Dear W:
Heidi was right! Södermalm was pretty much a bust. Incredibly tame, almost boring. As it happens, I had an old travel article specifically about Södermalm, and wouldn't you know, most of its list of four or five recommended spots no longer exist! One casualty was particularly amusing: it seems one happening place which the article called "a trendy hang-out for the radical intelligentsia" was now a theater performing "The Sound of Music."
Still, I got to see the quintessentially Stockholm color palette in all its glory: the mustard yellows, peaches, pale pinks and beiges with occasional accents of pale green. It all makes for a particularly gorgeous effect in the late afternoon, when the golden light falls on the old facades of, say, Gamla Stan, making them appear to glow from within. Today, on Söder itself, the sun came out for a few brief moments towards the end of the day, and as the late light fell on the old houses at the intersection of Brännkyrkagatan and Bettmansgatan, I experienced just a few moments of sheer magic.
And just a block or two south I found a lovely restaurang och bar called Söders Hjärta ("In the Heart of Söder") where I had an excellent dinner (with wine) for $40, incredibly reasonable by Stockholm standards. There was this heavenly appetizer of shrimp in a cream dill sauce served over a thin, potato pancake (itself over a bed of lettuce) topped with just a sprinkle of caviar. The duck entree was equally delicious, albeit not quite as exotic. You know I live for the meals.
Hope all is well.
Love, Stan
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