Sweden Part 5: Örebro

Several people asked us, “Why did you go to Örebro?” It’s just a random metropolitan area in the middle of Sweden. Well, we had worked our way across to Western Sweden, and it was the perfect place to stop on our way back across to the East side. It does have a famous castle there, complete with a random hand sticking out of the water pointing at something, a peaceful river that flows through the city, and a lively nightlife (we heard drunk people yelling below our hotel window into the wee hours of the morning). It was actually sort of jolly.

There appears to be a fairly large Middle Eastern population there, and we saw lots of kebab and falafel shops that smelled so good as we walked past! There is an old town, Wadköping, (the largest open-air museum), where you can see traditional 18th and 19th century houses and craftsman shops. It also happens to be the hometown of Dustin’s favorite punk band – Millencolin. So what’s not to like? We even ate some good stuff there too!

Conveniently, there was an English pub connected to our hotel, called The Bishops Arms. It was 4th of July and we wanted to eat something more American than herring or preserved salmon, so we chose the pub (English. American. Whatever. haha) We had planned to eat outside on their patio, but as soon as it started thundering and raining, we had to be content with the inside. The lighting was low (hence a slightly blurry picture, which normally wouldn’t make the cut for this blog :)), but the food was comforting and the beer refreshing!

I ordered nachos, which came with salsa, guacamole, and a garnish of pea shoots. Dustin’s penne pasta with steak, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, fresh greens, and shaved Parmesan was pretty satisfying as well! My mom got a croque monsieur sandwich that was simple and comforting, and my dad’s hamburger was one of the most delicious we’d had in a while – the cucumber sauce that they spread on it was the perfect fresh condiment!

The rain took a brief hiatus, just in time for us to take a walk around the town after dinner. Live music reverberated from almost every corner of the city, lights from bars, restaurants, and clubs reflected in the river. People spilled out of outdoor seating areas onto the sidewalk, laughing and talking, and others lined up outside of two-story night clubs with deep pounding beats coming from the inside. Back in our room, it was interesting getting to sleep, but we did not regret our quick stop in this city!

My one complaint? Our room was one of several unfortunate ones – a giant poster/advertisement made of an almost-opaque white material was hung on the outside of the hotel building, covering over windows and blocking what could have been a castle-view. Awesome. But hey, we were thankful for a cozy bed, a satisfying dinner, and the sound of the city bustling below!