The Sharlafied Love Train Diaries, the finale
Four countries, 17 days, so many recollections… Here is my recap of my marathon trip throughout northern Europe on the journey I call the Sharlafied Love Train. Catch Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them!
Stockholm
March 23. I rolled into Stockholm in the early afternoon and checked into the Story Hotel where I was to stay for 3 nights. More about that later. Right across the street at Pepstop they had a little reception with local artists selling peace symbol artwork to raise money for Ukraine. I bought a solidarity pin for my hat.
My first bar stop was to A bar called Gemma. Brainchild of Johan Evers and Oscar Drigoris, the name Gemma is an acronym. It’s nice if you learn about it yourself reading from their menu. I immediately ordered the signature drink, Gemma, a sour that was created in March 2019 when the bar opened and is so satisfying it will never be struck from the menu. I can confirm that! The bar has won a pocketful of awards and every bartender I saw in Stockholm seems to love it. There is nothing fancy about the place, but it is just filled with love. You can even get a good grilled cheese here.
My next stop was to a new bar called Nori, inside the Misshumasshu where I met Jack and Josephine behind the bar. Turns out Jack is friends with Tota, a bartender from my town. What is it about Bassano? Josephine is a real mover and shaker, she makes videos and organizes events for the drinks industry when she is not stirring and shaking.
With Jack at Nori.
My Ginger Miso Spumoni at Nori.
Misshumasshu interiors.
Jack insisted I take a shot over to Lucy’s Flower Shop, one of the 50 Best. Alex took the boomerang and it started the two guys at the bar to talking James and Victor. Hotel people. From a very nice hotel. That I was about to stay in for the next two nights. More about that later.
With James and Victor at Lucy’s Flower Shop.
Now back to my bar tour: next was Coquetel Social, a brilliantly colorful place with high ceilings and tropical drinks inspired from Brazil. Robin, the host, pops back and forth between here and Paris, where he manages Little Red Door.
Coquetel Social.
Robin gave me a good tip: to head to a bar called Lådan where Erik Andersson and Emil Åreng were doing a takeover. They are from Facit Bar in Umeå, up in the north. Emil is a real character; he opened his bar only 3 months ago and uses only Swedish spirits. They were also serving up food from Facit; I loved the hearty tartare. Emil gave me a bright orange scarf with a cartoon of someone famous in Sweden. I haven’t got a clue who it is but it was nice and soft!
Facit takeover at Lådan.
With Emil Åreng.
March 24. The next day I had a meeting at Italienskan, an Italian-inspired bistro and bar. I met the blue haired Emelie with Hilding (remember him from my article a couple of weeks back?) at a bar in Berlin during BCB. She accepted the swag from Nardini I brought her – they carry quite a few of Nardini products over here. I also did a pin exchange with her, she chose a Daiquiri pin from Love and Victory and I took the pin she designed called Always Here that she presented for the Tahona Society /Altos competition in Mexico. The concept of the pin is that whoever wears the pin will help a fellow bartender in danger. She also made me a boomerang called Catrame, which means tar in Italian, (sounds strange but was delish!) to take to Hilding in Gothenburg.
The Always Here pin.
Emelie with the Catrame boomerang.
Now it was time to move to my new hotel, (thanks James!), part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection, Hotel Reisen. A completely remade hotel in the oldest part of Stockholm, it has killer views of the bay. The cocktail bar Bar Brahe is dark and moody, and the bricks on the wall are salvaged from the original building, as well as parts of an old cruise ship that line the walls of the meeting room. I had a quick one at the bar but I will be back to have a proper drink by Victor when the piano bar was going. There is even a spa and a really cold swimming pool: cold because the hotel’s structure would not support the heat. Bar Brahe offers a very imaginative drinks list and there is a live piano bar on weekends. Did I mention my room had its own sauna?
Hotel Reisen.
After a little break in my fabulous room, including a little walk around the old town, full of gorgeous little indie shops, it was time to head back out with some swag from Bassano for Tjoget, where there was a prime spot waiting for me at the bar. There I met Sami, who I found out was from Gothenburg and we set up a plan to meet when I got there. I presented him with a boomerang from Lidkoeb, too. The place was literally buzzing with beautiful Swedish people—the location is set up with different areas, one for beer, one for wine, one more food oriented, and my fave, the bar. They had some lovely food that you can happily eat at the bar while sipping your libation. Tjoget is not in the thick of things, but that didn’t stop the masses of people there. I felt so cool just being in this place.
Sami at Tjoget accepting the boomerang from Lidkoeb.
Feelin’ cool at Tjoget.
Chet Baker cocktail at Paradiso.
