Coffee marketing by two American companies in Norway

A couple of examples of how two American companies are trying to cash in on the coffee culture of Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden.  I took these pictures in Oslo last week:
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Seven Eleven, the ubiquitous U.S.-based convenience store, has hundreds of stores in Scandinavia, and has been able to brand itself as a destination for quick, quality coffee.  These high end automatic machines can brew you a cup of espresso worthy of a high end Italian coffee bar:
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Starbucks, on the other hand, is trying to hook Norwegians on ice lattes as a way of differentiation.  Last week you could spot several young girls in Starbucks uniforms deployed in different parts of the busy pedestrian street of Karl Johans Gate, in the center of Oslo, delivering literally thousands of sample ice lattes supplied from this delivery truck parked nearby. 

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Stockholm City Bikes

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Even though I didn't have the time to use it, if you're going to stay in Stockholm for more than three days between April and October, a great way to tour the city is to use the Stockholm City Bikes program.  To use the system, you first buy either a season card or a 3-day card (depending on how long you're going to stay) and then pick up and return a bike at any of the system's locations, of which there are plenty.  Amazing what you can do when people respect and take care of the public good. For hours of operation, instructions, restrictions and other details you can go to the Stockholm City Bike's website (there's plenty of useful information there).

Stockholm Central Train Station

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View of the waiting room at Stockholm's Central Train Station.  There is a McDonalds there, which can be a cheap alternative to local eateries once in a while.  The fastest way to get from the airport to the train station is by taking the Arlanda Express (second and third pictures), an ultra modern, nicely appointed high-speed train that makes the trip in 20 minutes and departs every ten (cost is Kr 240 or about $44 for a one way ticket).

 

Dear Chipotle: this is getting ridiculous

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Dear Chipotle: I visit your restaurant at Pembroke Pines, FL three times a week and I think that the chicken burrito bowl is the world's most perfect food. But lately something's been happening. Apparently I'm not the only one who likes your food, and the lines have gotten ridiculous. Today I had 25 people in front of me, and at least 10 behind, with some more leaving when they saw how long the line was. A couple of guys in my office also love Chipotle but have stopped going because they can't stand the wait. I love you guys but I can't spend 20 minutes of my lunch break standing in line just to order my food. Another restaurant in the Pembroke Pines area would come in handy. If that is not an option, perhaps you can open a second cash register to handle take-out orders and not hold back the line of dine-in patrons. Heck, I would even go as far as suggesting that you raise your prices if that could keep some people away: I would gladly pay $1.00 more for my burrito bowl if I didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes to place my order. Anyway, I'll try back tomorrow. Hopefully the line won't go all the way to the door.