💎 Hidden gems remaining: 5
Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden, has a lot to offer. Time to add some perspective. Despite Sweden having a large area, it only has population of 10 million. Majority of that is condensed in the capital.
Here, you can find important cultural buildings, museums (ABBA!), old centre, Zero8 rehearsals and so on. Public transport is great: a network of metros, trams, buses and even boats to connect the small islands of the archipelago!
This time, I flew to Stockholm. At this point, I have to mention the cuteness of the Umeå airport. Being less than an hour by foot away from the accommodation, you can use that as a nice morning walk to get there :) Bonus: you may get up later than if you took a bus, because you are not tied to any schedules! (Of course, if you have a lot of luggage, you may rethink that. But I only had a "small personal item")
The staff at the airport is so friendly. I had some heart-shaped heating pads in my backpack, not even suspecting they would trigger danger signal (they went through normally on my way there). Well, we had to put it through the machine 4 times until we realised what was sus. But they were not even a tiny bit annoyed! Another time, they happily answered my questions about spoons, and assisted me with whatever I needed. They seem to really love what they do! 🫶🏻
Anyway, I landed in Arlanda, then took a bus and a commuter train to get to the city.
Morning walk to the airport. Pleasant, relaxing, and only you are in charge of any potential delays. Ice blocks are floating on the Ume river.
Let's start in medias res. The world-famous music group ABBA has a museum here. Follow their way to success, see how winning the Eurovision changed their lives, sing along with their holograms, pose in their helicopter – and most importantly, be dressed like ABBA 😁
Matchy-matchy, I think I should go directly on stage!
I missed the famous cherries blooming in Slovenia, but the end-of-April trip to Stockholm revealed the awesomeness of different climate :) Visit your friends doing internship in Stockholm, and let them guide you to the cherry alley (hint: Kungsträdgården). Have a photoshooting there.
Set yourself free 🕊
Tina 🇸🇮 and me 🇸🇮 posing amidst the trees. I'd say: beauty everywhere!
Endless cherry trees 🌸
The largest open-air museum shows you how Swedes lived back in the days. You can see old farm houses, traditions etc., and sometimes events and concerts are organised inside. There's a zoo inside the skansen. And an abandoned (?) socialistic merry-go-around.
This is not a clock on the wall, this is a bird house
I wonder how old these automobiles are ...
Two buffalos expressing their dominance
Big fire
When Swedes celebrate their holidays, they celebrate them properly. On the last night of April, the so-called Valborg (Walpurgis), they organise multiple festivities in practically every town. There are multiple options where to spend it in Stockholm, one of them is the Skansen! On this evening, students have free entrance (a student ID is required). There are speeches, singing, folk dancing and a huge bonfire.
It's always good to get lost in local streets. By now, the Swedish term gamla might be known to you. Head to Gamla Stan to visit the old city centre. Many buildings important for the sovereignty of the country are located here. You can also find touristic streets, hidden local tavernas etc. Have fun at the Science Fiction-bokhandeln store – search through hundreds of books and board games!
The Gamla Stan is a small island; cross the bridge to gain access to more historical buildings.
While walking around the streets, pay attention to monuments and statues. Some of them have quite funny poses.
Kungliga slottet
Use public ferries included in your ticket to visit different small islands.
If you are a man of culture, you may be interested in the Musik- Och Teatermuseet. An interactive museum of music and theatre, as the name suggests. You can see and play different instruments (although they aren't as fancy as in the Prague music museum). There's an area dedicated to electronic music production.
Climb upstairs and reach the theatre section. Perform your favourite puppet show. Put on dancing clothes. Have fun and entertain your audience 🎭
A lot of costumes.
At the Telefonplan, there's a very special tower. Why? Because you can control its outer appearance with your phone! Download a special app, enter the waiting queue, and when it's your turn, you have 90 seconds to colour the windows the way you want :D
The tower is actually part of a residence building. People live until the 9th floor; from that point onwards, there's a tower-like structure on top, which has RGB-lit windows. (I think there's service area for the lift inside)
I recommend you to visit it in the night for obvious light-related reasons.
At the square, there's also an old telephone chatting box.
I have a kink for colour design, don't I? 😂
Endless books
In the northern part of the town, there's a big public library, mostly known for the big book tower at the entrance.
Many books, especially studying literature can be found here. However, they do not possess Slovenian books (for them, you need to visit Kungsholmens bibliotek Internationella biblioteket - Stockholms stadsbibliotek).
In the evening, the celestial object we call Sun appears to visually disappear behind the horizon.
For the best view, climb somewhere high with an unhindered view towards the west (depending on season, it may also be SWW or NWW). A good locals' suggestion is Monteliusvägen, a scenic spot.
Sunsets are pretty
Being the climax of Swedish cuisine, Ikea meatballs are a non-miss. This freshly baked dish with mashed potato, peas and cranberry jam. One thing to note, though: the Ikea in Stockholm centre does not offer family card discount.
Me @ home, me @ balls.
Tasty pie in a pleasant ambient
But of course, there's more to the local cuisine. Again suggested by one of our friendly locals, we decided to have a meal at Källarbyn. An underground bistro in a calm atmospehere. You can also meet students there studying, there's a piano (probably some concerts), you can find board games and spend a great afternoon there.
As we were there towards the end of the shift, the choice of dishes was limited; but the pies did not disappoint!