Ok, I should have done a bit more research before coming to Sweden. Laundry is a pain - there were no self-service laundry facilities in Gothenburg, so we just hand-washed necessities like underwear and socks (thank goodness we did laundry during our last day in Iceland, even though it was 1700 ISK). Figuring Stockholm is a larger city, with potentially more available for tourists than any other city in Sweden, we held off washing any larger items. We were wrong. Stockholm has one self-service laundry (there may be one or two others, but there is one that is widely reviewed) - otherwise you have to pay whatever the hotel wants to charge you, per item. I didn't think to ensure our hotel was close to the laundromat, so we had a choice: either try to wash our clothes and hope they air dry in time, or go shopping.
We didn't have much time left in Gothenburg - basically enough for us to eat breakfast, check out, grab sandwiches/pastries for the train, then hop on the train. Hoping for a peaceful train ride, similar to the one from Stockholm to Gothenburg, we were kind of disappointed when one of the nearby passengers turned out to be quite the chatterbox. It was a bit funny because we noticed other people were equally, if not more, annoyed by their frowny glances at the guy. By the time we got off the train after 3 hours, I'm sure at least half the passengers in our section of the train knew this guy's life story if they didn't possess headphones or fell asleep. The only highlight of the train ride was our lunch - the sandwiches were ok, but the pastries from Steinbrenner & Nyberg really hit the spot, especially the apple almond tart.
When we arrived in Stockholm, it was already getting dark, so we had to make our way to the hotel. At Central Station, we followed the signs to the commuter trains and then bought SL cards (their version of our reloadable compass card - at a very reasonable price of 20 SEK). It was a bit tricky getting the right train since there were so many trains departing from the hub, but we finally found our way with the help of the signage (still mostly in Swedish).
Our hotel turned out to be an 18th century mansion, renovated to be a hotel. Neat place, obviously aged, with cobblestone paths and creaky doors. I'm sure it looks better in the daylight! Once we'd checked in, we started exploring Södermalm, our neighborhood and, conveniently, a popular shopping area.
We found prices to be a bit steeper - maybe it's because we were in a more expensive area? But people in the stores seemed friendly and helpful - one person in particular gave us pointers for tax-free shopping (tourists should ask the shop for a tax-free form if they purchase souvenirs totalling more than 200 SEK), and told us a bit more about living in Sweden. Apparently, Stockholm real estate prices might be as unaffordable for the average person as Vancouver! We ended up each buying another shirt to extend our travel wardrobe.
Dinner was more towards Katarina-Sofia at a restaurant named Harvest Home, from a friend's recommendation. It was bustling when we walked in, and we were lucky to get a table - the noise and hubbub were a nice change of pace from the quiet Gothenburg. We ordered entrecote and meatballs (had to try them at a decent restaurant!) - both were excellent, though a tad on the salty side. The meatballs were served with tart lingonberries (I wonder if this is where we got the tradition of serving cranberry sauce with meat?), pickled cucumber, and mashed potatoes. Along with an appetizer of garlic bread with eggplant cream, I was completely stuffed with no room for dessert. Ah well - tomorrow is another day!
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