Travel Log: Stockholm

It has been quite a while since I blogged about anything.  I have been out of the country for a week and a half, which is my story for why it's been so long.  This trip took me to Stockholm, Sweden.  The main purpose for my trip was to attend a global training through work.  We had a week long session with people from 25 different countries.  It was the second session for us, with our last one in Shanghai in April, so I have that to look forward to.  It is a great group and I had fun getting to know them all a little better on this trip.  Thanks a bunch to Erik who took everyone in the group around all week showing them his home city.  He went above and beyond to make everyone welcome and have fun! 

Here's a picture of most of the group on game night, which turned into a dance party, then stage diving, people diving, and then on to further antics. 

Teddy arrived in Stockholm late afternoon on Friday.  Luckily he had slept most of the way there, so he freshened up and we headed out for a walk around Old Town and to have some dinner.  That first night we went to an Italian place called Michelangelo's.  It was quite good.  It was so great to have Teddy there and catch up on our week. 

My training was at the Grand Hotel, and Teddy and I decided to just stay there for our long weekend as well.  It was a beautiful hotel in a perfect location to see Stockholm.  Here's a night view.

On Saturday, Teddy and I had tickets to Stockholm's Beer and Whiskey festival.  This was held a little bit out of the main city in Nacka Strand.  It was similar to a trade show, but for beer, whiskey, wine, etc.  Teddy and I had some fun trying all the different beers, and sampling some local food from some vendors there.  In particular we had a reindeer kabob, which was really delicious.  Here are a couple of shots from the festival.

In line to get in

Tasting some beer

One big beer barrel of fun!

Crowd shot

After checking out the festival and having a few beers, we decided to head back to the hotel to do some more exploring of Old Town.  Teddy and I enjoyed exploring the palace, narrow streets, squares, shops and cafes as we walked through this area of Stockholm.  I could imagine that this part of the city is very similar to what is was like centuries ago.  It's almost like going back in time, and was just fantastic.  We also noticed that there were pictures all over the place of the royal family.  In particular of one of the daughters on her wedding day.  They were EVERYWHERE.  Well, we found out that she had just gotten married, and her wedding day was June 19, 2010 - the same day as Teddy and my wedding.  :) 

Palace on the right with the obelisk and church in the background of the square

Palace

Palace guard

One of the main squares in Old Town

Other side of the square

Trying out some Swedish hats

View across from Old Town 

Front of the palace

We went back to the hotel to clean up for dinner and see if the concierge could recommend a place and get us reservations.  So, Teddy goes up to the concierge and this is how this conversation goes:

Teddy:  Hi, can you recommend a place for us for dinner?  I really want some traditional Swedish food, like Swedish meatballs.

Concierge:  (while rolling his eyes - and thinking this stupid American thinks all we eat is meatballs here) No problem, I recommend Den Gyldene Freden.  Its (sigh) meatballs are quite good. 

Teddy:  Great!  Thank you.  (then he turns to me and says) This is that place we saw when we were walking around Old Town, and were calling it the Den of Golden Freedom.

Concierge:  (rolling his eyes again) What time would you like to make reservations...

So, we went to the Den of Golden Freedom for dinner, like two idiots laughing about the name thinking that it can't be close to right and we're just trying to decipher Swedish in our own stupid way.  When we got to the restaurant, we found out that it actually means The Gilded Peace - so we weren't too far off.  Surprisingly enough.  Teddy did, in fact, get the Swedish meatballs, which were delicious and I got the venison, which was equally good.

Here we are in the Den of Golden Freedom enjoying our traditional Swedish food

On Sunday we decided to head out to Djurgarden.  Djurgarden used to be the King's hunting grounds, but it is now a very large park where there are many museums.  I had found a 90 minute walk around the park in our travel book that we had planned to do.  It was supposed to be around 3 miles.  We did make various stops at the Vasa museum and Skansen the outdoor museum, but this "short" walk took us over 4 hours and was no where near 3 miles.  After we were nearly done we saw a map that had the trail marked, and we walked about 10 miles that day.  We were a little bit tired.  But it was a beautiful place.  The trees were starting to change color for the fall with bright reds, yellows and oranges. 

