A Little about Sweden, Stockholm Museums and Taco Joints

On “Your guide to Museums in Stockholm” published by a Swedish government agency, there are over ninety entries!  There seems to be a museum for everything, from the standard Science & Technology, or Natural History, to very specific themes, such as the Polismuseet (Swedish Police Museum), Snus & Tändstickmuseum (Museum of Swedish Nicotine Pouches and Matches), or Spritmuseum (Museum of Spirits, which is not about ghosts or mediums, but about alcoholic drinks, LOL).  My husband and I had just one week to explore the city, so for several museums, it was just a photo of the façade and move on, such as Sveriges Riksdag (Swedish Parliament), Nobel Prize Museum, Nordiska Museet (all about Nordic traditions), and ABBA the Museum (devoted to the iconic group):  

However, we did visit four of the most renowned museums in the city:

The Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet, Galärvarvsvägen 14, Djurgården, Sweden):

The burnt red building is entirely dedicated to warship Vasa, which sank on its maiden trip in 1628, and remained in the Baltic Sea for 333 years.  Almost the entire ship has been recovered, restored and re-assembled in this fascinating museum, where the ship’s faulty design, intricate sculptures and many artefacts, are explained within the context of 17th century Sweden.  It is not an overstatement to say that this is a one of a kind museum:

Sweden’s Museum of Art and Design (Nationalmuseum, Museikajen 3, 103 24, Stockholm):

Three levels house a vast collection of domestic and international pieces, from (click below, for slide show) Carl Larsson’s mural in the entry hall, or The Lady with the Veil – The Artist’s Wife by Alexander Roslin, to one of Rembrandt’s early self-portraits or a medieval Muslim vase from Alhambra.  The museum also has a breath-taking sculpture garden:

Museum of Photography (Fotografiska, Stadsgårdshamnen 22 116 45 Stockholm):

In spite of being founded relatively recently, in 2010, this is a happening place for contemporary photography; so much so that it currently has four sister locations, in New York City (USA), Berlin (Germany), Shanghai (China), and Tallinn (Estonia).  The Swedish location has four large halls with constantly rotating exhibitions.  When we visited the museum, we were able to see (click below for slideshow): “Berlin Works” by Jeff Cowen (American); “Photo Synthesis” by Shepard Fairey (American); and the Prix Pictet Award 2024 recipients (total of 12), with the theme “Human”, shown below, “Where the World is Melting” by Ragnar Axelsson, from Iceland, and “Luciérnaga (Firefly)” by Yael Martínez, from Mexico:

Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan, Gamla Stan, Stockholm).  It is the oldest church in Stockholm, and although not very large in size, it certainly is one of the most important churches in all Sweden, where coronations, royal weddings and state celebrations have taken place over the centuries.  Construction started in the 13th century in Gothic style, but the façade was completely remodelled in a Baroque style in the 18th century, to better complement the architecture of the surrounding buildings, especially the Royal Palace, seen to the right of the church in the photo below:

The medieval indoor walls, columns and ceilings have been preserved, as well as pieces from those centuries, such as the sculpture of “St. George and the Dragon” (1489, attributed to Bernt Notke): 

And “The Sundog Painting”, featuring one of the earliest depictions of Stockholm in colour, along with the atmospheric refracted spots that give the piece its title, observed in 1535.  An original painting was created shortly after the event, but is now lost; the painting shown below is believed to be a true copy, created in 1636:

From the mid 1300s until the end of the Middle Ages, numerous side chapels were added to the main nave, and eventually the structure was expanded to house everything under a high ceiling.  Some of the elaborate furnishings include (click below for slide show): a seven-branch candelabrum (1600s), the silver main altar piece (1652),  the royal pews, back organ and pulpit (which was constructed between 1698 and 1702).  On our last full day in Stockholm, we were lucky enough to participate in a short prayer for World Peace, guided from the pulpit by a deacon:

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After the very pleasant surprise of good contemporary Mexican food at CABO restaurant in Linköping, I thought trying some more in Stockholm was a most.  After an internet search, I learned that Tex-Mex packed hard shell tacos became popular in Sweden in the 1990s, but that the number of fresh-ingredient and more Mexican taco chains started to increase in the 2010s after El Taco Truck was the first, well, taco truck, in the country.  They started in 2012 with one truck, modelling after the popular taco trucks in California, and now the company has three, plus a small restaurant, and a grocery food line that also supplies the rest of the Nordic countries. 

