Day 11

So, when I woke up this morning the power was off in my hotel room. Bedside light, no good. Entrance light, no good. Bathroom light, no good. TV, no good. Contemplated having a shower by the light of my laptop but decided against it. Just as I was about to call reception all the lights came on. Good timing I suppose. Got down to breakfast and found out Niklas, Jens and Guido had had similar experiences.

Ten minute walk to the office – weather in Stockholm is about the same as Landskrona, perhaps a little colder but not much. Tracked down Serg (a friend from ASSA ABLOY in Melbourne who arrived in Sweden the same day I did) and had a good catch up. He’s taken a permanent job working in the ASSA ABLOY head office in Stockholm so, unlike me, he’s here for good (or at least that’s the plan). I’m hoping to make it back to Stockholm one weekend for a more social visit before I leave. He’s offered to put me up so should be doable.

Meetings all day. Met with Tommy Andersson, the IT Manager here, who gave Guido and I an introduction to the place. Lars Norberg, IT Applications, then gave us a presentation on Portwise (the reverse proxy used for Keypoint authentication) and HFM. Presentation on CiP by Marcus Hvied and Serg followed by one on EPiServer/OneWeb/Keypoint by Helene Jagstedt; then discussed the migration of remaining servers to Volvo IT with Tommy, Jens and Guido after lunch. Phew!

Ost and Skinka roll (that’s ham and cheese by the way) from 7/11 for lunch. Left the office around 4.30pm and headed to the ‘old town’. Getting dark, cold and snowing a little – not really great sightseeing weather but you take what you can get. Once we crossed the bridge into the old part of Stockholm the snow stopped and the buildings blocked most of the cold. It was beautiful. As in most old parts of Europe I was very impressed by the picturesque buildings lining each side of little cobblestone streets. The authenticity was spoilt slightly by the souvenier shops, thai massage parlour and a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop.

Stopped at a fancy looking restaurant that had a fixed three-course dinner for SEK 250 (about $35), which was pretty good for the location. Entrée was shrimp in sauce on toast – it was actually better than it sounds. Steak, vegetables and giant potato wedges for main and a beautiful crème brûlée for dessert. Yum.

Twenty minute walk back to the hotel and here I am, in bed getting ready for sleep. Hope the photos I took tonight come out.