Cruising at 556mph, 37,000 feet above ground level over Denmark I was over half way on my trip from London to Stockholm airport to visit my Father. A packet of McCoys flame grilled crisps, a peanut butter Kit Kat chunky, one coffee and a read of Grazia later we touched down in Arlanda airport, on the outskirts of one the most beautiful Nordic capitals, Stockholm, home to ABBA, H&M Ikea and their infamous meatballs.
Scandinavia's capital, Stockholm, home to fourteen islands, offers a huge range of exciting activities for everyone; museum junkies {of more than one hundred available it boasts this year's hottest news in the world of museums, The Swedish Music Hall of Fame and ABBA}; thrill seekers {Gröna Lund amusement park - which I have visited in the past, a great shout!} and nature lovers, the neighbouring {and not so closely neighbouring} 30,000 other islands create a beautifully tranquil journey from Lake Mälaren through to the the Baltic Sea.
Although I have been to Stockholm a fair few times in my lifetime visiting family and relatives, it has been a good eight years since my last visit and this time I was lucky enough to enjoy and visit the city and surrounding areas as a tourist-come-local with the guidance of my Father.
Day one: We headed to the races..not you average Joe races but Harness {or Trot} racing and Sweden is the 'locomotive' of trot racing in Scandinavia. The difference? The rider doesn't actually sit in the saddle on the horse, but in a kind of wagon called a sulky pulled by the horse. Another major difference? The horse and rider are penalised and a lot of the time disqualified from the race if the horse turns from a trot to a gallop. {You learn something new every day}
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| A night at the races & Dad teaching me bad habits and making a few bets! You win some you lose some eyh! |
The cruise: On the evening of the second day we headed to the ferry dock to embark on a mini-cruise through the Baltic sea and Swedish and Finnish islands to Turku in Finland. With a cabin booked by my Father and reservations made for the restaurant the following day, we were ready to set sail on our mini adventure. As we cast anchor and said good night to Stockholm, we watched one of the most beautiful city sunsets I have ever seen and drifted through the night through the islands.
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| A the sun set over Stockholm the moon came out and we said good night to Sweden. |
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| On board our amazing buffet lunch included three types of Caviar, Salmon gravlax, macaroons, a cheese board, beer, wine and much much more...and the best part...all you can eat and drink! |
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| ...and awoke the rising Finnish sun. Good morning Turku. |
On my final day we headed into Stockholm city centre, also known as the Venice of Scandinavia, to explore the Old Town, Kings Palace, changing of the guards and all the other beautiful sites it has to offer. The changing of the guards at the palace is a great experience, a definite must! We were in for a treat too as just by chance the ITU World Triathlon Series was being held so we had a stop off to watch the swimmers, cyclists and runners!
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Stockholm city, the Kings Palace.
What I wore: a cheap, trendy, comfortable summer city break outfit:
Top Primark, Leggings M&S, Shoes Converse, bag Longchamp, Sunnies H&M |
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| The changing of the guards at the Kings Palace |
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| Stockholm, the Venice of Scandinavia |
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| Stockholm Old Town. Freshly made waffle ice cream cones. Delish! |
Stockholm is a beautiful city and I would recommend it to any traveller! I was lucky enough to experience it once again the in hot Scandinavian summer sunshine as a local and tourist and look forwards to hopefully going back in the winter for some skiing and snowy fun!
Have you been to Stockholm? Let me know what your favourite part was or if you want some advice!
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Random facts I found out: did you know...
...Sweden has the highest number of McDonald restaurants per capita in Europe (although that is only about half of the US ratio).
...According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Sweden ranks second in the world after Finland in terms of coffee consumption per person. Coffee drinking is fostered through a tradition called fika — in which friends, family and/or colleagues meet for coffee or tea. - Italy who?
...On Easter children dress up as witches and go trick-or-treating. - strange right?
...The population of Sweden is 9.2 million, which is only a bit more than the population of New York City. -crazy!
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