Stockholm

definitely enjoyed my time in stockholm. when people ask me how was it, it’s really hard to describe it in a concise and telling way besides saying it was “great”. it was big, easy to get around, very maritime, very clean, very nordic…

it was like going home, except things were generally in swedish and really expensive. really, it felt like i was going “home” when i was there. sometimes i would forget that i had to go back to czech republic, as if i was going to just stay forever.

my favorite things i did in stockholm….

wandering around gamla stan on the first evening– a warm and balmy summer night

SKANSEN open-air museum on day two was a HUGE highlight of mine. if you can imagine hundreds of houses from the 19th century or so recovered, cleaned up, transported, and re-formed as a traditional swedish homestead. i could almost feel the presence of my swedish ancestors. and the best part about it was that it was a living museum. everything is real. the little scandinavian zoo was also the best part. where else can you see a mama bear playing with her three cubs except on television? so worth it. skansen is the disneyland of sweden.

yes, i am riding a ginormous dalarna horse.

guinea pigs!

this is what i call my “soaking wet, but still fly, swedish farm gangsta” pose

eating the tastiest cinnamon bun ever at saturnus cafe. they used an extra spice i’ve never had in a pastry before…. and after about three hours i realized it was cardamom. the swedes LOVE cardamom! the large sugar granules (like i ain’t never seen before) generally seem to replace frosting in cinnamon rolls in this region.

i was pretty wishy washy about going to the ABBA museum. see, i like ABBA and everything but had read some mixed reviews on tripadvisor about it. in the end, i decided i would regret not going and gave it my best shot, got the audio book, went by myself– everything to ensure i’d have a great experience. and ohh…. i did. the audio guides were narrated by the four ABBA members themselves and it was really an incredible experience, like having them lead you around and talk to you about every little facet about being in this group. and so many great interactive exhibits! after a little coaxing, i performed half of “mamma mia” onstage next to four holographic ABBA members. if you ask nicely i might let you see the video!

besides all the great museums and sights i saw, just being in stockholm was wonderful enough. getting tea, walking the streets, hanging out at the piers, going to brazilian national day celebrations at kungsträdgården square, meeting up with a friend i hadn’t seen in years for a drink, playing around at a playground at dusk, learning new neighborhoods, eating countless packages of singoalla cookies.

honorable museum mentions…

• historiska museet – excellent exhibit of sweden through the ages and LOVED the viking exhibit! free on fridays– big plus!
• fotografiska museet– really worthwhile photography museum with exhibitions from internationally renown artists, and some up-and-coming swedes
• vasa museet– it’s a gigantic war ship (bigger than you’re imagining) that sunk in stockholm harbor on its maiden voyage and spent the next 333 years underwater before its recovery. fascinating.

sweden wrap-up to come…