It was a very special walk on the Sunday a couple weeks ago. A day trip through the streets of the capitol of Sweden: Stockholm. I was on my way to Germany to see my parents and to celebrate “Karneval” in Köln. I flew to Stockholm with Norwegian Airlines from Oakland. A very affordable flight option. You can book the “low fare +” which includes two meals, 1 piece of luggage and a seat reservation. If you are a frugal traveler, you can fly even cheaper with the “low fare” which doesn’t include any of the above. I think that’s a very good system, especially for people with a small budget, who travel alone, don’t care about their seat or the food. I booked “low fare +” since I had luggage, but the food was absolutely not worth the money. You can bring your own sandwich and buy a drink in the duty free shop. When I landed in Arlanda, the first thing I noticed was the Oak hardwood floor throughout the terminal. My first thought was: I like this country.
In Stockholm I met our old friend Tobias. He and my husband were roommates in University and we haven’t seen each other since we moved to California. So it was a great opportunity to have a stop here and catch up. He lives in Södermalm, which is considered one of the hip islands of Stockholm. Lots of In-Cafés, bars, restaurants and shops can be found along the “Götgatan”, the main street of Södermalm.
Saturday night we went out and ate at the Kvarnen, a very traditional Swedish restaurant. Let me tell you, it’s all about “Kötbullar”, the Swedish meatballs. You probably know them anyway if you’re not a hermit and never have been at Ikea, the furniture chain from Sweden. I actually didn’t know that, but Kötbullar is one of the main dishes of the Swedes. You get them almost anywhere and always with the traditional lingonberry sauce and some kind of potato dish. I had “Ren- och Viltskavspanna” which is a reindeer stew. It was delicious and I was positively surprised that alcoholic beverages are not that overpriced as expected. A glass of wine was about $ 9 which is ok when you’re used to Silicon Valley prices. We hit a couple bars afterwards and it felt so good being in Europe. It’s just a different nightlife than the Americans have. Going out in the States often implies a specific plan. Sometimes it feels like being on a bus and even though you’d like to stay aboard until the last stop, the bus driver will tell you to get off one or two stops before that. Going out in Europe is much more relaxed, casual and unconventional. You start in a bar and let yourself drift. You never know where you might end up. It depends on your company, the mood and the drinks.
On Sunday we did our walking tour through the city. We strolled through Södermalm and crossed over to Gamla Stan (the Old Town) on the Mälarrampen. The view of the huge old houses is spectacular. The weather was actually pretty good for the last day of January and we even had a little bit of sunshine during the day. We wandered the little cobblestone alleys and I enjoyed all these old buildings and the atmosphere.
We had “fika” which means having a break and mostly includes coffee & cake or a pastry. Having a “fika” is a central part of Swedish life. Next stop was Riddarholmen, which is a tiny island east of Gamla Stan without any residents, but only official buildings. You have a wonderful view over to the “Stadshus”, where the Nobel Price banquets are being held. Then we made our way to the Royal Palast to see the changing of the guards. This ceremony has been a tradition since 1523! We didn’t go inside the palace but the outside is already very impressive. After checking out the Royal Gift Shop I’m almost 100 % sure that the Swedes love their Royals at least as much as the Brits.
Afterwards we took the boat to get to the island Djurgården. It is a peaceful, beautiful nature park full of museums, cafes and other attractions for all tastes and ages. Most known are probably the Vasa and the Skansen. Besides, there is the ABBA Museum! We only hit the store, but next time I want to see it all – Mamma Mia! Right next door is the Blå porten (blue door) where we had a late lunch. Most of the Cafés and Restaurants in Sweden are Self-Service. You walk up to the counter, order what you want and once you got your drinks & food, you’ll go and find a table. It is rather low key, but also mellow and keeps the prices reasonable since you don’t need a bunch of waiters.
In the rain we walked past the Vasa Museum and changed the island again. We walked along the Strandvägen through Östermalm and on to Norrmalm. We passed the Dramaten (Royal Dramatic Theatre) and perused the NK Stockholm, the Harrot’s of Sweden. The last stop of the day was the museum “Fotografiska”. A small, but very tasteful photography museum on Södermalm. The two exhibits “Up close” from Martin Schoeller and especially “Where the children sleep” from Magnus Wennman touched me very much.
After only about 40 hours I spent in this city, I can say that I fell in love. There is so much more I want to see and explore. Maybe in the summer, when the weather is a bit more pleasant. But these couple days in Stockholm also made me want to see more of Sweden and to learn more about its people. I’ll be back. Många Tack, Sverige! Tills nästa gång.
