Stockholm Brewing Company

Quizzed on how best to assimilate a new culture, travel writer and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain once uttered the famous line: “Drink heavily with locals whenever possible.” I never met the man, but still I miss him and his deft writing. The Opening a Bottle series is about getting pickled with people far cooler than I am, in whatever city I’ve washed up in. I land in Stockholm as the leaves start to fade brown, and the mercury is already dropping. My gloveless hands turn alabaster as I doggedly cycle around the island of Djurgården, or "museum island." I gape at the once-sunken Viking boat. I dodge the ABBA tribute. I take aim at hilltop open air museum Skansen, then ditch my wheels (out of bounds). I swear a lot. I get really fucking cold.