Stockholm

Stockholm's sites and attractions are numerous and outstanding. My favorite place to go is Stockholm's lovely preserved Old Town (Gamla Stan), and its 16th century buildings, church spires, narrow cobblestone streets, quaint shops and great cafes and restaurants.

Other notable attractions include The Royal Palace, The Royal Cathedral, the Vasa Museum (which has a preserved Viking ship from 1628), the Skansen Museum (a popular outdoor museum), Kings Garden, and countless other museums.

Stockholm must be seen from the water. Be sure to take a boat tour. They can provide a time to rest from all the walking, or an escape from bad weather. There are many different lengths and itineraries of tours available, and there are many departure times. There is almost always a boat leaving within 15 or 20 minutes or less.

Don't miss shopping and dining in Old Town. Old Town is rich in history and culture. It is quaint with narrow, hilly cobblestone streets that are lined with small shops of every sort, and great restaurants. Gamla Stan is also home to the royal palace, where you can see the Royal Guard up-close and watch changing of the guard....All one subway stop from the downtown Sheraton and Radisson Hotels.

In summer, the people of Stockholm come alive...the people have a new attitude....they are smiling and they talk (although Swedes are friendly and good natured in all seasons). They love to take advantage of the mild weather and long summer days, by spending lots of time outdoors.

Quick Tips:

Prices in Sweden include a 25% tax. Learn the rules for a tax refund when you leave the country. The merchant seals your purchase, and to get your tax refunded, go to the tax refund/currency exchange at the airport, show them your completed forms and sealed purchases, and they will refund your tax.

Wear sturdy walking shoes. Stockholm is very accessable by foot and using the trains. The cobblestone streets of Gamla Stan are uneven, the terrain hilly, and both are tough on the feet.

When you enter a place of business or public service (ie, bank), before you get in line, look around and make sure you aren't supposed to take a number, as this is common practice in Sweden.

If you want a cash advance using your credit card at a bank or currency exchange, be prepared to show your passport. This formality is not necessary if you use ATMs, plus there is no currency exchange premium, or it is minimal.

Best Way To Get Around:

I take taxis between Arlanda airport and downtown Stockholm to avoid shuffling baggage on/off of trains. Ask for fixed price to/from Arlanda airport (around 400 SEK/). You can save a lot of money by taking the train.

This property has 9 floors, with guest rooms and suites on floors 3-9. The ground floor has check-in/out, a large bar and lounge (called The Lobby Bar), a German-style pub called Die Ecke, a large restaurant with open kitchen and dining room called The Liberty Kitchen, and three small shops where you can buy Swedish crystal and knitted clothing. The shop prices are as good as you will find in town, but don't let that stop from looking around.

The second floor (under renovation) contains meeting facilities.

There are five small elevators that are very efficient. There is always one there when needed...an important attribute of a hotel where guests constantly parcel around luggage or purchases. There are very helpful bellman/porters that handle all luggage going up and down.

The Lobby Bar is a large and open lounge with lots of inviting sofas and large chairs. A large square fireplace provides a focal point in the center of the lounge. It is gas-fired and glass-enclosed. A fireplace is always nice in Stockholm winters. At night, they have a piano-vocalist, and off to the side, they have a small casino, but they have rules that favor the house so beware. The Lobby Bar is a great meeting place to join friends and colleagues.

Since breakfast is included in the room rate, check out The Liberty Kitchen. They have a large breakfast buffet with eggs, hot and cold meats, breads, cold cereals, fresh fruit, and more. You can also get newspapers. In all my stays here, I have only had breakfast here. For dinner, they have soups, and vegetable, seafood and meat appetizers (70-130 SEK or $7-$13). Entrees (135-295 SEK or $14-$30) include steaks, veal, seafoods, and more.

The hotel is built around a courtyard that appears to have ancient ruins (an old arch). Surprisingly, no one could tell me anything about it, other than the hotel was built over a horse stable.

The rooms are comfortable and well-furnished. They have Pergo wood floors, TV, phones, and ISDN (high-speed internet) jacks in the walls. The five elevators are all right next to each other (as opposed to spread out), so you may have a bit of a walk from your room to/from the elevators. I would rather walk than hear people arriving and departing to/from time zones all over the world.

They have always had a room ready for me, even though the international flights get me there before 9am local time. After the long flight(s) over, I am always more than ready to set my bags down and freshen up.

The Sheraton is right across the street from the Central Train station (called 'T-Centralen'), and 2-3 blocks from shopping areas with large department stores and many restaurants.
Old Town Stockholm ('Gamla Stan') is only one stop away by subway.

