Solveig R.
Yelp
WARNING: Not what it used to be. :(
They say don't be afraid of change. Change is good.
But change can also be bad. And I'm afraid my beloved Owl is not the same.
I used to adore Ugglan (The Owl). But I hadn't been for a year, and when I went back this time I was shocked to see how it has altered.
For one thing, even though we went at 6pm, we were charged 50kr to get in. I've heard that it's normal to pay after 6 or 7 there, but I've never had to pay that early before. The guard - who was smoking the entire time - was also rather rude to us, and searched our bags and confiscated my friend's Loka water bottle 'because alcohol isn't allowed'.
But whatever, we paid and surrendered our water bottles and embarked down the seedy, metal, industrial-looking stairway.
That's one thing I liked and still do like about this place: the weird industrial look. You feel like you're going down into some secret lab, except it looks more like a dirty alley. And yet somehow it's awesome! Although, the metal grate stairs are pretty damn scary to walk down when you're wearing heels.
Anyway. Ugglan is known for pingis - the Swedish cutesy term for ping-pong. It is also now the only game you can play for free. In one room there is a ping-pong table, and whoever wants to joins in for 'around the world' ping-pong, hitting the ball once and continuing to run around in a circle. It's a lot of fun really, and a nice way to start interacting with some Swedes!
However, all of the other times I have been here in the past, you were allowed to play other games too. The game room was unsupervised and you could put in a few coins to play air hockey, or play around with boule or darts of your own accord. Not so anymore! You have to pay to get into the games room and participate in any such frivolities.
The girl in the cash register made a big deal about how if we kept our receipts from the entrance fee, then we would get a discount on the games. Wait, what? So, if you pay the mandatory entrance fee, you get a discount on games? But you can't get in without paying the fee, which means you couldn't play games anyway....so....basically...there is no discount. The discount is a lie.
Downstairs used to also have dirt floors (a lot of it, at least) and plenty of sofas. Now the entire place has hardwood floors and the cozy sofas have been replaced with weird hard chairs and low tables. Bleh.
The reason it still gets three stars from me is that it's still cool and still fun. But the service is worse and the prices are high, and it's not as cool as it was. Very sad!