Three Kinds of Stockholmian Luxuary

To keep my mind off sore ankles and more than annoying spam offers, I might as well muse a bit over a few pitches in Stockholm. Well, pitches this, pitches that, they might depend on your very personal inclinations I suppose. But shopping, theatre, cafés and walking in a fair city, oh I can't think of anyone who wouldn't approve of at least one of those things!

Even though I don't really want to think about one of my favourite things to do, walking, right now, I'm going to do that anyway, just for you *I hope the martyr's crown is quite visible now* - I think a very nice thing to do before the actual walking commence is to have a coffee.

I basically never ever drink coffee at home, if you didn't know that by now, I'm a teaperson. Even if I could, which I can't, make a decent cup of coffee - let's just say that all those kittenbuyers over the years that I've *treated* with my coffee making skills, most of them have been really gracious and bought a kitten anyway... - I so very much prefer tea over coffee most of the times. The exception to the rule is that I like a latte now and then, after lunch, or as a treat. A sort of social thing, a bit of simple luxury, a thing to perk me up if it's a gloomy day, or too early, too cold, too anything... As long as I can do without *said the -oholic* I think it's kind of ok to have a coffee now and then, and always with milk of course.

This interlude was brought to you just as an introduction to the place where I quite regularly get my coffee nowadays - since my favourite coffeechain Coffee Cup was merged into the lesser good chain Espresso House... -

Wayne's Coffee at the Central Station. Perfectly situated when you get off the c-train and want to have a latte on the go. The ambiance is nice, the music too, and I bet it's really cosy in there wintertime with all the candles on the tables, watching the people rushing by to and from the trains... The staff is nice and the coffee is decent. I rarely get anything but a latte to go, but I think their display of treats to eat looks really pleasing to the eye, don't you agree?

After having grabbed that coffee you might want to head down to the *posh* department store NK (Nordiska Kompaniet). It looks pretty on the outside, and yes it offers quite a bit of nice merchandise inside, but to tell you my view I think it's kind of shabby, apart from the pricetags that is, and frankly, the place is *slightly* too full of itself and it's importance... Well, I suppose I'm not easily impressed by this kind of surface, sure I like my bit of luxury, but I rarely find it in department stores.

I think they pretty often can be described as boring consumptiontemples worshipping massproduction. I prefer small shops, with one off's kind of wares, the really well made ones that someone has put their heart and soul into while making, with personal and caring service with a more longterm thinking. In my opinion, to support those shops, to wear and use those kind of goods really is luxury at its best, at least when it comes to the more superficial luxuries in life that stems from shopping.

If your heart desires the more cultural luxuries that can be found at theatres, you might want to continue walking down to Nybroplan - where this amazing photo exhibition still is on until November - and the Royal Dramatic Theatre. As I've said before, I'm not really a regular visitor of any kind of theatre anymore, unless it's a movie one that is. But if you're unlike me fond of theatres and stageproductions, I'm sure you'll find something worth while seeing and experience at this, the most distinguished of all theatres in Stockholm, founded in the late 18th century.

Myself, I'm not going to join you at the theatre, instead just very figuratively heading home now, for some well deserved rest and relaxation.