This Radisson is great for late arrivals or very early departures, and caters to business travelers. From the Radisson, you check out of the hotel and all you have to do is take one escalator down to the terminal, and you are ready to check-in for your flight. The Radisson is on 3 levels, on floors 4-6. On the fourth floor, they have a contemporary lobby and guest rooms. Outside the hotel (indoors) overlooking the Arlanda Airport terminal, there are restaurants (including one ran by Radisson) and gift shops. There are more gift shops on the ground/terminal level.

On the fifth floor, they have a fitness center, pool, and guest rooms and suites. There are more rooms and suites on the sixth floor.

They have many types of rooms. I had a Business Class room that was very nice, with marble bathroom, free Pay-Per-View movies, and complementary breakfast buffet. The floor of the marble bathroom was heated, which I had never seen before and really enjoyed.

After checking in and putting my things down in my room, I took the chance to see what else Skycity offered. I had a meal, and bought some nice woven table runners and place mats. If you are a non-resident, you can get tax-free treatment of your purchases.

After shopping, I had dinner at Alfredo''s Restaurang (Swedish spelling) and Bistro, which overlooked the terminal. Arlanda has contemporary decor that is nice to sit and enjoy. Alfredo''s uses a cafeteria-style, where you take a tray and get drinks and order, and then they bring you your food. Alfredo''s has pizza (69-75 SEK or $7-$8), fresh pasta (85-115 SEK or $9-$12), kabobs (60 SEK or $6), and meat and fish entrees (129-169 SEK or $13-$17). I had Spaghetti Carbonara, which is spaghetti with a white sauce and ham. It came with salad bar and bread.

Skycity is a nice format that makes business traveler easier. You can get here from downtown Stockholm by taxi (about 400 SEK or $40), or save money by taking the train from Central Station called the "Arlanda Express." Central Station is right across the street from the Sheraton Stockholm (see journal entry).

This place is great. There wasn't a single frown in the place....and why not? It is so friendly, I could live here. I was treated very well. My server enthusiastically introduced me to the owner of the restaurant, and they showed me all the upstairs dining rooms.

They have a huge menu. In fact they have a drink menu that is separate from the meals. Starters (79-128 SEK or $8-$13) include breads, seafood, meat or soup. I had Bruschetta Alla Romana (Bruschetta bread) that was fantastic. They have home made pastas (117-135 SEK or $12-$14) that have all variations of pasta (pasta rolls, ravioli, spaghetti, etc) with cream sauces, red sauces, seafood, meat, and mushrooms. I had Spaghetti Alla Matriciana (Spaghetti Carbonara) that was spaghetti in cream sauce with bacon and tomato slices. It was terrific. They also have fish entrees (225-245 SEK) and meat entrees (228-273 SEK).

I saw enormous cuts of grilled fish brought to the table next to me, with awesome looking boiled (and peeled) potatoes.

They pay close attention to small details that matter. There are fresh flowers and candles everywhere. They also have fun with ceramics, and have namesake wine krugs, cheese containers, and plates. These are available for sale.

The service was fantastic and friendly as well. They showed me all around the restaurants, including the six dining rooms (in addition to the main dining room) that are available for private parties. This place is very popular. It is always busy. However, it is a large place, so waits are not too long. Since it is popular, it is kind of loud. But with their separate dining rooms, I'll bet they would accommodate a quiet dinner.

Location is one block away from the Gamla Stan train/subway station, which is only one stop from Central Station and the Sheraton.

Restaurang Kaffegrillet is a cafe in Gamla Stan, right across the street from The Royal Palace and The Royal Cathedral (see other journal entries).

I went in on a chilly winter day for coffee, soup, and rest. I got all this and more. After some small talk with the server (and my order for coffee and chicken soup with curry), he told me how this restaurant was built over 14th century ruins, and invited me to see the 14th century arches in the basement.

Without hesitation, I headed downstairs, and found their medieval dining room. It has brick walls that contain remnants of the 14th century arches. It was a very special treat to discover something like this. The coffee and soup were great too.

In addition to light eats, they have full meals. They have sandwiches (70-85 SEK or $7-9 US), fish and meat entrees (90-175 SEK or $9-18 US), pasta dishes (85-95 SEK or $9-10 US), and Swedish dishes (90-180 SEK/$9-18 US) including reindeer, meatballs and herring.

A great spot to rest and warm up while walking Gamla Stan.

I'm glad I did. I had a fantastic walk. The path winds along Norr Malarstrand, on a very wide berth between the road and beautiful Lake Mararen. I walked about 2 miles in and 2 miles out.

