Gothenburg
Swedish culture on the global scale is now permanently on exhibition. The Museum of World Culture, Södra vägen 54 (tel. 46/31-632730; www.varldskulturmuseet.se), has been created to support blurring the boarders between countries and catalyzing inter-cultural discussions. While the museum itself is free, plenty of its exhibitions and activities will cost you. The building is a robust and intriguing design, awarded Sweden's Kasper Salin Prize for architecture. The Tabla Café and Tabla Restaurant, whose menus change with the exhibits in the museum, are on-site and are definitely worth a try.
Stockholm
The year 2006 will see the opening of the newest location of Rica Hotel, Scandinavia's largest hotel chain. Stockholm International Fairs decided to expand with this hotel to solidify its position as Scandinavia's leading exhibition center. The nineteen-story, 248-room hotel will have a glass façade and be one of the city's tallest, and most extravagant, buildings.
Making a big splash in the international travel market is the Rival Hotel, Mariatorget 3, (tel. 46/8-54578900; www.rival.se). Rival is Stockholm's first boutique hotel. It's been making waves ever since its recent opening. The hotel is home to a restaurant, a bar and bistro, a cinema, conference facilities, cocktail bar, cafe, and a bakery. A partnership with Sony allowed the hotel to get 32' plasma TVs and DVD players in all of the 99 rooms and to install a wireless communication system that runs throughout the building. The art deco designs and the film theme combine nicely.
Looking for the place to sit and have a relaxing, yet sophisticated dinner? Fredsgatan 12, Fredsgatan 12 (tel. 46/8-248052; www.fredsgatan12.com) is a hot, new dining ticket in Stockholm. The vibrant orange interior compliments the colorful menu. F12 is owned by Melker Anderson and Danyel Couet, who met when they were competing in the prestigious Bocuse d'Or. Both became silver medalists in that competition. These two know what it takes to run a grand restaurant and currently own five in Sweden. Dishes such as monkfish brandade with fennel and oyster, Cod bouillabaisse seafood aioli and suckling lamb with licorice and carrots can all be found on the menu of "experimental cuisine."
Melker Anderson and Danyel Couet's other new restaurant is Grille, Drottninggatan 89 (tel. 46/8-314530; www.grille.se). Food in this restaurant is cooked rotisserie-style, smoke grilled, charcoal grilled, grilled on the table, or in the Italian wood-fire oven. As the name implies, everything from meat, fish, shellfish and poultry to bread, vegetables and fruit is grilled. The restaurant is designed to look like ten different living rooms, so it's more like having dinner at home than going out to a restaurant.
New York and London have their SoHos, but Stockholm has SoFo, which encompasses the area south of Folkungagatan and east of Götgatan on Södermalm. This hip stretch of land is packed with all kinds of young and eclectic shops. If you're looking for clothes, everything from secondhand/vintage shops to designer boutiques can be found. Cafés, pubs, bazaars, and stores with all kinds of little trinkets line SoFo, making it the newest place for young people and artists of every discipline to nest.
Hidden in a red-brick warehouse, Magasin 3, Frihaamnan SE-115 56 (tel. 46/54-568040; www.magasin3.com), is Sweden's newest contemporary art museum. Both Swedish and international pieces are represented in the highly varied 600-work collection. A large quantity of the pieces are three-dimensional and nicely compliment the many paper, canvas, and photography works. Guided tours are available when reserved ahead of time. Admission is SEK 40 ($5.20) for adults and SEK 30 ($3.90) for children under 16.
Contemporary art is being used as a tool for global politics at the Färgfabriken Center for Contemporary Art and Architecture, Lövholmsbrinken 1 (tel. 46/86-6450707; www.fargfabriken.se). This place is a convention center, an exhibition center, a forum, and a meeting place. Paint used to be manufactured in the building, and the word färgfabriken actually means "the paint factory." The interior paint job, a la Jackson Pollack, reflects the old use of the building but paintings rarely hang on these walls. The exhibits change constantly, so call ahead to see if it is something that interests you. The Färgfabriken Foundation sponsors a variety of events, as well as art projects, so ask about them as well.
If you're into gourmet and ethnic foods, stop at Hötorgshallen, (www.hotorgshallen.se). This indoor market contains 32 cafes and stores that sell specialties from all over the world. Lamb, marmalade, shellfish, jam, rare vegetables, cheeses, meet, beef, poultry, flowers and a variety of homemade treats can be purchased here. The market dates from the 13th century, but it didn't get its name until 1644. The saluhall (market hall) was built originally in the 1880s and took four years to finish, but was demolished in 1953. A new one has now been built. It is the perfect place to grab something to eat and take in the cultural diffusion of Sweden.
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