View from the bridge on the way to Djurgarden

At the Vasa museum which houses a ship from the 16th century that was underwater for over 300 years before it was salvaged and restored at this museum.  This ship capsized and sunk after sailing for less than a nautical mile on its maiden voyage.  It was incredible to see it in  person at the museum. 

An exhibit at the museum discussing preservation with a demonstration of that by having bread from 2000 sealed in an air tight bag.  It was a little gross.

Nordic Museum

Skansen the outdoor museum/zoo

This is where we decided this path had to be longer than 3 miles, the Manilla school

And we're still walking... 

Skansen from across the river

That night we decided to explore the city central area to find a place for dinner.  After walking around for a while we settled on the Restauran Prinsen.  We had a delicious meal.  Teddy had the cod and I had veal.  We decided after to head back to the hotel for some dessert and a drink before bed.  The hotel bar was just gorgeous, and they had a delicious chocolate creme brulee with fresh berries. 

The hotel bar

Enjoying a drink and some dessert

Mmmmmm.  Chocolate creme brulee

On Monday we decided to explore more of the city center, and tour guide Teddy mapped out a route to check out various parts of the city.  He cracked me up with his commentary on the various stops on the tour. 

An outdoor market selling fruits, vegatables, hats, purses, etc.

Konserthuset the location of the Nobel prize presentations

The GT office - look at all that signage

Church built by King Adolf Frederik a murdered Prime Minister is buried in the cemetery in the church yard

The old planetarium

View of the city from the park the planetarium was in

Leaves starting to change for fall

Stockholm Public Library

Stockholm School of Economics

19th Century church

After this walk we decided to do a short boat tour of the city.  This was quite nice and took us around the various islands we had been walking around on. 

That night for dinner we headed back to Old Town and went to Glenfiddich Warehouse No. 68 for dinner.  It had a great selection of Swedish beers.  We started with a reindeer appetizer and Teddy had Elk for dinner and I had the Cod.  It was delicious.  We enjoyed a few beers and then went back to the hotel to pack up for an early morning to head to the airport for our flight home. 

Sunset walking between Old Town and Riddar-Holmen

Sunset walking back to the hotel

Teddy and I enjoying sunset

We just loved Stockholm.  It was such a beautiful city with friendly people and I'm so glad that I got to see it with Teddy.  Since my heritage is German and Swedish I always wanted to visit the countries that my family came from.  I went to Germany after college, but never Sweden.  I was so happy to have the opportunity to see where my grandparents families came from.  It was a great trip. 

We're headed home!

Steak Chili

This week I made a new recipe for steak chili.  I found a good recipe in the food network magazine, but as with most recipes I made some changes to make it my own.  It was delicious, with some good spice and heartiness. We ended up with A LOT of leftovers, so I probably should have cut this recipe in half when I made it, but I'm going to try to do something fun with what's left.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs of sirloin steak cut into 2 inch cubes
1 12 oz can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 12 oz can of kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 onion chopped
1-1/2 12 oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 3.5 oz cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped
3/4 cup of chili powder
1 tablespoon of cumin
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 green onion sliced
sour cream

Heat a saute pan and the olive oil and add the steak.  Brown on all sides.  Do this in batches so that the pan doesn't get over crowded and transfer the browned meat to a 5 - 6 quart slow cooker.  Once all the meat is browned add the chopped onion to the saute pan and let cook until it starts to get soft about 3 minutes.  (leave a little bite in the onion for some texture in the chili)  Add the garlic, chipolte peppers with any adobo sauce, chili powder, and cumin.  Let this cook together for another 2 - 3 minutes.  Then add 1 1/2 cups of water and the diced tomatoes.  Scrape up any bits off the bottom of the pan and mix all the spices into the liquid and let this cook for another 2- 3 minutes.  Add the mixture to the slow cooker with the meat, pour in the beans and stir to incorporate everything together.  Put the slow cooker on low and let it cook for 6 hours.

Once done ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the green onion and a tablespoon of sour cream, and it is ready for eating!

This was a nice recipe to do on Sunday.  I was able to get everything in the slow cooker in the morning and could run around working on different things all day knowing that dinner was already taken care of. 

