Part 6: Road to Sweden with Alexander Skarsgard and Kate Bosworth

So who better to spend the Christmas holidays with than Alexander Skarsgard and fashionista girlfriend Kate Bosworth. And where better to spend Christmas than Sweden, which claims to be the home of Santa Claus. And, so dear hearts, please join us on our journey to the land of trolls, meatballs, and minimalist furniture...



1. Stockholm. Upon our arrival in Stockholm, we are taken to our hotel, the Rival Hotel, owned by Benny Andersson. That's right Benny Andersson of ABBA. We personally love ABBA, so we are quite excited (ok maybe not Mr. Fashionista so much, but we have certainly caught him singing Lay All Your Love on Me while watching Mamma Mia). We our led to our suite, which is beautifully decorated in gorge blonde Swedish furniture (but the fancy kind, not the kind you assemble yourself from a box a la Ikea) and a complimentary ABBA cd to listen to during our visit. Our suite overlooks Mariatorget, aka Maria Square, and we can just see the statue of Thor, covered in snow, from our balcony. Mr. Fashionista and I settle in and decide to change clothes and get nice and bundled for a day of sightseeing in the tundra. It's a little after noon, and we only have a couple of hours of daylight left, so we make our wardrobe change quick.

Christmas Market at Gamla Stan.



  

We meet Alex and Kate in Gamla Stan, or Old Town. We would have thought we would have been able to spot Alex anywhere, Mr. Tall, Blonde and Handsome. No problem, right? Of course, we kinda forgot everyone in Sweden is tall, blonde and handsome. Despite this, we are able to spot the world's sexiest vampire in a moment. Kate is there, too, and has an adorable Russian military-inspired coat on. After making our introductions (Alex seems a bit formal initially), we make our way through the Christmas market. Alex recommends we take in some traditional glogg (mulled wine) and reindeer sausages. Both are delicious and much needed fuel in the cold. Mr. Fashionista and I pick up a couple of troll Christmas ornaments and we make our way to the Royal Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. Alex explains a bit about the Royal Family in Sweden, stating that their existence dates from the 10th century. All we know is that Prince Carl Philip is a hottie.



Prince Carl Philip.



Ice skating at Kungstradgarden.



After the changing of the guard, Alex suggests that we go ice skating in Kungstradgarden. We immediately agree and make our way over to the ice skating rink. Alex has brought his own skates, but the rest of us must rent. After having a couple of gloggs for courage, we make our way onto the ice. Alex immediately starts spinning and gracefully making his way across the rink. Apparently, the mead and time have loosened him up a bit, and he is smiling and laughing like a child. We are in love. Unfortunately, he then skates a duet with Kate, although we do admit it is sweet. After skating for a bit, we decide to return to the hotel. After freshening up a bit, we meet up for a later dinner at Restaurant Mathias Dahlgren, which is currently ranked as the best restaurant in Sweden.

 

Mathias Dahlgren.


Once at the restaurant, we meet the chef, who is gracious and apparently knows Alex well. They exchange some words in Swedish, laugh, and then Alex tells us he would try not to include any of the stranger Swedish ingredients on the menu for us. We are, however, quite excited as the restaurant seems to be a mix of Old Swedish with new ideas and we can't wait. We are not disappointed and the meal is both delicious and memorable. After dinner, Mr. Fashionista and I are so exhausted that we insist that we must get back to the hotel, but will meet our hosts early tomorrow for some Swedish pancakes.

Stockholm skyline.

As promised, we wake up early the next day and meet our new friends for breakfast. There are several kinds of Swedish pancakes, and we opt for the raggmunk, which are crepe like pancakes eaten with pork rinds and lingonberry jam. They are delicious, and despite the cold, I am beginning to wonder if we should move to Sweden. Next on the agenda, Alex and Mr. Fashionista decide to go on some sort of ice fishing excursion. Kate and I have wisely opted for a spa day, located on the fourth floor of one of Sweden's best known department stores, Ahlens. I've chosen the 90 minute Swedish massage, because I assume that Swedish massages must be better at the source. They are, indeed, and are much needed after walking around in the cold yesterday.





Smorgasbord at Operakallaren.



Kate and I then decide to go shopping as we both have some last minute shopping to do before Christmas, which happens to be tomorrow, and we are already in a department store, after all! I decide to pick up some sweaters with traditional Scandinavian patterns as gifts for family back home. Kate buys a new mink coat. Afterwards, we head out and visit the marzipan boat, where the men meet us. The marzipan boat is apparently parked every Christmas and filled with sweet delights. I am in heaven as I adore marzipan.

As it is Christmas Eve, Kate and Alex are going to spend the evening and Christmas day with family, so Mr. Fashionista and I will be left to our own devices. Alex recommends attending the Julevangeliet, which is a traditional Christmas Eve service, at Storkyrkan, a Lutheran Cathedral built in the 15th Century. We happily comply with his plan, but not before picking up a couple more reindeer sasuages. Yum. Sorry Santa. Storkyrkan is a beautiful church and even though we don't know the traditional Swedish Christmas songs, the mood is joyous and we are feeling full of yuletide cheer by the time we stumble back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow's smorgasbord.

On Christmas morning, Mr. Fashionista and I sleep in and then head to a traditional smorgasbord at Operakalleren. The building, built in 1787, is opulent and gold and very Old World and the food is traditional and buffet-style, as a good smorgasbord should be. We have a wonderful time, stuff ourselves silly, stroll around Old Town, and head back to the hotel for some shut eye, before our journey to the Lapland.





Ice Suite at Ice Hotel.

2. Ice Hotel, the Aurora Borealis and the Sami.  The next day, we meet Alex and Kate at the airport and take a private jet to Kiruna. To get us in the mood for our next destination, Kate serves us all some Absolut martinis. Why martinis? Well,  because we are on our way to spend a night in the Ice Hotel, with its world famous Ice Bar. The Ice Hotel is made entirely of ice and Mr. Fashionista and I don't quite believe it until we get there. But sure enough, there it is--an igloo.



We head to the hotel, put our bags in our Ice suites and meet back up, bundled as can be, in the Ice Bar with our gracious hosts. There we drink some more ice cold vodka and discuss tomorrow's events, which will  include a dog sledding adventure to see the Northern Lights. Mr. Fashionista and I, after too many drinks, retire to our ice suite, and send for some hot food and drink to enjoy in our igloo. The entire space looks like a scene from Tron. It is all pretty surreal. We then cuddle up in our double thermal sleeping bag atop a block of ice and reindeer skin and dream of a warm fire.

Aurora Borealis.

The next day, we wake up bright and early, enjoy a hot breakfast and hot coffee, and meet up with Alex and Kate for a quick dog sledding safety traininng session. And mush, off we go whizzing through the snow for what seems like forever until...we see the sky lit up in brilliant oranges and greens. The northern lights are breathtaking. We break out our hot chocolate thermoses and our cameras and just gaze at a vision which can only be seen in a handful of places in the world.

After getting dozens of pictures, we mush on surrounded by the brilliant aurora borealis until we reach our final destination for the evening: a goathi. A goathi is what the Sami, the indigenous people of this region, traditionally lived in. Inside, we are served a traditional Sami meal. Alex looks gorge in the firelight. And I find my mind wandering to those fantastic Eric as Viking scenes in True Blood.

Yes, Sweden captures the imagination. And Mr. Fashionista and I are certain to be back to enjoy the land of Vikings and Sami in the daylight.

Until next time dancing queens, adjo!