I’m grateful for another great day. I’m grateful for another delicious dinner and for these completely excellent cinnamon rolls I have here every morning. I’m grateful for another chance to ride the ferry. I’m grateful for letting things work out. I’m grateful for the way understanding sinks in, if I let it. I’m grateful to be sober today.
Today is a farewell to Stockholm and, officially to Summer. One of the things that struck me when I arrived here on Sunday was that it felt like early November. Second thought: Since I’m already kind of freaked out that Summer ended so quickly and more generally about the way that Time is definitely accelerating, why did I choose a place that skips September and October and just jumps all the way into deep Fall? Those Second Thoughts are killers sometimes.
I’ve had a great time here and have managed to eat some pretty great meals. My strategy is usually to have a list of restaurants that are pretty much impossible to get into and then try to snag a single seat at the bar—it works a fair amount of time. On Monday night, I decided to try a place called “Wood Stockholm.”1 I had just come from visiting the Vasa Museum. I walked in and asked if they had room for me. The very friendly Swede in an apron, who turned out to be the chef, told me that I it was my lucky day, they did have room for me! The menu was titled “Astro Gastro” and the dishes were tied to astrological signs. Also, the butter was hand-churned.
All of it was completely delicious, but I thought the Libra oyster thing was one of the best things I’ve eaten in a long time. As I was finishing dinner and having coffee, I was admiring the turntable and vinyl record set-up and told them about one of my favorite places in NYC: Tokyo Record Bar. They loved the idea and if you go to Wood Stockholm one day and they have someone taking requests from diners and playing them on the turntable, well, you’ll know where that came from.
I asked my new friends where I should eat the next night. They told me, pretty firmly, that I should go to Bistro Mirabelle. I pulled out my list of places which generated a scowl. “These are all fancy, fine dining places,” the chef sniffed, ““if that’s what you want…” Well, of course, I didn’t want that? Chef looked at his phone, “let’s see what the weather will be like, ah yes, it will be perfect.” I cocked my head and he continued, “This is good Swedish food and it’s good Swedish weather.” So I went to Bistro Mirabelle last night and it was a fantastic neighborhood place serving really excellent food.2 I was walking back to my hotel after dinner and realized the weather and the food had been a perfect match.
I’ve written many times about how fabulous I think Brazenface is and I’m about to do it again:
This is funny and beautiful and so self-revelatory. I’m starting to see that’s what sobriety actually is, too. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of really, really hard stuff, but then this part comes along. I remember, very early on, reading the Big Book and rolling my eyes at the transformational descriptions of sobriety; the talk of being rocketed into a new dimension sounded like something a crackpot from the 1930’s would say. And I didn’t think any of it had much to do with me or my drinking. I was wrong.
I particularly loved "Abby + Tat's Travel/Life Rules:”
I might be so bold as to suggest an exception to Rule 2: “Except when a really good chef tells you where to eat, you should go.” Getting rid of the “should” is one of the great pleasures of travel and approaching the world with a sense of willingness opens a lot of doors. I’m struck by all of the connections I made in just three days of wandering around in a strange city and how much richer my trip has been. I used to think that having to “practice these principles in all of my affairs” was a death sentence. I was wrong. It’s a much better way of living.
I’m headed to Copenhagen this afternoon and will be hopefully finish editing Episode 23 of Breakfast with an Alcoholic on the train. In what might appear to be a gigantic coincidence, Episode 23 features none other than the very talented Tatiana Gallardo! I’m excited, too, but if you haven’t listened to Episode 22 yet, well, no time like the present!
Off to Copenhagen!
Thanks for Letting Me Share
One of you actually endorsed the idea of this being a travelogue. So, officially not my fault, anymore. Wood Stockholm
The pear tart dessert was perfect: Bistro Mirabelle