{"id":16737,"date":"2017-09-19T10:08:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T10:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=16737"},"modified":"2017-09-19T10:21:35","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T10:21:35","slug":"scratching-stockholms-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/scratching-stockholms-surface\/","title":{"rendered":"Scratching Stockholm’s Surface"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As we have only ever been to Malm\u00f6 (popping over the bridge regularly to do less expensive massive food shops when we lived in Copenhagen – probably the time my cardamom bun addiction first formed come to think of it!) and beautiful Ystad <\/a>(home to Wallander for those that remember it – and a place you should definitely put on your Visit Sweden list if you like your coastline rugged, full of Viking mythology and with a side order of sacred stones at Ales Stenar to boot!<\/a>), I have been desperate to visit Stockholm for some time…<\/p>\n

\"Cityscape<\/a><\/p>\n

When some good friends moved to Stockholm from Munich last summer, it was somewhere I thought would be great to see with the added bonus of personal tour guides – which as it turns out our friends are incredibly good at…<\/p>\n

The week before we were due to fly, I began to feel a little off colour. \u00a0I don’t do ill very well, so went with my usual tactic of ignoring any and all symptoms in the hope they would go away. \u00a0 As the days progressed I gradually felt worse, with a high fever and a nagging pain in my side that began to worry me. \u00a0 \u00a0Having googled nearly every symptom, I started to imagine a knot in my intestines – or something tropical that would actually be quite impossible for me to have (have I mentioned hypochondria runs in our family?). \u00a0It was only when I spoke to my youngest sister who said “you know I had a pain in my side when I ended up in hospital for two weeks with a severe kidney infection?” that I thought I had better pop to the doctors. \u00a0 We were flying the next day. \u00a0 \u00a0 The doctor confirmed my sister’s expert diagnosis, and said that I wasn’t to travel anywhere… \u00a0 \u00a0 Not only do I hate being ill, but I probably hate being told what to do more, so I swallowed the first antibiotic, packed as much as I could, and passed out before the alarm clock went off a few hours later… \u00a0If the antibiotics weren’t going to work, I figured I would much rather be in a Stockholm hospital with hopefully Viking doctors, whilst the rest of my family enjoyed this gorgeous Scandinavian City AND got to see our friends …<\/p>\n

Thankfully, after a short flight (and Mr R taking control of all “offspring on a plane” duties – I might start to fake being ill before we get on a plane in future!) I only really lost the first afternoon and evening that we were there, as the drugs began to do their thing and I felt more lifelike again. \u00a0It did sadly mean that I wasn’t able to toast our visit much with our friends, but at around \u00a310 a glass of wine, that was probably quite a good thing…<\/p>\n

\"stockholm<\/a><\/p>\n

By the way, Stockholm is<\/em> an expensive city, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend a small fortune to enjoy it. \u00a0 With most hotels serving breakfast buffets, ,and plenty of small stores dotted about the place selling slices of pizza and the like, it is easy to survive until dinner time without having to visit a restaurant, and then you don’t have to eat at the most expensive places… \u00a0 \u00a0If you stayed in an Airbnb, you wouldn’t have to go near a restaurant at all, and could save spending over the odds on a hotel and<\/em> food… \u00a0Many museums and attractions are free<\/a>\u00a0anyway (including the Modern Art Museum, the National Museum, the Medieval Museum, and the Swedish History Museum), as are a few walking tours<\/a>, but you should also invest in a Stockholm Pass<\/a> to save even more.<\/p>\n

Stockholm transport is pretty reasonable, but bear in mind that as it’s not the biggest city on the planet – the things most people want to see are well within walking distance… \u00a0Book your airport transport in advance to get the cheapest price, and consider hiring a bike to get around once there too. \u00a0 Don’t drink much alcohol, cut the caffeine (and in my case – which I sadly failed at) steer clear of any and all Scandinavian Children’s clothes shops. \u00a0Having said all that, you can’t come to Sweden and not enjoy a spot of Fika somewhere, so set aside part of your budget for at least 5 decent kardamummabuller (cardamom buns)… \u00a0All in all, just don’t let the expense thing put you off, as is the case with most Scandinavian cities, a stay doesn’t have to be extortionate.<\/p>\n

\"stockholm<\/a><\/p>\n

Anyway, whilst I was recovering, \u00a0Mr R and the Small People made good use of the playground in the exquisite Humleg\u00e5rden park directly opposite our Scandic Park Hotel (which was good by the way. \u00a0 It worked in terms of location – a short hop on the subway to the waterfront and Djurg\u00e5rden with its various attractions. \u00a0We had a good quiet room, and the only thing I didn’t like was that due to the amount of tour groups staying, breakfast could be a bit of a bun fight – but you can’t win them all. \u00a0 Do make sure you ask at the kitchen counter for pancakes for the children for breakfast. \u00a0If you don’t have any children, pretend…).<\/p>\n

