Friday, August 31, 2007

Stockholm Design Tour still continues

Take bus 40 to Odenplan. Check an Italian food store Salino, only to find that it has been replaced by a cafe.

Take Tunnelbana to Hötorget. Walk on Tunnelgatan. As the name suggests, it leads to a pedestrian tunnel under Johannes Kyrka. After passing through it, hit Birger Jarlsgatan.

Norrgavel (Time Out's recommendation) is yet another furniture store with focus on lamps, crockery, chairs, and dining table decoration. Find a rather luxurious pair of wool slippers.

Walking to the northwest along Birger Jarlsgatan, I am supposed to find a shop called Klara according to Time Out. But it's been replaced by Poggen Pohl, a minimalist kitchen showroom, and G.A.D., yet another furniture shop with focus on dinning table suggestions and lamps. Nextdoor is The Rug Company, selling seemingly expensive rugs with patterns reminding me of the 1960s psychic movement, and Plan Ett, full of living room suggestions.

Going back to Norrgavel, buy the luxurious wool slippers. It may be pricy, but I haven’t found slippers anywhere else. Then walk down on Humlegårdsgatan. I didn't expect anything on this street, but it turns out to be another cluster of interior goods shops. First Dis Inredning, displaying gothic living and dining rooms with inspirations from traditional Japanese and Chinese furniture. Next the famous Alessi store, selling expensive but very fancy-looking kitchen items. Next door is another branch of Bang & Olufsen, a design speaker store. I now realize that their speakers are VERY expensive, more than 20,000 krona (more than 1,000 pounds).

Walking further to the east, find a store called Rum & Kök, which has a good stock of cooking tools, bath room items, etc. Find the designer towel stand that was on sale at John Wall for more than 1000 krona, whose price here is 595 krona. You really need to walk around Stockholm before buying anything.

Arrive at Östermalmstorg. Use a public toilet for 5 krona. Stop by at its saluhall (indoor food market). A very upper class vibe here, strictly European. Several fishmongers.

Take Tunnelbana to Medborgarplatsen. Here is another saluhall. This one is much more down to earth. Have late lunch at a kebab restaurant. A lamb kebab lunch set is delicious though the amount of lamb is rather small. For the first time here at the kebab restaurant, I encounter a person who doesn’t speak English. He may be a Turkish immigrant.

Go downstairs and visit Asian Livs, a Chinese food shop. Buy sesame oil.

Walk through Fatbursparken (a very nice park in Södermalm) to JFK, in order to buy a rice cooker. The shop owner remembers me. For some reason, this store has a pleasant atmosphere, which is missing in those two Japanese food stores on Tegnergatan. They give away a 2kg bag of rice because I bought a rice cooker for 880 krona. They also give me a stamp card. One stamp for 100 krona purchase. 20 stamps give you a 100 krona discount.

Going back to the Institute. The IT guy, Karl, comes to my office to set up my office computer. Now I can type Japanese letters.

Get a phonecall from Ameet in Kenya.

Go home and cook Japanese rice.

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