by Karen Barlow
So in my last post I wrote about our stay at Ett Hem in Stockholm which you can read here.
After spending 24 hours ensconced in Ett Hem we decided we needed to explore the beautiful city of Stockholm more. This blog will cover what we did, saw and ate in the next 48 hours that we were there, before moving onto Copenhagen, As I always point out, this is not an exhaustive list of what there is to do in Stockholm. This is a big city, made up of 14 islands and we only scratched the surface. There are so many things to do, that I don't even think a week would cover it, but here goes.
Ostermalm is an upmarket residential neighbourhood known for it's green spaces and shopping district. It is also home to one of the oldest foodhalls inStockholm. Ostermalm's Saluhall was originallybuilt in 1888. Although some changes have been made since then in the name of food hygiene practises, much of the original exterior and interior remain. Here you can shop for food or take a seat at one of the many food establishments for a bite to eat and a drink. Fish and seafood, as you would imagine in Scandinavia, feature heavily and it's definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. The surrounding streets are also great for shopping, includingBiblioteksgatan, a street full of clothes shops.
The original interior of Ostermalm's Saluhall
One of the restaurants inside Ostermalm's Saluhall
Sodermalm
For the best vintage shopping head to Sodermalm and in particular the area known as SoFo or“South of Folkungagatan” Second hand shopping is a definite trend that is on the rise in Sweden and there are so many amazing vintage, second hand designer clothes and charity shops all worth exploring. I won't list them all here as it would be impossible, but two of our favourites were Judit's and Herr Judits, two seperate shops for men and women very close to each other. There are lots of lovely second hand clothes shops, designed and dressed like high end boutiques, a real pleasure to shop in.
Judits Second Hand Vintage shop
Herr Judit's Vintage Shop
One of the best shops for antiques and vintage homewares and furniture we came across was Brocante Second Hand who have 4 locations in Stockholm. It was frustrating to say the least for me, as I only had hand luggage, due to the amout of travelling we were doing from place to place, but if you had a large suitcase or even better had driven over, you could literally fill it with the amazing bargains in these shops!
Sodermalm was once a slum area of Stockholm but as with all cheaper areas they provide affordable housing for creatives and bohemians and this area is now one of the most aspirational areas for creatives to live with many hipster bars and restaurants and cultural activities. Slussen is a great area to go in the evening for food and bars, with views of the water. We ate one night at Haktet which serves a selection of sharing plates in a courtyard, if the weather is good, with a DJ. Our favourite bar was Mosebacketerrassen which is an outdoor bar overlooking the water front with live music or a DJ set. The perfect place to spend a summers evening.
The lovely streets in Sodermalm Slussen area
Sodermalm Slussen area
Mosebacketerrassen photo credit Thatch Travel
Sweden is most famous for 2 things Ikea and Abba so yes I did try meatballs and yes we did go to the Abba museum. Now I'll start by saying I am not a huge Abba fan but I can appreciate their music and being the age I am I can also remember vividly the night they won the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. I went out and bought it with my pocket money, the very next Monday when the shops reopened. It seemed therefore, to be in Stockholm and not visit the museum.
It was a really great surprise just how good it was and how nostalgic I felt. I was really emotional seeing their costumes and videos and there were lots of other Abba memorabilia, song booths where you could record your own vocals singing along to a backing track of theirs and a stage where you could dance with holograms of the band. It was really really good fun and I would definitely recommend a visit.
The fab 4 in wax inside ABBA The Museum
Gamla Stan
This is Stockholm's original city centre dating from the 13th Century with many other buildings from the 1600 & 1700's. It's a charming warren of cobbled streets with buildings rendered in warm paint washes of ochre and falu red which is a Swedish tradition ordered by the king Gustav III and is still continued today. Although it's the historical centre there are lots of restaurants, shops and bars within the labryinth of streets, making it a great area to base yourself if you're only visiting for a short time. I tried traditional meatballs, boiled potatoes and lingan berries here and let me tell you they were absolutely delicious, nothing like Ikea's and it was really reasonably priced compared to the rest of the city despit being in the historic centre.
