On Wednesday morning, I took the Thalys to Amsterdam to conduct some interviews, and came back on Thursday night. I came back too late for a recruiting event I intended to attend in a fancy Paris restaurant. On Friday afternoon, I drove to CDG with Coby to catch the Air France to Stockholm, Sweden. Upon our arrival, we took the Arlanda Express train to the center of town. Andreas, Coby’s friend, picked us up in his Volvo and drove us to his apartment, which he lent us for the weekend. We enjoyed some minttu liqueur, a Finnish 100-proof pepperminty drink that is both hot and cold at the same time. We also met a friend of Andreas who is a cargo 747 pilot for Singapore Airlines. Andreas has been bartending for 19 years in Stockholm, so he knew the scene inside and out. He and Coby met in Hawaii a couple of summers ago. (Coby is from Hawaii)
Our first stop was at “Riche”, a bar/nightclub in the center of Stockholm. Coby and I were in a very celebratory mood, so we ordered a bottle of Laurent Perrier while Andreas simultaneously ordered some Rum Orange and Jagermeisters. The place resembled an old Parisian café, equipped with a massive wooden bar and friendly people of all ages. We then discovered a “secret” passage to another room with a different ambience. We then moved to a different place, but I didn’t catch its name. We ended up on the Patricia boat, (http://www.patricia.st/) a pretty sleazy but huge and awesome floating club. There are scores of small rooms to explore, a large dance floor, many bars including one of the rooftop, and casino tables! Coby and I were very surprised when we exited to the rooftop and saw daylight at 3:30-4am! We called it a day shortly afterwards, with an unexpected stop at the Kebab House.
On Saturday, we got up quite late and had lunch with about 10 people we had met through Andreas. I had delicious gravad lax (marinated salmon) with a glass of Spanish white wine. We somehow ended up paying the bill for everyone, and Coby and I still wonder how that happened. Andreas then took us for a long car ride around Stockholm to show us different sights. After relaxing for a short while at his girlfriend’s place drinking Joseph Perrier, we had dinner at “Grill”, a trendy restaurant where every single item is prepared using actual fire, either roasted, grilled, toasted, smoked etc… I had a half grilled Maine Lobster and a mixed grilled seafood salad, served with delicious French rouille. We complemented the meal with reds from Australia, France, California and Portugal.
We were full, energetic and ready for another pretty wild night in Stockholm! We visited the Hotellet, (http://www.hotellet.info/) a very classy restaurant, bar and nightclub. The interior decoration was absolutely cool. It felt like a wine cave but with very modern furniture and a gigantic white lit bar. We made friends with some Lebanese locals while sipping Perrier-Joüet. We then went to another place for a short while, before ending the night at Patricia again, before we had so much fun the night before. I played some roulette while Coby and Andreas preferred blackjack. The most incredible hand was dealt: 5 aces in a row! After losing about 10 euros, we decided to pull away from the table and order a Piper-Heidsieck. By the time we finished the bottle, the lights were on and the place was closing down. No kebabs this time, straight to bed.
Sunday morning was a bit painful, so we relaxed around the apartment and had breakfast on a terrace near the center of town. We then went for a boat cruise around Stockholm, and saw many different attractions from the water. The city is absolutely charming, with dozens of briges, waterways, cathedrals and other historical buildings. It is referred to as the “Venice of the North”. I will soon post pictures as its beauty is not justified by my words. After saying goodbye to Andreas, we headed for Arlanda and were back to our Fonty mansion around 10pm. Exhausting but exhilarating weekend!
On Monday, we had the maid come in for the first time in the mansion. I was a bit ashamed, as there were empty wine bottles, cheese crusts, bread crumbs and dishes all over the house. It took her two hours to do the kitchen and living room, which stayed clean for about an hour. Some of my roommates are somewhat neglectful to clean after themselves, and the others including myself don’t feel like cleaning up for them, so it just piles up… A real frat house…
On Tuesday, I played golf in the morning and shot an excellent (for me) +5 on nine holes. The Alumni-Student tournament is this weekend, and should be a lot of fun. 2 students will be paired to two alumni, and I’m told that the Alumni have never lost the tournament to date. There are several players of high calibre in my promotion, so I think we’ll be able to give them a ride for their money.
Tuesday night, I made a pretty dumb mistake without consequences. I was invited for a francophone dinner at the “Auberge du Vieux Moulin”, an INSEAD house in Montigny-sur-Loing. However, there is a long tradition of dinner every Tuesdays at “Le Vieux Moulin”, another INSEAD house in Moret-sur-Loing, about 15 minutes from Montigny-sur-Loing. The instructions were to arrive around 8:30pm and bring a bottle of wine as well as cheese. I showed up at LVM instead of the Auberge du Vieux Moulin, and was the first one to arrive (for the dinner I wasn’t invited for). They let me in and offered a drink while the others arrived. As people poured in, I forgot that it was supposed to be a French dinner and discussed with the various guests. (most of whom I did not know as they were from the next promotion) About halfway through the dinner, I realized that no one was speaking French! I looked in my organizer and realized my blunder. Soon after dinner was over, I stealthily escaped to make it to the Auberge, where I had confirmed my presence. I apologized to the organizers of the dinner I was late for, and will soon apologize to the organizers of the dinner I had crashed.
On Wednesday, the maid was back and I was even more ashamed when she realized that Monday’s work would have to be done all over again…
Pictures from Stockholm to follow soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment