How to Do Stockholm in 3 Days (part 2)

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I didn’t get a good night sleep last night. The fire alarms rang twice in the middle of the night. Each time in rang, it lasted for around 30-40 mins each. This “interesting” no-man Omena hotel relies on their automated fire alarm to call the fire brigade if there’s any trouble. So every time some guests in other room smartly smokes inside the room, it will trigger the fire alarm which rang INSIDE every room. Gah. Read my full review HERE. But nevertheless, it doesn’t damper my spirit to explore Stockholm. So Stockholm day 2, here we go!

Today I have a full schedule. And I’m trying to pack as much as possible before the rain falls mid day (as per the weather forecast). I walked to Stadthuset building, it’s some sort of their city hall. I immediately take a number to climb the Stadthuset tower, which is only allowed by guided tour. Again, it’s free with my Stockholm Card. The allocated time was only 45 mins. They said that normally people would need 15 mins to walk up, 15 mins to walk down which leaves 15 mins only to stay at the top. I hustle and reached the top in about 10 mins despite of my huffing & panting. The view is such a treat! The sky is blue. Although, if I could suggest – considering the sun light direction – it probably better to climb the tower in the late afternoon instead of in the morning. On the top, a Japanese guy offered to take my picture. I hesitate a bit to hand out my SLR but finally gave it anyway, I don’t sense any “thief” vibe or anything. After that, I said thanks and that was it. I go for another round of the tower top and that guy is still standing there. Then finally it hits me. Owh, how could I forget the cultural context! Being from a polite nation, perhaps he wanted me to take his picture instead but he’s not comfortable saying so. I offered to take his picture and his face lights up ha ha… Why didn’t you just say so?

Down from the tower, the sky is still blue and I’m actually already itching to venture out. But my Stockholm Card is also making me eligible to tour the inside of Stadthuset. I heard there’s a nice blue and golden hall inside. I checked out the queue for the guided tour (you can’t just roam inside, must be with their guide) and lucky there’s still a spot for the next tour – which runs in another 10 mins. So I decided to wait. While waiting I saw this couple hugs each other while queuing which makes me miss my husband a lot. There’s also some Chinese girl who did the Royal Canal cruise with me yesterday. Small world.

In general, I don’t really like guided tours. But Cecilia was so entertaining. She’s probably still in her early 20’s. I excuse myself every now and then from the group to take pictures. The first room we visited was the “Blue Hall’ which is apparently not blue at all. The architect originally envisions it to be covered with blue tile, but half way through the development he feels the brick wall is nice already. This is the location for Nobel dinner banquet held every year. Afterwards, we roam around to where some Nobel medals are stored, the conference room, and finally – the famous Golden Hall! THAT was amazing. I hunt for another visitor carrying SLR too, and asked them to take my picture. There’s this one lady who had Canon too, with a more expensive lens (yes, I can differentiate lens prices just by a glance). I gave her my camera, she looked at it, and changed my settings ha ha… Well, the picture turned out great. So no complain from me. There’s a picture of a strange big lady with medusa hair at the end, and Cecilia – the guide, said that it represent a strong female ruler of Stockholm; with big eyes to see the world clearly, with strong arms to defend her nation, etc. The tour lasted for somewhat 1 hour, and then I blast to my next destination before the blue sky is gone.

Actually, Riddalholmen Church was not part of my original plan. But since I passed it anyway, and it’s covered by my Stockholm Card, I decided to stop by. This particular church is a little bit eerie to me. It’s basically where the past royal families are buried. But they didn’t bury them underground. Each corps was placed in their individual marble casket… Similar like what I saw before in Da Vinci Code movie. Downstairs, it’s even spookier because there are mini caskets for the royal prince & princess. Gosh, so many bloods lost just to fight over “power”. Like that will bring happiness.

Walked across Riddalholmen and saw this nice French style building with unique cone shape plants. Again, it’s not only to do list but looks interesting enough. Apparently it’s the House of Nobility which unfortunately was closed for the day. Yes, that’s one of the things that you should watch out when planning a trip to Stockholm. Different attractions have different opening day/hours. So need to carefully plan it.

I roamed through Gamla Stan a bit to take some pictures, but I did not linger because I have a goal in mind. I want to take picture of the famous bridge near National Museum. It has this giant crown on it and with the right angle, you could have the Royal Palace in the background. Very Stockholmey. So after a long walk, I did get the shot. However, too bad the sky is already started to turn grey.

