Holm, Swede, Holm!

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August 19, 2006 - August 22, 2006

My flight into Stockholm was fairly uneventful, with one exception. The woman sitting in the seat next to me had the worst breathe I think I’ve ever experienced. At first scent, I was unable to determine what the source of the crude smell was. Eventually I linked the awful aroma to her frequent yawns. The stench was appalling. I was very tempted to spend the rest of the flight in the airplane toilet, as that would have been a much more pleasant scent then what I was suffering through. I desperately wished I had a English to Swedish translation book so I could find out how to say, “Close your stinky, ass mouth” in Swedish. Instead, I pulled my jacket over my nose and fought through the chemical warfare till we eventually arrived in Stockholm.

Once at the airport, I found a good place to relax while I waited for Tegan’s flight to arrive. Before leaving the states, we talked through various back-up plans in case we were unable to locate one another due to confusion or flight problems. Thankfully, no problems were encountered, as I was able to meet her at her terminal exit with open arms. To be expected, she was fairly beat from her long day of traveling and was anxious to reach the hotel for a well-deserved nap.

Arriving in Stockholm courtesy of the express train from the airport, we ventured out on foot in the direction of our hotel. It turned out to be a long, grueling walk to the hotel, as we struggled to correctly find our way through the streets of Stockholm. It definitely didn’t help that we were dragging our luggage behind us the entire way. At the very least, it was a nice introduction to Stockholm. Eventually, our efforts proved rewarding as we located The Birger Jarl Hotel.

Our hotel room was very comfortable. The room had a very modern design, with a heavy influence of IKEA. Think hanging cabinets everywhere. The staff at the hotel was extremely friendly, and the included breakfast was appetizing enough to justify waking up early for. The hotel was just a short bus ride away from the center of the city. All things considered, I would definitely recommend The Birger Jarl Hotel to anyone planning a stay in Stockholm.

Once situated and a bit rested, we headed out to the Gamla Stan district (Old Town). Located exclusively on a separate island, Gamla Stan seemed to be the geographical center of Stockholm. During our stay in Stockholm, we definitely enjoyed our time spent in Gamla Stan the most. With narrow streets filled with tiny, cute shops and quaint, little cafes, the time always seemed to fly by during our evening strolls. Gamla Stan was also the location of the Royal Palace and several other noteworthy attractions. On our first evening, we walked around the district and waterside, getting acquainted with Stockholm. In the city sky flew numerous hot air balloons, just above the city landscape. We discussed seriously the thought of going on a balloon ride on Sunday or Monday, but later found out that Saturday was the only day they flew while we were in Stockholm. Bummer, as that would have certainly been unforgettable.

On Saturday evening we also stumbled upon The Stockholm Culture Festival in the Kungstradgarden on Norrmalm. With numerous stages spread throughout the area, we were able to see acts ranging from a Swedish wannabe Beastie Boys act to a classical, ballet of Sweden’s pride and joy, Pippy Longstockings. Locals of all ages filled the streets, as everyone was out enjoying the shows on a comfortably warm Saturday night.

From the Culture Festival, Tegan and I headed for the Stockholm Ice Bar before calling it a night. The Ice Bar is aptly named, as most everything in the small interior is made entirely out of ice. From the bar and walls, the tables and chairs, even the cocktail glasses; you couldn’t avoid the ice. Before entering, each individual is given a big, silver jacket with gloves attached in order to keep warm. Sponsored by Absolut Vodka, all of the drinks are some mixture of liquids including some flavoring of Absolut Vodka. The bar is certainly a cool experience that both Tegan and I enjoyed, as witnessed by the photographs.

Sunday we were greeted with overcast skies as we left for a different island district called Djurgarden. Throughout the day showers would creep in for short periods of time to remind us that rain was in the forecast for every upcoming day of our vacation. Joy! Djurgarden is loosely considered Stockholm’s fun center, with a national park sharing space on the island with an amusement park and other popular sites. Our trip over was mainly to visit the Vasa Museum and Stockholm’s open-air museum, Skansen.

