The best cocktails in town.

Left Stockholm for Malmo on the morning of 15th of Feb. With the fast express train it took only 4 hours or smooth and quiet journey thru the thickly wooded forests and farm lands of south Sweden. There is something so convenient and refreshing to get on a comfortable train in the city center of one town and end up in the city center of the next, bypassing the airports.

The culture shock was not as pronounced than what i would later receive in Amsterdam and for sure in Paris. Malmo's sophistication and civility does not trail too much behind that of Stockholm. The city is much smaller, lacking the major waterways and the archipelago so much associated with charm of Stockholm, but buildings are similarly constructed and there is a vibrant and orderly city life, in a scale smaller than the capital.

Although we did most of our play in the neighboring metropolis, Copenhagen, (see later entry) a nice 20 min train ride across the strait, separating the Denmark's largest island from Sweden, the surprise of the visit awaited me in mother's and her Swedish husband's new house in a small Malmo suburb, Oxia.

Lennart Friberg, whom I have been calling 'prince', is a true connoisseur of spirits and cocktails. He has converted a small room in the second floar of their house, with a window overlooking the adjacent farmland, into a Schick and well stocked bar with a refrigerator, cocktail glasses, stereo, bar stools with a countertop, and a small backgammon set laid on the table lounge. A bright Martini shaped neon sign, catches your attention as you enter. The only thing he lacks is actual running water, but that was probably against the building codes.

Next we try some of the single malt i got him from the NYC airport. Then I hear all the details and history about scotch and whiskey production with the aid of coffee table book on single malts laying on the lounge table. He treats his hobby passionately and you can certainly taste in the drinks. From then on visiting the bar in their house became a frequent activity and certainly one of the highlights of the trip, sometimes to the annoyance of mother, not wanting his son to revert to full fledged alcoholism.

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