april / 2021

kai: helping me with a puzzzle... in-between studying for final exams

stockholm weekend pics: puzzles, a birthday, and cats

we celebrated stefan's birthday with a spa weekend away. we loved our time at the ellery beach club so much that we visited their sister hotel in västerås (pics to come soon). on our return, we had birthday cake (pic below), made by cecelia, our young friend who we think will be a famous baker one day. she knows stefan well... the five is a chocolate cake with rose water cream and the 4 is a caramel cake with coffee. both were lovingly decorated with berries and macaroons which she made. both were delish. thank you cecelia! (insert heart emoji here)

we completed our third puzzle... a little cottage by the lake in the countryside. can't wait to travel again!

we have been watching massimo bottura's masterclass and stefan made his 'fish in a package' enclosed with olives, cherry tomatoes, and capers. simple yet so much flavour. i love his energy, passion, and italian hand gestures. give it a watch.

while the light in the city finally makes it feel like spring around here, it is still quite cold, wrapping myself in a chunky scarf as i bike to work wishing i hadn't packed away my winter coat. or, that i could have stayed in bed for awhile longer, just like ylva (last pic).

travelogue: steam hotel in västerås

 

in västerås, there is an old steam power plant, overlooking lake mälaren, where you'll find the steam hotel, appropriately named as you'll find a lovely spa on the top floor. they've kept much of the industrial details which works really well with the softer touches.

we came to celebrate stefan's birthday. i love that he loves a good spa hotel although he cannot seem to get used to the sauna experience. while he finds it too hot, i say heat it up some more. and, the softness of your skin afternoons is just amazing.

while the spa is smaller than their sister hotel, the ellery (take a peek here), we happily enjoyed both the pool inside and outside, the hot sauna (me) and dark relaxation room with a fire (stefan's favourite). there is a bar for drinks too. you couldn't help but feel newly energized and relaxed.

and the food was perfection. before we made use of the spa, we had afternoon drinks and a light lunch on the 18th floor with fantastic view of lake mälaren. the food was a melody of asian-inspried dishes that had me already looking forward to dinner which was so worth the wait. 

after dinner we walked along lake mälaren, enjoying the sunset. relaxation, good food, and a sunset... not bad for a birthday celebration.

a couple of photos during our walk to the train station... towards home.

to take a peek at our lidingö spa weekend in march, click here. our next weekend away will be with friends in ekerö, stay tuned, if you like.

stockholm weekend pics: an easter hike in paradiset nature reserve and easter eggs

Going to the Woods Alone by Mary Oliver

“Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore unsuitable… I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of praying, as you no doubt have yours… Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds, until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost unhearable sound of the roses singing… If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love you very much.”

ximena and petter, thanks for inviting us along to paradiset :) 

at home, we puzzled, i rearranged stefan's office, we ate really well with swedish classics like jansson's temptation, a creamy potato and anchovy casserole and swedish meatballs, and we 'hunted' for our easter eggs - beautiful tin ones filled with chocolate and candy. mine always includes mini bounty bars, polka (candy cane) caramels from pärlans konfektyr, and sour candy (watermelon and peach are favourites). 

happy easter, hope it was a relaxing one with good food and friends.