\"Making<\/a>
Making like a local…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Scandinavians don’t mess around when it comes to playgrounds. Forget the often sad offerings that can pass for UK equivalents, in Sweden they are usually stuffed with huge sandpits complete with masses of toys, lots of playground equipment for various ages, bikes, ride on toys, diggers the lot. \u00a0This one had a large hut for bad weather, where you could help yourself (on an honesty box system) to tea, coffee, and nappies if you have forgotten to bring any… \u00a0 \u00a0 After thoroughly wearing the toddler out and not able to take any more sand in their shoes, my little family ventured further into the neighbourhood until they stumbled across the super good\u00a0Mom’s Kitchen.<\/a>\u00a0Here they chatted to owner Christian over plates of finest home made Swedish Kotbullar (meatballs), mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam… \u00a0A place that should definitely be added to any “great food on a decent budget in Stockholm” list…<\/p>\n

\"Mom's<\/a>
Mom’s Kitchen Stockholm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our first stop the following morning (after a brief tour of our friends gorgeous apartment overlooking the city’s rooftops) was Stockholm’s Swedish History Museum that was holding a special Viking Experience. \u00a0 \u00a0Given that our friends are Danish, and our older two are well versed in all things Viking thanks to their early years in Copenhagen, this was right up their street. \u00a0 \u00a0So, whilst we grown ups got to catch up, the children were able to decipher Rune Stones, make viking bread, do a spot of archery, wallop each other off a pole with feather stuffed pillows (can’t imagine vikings doing that in all honesty!), make necklaces, and typically lose at tug of war. \u00a0 The toddler, who is a bit of a thug at the best of times, was completely in his element, tormenting his older siblings as they tried to concentrate on various tasks, begging for bits of their bonfire baked bread, and spending an inordinate amount of time carefully following this intricate stone maze, where he would stumble to the middle until he reached what he announced to all and sundry was a chicken (If anyone can shed any light on what it really is, I would be most appreciative!).<\/p>\n

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Afterwards we headed down to the water for a walk, and a bit of a guided tour along the way =- passing the imposing Nordic Museum, the wonderful Junibacken, Vasa, Gr\u00f6na Lund, the Absolut Vodka Museum (who knew that was Swedish?), and the most gorgeous tiny wedding on a Viking boat in the harbour – finally settling at an outside table at the very sweet Villa Godthem,\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0– a restaurant with a huge garden by the water, just in time to capture the last of the day’s sun…<\/p>\n

\"viking<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Villa<\/a><\/p>\n

Our friends are not only magnificent tour guides, but they are also fantastic cooks, and later that evening they treated us to our very own Swedish Crayfish party for which we managed to crack and slurp our way almost through the entire lot.<\/p>\n

\"swedish<\/a><\/p>\n

Once the children had eaten and retreated worn out by the days wanderings we enjoyed an evening full of the things that had made us good friends in the first place, fabulous food, lots of laughter, plenty of reminiscing over our time in Munich, and that shared common history that life abroad can bring, before bundling everyone home in a taxi at the end of the evening. \u00a0As an added bonus, the toddler slept for the entire evening (we took a nifty little pop up travel cot with us!), so it was nice not to have to worry about any beautiful Scandinavian lamps getting destroyed, or him disappearing through the vintage pre-safety tests balustrade of their balcony!..<\/p>\n

\"by<\/a><\/p>\n

We met again the following morning for a boat trip out to Fj\u00e5derholmarna, a small island a twenty minute boat ride, taking in a lot of the sights along the way. \u00a0 \u00a0Out in the archipelago, Stockholm takes on a whole different vibe away from city life and back to a much slower paced nature filled one instead. \u00a0There are lots of little workshops and craft shops to visit, plus a few good restaurants, and it’s somewhere you should really visit if you have an extended Stockholm stay (expect a more in depth photo heavy post soon!)…<\/p>\n

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Sunset stockholm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As they had work and school the next day, we bade our friends a sad farewell – making them promise to come and see us very soon, and had me wracking my brains as to what on earth we can make them for dinner that would be equally as impressive as the crayfish (a table full of Yorkshire puddings, a giant mound of scones with clotted cream??). \u00a0 \u00a0Afterwards our little tribe headed to Gamla Stan, to explore properly and to contemplate what we would do for the rest of our time in this magnificent city now our tour guides had retired… \u00a0 \u00a0 More soon…<\/p>\n

\"Flying<\/a><\/div>\n

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