The historic streets of Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan is one of the oldest best preserved medieval quarters in Europe so walking around it is such a visual and architectural treat. Look out for“Alley of Marten Trotzig” (Marten Trotzigs grand) it is the narrowest street in Stockholm& consists of 36 steps, which get narrower and narrower as they lead to the top of the alley. You'll also find the official palace of the Swedish Royal family in Gamla Stan.Built in Baroque style, the 18th centurySwedish Royal Palace(Kungliga Slottet) is the official residence of the Swedish monarchy still today. We didn't visit it as we were only in Stockholm for a limited time and there were other things we prefered to do, but if you love ornate palaces then this is one for you.
The main square in Gamla Stan
I have this thing with doors & there are so many great examples in Gamla Stan
One of the oldest traditional Swedish restaurants in Gamla Stan, opened in 1722, Gyldene Freden
Fotografiska Contemporary photographic museum
As Stockholm is built across 14 islands you are surrounded by water pretty much where ever you are and there are boat trips and water taxi's zipping about everywhere in the summer. We took Fotografiska's own boat, which operates throughout the Summer months over tothe contemporary photographic museum, which is housed in a former customs house right on the water front. The boat trip was lovely with chilled music and a bar available on board. You arrive at the front of the museum which has a veranda serving food and drinks and often a DJ playing a set, so you can literally spend a good couple of hours once there. We saw the photography exhibition by designer Shepard Fairey who launched the skate label Obey which was excellent. Other recent exhibitions have included Cindy Sherman, Peter Lindberg & Terry O'Neil. There is also a really good and well stocked gift shop. If you're there on a Saturday or Sunday, they famously serve a sharing brunch with a glass of bubbly from their Green Michelin star award winning bistro, which has been named as Swedens most sustainable restaurant.
Taking to the water to travel to Fotografiska
Fotografiska Stockholm photo credit Travel Cow
Some of the works on display at the Shepard Fairey Obey Exhibition including Manchester's own Ian Curtis
Fika
Fika meaning to take coffee and cake, is a tradition in Sweden and a daily occurence, the most famous pastry of choice being the cinnamon bun. There are coffee and cake shops everywhere but some of the most famous and best are:
Fabrique was established in 2008 baking quality bread, buns and pastries from the best and freshest ingredients and they have branches all over Stockholm so you'll never be far from one.
So to summarise Stockholm has so much to offer and it's a big city. Fortunately it has a great underground system for getting around quickly, that's cheap, clean and efficient. Bikes are ridden by everyone everywhere and you can hire them easily for longer periods or for short rides by using bikes on the streets by Lime or Bolt and downloading the app to access them. The easiest and cheapest way from the airport to arrive in the city is on the Arlander express which runs from the airport approx every 20 mins into Stockholm centre. Don't bother taking currency with you as Sweden is analmost cashlesssociety and cards are accepted everywhere, even by taxi drivers. Sweden doesn't have Euros so it's not worth taking a currency that you can't spend anywhere else if you have anyleft over. English is spoken by the swedes fluently and they are so friendly, helpful and polite. It's a really safe country, so don't be concerned if you're thinking of travelling there alone.
The one question I've been asked by most people "is it expensive when you're there?"
The answer to that is it's not cheap but it's no more expensive than London is now. To give you a better idea of prices, I always like to compare how much a drink was and how much it was to eat out.So for a G&T and a beer it was the equivalent of £20. For two large sandwiches & 2 cans of San Pellegrino sat at a pavement cafe it was £20. For an average meal in the evening of 3 small plates each & one alcoholic drink each it was around £70-£80. I hope this helps as the horror stories of how expensive Scandinavia was put me off going for a long time and in truth it's so expensive now in the UK that we've probably caught up.
We will definitely go back to explore more of this stunning city. leave me a dm on my Instagram if you want to ask me anything else or leave me your recommendation for my next visit. You know I love to hear from you x
