Nightclub Sushi in Sweden

Sometimes I need to remind myself, how in the world we ended up in Stockholm. As I mentioned previously, it is not easy to get from Croatia to the United States. There are few direct flights and many of them were at inconvenient times or high costs. Our solution was to bookend Croatia with countries with easier flights to and from the U.S. That is how we ended up in Stockholm for 2 days.

We flew Scandinavian Airlines from Split to Stockholm on a cheap ticket we bought via gotogate.com. For our hotel we spent 32,548 Chase points for 2 nights at Miss Clara by Nobis hotel which is a part of the Design Collection Hotels (majority owned by Marriott).

we found ourselves outside of a building with a velvet rope and a bouncer at the door. Clearly this isn’t a sushi restaurant.

We arrived at our hotel late at night and the trip left us starving. So we went down to the front desk to ask for recommendations on where we might find some food. The man at the front desk gave us directions to a place where we could get some sushi. So we went out into downtown Stockholm following the directions we were given until we found ourselves outside of a place with a line and a bouncer at the door. Clearly this isn’t a sushi restaurant. After some debate about whether we were in the right place, we headed inside. After just getting off a plane we were too tired and hungry to leave, so despite not being dressed for the club we headed deeper inside. Then things got even more confusing. There actually was a sushi restaurant in a room on the other side of the club! We grabbed a table and sat awkwardly for awhile before being told that we had to order at the bar back in the room with the nightclub. So now I head back into the club, past the DJ, and into the crowd of people ordering drinks. When I finally get the bartender’s attention I say “ummm…. can I get some sushi?”

When I finally get the bartender’s attention I ask “ummm…. can I get some sushi?”

The bartender stared at me for a bit and I’m wondering if he doesn’t speak English or is he just confused as to why I ordered a california roll in a nightclub. Eventually he nodded and told me it would come to my table. We finished eating our sushi and headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

The Royal Palace

The next morning we headed out to properly explore Stockholm. On the way to Stockholm Palace we stumbled upon the kungstradgarden. The name means “king’s garden”, and it was formerly the site of a royal palace and gardens. Now it is a large public park in the heart of the city. After walking through the park we found our way to the palace.

Although Stockholm Palace is the official residence of the king of Sweden, you can actually buy a ticket and walk through much of the palace and grounds. The palace is one of the largest in Europe, and the building actually houses 5 museums! Once inside we first took a look around King Gustav III’s art collection. Gina’s favorite sculpture was that of Endymion which she promptly renamed “Life is so Hard”.

“Life is so Hard”

Gina

We then headed across the courtyard and found a throne room as well as “The Royal Apartments” which seemed to serve no purpose other than prove that the royal family could create opulent rooms. Finally we headed into a dark cellar to check out “The Treasury”. This is where they display the crown jewels and royal regalia of Sweden. Unfortunately no photography was allowed. On our way out we stumbled upon the daily changing of the guard. It was pretty crowded so we didn’t have a great view. After a few minutes we decided to leave, however on our way out we found we saw the changing of the guard at one of the smaller guard posts with nobody around! It seems that everyone crowds at the entrance to the palace to view the changing, but the exact same ritual happens all around the palace.

The Vasa

We left the palace and had lunch and drinks at one of the restaurants nearby before resuming our exploration of the city. We then made our way to “The Vasa”. At one point in the 17th century Sweden was an emerging power in Europe. The king ordered the construction of what would have been the most powerful warship in the world. The thousands of citizens who came to watch the ship set sail on her maiden voyage, witnessed the ship sink 120 meters from the shore. The pride of Sweden was bested by a medium sized gust of wind. A few hundred years later the ship was raised remarkably intact and they built a museum around it.

Finally our 2017 European trip had come to a close. We had a Delta flight from Stockholm to JFK and on to Indiana. This was not only my first trip to Europe, but the first trip where I convinced my wife (then girlfriend) the power of traveling on points. She has been a willing participant of my points earning activities ever since. Also our first attempt at the “bookend travel strategy” was a success (2nd attempt was not so successful) and has allowed us to think outside the box when planning trips to some of the more remote locations we have visited.

Croatia Trip Report

• Weekend in Amsterdam
• 3 Days in Dubrovnik
• Split & Hvar
• Nightclub Sushi in Sweden