Three Days in Stockholm

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The rooms were small and ordinary. The breakfast buffet was large and excellent. The lobby and inside courtyard was nice to look at but our room faced the street. The elevators required putting your room key in a slot before you could press the button for your floor. The elevators were often slow or not functioning. This was also true of the large automatic revolving doors that served as the main entrance to the hotel. The doors would often slow down to a crawl or stop altogether with people in them. They were unusual in design (plants were part of the door holder) but did not work all the time. We stayed here because it was part of the Collette tour package.

Now that we know more about the city, I would certainly look for a less expensive hotel about a mile from the city center. The metro could provide adequate transport.

This Gammla Stan restaurant served us extremely well despite being their only customers. When we left, they closed down for the night. My first course of fish soup was really excellent. It was thick with fish and tomato stock. It reminded of a gumbo from New Orleans without the hot spices, okra, or sausage. Maybe that's where the tradition started.

My main course of fried herring stuffed with salmon was okay. I probably should have ordered differently. My wife ordered Swedish meatballs off the summer menu. She was delighted.

I had a truffle for dessert. I asked the waiter, remember we had his undivided attention, how many truffles to order. He suggested that we order just one. He could always get another if we wanted it. One was fine. It was rich and delicious.

The restaurant is really quite beautiful in design. Located in the Gammla Stan, it is underpriced compared to some nearby restaurants in the main square. We had no trouble locating the rest rooms. The icons of the man or woman were over three feet high. Even I could find my way.

Tvattomaten is the name of the place. The phone number is 08-34-64-80.

The charge for a small load and drying is 70 kroner. At the current exchange rates that is almost $10. Even so, it's still cheaper than having it done at the hotel. I guess we need to support this guy or there will be no place left for laundry in Sweden.

The laundromat is located about a 20 minute walk from the train station. We put our clothes in a rolling suitcase for transport. The wash cycle is 45 minutes. The dryer took about 30 minutes. So, bring something to read. We could have taken a bus or metro, but the individual tickets for my wife and I would have added $20 to our trip. On future trips we will take advantage of discount opportunities for transportation. This time, we walked.

Here's the problem: the train tickets were $25 each. That's a lot of money when you try to travel on a budget. There is a plan to for a discount fare of $30 for two people starting later in June 2004, but we were too early. While we were satisfied with the train, we will plan to use the bus at less than half the price next time. Unless the train price is lowered. In Copenhagen, the train costs only $4 per person. I don't get it.

The acoustics were exciting. It was a thrill just to hear the Swan Lake music played in such a warm atmosphere. I would go back just for the music. The ballet company was excellent. Even the ensemble work, often not up to par in major companies, was excellent. The prima ballerina was Judith Simon. Prince Sigfried was danced by Nikolaus Fotiadis. Both gave fine performances.

It is treat to attend this theatre. I look forward to going back the next time we are in Stockholm. That sound is amazing.

The pictures don't do justice to the experience of seeing the Vasa. It is huge. The first sight of this this large warship in the darkened light of the museum will never be forgotten.

We came with Collette tours. They allowed 1.5 hours at the museum. That is actually not enough time. I would suggest at least three hours, maybe even more.

First, there is an excellent film lasting 30 minutes that details the history and recovery of the Vasa.

Second, there's touring the ship itself. There are several floors of viewing platforms to see the ship at close range from several angles. Viewing the Vasa is helped by guided tours. The tour guide provided by Collette just repeated the information already given in the film. Since our time was at a premium, we joined the museum's guided tour instead. It was much better and highlighted the details of the ship.

Third are the exhibits associated with the Vasa located in spaces on the exhibit floors. This museum really gives a perspective on life in Stockholm and on a ship like the Vasa. Each exhibit is worth viewing time. Descriptions are provided in English.

Fourth, there's quite a good museum store. Leave time for that. One and half hours was just not enough time here.

This is a small area of twisty streets that is an an absolute delight. There is very little in Stockholm that represents history except for Gammla Stan. In a cruel twist of fate, Stockholm decided to clear and destroy areas of its old buildings after WWII. Since Sweden was neutral during the war, it remained one of the few areas not damaged by bombing. So, they choose to destroy it themselves. The only place they did not affect was Gammla Stan. Thank goodness.

Other than the Vasa and the Opera house, this area is the one reason to visit Stockholm.