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267,570. Unbelievably, this is the total number of islands that constitute the country of Sweden – more than any other country in the world. Stockholm itself is built on 14 islands, with 57 bridges connecting them. Consequently, Stockholm is called the Venice of the North, with water, water everywhere, and walking through the city center always involves two or three bridge crossings. The presence of so much water also makes it chillier than cities that are more inland. When we first arrived, it was 38-42F (3-6C), which is fairly cold for two travelers who normally follow the sun and who have light rain jackets. After a few days, it did warm up to about 60F (15C), and that was delightful.
On the trip here from London, we had the pleasure of sitting next to an exceptionally friendly 23-year-old named Gabriel, and we talked for the entire flight. It turns out that his grandfather, Evert Taube, is a famed Swedish author and artist – one of Sweden’s most respected musicians and known as a troubadour of the Swedish ballad tradition. Gabriel was warm and friendly, and gave us tips on what to see, as well as some cultural info. He works as a bartender, and when we stopped in, days later, to visit him at work, he was like a machine, mixing drinks and taking order after order. It was very busy, so not like a Cheers bar where you can have a chat with the bartender, oh no – Gabriel is in constant motion.
The best advice Gabriel offered was: Use cards only; no actual cash is necessary. Usually, our first stop is at an ATM, so that we have cash for small pop-up vendors and such. But, we found that every tiny coffee stand, and even a farmer’s market stand with fresh fruit and veggies, took credit cards. The strawberries we bought were other-worldly – smallish, tender, and as sweet as candy. It is hard to find those in the US!
By the way, as time goes on we are finding less and less need for cash. We spent five days in London before we arrived here. We never used any cash there, either. But if you feel more secure with a little cash, as we say in our Tips For Travelers section, be sure to carry a card that doesn’t charge foreign exchange fees, and always charge your purchases in local currency, wherever you are.
Copenhagen has the feel of an old, illustrious European world capital, like Vienna. It has large ceremonial buildings everywhere, with many re-purposed as amenities such as museums. The buildings are replete with scroll work, statues, angels, gingerbread, and other embellishments, marking them as dating to the end of the 19th or early 20th century. Old Town, Gamla Stan, is cobblestoned with many old buildings. It is utterly charming and a delight for walking around. Our favorite sight of all was stumbling onto the cherry trees blossoming in Kungstradgarden. They are famous, and always bloom in mid-April, but we hadn’t heard or read about them. It is so much better to happen upon them unprepared rather than to go looking – our delight was double what it would otherwise have been.
Our only advice, beyond what is above, would be to visit between May and September, when temperatures are warmer. You would miss the cherry trees, however, and they were certainly glorious and memorable.
Stockholm’s oh-so-pretty cherry trees!
Stockholm is certainly a city of spires and towers.
We discovered the cherry blossoms right around noon, so the sun was strong. It was our first warm day in Stockholm.
Spires and towers are everywhere. This is the view we enjoyed daily from our hotel room.
In Old Town – Gamla Stan – there is lots of cobblestone and several pretty tunnels leading to…more.
On one of our chilly, gray days, we shot this pathway at St. Mary Magdalene Church. The tombstones encircle the church’s perimeter – and one tree with white blossoms was ready for Easter.
Riddarsholmskyrkan is the oldest building in Stockholm, and is the former Franciscan Greyfriars Monastery. It is the resting place of most Swedish monarchs. The striking, lacy tower can be seen from everywhere in the downtown. Unfortunately, the building is closed to the public until May 1.
All sorts of wild things are on the menu at Restaurant C&C – from wild mushrooms to elk, moose, reindeer, and wild boar…along with pictures so you know what you’re in for.
But, we will note – chocolate doesn’t keep you warm on these cold Swedish nights!
We loved that this now-clothing store preserved the original facade of German Confections.
No worries – the noble Viking tradition is upheld here in Stockholm everywhere you look!
A fountain’s water spout, which kind of looks terrifying.
On the island of Stromsborg sits one building…the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). That one building can have its own island is itself a testament to the number of islands Sweden has!
This is noted as the German Church – we had to look hard to find that its name was St. Gertrude’s.
