Photos : Stockholm City 05/07 Stockholm City Gallery 10/10
Lorentran Trip/Country Ratings
[table id=15 /]
Fast Facts
Sweden is the third largest country in Western Europe the 55th largest country in the world, the 5th largest in Europe, and the largest in Northern Europe. Its capital, Stockholm, on Sweden’s east coast and is a little unusual as the central parts of the city consists of fourteen islands.
Stockholm in a word….beautiful.
We arrived mid morning on the Saturday morning and spent all of 1 minute waiting to get our passports checked then headed for the train. The Arlanda Express takes you directly from the airport to downtown at around 200km per hour and very very smooth and punctual. Now we knew our hotel was close to the train station but we didn’t have any directions printed. It didn’t matter as our hotel was about 20 metres from the station exit! We had selected the Nordic Hotel that has the Ice Bar. You have to book and pay a tidy sum for a drink (160SEK for the Ice Package equates £12 or AUD28 and 85SEk or £6.20 or AUD14.60 for a refill). We didn’t bother going in as when we go the Ice Hotel in Lapland and stay the night.
On our ‘to visit’ list was the Old Town, the Stockholm Palace, Drottningholms Palace. Getting around is pretty easy. There’s the Metro, bikes, bikes, bikes, bikes, buses, walking and did I mention bikes?
Old City
We unintentionally wandered towards the Old City and it proved a good chance to test our new camera. The Old City is situated on one of the small islands, that also houses the Royal Palace, that is full of narrow streets and cobblestones. The streets in the Old City aren’t grid like and as you round a corner you can find yourself in a small court area and even churches with high steeples. The courts are the most popular and I can understand why. We were lucky enough to have the sun come out and spent a few hours wandering around. Cars are still allowed so you have to still be careful when walking around otherwise you could come off second best. There’s a smattering of tourist shops, eateries, some clothes stores and houses.
It’s full of tourists and as we discovered a popular place for the Finns to visit on their weekend escapes from Finland. When we stopped for lunch we saw about 5 guys defying the laws of nature by still standing after a sustained consumption of barley and hops. One Finn in particular stood about 6 foot 4 and about 3 foot across and deep!!! He had his sea legs on as he tried to enter the pub and tripped, fell…towards yours truly. My cat like reflexes and sturdy frame deflected the oaf with a lovely side step and subtle deflection with my powerful arms to help Mr Drunk Finn get in touch with Mother Nature…well the paved entrance. Ok so everything is true except the lies about my physique. The ladies sitting at the table next to us explained it’s a common occurrence for the Finns to come over on a boat, booze it up and head home. I’m sure the Finnish will argue to the contrary but until I get to Finland I can’t say for certain.
We meandered back through the city center on our way to dinner. Tonight we decided on a local restaurant and it’s just as well we aren’t vegetarian. The main meals were meat, meat and something green that may have been a vegetable. We had some reindeer, venison and beef, all of it great. If you get to Stockholm then you have to try the local food. It may be a little rich on the palette but worth the experience.
Drottningholms Palace
On the second day we dealt with the Metro. We were on our way to Drottningholms Palace via the train then bus. The train trip was easy enough and once at the disembarking station there was a choice of 2 buses that would take us to the palace. After a 10-15 minute trip we alighted at the front of the palace and started our self guided tour.
The Drottningholm Palace is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list and is regarded as the most well-preserved royal castle. It was built in the 1600s and represents the European architecture for the period. The grounds are sparse and have fountains, maze like areas, tree lined avenues and of course the exotic Chinese Pavilion pleasure palace and the palace theatre. The style was influenced by the French and the palace was built by commission of Queen Hedvig Eleonora.
City Hall
After and hour or so of walking around the grounds we headed back to townhowever alighted the Metro near the City Hall. Like many of the buildings in Stockholm, it’s located on/near the water.
City Hall is renowned as having one of the most exclusive ballrooms in Stockholm. As the name suggests, it’s the City of Stockholm is being governed and it houses approx 200 politicians and civil servants. I was going to try tagging along with the bus tour that had congregated in the foyer however didn’t think my Russian was good enough to bluff my way through.
Through the archways there’s a courtyard around which there are the 4 wings of the building on on the main entrance are vines growing. It’s exterior has all the warmth and charm of a government building but I can’t comment on its interior although I am hoping it’s better. 🙂
Bye City Hall bye stockholm
Leaving City Hall we meandered towards the Old City again and stumbled across many courtyard areas containing churches, government buildings and small shopping districts. The entire city, well all parts of it to which we ventured, feels relaxed and welcoming. Sunday night isn’t a night the Swede’s go out for dinner in town, or at least that’s how it appeared to us. We lucked out at a number of restaurants before we decided to head back towards the hotel and found a Japanese place open right around the corner. The food was great and very welcome in our empty bellies.
One of the many great things about the Scandinavian countries is the fact there are very active people and lead active lifestyles. On our last morning we headed to the outskirts of town to a National Park. We didn’t have enough time to cover the Bergianska Botanical Gardens but next time we will.