So Much Fun on the Boat!

Before there was IKEA, or for that matter Sweden, there was the story of how we got to Sweden. And what better way to visit the land of the Vikings than by boat? Or in our case, a cargo ship that transports trucks and drivers (plus any extras like Jay and myself) between Poland and Sweden. With passengers that looked nothing like the valiant blonde warriors who sailed the Baltic seas of the past, but rather bulging male truck drivers (and us), we set sail from the northern Polish city of Gdansk. Feeling inspired by the adventurous nature of the Vikings, we too braved the rough winds and seas of the Baltic, so as to bring to you, our trusted family and friends, these photos for your perusal, straight from the deck of our (cargo) ship:

Awkward, they spelt Stockholm wrong...

Our trusty cargo ship

Us on the crazy deck of our ship - it really was wild!

Such a lifesaver!

The decision of 'where should we eat tonight' proved to be an arduous one on our first night in Stockholm. We really weren't asking for all that much; only something typically Swedish, delicious, relatively nearby and within our budget. Sadly for us, this was turning out to be rather difficult to achieve. After a strenuous hour of walking around, we finally settled on a pizza restaurant which fitted the bill, pun intended. Although you may have scoffed at the word pizza, this was not just any old pizza restaurant. This establishment served crusty wood-fired pizzas topped with the Swedish delicacies of reindeer and venison. For the record, neither Rudolph nor Bambi were particularly tasty, but nevertheless it was a very adequate introduction to the lesser known world of Swedish cuisine. Not to mention the 'Falcon' beer which accompanied the meal – the best we've had on this trip by far!

Needless to say, reindeer on pizza tastes just as good as it sounds.

A much more delicious and quintessential Swedish dinner was had the following night. In a Swedish style beer-halle, filled with the ambience of glowing candles and the merry voices of its eager patrons, our mouths were watering from the smell of all things delicious wafting from the kitchen. And the food did not disappoint. After devouring a surprisingly tasty dish of assorted flavoured herring, we dug into the classic meal of Swedish meatballs, accompanied by mashed potatoes and lingoberries – mmm yum!

Swedish meatballs!

However, not all restaurant experiences have been so successful and pleasant. On one such occasion we decided to go to Lonely Planet's 'top pick' in Cesky Krumlov; described as a vegetarian's haven. This was particularly appealing given the lack of vegetables we had recently consumed. We were seated in the cosy cave-like restaurant by a waitress who spoke English very well. To begin with we ordered two glasses of water - a seemingly uncomplicated request. Or so we thought. The waitress came back with one glass of water, asking us what else we had ordered? Another glass of water please! We proceeded to order our meals. In the meantime we noticed a group of six sitting across from us, bringing the total number of patrons in the restaurant to a hefty eight. This proved to be quite an issue for our waitress, who was visibly flustered and obviously stressed; in a restaurant that again had been recommended as the 'top pick' for that city.

Having finished our meal, which for the sake of this blog was bland and unexciting in flavour, we decided to give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt and order some dessert. After finally gaining the attention of our waitress, whose stress levels in the meantime had disproportionately risen in size, we asked if we could order dessert. Again what we thought was a seemingly routine request. The expression of our waitress quickly changed from stressed to visibly pained and she hurriedly said that they didn't really have any desserts to offer us – only sweet pancakes and fruit-filled dumplings. Curious to see where this saga would take us, we ordered two servings of dumplings. Jay had also wanted a coffee, but read the desperate plea from the waitress and decided not to follow through with the order; the first time we had ever felt guilty for ordering at a restaurant. Akin to feeling bad for going to the doctor for a sore throat. Having finished our dessert (also average and unexpectedly sour), we again struggled to get the attention of our flustered waitress. Finally we asked for the bill. Now, without meaning to brag, we have been to quite a number of restaurants around the world and can conclude that there is a universal etiquette concerning the bill (India included). It is usually prepared before bringing it to the customers. Not here! Instead, the waitress brought the menu along with a blank piece of paper to our table, asked us to repeat what we had ordered, searched the menu for the price of each dish and then tallied up our total. If that wasn’t bizarre enough, she began laughing hysterically because the total came to 444Kr, an apparently amusing number. The genuine hilarity of the entire evening caught up to us and we also began to laugh both with and at her. We paid for our fare and left the restaurant baffled and bewildered by, without doubt, the most bizarre and comical restaurant experience we've ever had! Thank you Lonely Planet.

Cesky Krumlov - even though dining out was rather hilarious you were one beautiful town.

Lonely Planet also recommeded this park, described as a 'must see' in Stockholm. Needless to say we were rather underwhelmed.

Whilst in Prague, there were quite a few hilarious fads which we noticed amongst fellow tourists, in particularly those in Italian school groups. Before I go on, it's worth mentioning that in Prague, 'Duff Beer' – the fictional beverage featured in 'The Simpson’s' – is very much a reality here, and is sold in most liquor stores across the city. If that's not comical enough, there are also 'Duff Beer' tracksuits available for sale, to which the aforementioned Italian students have taken a liking too, parading these not-so-suave outfits across the exquisite streets of Prague. Hilarious. And if that hasn't caused a giggle from you yet, then picture said 'Duff Beer' clad tourists navigating the cobbled lane ways of Prague on segways, in groups, often looking very much out of control – need I say more!? 

There's actually never a dull moment when segways are around!

Historical monuments are SO EXCITING!