Weekend Recap: Not a whole lot going on for us

Well, this weekend we had grand plans originally to get away to Lake Geneva with friends, but time got away from us to really get it booked and set.  So, we had a whole weekend with nothing going on. 

Both Teddy and I had brutal weeks at work, so Friday we treated ourselves to a nice dinner out at Cooper's Hawk, which is one of our favorites.  We're wine club members there.  Everything was delicious and we enjoyed getting some time together. 

Saturday was errand day.  We had big plans for work in the yard, but it rained pretty much all day, and then I threw my back out.  So, not much was really getting done other than some laundry, dry cleaning and taking Fozzie for his hair cut.

While we didn't have much happening this weekend, my cousin Chris and his wife Sara did.  Sara gave birth to a baby girl at 1:24pm on Saturday.  Her name is Ava Morgan and she was 7lbs and 20 1/2 inches long.  Here are a few pictures of the pretty girl and her parents.

What a cutie!  I can't wait to meet her and get her something pink.  Congratulations to Chris and Sara on your new daughter!

Sunday has been spent working in the yard.  We started the process of getting things ready for winter.  We pulled out our garden and some plants that weren't looking too hot in pots.  Then we decided to close the pool.  We haven't used it for a few weeks since the weather has been cool, and it's a lot easier to do it before it gets too cold out there.  So, Teddy and I got going on getting things ready.  His parents even came over to help with some of the final steps in the process.  We were SO glad to get that done.  We're looking forward to opening it again in about 7 months.  :)

Tonight we're going to enjoy some chili I've been cooking all day (recipe to come) and relax before a new week begins.

Weekend Recap: Art Fair, Baby Shower, and Bears

Last weekend was fairly uneventful.  On Saturday Teddy and I went and picked up our new iPhones.

We have been having fun downloading some app's and taking advantage of all its features.  It's quite an improvement over the Blackberry's we had previously. 

After picking up the phones we headed over to the Downer's Grove Art Fair.  We grabbed some lunch at Another Round and spent the rest of the day checking out the different booths at the art fair.

Here I am in front of a line of booths

Teddy and me

Hey, stop taking pictures and give me my phone back!

On Sunday I went to my cousin Chris and his wife Sara's baby shower.  Teddy headed to his sister Erica's place to watch the Bear's game.  Chris and Sara are expecting their bundle to come the first week of October, and they are going to be surprised whether it is a boy or a girl.  We can't wait to find out which one it is.  The shower was at my Aunt Diane's house, and was very nice.  It was great to visit with my aunts and cousins and all the kids.  We had fun passing around the twins like hot potatoes.  Chris and Sara got some great gifts, with Chris being jealous of all the cool outfits the baby was getting.  If you're looking for a birthday or Christmas gift for Chris, go for footie pajamas.  Apparently he really wants some! :)  Here are some pictures of the party.

Here's the happy couple

Here's me, mom, Sara and Aunt Diane waiting for gift time!

Me with that little peanut Cole

Sara with Cole

Brenna with Carter

Scott & Deborah

The hungry caterpillar blanket Chris and Sara got

More gift opening

Up at the Bear's game, Teddy was having some fun with video capturing some antics of our niece and nephew and the excitement of the Bear's game home opener. 

Emily Rockin Out

Kris and Carson mesmerized by TV - and the rest of the group getting pumped (?) for the Bears

It was a nice relaxing weekend, and we're looking forward to a few more of these before the holiday season hits.



Stuffed Banana Peppers

In my last blog I said I'd post a recipe for some stuffed banana peppers.  A while back I was at a restaurant with my family and we ordered these as an appetizer, and they were AMAZING!  So, I figured I'd try a quick version of these at home.  The farmers market had some nice looking banana peppers and I had some left over Italian sausage from making stuffed zucchini the week before, so I was ready to experiment.

Ingredients

4 banana peppers
1/2 lb of bulk mild Italian sausage
1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Then cut the tops off the banana peppers and with a small spoon scoop out the seeds.  Then I took small amounts of the sausage and pushed it into the pepper trying to get it all the way down to the bottom.  After the peppers were stuffed I placed them in a small casserole dish and covered them with marinara sauce, covered the dish and put it in the oven for 45 minutes.  After 45 minutes I removed the cover, sprinkled on the cheese and put it back in the oven for 10 more minutes.  It will then be ready to enjoy.

