Stockholm, Sweden
Growing up with two working parents, my brother and I were always watched after by AuPairs. We had AuPairs from all over Europe, but tended towards Scandinavians. They became part of our family, and we keep in touch with some of them. Two that I was particularly close with live in Stockholm, and have been suggesting since they were my nannies (when I was 7 and 10) that I come visit. So I did this past week, and they showed me a wonderful time! Sanna is project manager at a market research firm, and Anna is a police officer!
Disclaimer: Everything in Sweden is EXTREMELY expensive compared to everywhere else in Europe, but especially based on the American dollar. Though they are part of the EU, they remain on their own Swedish koruna as its a very strong currency. So American student budget travelers, be warned.
Logistics:
- Flew Scandinavian Airlines directly from Prague to Stockholm’s largest airport, Arlanda. The flight was an easy hour and a half, and every gets a free checked bag - simple pleasures. From Arlanda, you can take bus (Swebus) or train (Arlanda Express) to the center of Stockholm for 40 or 20 minutes respectively, each have free WiFi as well.
- Public transportation in the city, as with most places in Europe, is great - trams, buses and metros make it easy to get around the downtown area and the suburbs, where most Swedes reside.
Accommodations:
- My first two nights I spent at the flats of my aupairs, who each live in different southern suburbs of the city. The last night we spent in the Nordic Sea hotel for its proximity to the train station for my early morning flight. Though we were very disappointed by the hotel’s lack of room service, the continental breakfast spread in the morning (read: my massive consumption of Swedish meatballs) nearly made up for it. The hotel also has the Absolut Ice Bar in it, if you’re looking for an expensive albeit “typical” Swedish experience.
I arrived in the early evening, and we took it easy that night. Sanna and I had a drink at the sky bar of the Royal Viking Hotel, and then bought pizza and a bottle of wine to eat at her apartment. (Note: In Sweden, the drinking age is 18, and is actually enforced, unlike most of Europe. However, the legal age to buy alcohol is 21, and it can only be bought in special alcohol-only stores - much like in Maryland.) We spent the night catching up, and then finished our wine while watching Hotel Rwanda. Such is life.
The next morning we headed back to the city, to cloudy skies, 30 degrees and drizzle. Our day was spent walking around the city, specifically the “old town,” which has remained pretty much the same since it was built in the 11th and 12th centuries. We wandered through the narrow alleyways and cellars of medieval times, admired the Gamla Stan and stood in the courtyard where Marie Antoinette’s Swedish lover was murdered for treason. As we walked through these quaint historical squares, we reminded of the old history adage: In every adorable square in Europe, you have to remember how many people were executed there.
We also visited two museums:
- Vasa Museum - During the 30 Years’ War, to boat Sweden’s naval power, the king commissioned a force to build a huge and beautiful ship for battle. As a diplomatic act, he invited dignitaries from all over Europe to witness its maiden voyage. And the Vasa set out onto the sea in ideal conditions … and then sank just before it left Stockholm’s harbor. Incredibly embarrassed, no one bothered to recover the ship until 333 years later, when they excavated the entire ship nearly perfectly intact. The museum is centered around the enormous ship itself, and features exhibits all about the 30 Years War and naval warfare during that time period. It also has a fun interactive feature where you can attempt to “build” a ship that sails more successfully than the Vasa (anything is greater than zero, right?)
- Historiska Museet (History Museum) - Stockholm’s main history museum. Well-curated, with lots of interesting artifacts. We checked out the Viking exhibit, which has many of Sweden’s famous rune stones, and the Gold Room, that has an impressive display of treasures found all over Sweden and plundered during various wars.
Our next stop was a traditional Swedish candy store - this one was in the town center, called Carmella. I stocked up on lots of chocolate, and a few “traditional” candies - sour, black licorice flavored…gross. Then I met up with Anna, as Sanna had a work commitment and continuing logically, we had dinner after dessert at a cozy little place called Tullen. I got the Swedish meatballs I was craving, served alongside mashed potatoes and ligon berries. Absolutely delicious.
We moved along to the Scandic Malmen hotel bar, which was packed with a hip, young crowded. Anna and I had great mojitos and talked there for awhile before heading to meet Sanna and her colleagues at the swanky Himmel bar. It was another sky bar on the 26th floor of an apartment building, with sweeping views of all of Stockholm.
Most of the next day was spent shopping in downtown Stockholm, and the shopping is great! Lots of different types of stores and fashions (duh, they’re Swedes, they have to look good), most notably Brothers & Sisters, Gina Tricot, Cubus and of course, H&M. In fact, there were 5 different H&M stores on the same block. It was heavenly really.
That night, Anna and I went to her sister, Karin’s, apartment for a dinner party to celebrate her birthday. It was a true cultural experience for me, as I got to hang out with about 20 Swedish 30-somethings, talking about life while drinking wine and Swedish cider (yummy but waaaaaay too sweet for me).
Afterwards, we went back into the city to meet up with Sanna again at a club called Soap Bar. I somehow managed to get in, though the club was 25+. When Anna commented on how many cute guys were there, I laughed - It’s Sweden! There’s tons of good-looking guys everywhere! But this was particularly true of this crowd: most of the men and women there could have been models. The club also played some great music, which of course included my favorite Swedish artist - Robyn! It was a fantastic night, that we topped off by eating candy in the hotel room before “napping” so I could catch my flight in the morning.
And while I would have preferred better weather, Stockholm was a great city and it was a wonderful weekend. I would definitely recommend stopping there if you have the opportunity - just do it in the summer.
