: Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart were seen at the Grand, in town for their upcoming twilight event in Stockholm.

K Fitz

Lunch with Norman Lear

On Tuesday the Ambassador invited me to have lunch with Norman Lear and his family. For those of you who may not know him, Mr. Lear is an accomplished producer that produced All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, Fried Green Tomatoes, and the Princess Bride, amongst others. He and his family were very friendly, and interesting to talk to.

Mr. Lear is also a social activist and philanthropist, and started the Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, a multidisciplinary research and public policy center dedicated to exploring the convergence of entertainment, commerce and society. Read more about him here.

You may also recognize Dr. Lapook in the photo, CBS medical correspondent.

K Fitz

Stockholm, Week 2

Hej,

Life in Stockholm is good! I have now been here for nearly two weeks, and I am finally starting to learn my way around.

The metro stop that I take to work is called Hoglandstorget. For all you Harry Potter fans, I like to think of it as Hogwarts instead.

As you may know, I am a self proclaimed baker of delicious cookies, otherwise known as Rathersweets. The problem is, chocolate chips don't seem to exist in Sweden. So, I am now forced to go with Plan B. I will now focus my efforts on Swedish treats with local ingredients. My first attempt will be to make choklad bolls, basically chocolate with butter, cocoa, coffee, and rolled in coconut. Hopefully I will master them here, and I'll bake them for everyone when I return.

On Tuesday, I went to dinner with Frances, a mutual friend that my sister and her friend set me up with. We went to t.v.a., a great local restaurant in the St. Eriksplan area. During the week, they have meal specials to encourage people to eat out. We ordered the tuna steak, and it was delicious. After dinner, we grabbed a cocktail at Storstad in Odenplan, a local favorite.

Wednesday, Amanda and I went running around djurgarten with the marines at post, which seemed like our own personal body guards. Afterwards, we ate dinner at Vapiano, a new italian restaurant with fresh herbs on the table. They have great salads and pizzas.

Thursday night, Frances took us to a club that was created for Love Stockholm, the events leading up to the Royal Wedding this weekend. Europeans are really into clubs and techno music, which is culture shock for me!

This weekend, I explored Hotorgshallen, an underground market that reminded of the Mercato Centrale in Florence. They sell meats, cheeses, homemade pastas, spices, wine, and fresh produce. Someone here told me that Stockholm makes it hard for foodies and winos to eat good food and drink good wine at home because the stores are only open until 6 during the week, and 3 on Saturdays. I ate at a cute little sushi place in the market, and then set out to find the one recommended place in Stockholm that sells ground turkey meat, kalkon in Swedish.

Amanda and I then explored the Moderna Museet, Stockholm's modern museum of art.

Amanda and I ate dinner at Koh Phangan in Sodermalm, a really fun and corky thai restaurant. There are lanterns and christmas lights strung throughout the restaurant, and the restaurant feels like a tropical forest with fake lizards and snakes hanging from the trees. The pad thai and spring rolls were delicious.


After dinner, we headed to the British Embassy to watch the U.S. take on Great Britain in the World Cup. Lucky for us, it was a diplomatic ending where we tied. We went out in Gamla Stan to a bar called Akkurat, a pub that boasts more than 200 beers on tap. Lucky for me, they have Sierra Nevada Pale ale, and for a mere $10 I was able to savor this IPA.

On Sunday, we visited the newly opened Fotografiska Museet (photography museum) to see the travelling Annie Leibovitz exhibit.


Ciao!
K Fitz

Stockholm, Week 1

Hej (Heyyy) from Stockholm!

I've been in Sweden for five days now, and I'm loving it! The weather is beautiful.. It has been sunny, and hasn't rained yet (which I hear is amazing). The temperature is in the 50s in the morning, and can get as high as 70 in the afternoon. Much better than the Texas heat, but definitely chilly.

My house has an incredible view of a lake, and my room connects to the second floor balcony (see view in pic). There is also a great deck in the backyard.

This past week was the Taste of Stockholm, a food fair with a beer garden feel and live music. We ended up going twice the food was so good.


This weekend I went out with some friends from the Embassy. I explored Soderholm (like South Congress or SoHo) and enjoyed Fika, which is a coffee break in Swedish. Sunday was the National Day of Sweden, and I went to Skensen to see the King of Sweden speak (Stensen pictured below). The photo here is from the Royal Parade. It was my cultural event of the weekend, and very patriotic. Different musicians performed, and then Amanda, a fellow colleague, and I went to eat at a little place on the water by the Embassy.

Also on Sunday, I ventured out to pick up some home items from the largest IKEA in the world. It took about an hour to get there on the metro, but very worth it. I bought some new bedding, and some essential kitchen items such as a cookie sheet and spatula. I only made it to one of the three floors (very overwhelming)!

Top 10 Things I'm learning about Sweden:

1. It only gets dark here a few hours a day, and Swedes live by the sunlight. So, people eat dinner and go out when it is light, and leave when it is light... This makes for late nights
2. I need to learn the metric system because I do not think in Celsius and centiliters
3. I'm enjoying the European lifestyle, and getting used to walking about five miles a day
4. Men in Sweden wear really tight pants
5. Wine can only be purchased at package stores, and the stores are open so rarely I am inadvertently detoxing
6. IKEA and H&M are based in Stockholm, and readily available
7. Only purchase as much as you can carry, and be prepared to carry it at least a mile
8. There are some fellow Austinintes here, and I'm determined to find a decent texmex place
9. My corner market sells Stubb's BBQ Sauce, but no basic food items I'm looking for
10. Not many Swedes eat traditional Swedish food, and it is perfectly acceptable to eat Thai and Italian food here

Well, I think that is all for now!

Adjo,

K Fitz