These were so delicious.  The heat from the pepper becomes more mild as you cook it, and tastes great with the Italian sausage.  It tasted pretty close the the restaurant version that was basing it off of.  Next time I think I might mix it up a little bit with the filling by using hot Italian sausage and some breadcrumbs and seasoning, but I thought for never making it before it turned out pretty great.

Weekend Recap: 2 Weekends of Birthdays, Projects, and More.

Yet again I have fallen behind in my blogging and never posted about last weekend.  Last weekend was pretty hectic.  Although Saturday during the day we were able to find some time to relax.  I was able to read some of my latest book.

While Teddy was able to catch up on some sleep.

Saturday night we headed out to Wicker park for Stacy's birthday dinner.  She picked a new place to try called People's Lounge.  It had been months since we all had hung out together, so it was great to see everyone.  Here's a picture of the group enjoying dinner.

After dinner we headed out for a few more drinks at a neighborhood bar.  It was great to catch up with everyone, and we definitely agreed that we need to see each other more often!

Sunday we finally did some of the maintenance on the wood in the front of our house.  We have wood around the front door and the window casing in front that requires an annual sanding and polyurethane coating.  It's a pretty lengthy process starting with cleaning the wood, letting it dry, sanding it, cleaning and drying again.  And then putting on two coats of the poly with about 4 hours in between.  So, it took pretty much all day.  Sunday was also Jennifer's birthday!  Happy birthday to Jennifer.  So, after finishing the project we called her up to sing happy birthday and make plans to party with her to celebrate.

Which leads us to this weekend.  This weekend was Labor Day!  Who doesn't love a long weekend?  Friday night Teddy and I headed up to Round Lake to celebrate Jennifer's birthday with her.  We met her and her friend Doug at Austin's.

Why this was the only picture we took of that night, I'm not really sure.  But we all had some good food and good drinks and good laughs to celebrate the birthday festivities.  Later on we headed back to Jennifer's place to hang out and play a few games.  It was great to spend some time with her and we were happy to be able to party with her for her birthday.

Saturday was errand day for Teddy and I.  We headed to the farmer's market in the morning (my favorite weekend activity).  We got all the fixens for a crudite plate for a BBQ with my parents, sister and her husband on Sunday.  After the farmer's market we dropped off our purchases at home and headed out to the photographer for our wedding to turn in our final order.  I cannot wait to see our final wedding album.  Hopefully we'll have it back before Thanksgiving to share with the family.  The rest of Saturday was some more shopping stops (Sam's, Jewel, etc.) and then I made some stuffed banana peppers (recipe to come in a future blog) and eggplant parmesan for dinner.

Sunday we had my parents, Sara and Michael over for a "pool party".  Well, we had hoped it'd be a pool party, but it was a little too cold.  So, we ended up spending some time catching up on the back deck.  It had been far too long since we had seen them.  Sara brought a bunch of delicious appetizers for lunch and then I made BBQ ribs and corn served along side my mom's potato salad and baked beans for dinner.  It was all delicious.  We spent the rest of the night playing some games and finished it off with some dessert of rainbow cones that dad picked up earlier that day for all of us.  This is a classic from my childhood that is an absolute favorite. 

Monday Teddy and I enjoyed a terrific day together.  After our morning run we decided to head to the park to play some tennis.  I am NOT a tennis player.  I played badminton in high school and it is quite different to hit a super bouncy ball and an extremely light birdy.  Plus I'm just way out of practice in general.  So, I fully expected to make Teddy run all over that court, but to my surprise we actually got a few good volleys going. 

After that we grabbed some lunch at home and decided to go catch a movie.  We decided to see Going the Distance.

It was a girl (Drew Barrymore) meets boy (Justin Long) story where the girl has to leave NYC to move home to San Francisco in 6 weeks after they fall in love, and they try to make it work long distance.  Another predictable romantic comedy?  Maybe, but this was a rated R romantic comedy, and it got fairly raunchy.  It was ripe with funny one liners, hilarious scenes, and plenty of awkward humor.  All in all Teddy and I really liked it. 

After the movie we headed home to make some dinner and spend the rest of our long weekend relaxing together. 

All in all, two great weekends back to back.