I was tempted to walk to Djurgarden, but it’s already past 12 and I haven’t had a proper meal. Passed by the Kungstradgarden and didn’t see any eateries within my budget. I was already so hungry, so I ended up at McDonalds ha ha… The waitresses are very pretty, I should say. In Indonesia they would probably be actresses. Well, what do you expect? They’re Swedish ha ha…

Just before I catch the next tram, suddenly there’s a marching band coming down the street. OMG, a parade! Apparently they have an event at the nearby Kungstradgarden. Gah, too bad I don’t have the time to watch the whole thing. I’m really off track from my itinerary and really need to take tram no 7 and go to my next destination: Djurgarden.

There’s just sooo many things to view in Djurgarden. Again, you need to be careful in planning because different attractions have different closure days. First stop: Skansen! I’m not quite sure how I should categorize Skansen as an attraction. It has a zoo, aquarium, garden but also traditional houses. But it was HUGE. Typically people go here to take picture of the house with the grass on the rooftop. However, since I saw the real thing already during Norway road trip – I’m not too impressed cause I feel like I’ve seen the “real” thing.

After spending around 2.5 hours or so in Skansen, I walked to Junibacken. It’s supposed to be a indoor museum inspired by children stories. I know only knew one writer though, Enid Blyton. Hmm, but then when I googled, she’s from UK (?) Perhaps I saw another writer name at Junibacken, dunno. Anyway, again the attraction is free with my Stockholm Card, otherwise I have to pay 145 SEK to get in. Even though the museum was small, but they really went all out. Even the cloak room is decorated with children stories murals. In the first room, there are so many mini houses that children can play in. Including models of igloo, airplane and giant gorilla!

After that, you can take the carriage ride which will take you through different model. The guard asked me what language I want, because apparently there’s a speaker on the top of the cart – so your experience will be personalized. And to my surprise, it’s not just cruising through dead models with repetitive movement. It’s a snapshot highlight of a lot of children stories (most I’m not familiar with, though). There’s definitely Pippy the Long Stockhing stories, then there’s another sad story about 2 orphan brothers. The big brother got killed due to something, and the younger brother visited him in “heaven” – which has a river. Then the younger brother was so sad when going back to the real world that he threw himself off a cliff so he can be with his older brother (???) I was like… errr… Did I get the story right? Not sure what moral story it can taught little kids given suicide is part of the story.

Next, originally I was planning to go to the Nordiska Museet next door. But apparently I note the wrong opening hours. They have just closed for the day. But no worries, I still have time tomorrow. So I moved on to my next destination: Grona Lund! Now THIS is the oldest amusement parks in Sweden built on 1883. Entry fee is 95 SEK (but you need to pay extra if you want to take any ride, the ticket only grants you entry to the ground). Again, free with my Stockholm Card.

As usual there are merry go rounds, flying dumbo, roller coasters, etc. What grabbed my attention was the crazy box-shape roller coasters and giant chocolates that they give away as prize if you won the carnival games. And here – I really felt my feet hurting so so so bad. I just realized I had a very long day. Perhaps walked for at least 8 hours or so.

After gathering my energy, I took the tram #7 back to the city. Near Sergels Torg final stop, I saw an international food bazaar selling from English Nougat, Paella, Polish Dumplings up to Kangaroo Steak from Australia. It was fun to take pictures there. However unfortunately with my dietary restrictions, I couldn’t really find anything that I can take. So I ended up eating Sushi again. Which is fine. I’m at peace with the fact that on such trip – eating is a way to survive and not necessarily for enjoyment. Of course, it was a whole different story when I visited Istanbul where my hubby and I each gained 3-5 kg in a week.

I rushed back to hotel before the sunlight is gone. I’m good at a lot of things, but I do realize that I have a low spatial intelligence. I can’t read maps properly and get confused which one is north after couple of turns. But thank goodness I can still find my way home. Not by reading maps, but by using some landmarks that I remembered.

Wow, Stockholm Day 2. Packed A LOT of things. But I’m not done yet – I still have day 3. Before I closed the day to rest, a text message arrived. M was checking on me whether I got home safely after our split day. How nice of him. Not long after replying, I was unconscious. It’s been a very long day.

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Photos

Giant Paella!
I wonder how many portion is that

Perfect Blue Sky!
Don't you just love it if the scene is accompanied by perfect blue sky? So pretty in contrasting with the pastel buildings. So... European!

The Almighty Stockholm Card
In my opinion, the card was really worth it & value for money.

Giant Chocolates!
Initially I thought it was empty boxes, but apparently inside it they do have chocolates in smaller packages

Traditional Houses & Carriages @ Skansen
That horse was HUGE