As we searched through the narrow, winding streets of Gamla Stan for the perfect souvenirs and hidden gems of art and architecture to photograph, we stumbled upon a tiny tea house nestled into the bottom floor of an ancient building. Sweden has a national preference for coffee over tea, so it was quite surprising to us to find a tea house. A pleasant surprise, as the sky had turned grey and light drizzle had begun to fall. We stepped into the cheery tearoom out of the afternoon chill and found it pleasantly warm and bright. Like so much in Stockholm, it was decorated sparsely with plenty of blank wall visible between ornaments, and the tables were wooden and bare of dressing cloths. The seating, however, was quite comfortable, and the selection of available teas and accompanying pastry were ample. We were not hungry enough for a full high tea service, so we ordered just the smallest side of buns with clotted cream and preserves.

The buns were slightly softer than traditional British scones, but they paired well with the clotted cream and the preserves. We each got a pot of tea, though we ended up having to switch since Raz got a pot that was naturally too sweet for him, and flavored heavily with rose. My traditional oolong was much more his speed, and rose is my favorite flavor, so all was ideal after the switch.

The only thing that marred the experience of slowing our roll with a leisurely cup of tea was the tight-packing of the tables in the tiny, seventeenth century rooms. I realize that the establishment does need to have enough seating to allow extra patrons so that what is essentially a leisurely practice to remain profitable. However, when I have to move both my table and the one next to it until they are each touching the table to the far side of them, and I still have to turn sideways to slip out between tables, there has to be a fire code violated somewhere.