Our trip to Stockholm at the end of April was brimming with sunshine and the Old Town area (Gamla Stan) and the river-frontage of mansions, cafes and sightseeing boats had a pretty picturesque appeal. The city felt like a combination of Denmark (with its green copper roofed churches), Venice (with the canals) and the chilled out cafe culture similar to Melbourne. Unfortunately for us, the at the time we visited, ice was still blocking up the canals and many island tours had not started for the tourist season. Despite this, the city was full of beautiful green parklands and flowers.
Arriving in Stockholm
Our flight arrived at Arlanda airport and we took a shuttle bus to the city centre. We were dropped off next to the main train station that was located about 15 minutes away from the Old Town and main tourist sites. The first stop was at the Tourist Information office where we purchased a couple of 24 hour public transport passes - similar to the Oyster card in London. We also bought tickets for an afternoon boat tour and obtained directions to the World Heritage Listed Drottningholm Palace that we would visit on Sunday.
Exploring Stockholm
Stockholm is located on the freshwater Lake Malaren that connects to the Baltic Sea and is surrounded by islands that form the Stockholm archipelago. As a result, no matter where you are in the city, you often see both a canal and many boats.
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| At the canals |
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| Green copper topped Church near the train station |
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| Ice blocking up the canal in late April |
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| One of great Swedish rulers |
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| The expensive real estate along the waterway |
Cultural Night
By coincidence, we had timed our trip to Stockholm on the same weekend as a 'Cultural Night' whereby free entertainment was organised at many locations across the city, and a number of the museums were extending their opening hours with no entrance fee.
Vasa Museum
However, disappointingly our trip coincided with the closure and restoration period for the number one attraction in Stockholm - The Vasa Museum. The 17th century warship Vasa sunk on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was salvaged and preserved for public display 333 years later.
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| The Vasa Museum |
First Hotel Reisen
We stayed at the First Hotel Reisen that came with high recommendations on TripAdvisor. We agree with this assessment as the service and helpfulness of the staff was amazing. The hotel is located in Gamla Stan - the area dating back to the 13th century and contains the original medieval cobblestone layout.
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| In the cobblestone laneway outside our hotel |
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| Stockholm Cathedral |
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| Inside Gamla Stan |
Finding Food
As we had arrived in Stockholm at midday, our first priority was to find something to eat. Hot-dogs from street vendors had been a very tasty snack in nearby Denmark and we decided (and were not disappointed) with the Swedish variety. As we ate on the go, we explored the nearby public square where a community festival was in action with a Japanese theme including aikido and origami demonstrations.
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| The hot-dog vendor |
Opera House
We took a short walk around the Opera House area, where the most expensive real estate in the city was located along the waterways. With cafes full of patrons making the most of the sunshine and people watching, we decided to join them and spent a good hour relaxing over a bowl of nachos and some burnt tasting coffee.
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| Opera House |
Djurgarden
The esplanade area is connected via bridge to the Djurgarden (The Royal Game Park) - a large urban park popular with the locals that is similar to Hyde Park in London or Central Park in Manhattan. It is also the location of a number of historical buildings including the Nordic Museum.
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| Outside the Nordic Museum |
Royal Canal Tour
After our short walk around the area, we walked to the pier for the Royal Canal Tour located around the corner. The boat tour route circles the Djurgarden, passing by the Grona Lund (amusement park), the open air museum Skansen and several other buildings on the southern bank.
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| Route of the Canal Tour |
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| Nordic Museum from the water |
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| The Amusement Park |
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| One of the historic buildings in the Djurgarden |
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| An 19th century factory |
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| One of the mansions along the waterway |
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| An old Dutch style windmill |
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| The giraffe crane |
Great Hotel Service
We had not made any restaurant reservations for dinner, optimistically thinking that we could just walk into any Tripadvisor recommended place. However, we soon found out that the rest of the Stockholm tourist population had similar thoughts and our hotel receptionists advised us that the majority of the top 10 recommended restaurants were fully booked for the night. However, offering that extra bit of service, they did think of a restaurant, Sturehof outside of the Old Town that served traditional Swedish cuisine and booked us a cab to ensure we could make it there when tables were still empty.
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| Restaurant for dinner |
Sturehof
We ate traditional Swedish cuisine included herring, cod and meatballs that were presented in a fine-dining manner.
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| Duck liver with hazelnuts |
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| Swedish meatballs |
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| Fried cod |
Royal Palace
After dinner we took the opportunity to explore the Royal Palace that had opened for a free night session with a changing of the guards ceremony in the courtyard in celebration of 'Culture Night'.
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| The courtyard outside the Palace with a full moon |
The Palace was not as elaborately decorated as other Royal buildings we had visited in Europe. There were a number of actors dressed up in 'period' costume that were on hand to answer any questions.
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| The decorated ceiling |
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| One of the marble statues at the entrance |
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| The grand crystal chandeliers |
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| Inside the main hallway |
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The Danish order of the Elephant, part of a
collection of official honors given to the Swedish Royal Family |
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| The room used for official ceremonies |
Nobel Museum
After the tour of the Palace, there was still a couple of hours to spare before the end of 'Culture Night', so we headed for a second museum that was also allowing free entry - Nobel Museum. The museum is in celebration of Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes that he founded using his fortune. As a point of trivia, the Peace Prize is given out in Norway (we visited the museum in Oslo) whilst all the other awards are handed out in Stockholm.
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| The Nobel Museum |
Drottningholm Palace
The next day we took a day-trip out to Drottningholm Palace. This is the current residence of the Swedish Royal Family. The Palace is located on the edge of a lake surrounded by a public park. The Palace did not allow photos inside the rooms, however it was richly decorated and we had a guide that provided a lot of detail regarding the artwork and paintings, including the historical significance of the battle-scenes where Sweden and Denmark were constantly at war with each other.
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| Outside Drottningham Palace |
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| The garden at Drottningham Palace, set in the French Baroque style |
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| Coffee and cheese cake at the Palace cafe |
Overall we found Stockholm to be a nice and pleasant city to visit for a weekend trip with English spoken throughout the city, making it very easy to commute and go sight-seeing on our own.
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| The multiple translations of the male toilets sign |
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