My last stop of the night was to Pharmarium, right in the heart of the old town. Here I had a nice chat with Gabriel—all the bartenders are decked out in lab coats and the cocktail names are based on things that happen in the night—my drink was called Nocturnal Behavior. The drinks are quite elaborate, but on the menu you only get a few words representing the key ingredients.
Gabriel at Pharmarium.
Stockholm’s old town by night.
March 25. Since I had a whole 3 nights here, I finally got to be a tourist, so I headed across the harbor to the area where all the museums are. My first stop is to the Spritmuseum—could this be more perfect? The high ceilinged wooded structure was truly well done, with a host of interactive displays inside. They had a special exhibit on gin, and showed the hundreds of gins produced in Sweden. Naturally they had tastings, too, but only in the late afternoon when I would be barhopping.
Interior of the Spritmuseum.
My next museum had nothing to do with booze, but it is a must-see: The Vasa Museum. The building was designed to house this immense ship, over 52 meters (172 ft) high, inaugurated in 1990 The ship sank in the Stockholm harbor on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was not salvaged until 1961. The restoration was incredible. I viewed a film that tells the whole story of the ill-fated vessel. The museum has had over a million and a half visitors since its opening.
The Vasa ship.
One more museum where I only scratched the surface was the ABBA Museum. Here your ticket comes with a pair of headphones to listen to ABBA tunes throughout the tour, but all I had time for was this picture.
Friday evening, time to hit the piano bar of my hotel and have a Sidecar cocktail made by Victor.
Victor making my Sidecar.
My next stop was to Le Hibou at the Bank hotel on the rooftop. Chic and expensive, all by design. This place was filled with people in designer clothes on designer dates. This living room lounge is all part of the allure to make you want to stay all night. My next stop was to Röda Huset (The Red House), packed with people, offering up sophisticated cocktails using Scandi ingredients with the drinks list printed on a map. Jacob Ekman, you rock!
Chic atmosphere at Le Hibou.
Röda Huset.
The menu at Röda Huset.
My last stop for the night was Häktet — that Jacob kindly phoned up to get me a place. Now let’s get this straight- you go to Haktet, which is a big neighborhood no-nonsense beer bar, then you cut across the hallway and ring a bell to get to Vänster. Svante is your host and this little joint has a lot of heart! I left my mark here, too! Patrick Pistolese will be doing a guest shift here during the Bartenders’ Choice Awards, the biggest awards event in Scandinavia taking place on April 24. I am so proud to say that I have visited every bar that is nominated for best cocktail bar!
And the nominees are: https://www.bartenderschoiceawards.se/nominees-sweden-2021
Leaving a mark at Vänster.
Gothenburg
With Marina in Gothenburg.
March 26. Well, goodbye and tack Stockholm, now on to my last train for Gothenburg, where my daughter lives! 6 days with her! We had to hit Hilding’s bar Stranger, where I passed on the boomerang from Emelie and got my sticker put on the back bar. The drinks were fab as always and we were hungry so Hilding suggested we go to Jinx Dynasty to get some “bastardized Asian street food”. Hilding made a date to meet us for a night out in a couple of days.
Hilding receiving Emelie’s boomerang at Stranger.
March 29. One night we went to Bruno where our friend Mon ordered an old fashioned taster, three little old fashioneds in baby glasses. Hannes showed us his skill at throwing.
That night we had dinner at Familjen, with Tom at the bar. A wonderful meal, and he makes the best cocktails for pairing! The weather took a little turn for the worst—a March blizzard.
Surprised by the blizzard.
Familjen interiors.
March 30. Our night out with Hilding started at Tranquilo for a beer, where he showed me how he takes the remains of sparkling wine to create new sparkling cocktails. Next, we headed to a restaurant called Diket (The Ditch) that had a French bistro feel. After that, we headed to Drinks 20 which had a menu with a fairy tale theme. Think Rumpelstiltskin, Jack and the beanstalk, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, and can you guess the name of this one in the picture?
Guess its name… It’s with Maker’s Mark | Frangelico | Lingonberry Shrub | Lapsang Souchong.
We finished our night at Bruno, where I got to meet the fantastic Josefine and see (and taste) her magic drinks. Sami from Tjoget was there—he is also a good friend of Hilding. At Bruno, Richard made the last boomerang called Trident, made with Wet City Gin, a product of Gothenburg. I would be taking this one back to Bassano with me.
Richard at Bruno with the last boomerang, Trident.
With Josefine at Bruno.
Last call at Bruno.
And to tie it all together—Here is a pic of the last boomerang going to the bar next to my house in Bassano at Al Quèrto, presented to Alvise and Pippo.
I had a lovely visit with my daughter Marina and it was time to take my first flight to go back home. The Sharlafied love train was very satisfying. And there is something about love: the more you give, the more you receive.