Along the way, there were two cafes placed at perfect distances to stop, rest, and have a drink. But as I walked, before it was time to rest, I was treated to great views of City Hall, Gamla Stan (see journal entries), and Lake Mararen.

The first cafe was the Strand Cafe, a great little outdoor cafe. They have a small indoor pavillion that hangs over Lake Malaren, but in the summer, the Swedes love to eat outside (so most of the seating was outside). The Strand Cafe had light eats and beer and wine.

When I sat down with my drink, I saw people at the tables around me with flannel blankets wrapped around them. I looked at them with envy, at how well they planned their evenings, and then I saw a large wood box the restaurant used to keep the blankets in to loan patrons (what a nice touch). After enjoying the view and the moment, I finished my drink and was off to continue my walk, where I saw more of Lake Malaren and several very nice small parks along the path.

Before I knew it, I stumbled onto another cafe on this footpath. This cafe also has outdoor seating, and it faces a huge park with large skateboard ramps and soccer fields. I saw some people playing a lawn game I had never seen before, and several of the locals introduced me to a Swedish yard game called "Kubb." Kubb reminds me a little of cricket (but there is no batter), and little like chess. Later, in my trip to the Archipelago (see other journal), I would see wooden Kubb pieces in the arts and crafts shops.

The path I was on eventually ended at a marina, where I ventured out to Norr Malarstrand (off the footpath to a busy street) to try to find a subway station to get back to my hotel near Central Station.

To find this footpath, from the front of Central Station, turn right, and go to Stadshusbron and turn right. Cross the bridge (you will see City Hall), and cross the street toward City Hall at a crosswalk. After you pass City Hall (or tour it), find the footpath to the west.

As with a lot of travel, some of the best things you see and find are unplanned or by accident. This great walk with no particular destination in mind was a pleasant surprise.

Restaurant Days is a 3 day festival held each summer at the beginning of June, in Kungstradgarden (or Kings Garden), a beautiful public park in downtown Stockholm.

During Restaurants Days, many (dozens and dozens) of Stockholm's restaurants, cafes, and pubs set up temporary shop in Kings Garden, in covered pavillions and kiosks. To add to the festivities, they have the "World's Largest Business Lunch" on the Friday of the festival. People from all over Stockholm flock to Restaurant Days and enjoy the good food and drink.

Other events include a waiter's race, and a chef's challenge among the renowned chefs of Stockholm. Additionally, there are multiple stages for music and other performances. There is lots of seating to enjoy food and drink, both covered and uncovered.

I walked into the Restaurant Days celebration without knowing what the party was all about. I had read about it, and what fun it was to find it and join the fun with such little effort!

You can easily reach Kings Garden from anywhere in Stockholm. Take the subway (Tunnelbana or T-Bana) to the Kungstradgarden station, walk out of the station 2 blocks to the right, and you are there. Restaurant Days in Kings Garden takes place at the beginning of June, this year it was June 1st through the 4th.

Among these is the "Under The Bridges of Stockholm" tour, offered by Stockholm Sightseeing. It is a two hour boat tour that travels the waterways between the 14 (or so) islands that Stockholm is built on. The tour illustrates how essential the nearly 60 bridges that connect these islands are for the purpose of land travel around Stockholm by car, bus, and train.

This tour passes under fifteen bridges and through two sets of locks to manage the different water levels between Lake Malaren and the Baltic Sea. The tour starts and ends in downtown Stockholm on the docks in front of the Grand Hotel.

After backing away from the dock and leaving downtown, in approximate order, we passed the Royal Palace, the National Museum, Stockholm City Hall, Vasa Museum, and the Grona lunds tivoli amusement park, in addition to countless beautiful landscapes. There is an audio recording played through headphones that is synchronized with the tour that points out all the points of interest. The audio recording is available in many languages.

It is important to note that although the tour includes a lot of sites, that it does not stop at any of them. You need to look and take pictures on the go. It is an excellent introduction and perspective to Stockholm, its sights, bridges and locks. It serves as a basis for you to decide which of the sites you want to go visit on foot and tour individually at length.

Tours leave from downtown Stockholm at the docks in front of the Grand Hotel. During the summer there are many tours scheduled. When you arrive, there is a good chance that one tour or another will be leaving soon. Stockholm Sightseeing has tours leaving every half hour....one tour leaves every hour on the hour, and a different tour leaves every hour at half-past. Buy your ticket in the ticket booth at the departure point.

