The acute reader may have wondered, as I did upon rereading my own recent posts, how I could have known that the La Bohème I saw was set in Stockholm, and not, say Oslo. Two details: The presence of dörrvakter in front of Café Momus, and the need to use a kod to get into a building.
dörrvakt: Bouncers wear distinctive medallions in Stockholm. They’re certified, like cabbies in New York. Stockholm nightclubs have a nasty case of the velvet rope, to which Swedes, rational in every other respect (well, save a further respect or two) flock like looters to regional Ba’ath party headquarters. Bouncers do seem to play fair, though: subscribe to the dress code and you’ll get in on a first come, first served basis, without regard for genetic defects or a total lack of self-esteem.
I suspect that all this standing in line is yet another altruistic gesture. It frees up places like Mosebacke and Elverket for the rest of us. New York’s equivalent is the standing in line for Saturday brunch—an opportunity to pay $14 for 2 eggs and a slab of béarnaise on English muffins, made by the Ecuadorian busboy, instead of quaffing quiche at Le Gamin.
kod: Apartment buildings here do not have doormen. Instead they have a keypad onto to which tenants type a communal 4-digit code to gain entrance to the lobby. These codes rarely change in theory, and never change in practice. When a Stockholmer gives a party, it is considered good manners to send the code along in the email invitation. These emails get forwarded with abandon. By now, I can gain access to a decent number of choice building lobbies, should I be so inclinedAnna’s code is 1812. Joachim’s code is 6889..
Not to worry, though, I’ve been assured this is completely safe. My landlady told me she left her (now my) door unlocked all the time, as the other tenants are so “nice”. No doubt, the friends of their friends are nice too. And their friends. So perhaps this is worth trying if you live in an East Village tenement: Make 30 or so copies of the key to your lobby and send them to your guests next time you have a party. Encourage your neighbors to do the same. That’s not really their code, above.
Really.Let me know how it goes.
Are you OK with your solids and liquids, Stefan? I only ask because of the way that bearnaise now comes in slabs, while quiche is quaffed. Or are you just demonstrating your unholy capacity for alliteration?
Out of acute curiosity, did any readers actually ask how you knew the opera was set in Stockholm and not, say, Oslo? Or, perhaps, was it a shockingly lame device to show off your newly rediscovered European Cosmopolitanism?
Aaah, Le Gamin Café … During my only – so far – visit to New York we had breakfast there almost every day, after having read about the place in Let’s Go NY. It was definitely worth the trouble of going from the hotel (upper west side) on an empty stomach.