This is the wonderful and handsome Gabriel Taube, whose grandfather is a Swedish legend. He was invaluable in getting us ready to explore Stockholm. Thank you, Gabriel! We will always remember our conversation, and your sweetness.
This cafe had to be enshrined in our blog due to its window’s neon sign – Pasta La Vista, Baby.
What is Viking food, you may ask? Oh – moose sausage, venison steak, parsnips, juniper-smoked pig’s side, salmon, salsify (a root vegetable which supposedly tastes like oysters), Byzantium herb bulgar, reindeer sausage, perch, honey-roasted dwarf chicken, heart of reindeer, mussels, and the ever-present lingonberries. So now you know.
The main pedestrian shopping and dining street (not in Old Town) is Drottninggatan – it seems to stretch forever.
Aah – an oasis spa center down a short path from Drottninggatan, called Centralbadet (1904). What peace!
This guy is used in lots of tourism ads for Stockholm.
Just a pretty window in Old Town. Notice the Fika plate on the left. We did indulge in Fika a few times – the Swedish term for stopping everything to enjoy an afternoon coffee-and-pastry break. Just wonderfully delightful.
Great name, whatever it means. Beautiful old building.
Kroppkakar is defined in English underneath. What caught our attention was the word Svampfyllning, which is the Swedish word for mushroom – sounds like Swamp Filling!
In the local grocery store, we found that the more expensive steaks were locked up! To change Swedish kroner to the U S dollar, you just move the decimal to the left. So 239 kroner is about $23.90.
Adjacent to the steaks were these tubes. We are used to tubes of cheese, but here there were also tubes of salami and tuna. And no, we did not try any.
A wild, modern sculpture as we walked downtown.
The biggest bow ever adorns this doorway.
Stortorget Square holds these pretty, Dutch-architecture buildings (now cafes on the ground level).
Also in Stortorget Square is the Nobel Prize Museum in the old Stock Exchange Building.
Oh, here we go again – Viking food! Moving the decimal to the left, the dish costs about $24.
The National Museum has its own waterfront, and all sorts of info on national treasures.
In one of the downstairs galleries was a collection of sculptures, and this one was striking.
A spring day in the city on a warm afternoon.
The 150-year-old Grand Hotel opened in 1874. The Stockholm Exhibition of 1866 made the city realize that it needed five-star accommodations for guests, as Sweden became known to the world. We priced the hotel during the time we were here, and rooms cost several times what they did at our Hilton. It seemed very busy when we were in the lobby. We don’t think they had any shortage of guests.
Walking by here during the early afternoon, we thought this orb of stars was a leftover from Christmas. But no, later in the afternoon, it was all lit up.
Cafe Schweizer has operated in this location since 1920. Its name comes from the early 1800s-term “schweizeri,” meaning a cafe that serves alcohol.As you can see, it also serves fresh-squeezed orange juice!
We enjoyed one of our most memorable lunches at Cafe Schweizer – a slice of traditional Swedish Cheese Pie made with the Swedish cheese, Vasterbotten. The slab was as big as 2-3 slices of regular quiche, and every mouthful was intensely enjoyable. Thankfully, we were sharing! The large pie in the middle on the bottom shelf – with that red tomato on top – is Swedish cheese pie. Above it are their monster-sized sandwiches. On the right is their array of pastries, ready for Fika.
“Walk In – Dance Out.” Had to be in our blog!
The Sea God and Mermaid – along Stockholm’s beautiful waterfront.(Carl Milles, 1930)
There are impossibly beautiful scenes like this over and over, walking across Stockholm’s many bridges and pedestrian waterfront walkways.
All. Over. The. City. Is this Spain? Mexico? What? Stockholm has an obsession with churros!
Such odd-looking antique telephone booths. No phones inside any longer, of course.
A bronze figure called Kasper by Goran Straat. There are several versions of Kasper around Stockholm by the same artist, but this is the only one we saw.
???? We don’t know why Janet Leigh of Psycho shows up on this sign in the city docking area, but we absolutely love, love, love it! ❤️❤️❤️
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