In addition to the seeing the sites, this tour provided me a new perspective on Stockholm. I have visited Stockholm many times, and visited many of the sights by foot (in other journal entries), and can say that the tour is well worth the 140 SEK ($14 US) price of admission.

To get to the docks, take the subway (Tunnelbana or T-Bana) to Kungstradgarden, exit the station and walk toward the water. After my tour, I walked back toward the Kungstradgarden (Kings Garden) subway station and right into the Restaurant Days at Kings Garden festivities.

Many of my other journal entries are about individual places in Gamla Stan. In each of them, I rave about the sites and accessibility of Gamla Stan, so I decided to dedicate a journal entry to Gamla Stan.

This journal entry will also allow me to have more pictures added. While the other journal entries have (or will have) pictures of specific places and things, Gamla Stan is full of medieval scenes that you won't read about in a history book, and you can find beauty everywhere that needs little or no explanation.

Narrow cobblestone streets or alleys, with rows of grand old buildings facing each other.....A quiet corner with a single bicycle resting on the old building....Statues of unknown origin, but obvious historical significance. You can even find beauty in the subway, with colorful walls and tile work.

All of this is just one stop by subway from the huge Central Station that provides the central hub of all trains and subways.

The museum has two main parts. One part focuses on historical stamps and letters, and the other part has exhibits on how mail has been delivered over hundreds of years.

This is not a big museum, and there is no entry fee. I saw everything in less than an hour. You could stay longer if you have a very strong interest in the postal service, and its history. Location is about 2-3 blocks from the Gamla Stan train station.

This Hard Rock Cafe is comfortable and cozy compared to other Hard Rock Cafes. The bar is off to one side when you enter. You can't miss it. It has a black Cadillac convertible suspended over the round bar.

There is a gift shop near the front door opposite the bar for the popular (at least with my family) logo souvenirs.

Of course, they have many collectable rock music instruments, gold records, outfits or articles of clothing, and play recorded rock music at all times. This location has a lot of music instrument amplifiers hanging on the walls. There were so many that they couldn't be for function.

I sat at the bar and admired their small shrine for The Who, with autographed pictures that were perfectly matted and framed.

I think the menus are universal (American food) at all Hard Rock locations, so the draw is the rock memorabilia, and the amusing decor, often supplemented with motor vehicles.

The Royal Palace is where the Royal Family once lived in more than 600 rooms. It is now a museum, and the Royal family lives in Drottningholm, an island in Lake Malaren.

Although the Swedish king and queen prefer to live at Drottningholm, The Royal Palace remains their official address.

The present Royal Palace was completed in the mid-1700’s, replacing the original, which was burned down in the 17th century. It is the largest royal castle in the world still in its original use.

In the summer months, you can see the parade and changing of the Royal Guard daily. In winter it takes place on Wednesday and Sunday (on the other days there is no parade). The actual changing of the guard takes place at noon Monday to Saturday and at 1pm on Sunday in front of the Royal Palace.

The palace is huge and impressive. Tours are available. The guards still guard the palace courtyard, and there are many cannons nearby.

The Royal Palace and the surrounding area in Gamla Stan are very historic and beautiful, and they should not be missed.

Storkyrkan is right around the corner from the Royal Palace (see other journal entry). The church is very impressive inside and out. The bells ring on the hour. Respect the worshippers inside, and do not enter for sightseeing purposes.

Storkyrkan is as old as the city. I'm told that the inside has sculptures, including a silver/ebony altar and Gothic columns. Great place.

I am constantly amazed at where you can find art and beauty in Stockholm. If you are the kind of person that can find beauty just about everywhere (I like to think that I am), then you will love Stockholm, because the Swedes manage to turn unlikely places like parks and subway stations into highly visible and outstanding works of art.

Like many cities with subways, Stockholm's subways have a lot of musicians, but I think Stockholm stands out because there are some class acts in the subways. It is not uncommon to see flute and cello duets, and other small groups playing well-selected classics.

In addition to the musical attractions, many subway stations have been transformed into colorful murals or scenes of art. Many cities with subway systems do a good job making their stations look good, and Stockholm is no exception. In fact, I think they do a great job at going beyond tile mosaics and advertising art posters (although they have a lot of that) typical of many cities subways. They have entire areas of subway stations that are very well done in colors and themes.

It is easy to take these places for granted, and indeed many people walk through the busy subway without a second look at many of these. I like to slow down and enjoy these charms of Stockholm, and you never what you will run into on even the most routine trip to a restaurant, pub, or on your way to work.

Stockholm's subway reaches all over Stockholm, and is clean, economical, and safe, in addition to entertaining.