What a fun day of eating! I've proven to myself today that good eating can be had no matter the circumstances. My morning started off with a traditional Swedish breakfast of liver loaf, cold cut, cheese, tomato, cucumber, etc...a typical smorgasboard. We left Connect Hotel Arlanda early in the morning for a day of sightseeing in Stockholm. The guided tour was fun and informative, giving me some background information on the city.
For me, the best part of the day was the free time in the afternoon. After much thought, I decided to seek out some traditional Swedish pastries and cakes. From talking to the cute and bubbly flight attendent on our way to Stockholm, I already had a good idea of some must-try desserts. I picked up a free copy of local restaurant directory completed with maps before we left the hotel. 
As luck would have it, the main feature article was on Billströms Konditori & Café, which has been in business since 1943. I admit that I am not particularly good with maps. However, I do have a decent instinct for direction such that I rarely get lost in a strange place. Somehow I managed to convince SL's cousin WL to join me on this little adventure so the two of us started walking to the sweet destination with minimal direction. Just imagine how ecstatic we were when we found the konditori!
My favourite were clearly the kanelknut and the prinsesstårta. The kanelknut is a yeasty bread of cinnamon swirl topped with pearl sugar. Unlike the North American-style of cinnamon bun, kanelknut is not at all sticky and the cinnamon flavour is more subtle. It makes for a great breakfast pastry to accompany a mug of coffee.
The prinsesstårta is everything that I imagined it to be: ethereally light. It is composed of a thin layer of sponge cake, raspberry jam, and whipped cream, all embraced by a thin layer of pale green marzipan. What you see in the picture is a single-slice serving of the cake. The whole cake actually looks a lot more impressive. The first time that I saw the pale green round dome topped with a pale pink marzipan rose, I immediately tried to think of a way to bring it back for SL to enjoy. It was just so cute and adorable in that fairytale kind of way!
On our way back to meet up with the group, WL and I popped in many of the interesting boutiques to check out some Scandinavian fashion. If I hadn't spent so much on clothes recently, I would definitely get myself a new outfit...