Another chain, called Dirty Taco because of their fusion flavours, has five locations, with a branch near Fotografiska, so after visiting the museum, we headed to Dirty Taco on Folkungagatan (Folkungagatan 126, 116 30 Stockholm):

They offer a few starters, such as fries, lobster spring rolls, spicy Korean chicken, pepper poppers, and nachos, but we went for a taco trio (as seen at the top of this post).  We chose the Sticky Chicken (Fried chicken in a sweet and spicy soy sauce glaze with chili pickled cucumber, crushed peanuts and green onions, photo below, left), Fish (Double breaded cod with lime and ginger mayo, chili pickled cucumber, coriander and green onion, photo below, centre) and the most recommended online, Dirty Pig (Confit pork with spicy cabbage, dirty mayo, sriracha and pickled red onion, photo below, right):

When they tell you straight that you are getting fusion food, there is no prejudice about the food not being “authentic”, so both my husband and I enjoyed these delicious tacos, as very well executed renditions of Asian chicken, breaded fish and pulled pork, with Mexican notes, such as the tortillas, of course, or the pickled red onions, but unapologetically using ingredients like siracha, soy sauce and ginger mayo.  Other taco offerings included beef bulgogi, Asian shrimp, Haloumi, and Banh Mi.  We ended up ordering some fries, and they were excellent, too.  

On our last full day in Sweden, we decided to take a ferry to Östermalm, a centric Stockholm district, and explore around there, with no particular plan, to see what we would see.  Walking to the west from the pier, is the Royal Dramatic Theatre – Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, popularly known as Dramaten (Nybroplan 111 47 Stockholm):

There were no performances that week, due to summer break, but we spotted a bronze statue outside the building, for a good photo op.  It was of Margaretha Krook (1925-2002), a celebrated stage and film actress, who did not want a statue of herself, finding them “cold and uninviting”; after her death, the theatre decided to still go ahead with the homage, but the statue is equipped with a heating system that keeps it at 37ºC.  In the photo below, the statue’s polished abdomen is an indication of many people rubbing her belly (apparently to feel the warmth), but instead of disrespecting the statue, I protected her with my umbrella, so she would not get wet and cold:

From there we continued further west, and ended up at Sergel’s Square (Sergels Torg, Sergels torg 5, 111 57, Stockholm), a centric public square, with access to a Cultural Centre, lots of shopping, Central Station, a sunken plaza, and a roundabout centred around a tall obelisk named “Crystal – vertical accent in glass and steel” (Krystall – vertikal accent i glas och stål by Edvin Öhrström): 

I did a little shopping, and as we were leaving, we spotted a small restaurant called TRES, on the south end, and lo and behold, it was a Mexican restaurant!  TRES – A Mexican Love Affair (Beridarebanan 5, 111 51 Stockholm):

We ended up having an early supper there.  The dining area was decorated with stylized Mexican skeleton posters, chopped paper strings, and a clever neon sign:

Our order, photos below, clockwise from top right: scallop and shrimp ceviche, fries with spicy creamy sauce, and their combo cuate (pal combination):  birria (beef) with broth, campechano (which in Mexico means a mixed dish, this taco had crumbled pork rind, steak and chorizo) and cochinita (pork):

Even though some of the flavours were not quite Mexican, like the cochinita, kudos to TRES for a great salsa verde (green tomatillo sauce) and especially for using corn tortillas with the majority of their tacos.  I am allergic to shrimp, so I could not try the ceviche, but the creamy look reminded me of my recipe for beach cocktail.  The birria was a good rendition of restaurant style birria tacos, so trendy these days, and I liked their campechano (mixed); I have mentioned the term before, but I have not shared an actual recipe yet, maybe I should try one soon.  Finally, I do not know what it was with potatoes cooked in any way in Sweden, but they always tasted amazing!