Stockholm

On the 27th of December, Robyn, Dave and I dragged ourselves away from the festivities of Stanfest and boarded a plane to Stockholm, Sweden.

When we arrived, at about 14h00, the sun was already going down rapidly and by the time we got to our hotel, via the efficient T-Bana underground system, it was pitch dark, and quite frankly, I was ready for a beer. Alas no, after all it was only about 16h00, and not 20h00, as I had thought, and there was a city to explore. We headed straight for Gamla Stan, Stockholm's old town, through Sodermalm (the area we were staying in, just south of the city centre). After snaking our way through the the narrow, dimly lit cobble-stoned alleys we finally gave in to the freezing cold wind and found a very reasonable, cozy Italian restaurant to thaw ourselves, and after a surprisingly good meal, decided that that was enough for one evening.

The city of Stockholm has a population of just over 1 million people (to give you an idea of scale, London is home to close on 10 million people) and is made up of 14 islands which in turn form part of the 'Stockholm archipelago' of 24,000 islands and islets which stretch 60km eastwards to the Baltic coast. Stockholm is also famed for it's number of Museums (over 70) and galleries and they are keen creatives, taking their design very seriously. Design and functionality appear to merge there and I'm still deciding whether it's possible that the rest of the world copies there style (particularly interior/industrial design)!? For example, Dave said, if there Macdonalds branches were to stop selling burgers they could easily convert them into nightclubs. Such is the style in which they're designed. Chic and modern if you want a cliché. The only normal chair that I sat in for four days, that didn't look like it came straight out of the Bauhaus School of Design was in the Irish style pub we had dinner in on our last night (it's an expensive city and Swedish is surprisingly difficult to decipher on a menu!).

I won't go into too much more detail but I'll tell you of a few things that we did, that I would recommend to anyone else planning a trip there.

Definitely visit the Vasa Museum. The 'Vasa' is a ship that capsized in 1628, 100 metres from port (in Stockholm) on her maiden voyage. It really is such an interesting story and amazingly, almost all of the ship has been recovered and restored. The museum is brilliantly interactive to.



Take a ferry trip to the inner most outer islands, or you could go to Vaxholm, unfortunately we didn't have enough time.

Walk around Djürgaarden, and see all the different style extravagant houses.

Have a sundowner at the Radisson skybar, near T-Centraalen, it's reasonably priced to.

Stay at the Clarion Hotel and see how hard it is to get out of those beds. It's worth it though because the breakfasts are superb. http://www.clarionstockholm.com/

Explore Gamla Stan, possibly one of the nicest (and definitely the cleantest) old towns I've ever seen.

Take the lift (Klaanaslussen?) up to the unbelievably rickety looking platform for some great views of the city and harbour front. Nearest tube stop – Slussen. Turn right out the station.

Go to Macdonalds for some design inspiration.

Walk from Slussen (stop on the T-bana) to Skanstull, there are lots of different restaurants and bars to choose from.

Don't go to Kristine Berg beach. It's not actually a beach, but a jetty, and more an industrial area cross up and coming residential apartment area. But if you want to see a spitting image of Willie Wonker's Chocolate Factory, by all means go there.



Some useful Information:
• Pint of beer = 52 Swedish krona's = £3.70 - £4
• Average meal = 130SKr = £10/£11
• When using their public transport, the cheaper alternative to buying a 'Stockholm Card' is to buy a book of 10 (128SKr) tickets. Each ticket is valid for an hour, during which time you can use all modes of transport as many times as you like. Someone really should tell them about the 'one day travelcard' though.
• Catch the 'Vlyggbus' from Arlanda airport to T-Centralen (Central station), journey takes about 40 minutes and costs about 150Skr (return), almost half the price of the Arlanda Express train.
• Box of 20 Marlboro Lights – 30SKr (Yes, very cheap)