Stockholm Summary

Stockholm was a comfortable place to start my journey, being so similar to places back “home”. Because of that, though, it’s been a little harder to get to gettin’ on this blog; below is a summary of the highlights of my visit, enjoy!

What I LOVED

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The ABBA Museum. I would never have put this place on my bucket list, but while I was on the island Djurgården one morning, meaning to walk through the green covered plat and sit with my Stockholm planning guide, I noticed the ABBA Museum staring me in the face and having just opened, there were very few folks darkening its doors. Woot! In I went in honor of the bestie, for her up-until-then inexplicable love of the band. What a great museum! It prides itself on being interactive and interactive, it was! I had a wonderful time with the other tourists, reading about the band’s history and life then trying my hand at various talents the museum has to offer. I attempted (and failed) to mix a track as the producer would, sing a song, dance to a music video, and generally laughed a lot at the others who braved getting on stage behind a virtual ABBA to replicate their movements in concert. It was a treat. The ABBA Museum. Who knew?

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The Vasa Museum. This Museum is dedicated to the warship Vasa which sank in the Baltic Sea less than a mile off Stockholm’s shore in 1628 and was found and raised over 300 years later, almost perfectly preserved. The explanation of how the ship was found, then how it was resurrected was well explained and even more incredibly executed. Turns out this ship sank just hours after it’s maiden departure because the ballast which balances the big vessel wasn’t correctly measured and a light wind just knocked ‘er over. Bananas.

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Djurgården (and all the greens). One of my visits to this beautiful island had me up and out of the apt by 6:00. It was definitely early enough that I had almost the entire island to myself. I was glorious! Recently, I led a pretty sedentary life back in the States and though I’ll always choose to be outside, I didn’t take hikes or long walks through the forest. Maybe I took it for granted, and maybe I was busy trying to fix other things in my life that weren’t getting fixed. In any case, walking through the lush greenery and alongside the water, watching the birds and listening to their songs just felt right. I stood 5 feet from a Heron, saw a mother Mallard keeping her 6 babies safe, and most wonderful of all, I spotted a family of Loons. If asked what animal I’d like to be as a child, I would always reply that I’d like to be a Loon because they could both fly AND swim, but they weren’t typically prey nor hunter. I’d never seen baby Loons before so I sat on the empty pier watching them for longer than they’d probably have liked.
Meandering through the park portion of Djurgården, I came across the Rosendals Trädgård which was a big garden, nursery, restaurant, bar, and event venue. Stunning, and the place I felt most at home in Stockholm, even though it was technically closed. Being an open space, I still took advantage of the various seating areas surrounded by foliage and flowers – happy place. I eventually landed on some picnic tables with smart coverings where I sat and wrote, my fingers flying over the keyboard of their own accord.
I stopped at a restaurant on the water between Djurgården and östermalm to have some coffee which I liberally spiked with cardamom – multiple cups. Smiling while I watched a multi-generational family catching up and chasing the toddler away from the water’s edge.

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Walking and strolling, seeing and feeling. In some activity research, I read about Monteliusvägen being an excellent place to get some good views of Stockholm from up high(er). I spent quite a while at this little park on a hill over the water where a 180 degree view of the city kept me enthralled. From there, it was a day for strolling. And strolling. And more strolling. I was ultimately trying to make my way to the Fotografiska Museum but what should have been a 45 minute walk took nearly 3 hours – meandering and wrong turns galore. It didn’t help that once I got within eyesight of the museum, which was at the bottom of the cliff from where it was glimpsed, there was construction on the cliff so the stairs down were closed to the public. Mishaps being part of the fun of travelling, I could only laugh. There was a family wanting a picture of themselves at the clifftop and when they thanked me in Spanish, I responded in kind and happily walked away to their surprised guffaws. Well, another half mile of zigzagging down through the detour, and I made it!

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On another super HOT day, there was no way I was going to hard walk in the heat again, not for anything. So, after the morning in the apartment, I went in search of the swimming beach which was supposedly located close to the apartment. As is my new custom, I got lost – again. After sweating my way through a couple miles of disorientation, I asked directions and a nice customer at the mini mart tried to send me to somewhere I instinctively knew was wrong. Cut to finally finding my intended spot, yes, extremely close to the apartment, and basically shedding my exterior clothes as I ran into the water. Gloriously cool, clean water with a sandy floor enveloped me with pleasure. Finally! I made it to the Baltic Sea for a swim.

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The Subway. Stockholm’s mass transit options are stellar, taking you anywhere you want to go, at any time, in short order. Even though Stockholm is quite walk-able, sometimes the day’s plan just lent itself to saving time with the subway or bus. Each Subway station also included exhibits from local artists to increase the curb appeal. Some of these installations were brilliant!

Norr Mälarstrand. This is a street along the waterfront of the island Kungsholmen where I was staying. I’d read mention of a restaurant called Mälarpaviljongen in an activity ad for the most Insta worthy bars and found it was very close to the apartment on Norr Mälarstrand, so off I went to find it. The area where Malarpaviljongen Restaurant is located is full of the most beautiful people on the planet, tourist or not. I just looked and drank in the beauty and atmosphere without attempting to engage. On another adventure, I walked the entire street on my way back to the apartment, stopping every so often to watch snippets of a movie on my phone, people watch, or enjoy the sun sinking into the horizon (at, oh, 23:30??).

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The views of the Stockholm Archipelago on my way out. As I left the city by giant ferry, the vistas of beautiful islands, sea birds, adventurous souls on jet skis using the the ferry’s wake as a jump, sailboats, etc… were amazing.

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What I could do without

Stockholm’s Culture. Please take this as my humble opinion based on only 11 days in the city with limited funds and few locals to influence my judgement. If you live in Sweden, are of Swedish descent, or are a Swede-o-phile (technically, a Suecophile), I’m sure you’re a lovely individual.

Although most everyone in Stockholm speaks fluent English, the city does not rely on tourism for its economy, so finding anything repeated in English was almost impossible. Street signs. Subway stops. Instructions for anything. Food menus. The list goes on… I know, I know, I’m a spoiled English speaker who relies too heavily on the fact it’s become the “universal” language in Europe, but c’mon; I barely heard Swedish spoken anywhere. Help a tourist out, will ya?

Swedes do not find the fact that the English words entrance and exit are translated to infart and utfart in Swedish remotely giggle-worthy.

I have the sneaking suspicion that Stockholm residents are actually Stepford people. If I were ever attacked in the city (would never happen, the place is safer than safe) and a local saw it happen, they would continue calmly on their way without flinching as though propelled by a super natural force to keep cool.