Still in the Stocks

Well, here I am, still in the Stocks, for a final day. I'm told it's a beautiful city – and I may have said something to that effect yesterday – but let me tell you, when she's rainy, and overcast, and windy, and cold – she's a fierce old mistress.

I started out in shorts. By the time I had reached the end of the street I thought it was too late to go back for my butterfly outfit (these, of course, are my thermals. They are black. I may explain more of the name later... but not today.) This was a mistake. You see today was the first day when I thought, wow, it's a wee bit nippy. I was not cold, but I recognized that it was not warm. Me and cold have a special relationship.



I started off the day wandering through Old Town once more, strolling through all the spots that I missed the first time I was there. Then I jumped on the bus, and headed to a place called Herman's. Herman's is an all you can eat vegetarian restaurant that I was told by one of my friends I needed to explore. I've had enough Ethiopian and Indian food to understand that vegetarian restaurants don't have to be terrible – and I do so like the word buffet. Except when it says buffet, and you expect an all you can eat buffet, but no – it's just a “buffet style” and you are baffled, and then saddened.

This would be an all you can eat place. Success. Not one of those “eat all you can, make a me lich!” style joints. (Right now a ginger out in the real world is repeating that line, with the proper voice. Good for him.)

Now, I rolled up to this restaurant at 10:50. It opened at 11. I didn't feel right being the first person in, so I jumped on another blue bus, and rode it as far as it would go. I seemed to end up at a mall / hospital. I don't know? It was weird. I thought I'd just use the WC and leave.

Let me tell you why a washroom without urinals is a terrible idea. I stood in line for seven minutes – SEVEN – this may not seem long to women who need to use the washrooms after an opera ends – but for me? My goodness, that is a long time! All for the thirty seconds required. A mens washrooms without one urinal. I've never seen such a thing before. I bet there are eight in the womens, and some sneaky devil just put the signs on wrong. Or maybe here women where pants, and men wear dresses, and I was just confused!

But then it was back on the bus, and back to the restaurant, just before noon. The place was packed. But luckily it had three outdoor patios that descended down the hillside. They are prepared for guests in the hundreds – though I don't imagine the food would last.

The meal? 98K. It came with a soda too. Let me tell you what I saw? The most magical thing – an all you can eat vat of potato salad! Wait – that wasn't the good thing. I didn't even mean to type that. I saw the potato salad, and made sure to stay 100% away from it. None was touched by me, this meal! What I did enjoy was the all you can eat vat of tzatziki sauce. Now that was a delight to be sure.

There was also the freshest Greek salad you've ever had (with no lettuce to get in the way) and a Sheppard's pie with cheese so gooey, it was like the coating of a Ninja Turtles pizza. There was also curry which was... eh? Not so good. But everything else, great.

It was to the point where I would eat a plate, then read some of my book (embracing my inner Bill Bryson) then eat another plate, read some, and so on and so on, for over seventy minutes. I thought about staying the full three hours – but no, I had things to do, didn't I?

I did not.

After the meal, I took a final bus to the north part of town, bought some juice, and then headed back home. It was cold, it was rainy, and I was digesting more food than I had for the last three weeks combined. Three weeks. Has it been that long? Time is so relative. The school year would be getting into full swing by now.

Ha ha, I say. Ha ha.



And that was that. My day ended at four, but started much earlier than usual, thanks to my roommate who couldn't pack quietly – but we'll hear no more of him.

I checked out what to do in Copenhagen, and then settled in for a long quiet night of internetting.

Goodbye Stockholm, hello Copenhagen. Tomorrow will be my first experience, this trip, on the train as well. What fun. Country number seven, here I come.