Stockholm-Sundsvall: A night at Elite Hotel Knaust This Christmas, we found ourselves with a few extra vacation days we needed to spend, and not wanting to spend them entirely on video games and Netflix in the sofa at home, – and prices for flying to the sun in Southern Europe and beyond already steep – we decided to go on a domestic trip. I’ve always wanted to stay at the famous Hotel Knaust in the northern city of Sundsvall, and finding out that Sundsvall is a perfect first stop to chop up the long train trip to one of Sweden’s most famous ski resorts Åre, where another hotel I haven’t stay ..read more

When I was around 10 years old, the Eurostar opened and for the first time in history, people could travel by train from the United Kingdom to the rest of Europe. I don’t really remember how I got this information, probably from tv as the internet took another year or two to reach my 1990s family home. Anyway, since then, I’ve dreamt of going with the Eurostar, through the Eurotunnel, and finally, after stuffing our faces in Amsterdam food for three days, it was time. We had booked tickets in Standard Premiere, which is the Eurostar’s middle option, where you get better seats than in Standard ..read more

The first part of this year’s train trip (I think I might start doing this every year from now on because train travel is very fun) was, in contrast to our southern-bound trip to Malta a few years ago, going west. All the way from Stockholm, Sweden, to Scotland in the United Kingdom, via Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam and London. X2000 in first class, Stockholm to Copenhagen During a light snowfall in Stockholm, we jumped on the X2000, which is what we call our highspeed trains. They are not overly high speed, but reach about 200 kmph, and the trip to our first stop, Copenhagen in Denmark, ta ..read more

During our visit to Tenerife and Costa Adeje, we visited a few nice restaurants outside of Guayarmina Princess where we stayed on a halfboard package. Despite that the food there was really good, we wanted to sample some really local food as well. Picamar tapas Bistro Picamar is a small restaurant located up a few escalators in a sort of a shopping mall next to Playa de la Pinta. Service is super friendly and the food was mostly really good. We had local cheese and serrano ham with local honey, super crispy yet creamy croquettas with beef, octopus and cod; octopus potato and lemon salad bathi ..read more

After two years of covid restrictions, cancelled trips and spending almost all of our time at home, we decided to try out how it was to travel in a changed world. We decided that we wanted to stay in the EU for our first post-covid trip, and decided that Spain, and more precisely Tenerife, offered the weather, the travel rules (only covid passport when we went) and also the direct flights we were after. Stocholm Arlanda – Tenerife South with Sunclass Airlines Tour operator Ving’s airline Thomas Cook Nordics has changed their name to Sunclass Airlines (but why?!), but except for the new name ..read more

One of my favourite Swedish dishes, and probably one of the few Swedish dishes non-Swedes have even heard about, is the famous Swedish meatballs. I’ve seen a few crazy interpretations over the world, but these are quite genuine. There’s a crazy twist with these meatballs, and that is that you make them in the oven before finishing them in the frying pan. I did not really believe this would work before trying it myself, but they turn out super juicy and perfect. Ingredients for approximately two or three persons: 250 grams minced beef 250 grams minced pork 1 onion, finely chopped 3 tablespoo ..read more

A weekday favourite of mine that is way simpler too make than it may seem. If you’re lazy (like I usually am), use a blender. If a bit more ambitious use a mortar & pestle. What you need (four approximately 3-4 persons) Basil, about 5 deciliters of fresh leaves 2 Tablespoons of pine nuts 1 clove of garlic 1/2 deciliter of grated parmesan cheese Salt & olive oil How to make the pesto: 1. Toast the pine nuts until golden, but not burnt. Set aside. 2. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. 3. Put garlic, basil, parmesan and nuts in a blender. Mix to a paste. 4. Add olive oil, little by little ..read more

For Easter dessert this year, we made one of my favourite desserts, the French classic apple pie, tarte tatin. Here’s the recipe if you too want to try. You will need (serving two): 2 apples 1 deciliter of white sugar 45 grams of butter Puff pastry, approximately one folded sheet How to make it: 1. Put 1 dl of sugar in a small oven proof pan. Heat on medium until the sugar melts. Do not stir. While sugar is melting, peel, core and cut two apples into quarters. 2. Add 45 grams of butter to the dissolved sugar. Stir slowly until it turns into a thick, golden caramel. 3. Put the apples into the ..read more

This is a paid article in collaboration with Julbordsmäklarna. I recently visited Operaterrassen, a sort of fancier julbord– julbord being Swedish for a Christmas buffet – the literal translation being ‘Christmas table’, that you eat during the Christmas period, which roughly stretches from the 1st of December until Christmas Eve on the 24th. Booking Operaterrassen using Julbordsmäklarna.seI found and booked my table at Operaterrassen with Julbordsmäklarna, an easy and convenient online service that allows you to browse through and find your prefered pick among around 300 different julbord ar ..read more

Except for Din Tai Fung Covent Garden, which I wrote about the other day, we visited a few other noteworthy spots. Barrafina One Michelin-starred Barrafina on Dean Street a stone’s throw from Piccadilly Circus delivered some of the best tapas I’ve had. Cold meat platter. Everything extremely good. Ham croquetas. Crunchy, delicious and perfect. Best pan con tomate I’ve had. A runny, perfect tortilla with peppers and prawns. Morcilla; spiced Spanish blood sausage (similar to black pudding) with fried quail eggs, a crispy wafer thingy and a rich sauce. Location: Dean Street, Soho. Price: £8 ..read more