The Vasa Museum is the home of a Swedish 17th century warship that 20 minutes into its maiden voyage sank to the bottom of the sea floor after capsizing due to poor construction. 333 years later, a project to raise the well-preserved ship from its resting place was completed, and now the reconstructed vessel is housed on Djurgarden for the public’s viewing pleasure. The ship is a behemoth of a vessel, with two separate gun decks it’s easy to see how the ship’s design may have had some influence in its sinking. On the open seas, the ship would have been extremely intimidating. The intricate carvings on the side of the ship certainly spoke volumes about its intentions. The building that houses the Vasa is kept humid and extremely dim to assist with the overall preservation efforts. This sadly made picture taking extremely difficult, so you’ll have to utilize good old Google if you want to see snapshots of the Vasa.

Skansen is Stockholm’s open-air museum, historically one of the first of its kind in Europe. Similar to Colonial Williamsburg in style with an added dimension of a small zoo showcasing wildlife from throughout Sweden. Having just been to the Norfolk open-air museum, the attraction was a bit of overkill for me. Tegan, on the other hand, definitely enjoyed her Skansen experience.

After Djurgarden, we decided to take a boat tour around the main islands called the Royal Canal Tour. If you want to know where a member of the ABBA music group owns a home, then this tour might be perfect for you. For me, the only really fun part of the tour was switching Tegan’s headphones to different languages and waiting to see how long it would take her to recognize it wasn’t English anymore. In summary, the tour was pretty damn boring. However, the one-hour spent on the boat was at the very least relaxing and visually appealing.

As soon as we stepped off the tour boat, down came the rain. We rushed for a bus deciding this would be a good opportunity to head back to the hotel for a break and dinner. Sunday night we explored the Stockholm subway, and walked around parts of Norrmalm district. For a Sunday night, most everything was dead. It was a very weird to feel like we had the streets of Stockholm practically to ourselves. It seemed like something out of a Twilight Zone show at the quietest points.

Monday we decided that we wanted to tour the archipelago a bit by taking a boat out to Vaxholm. We arrived at the docks at about 1:00pm to find out that the next boat was scheduled to leave at approximately 3:00pm. We opted to kill time back on Gamla Stan by touring the Royal Armory and Royal Stagecoach exhibits. We also figured a hearty lunch wouldn’t hurt either. Just as we were finishing up our lunch, the skies opened up and a downpour ensued. We hung out at a cute little ice cream parlor with homemade waffle cones to try and wait out the storm. The downpour got so heavy that the cobbled streets of Gamla Stan were filled with running water. Seeing that the skies overhead showed no sign of clearing up, we gave up on our afternoon plans to head to Vaxholm figuring an afternoon stroll on the island was now looking terribly wet. Instead we headed for the indoor mall for a bit of shopping and then back to the hotel to relax.

The rain continued throughout the day, forcing us to stay indoors or close to our hotel. We made the most of our options, but still felt a tad disappointed that the weather had interrupted our afternoon plans. By late evening the rain finally stopped, so we headed back down to Gamla Stan for dinner at Sally’s and some blues music at Stampen. Coincidentally, the blues performer at Stampen was an American from Chicago. After a few drinks, our last evening in Stockholm finally came to an end as we caught the subway back to our hotel.

We had decided that heading to Copenhagen on Tuesday was our next move. Pricing train and plane options, we found cheap flights through Nordic Air. If all goes well, we’ll be safely in Copenhagen by 5:00pm Tuesday evening.

While Tegan and I certainly had fun in Stockholm, I think we both agreed that the city failed to really impress us. Nothing about our time here really stood out as exceptional, or uniquely different. Maybe it’s the frequency at which English is used, the unprovocative architecture of the city, or perhaps expectations that were simply too high. It’s a city that I’m glad I visited, but one I would likely not plan a return trip too. For me, Oslo was far more appealing from my tainted American perspective, and I’m hopeful Copenhagen will be as well.

The rest of the vacation will be spent in Denmark. Most of the week we’ll spend gallivanting around Copenhagen, with a trip out to Aeroskobing on Aero Island. The weather forecast does not look very promising, as rain is expected for just about everyday this upcoming week. Let’s hope the weathermen in Denmark are as consistently incompetent at those back home. Think sunny days!

(All pictures here forward are compliments of my new photographer, T-cup!)

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Photos

Stockholm Skyline
View of Stockholm from Skansen.

Hot Air Ballon
Flying over The Grand Hotel.

Statue
The cutest little statue on Gamla Stan.

Posing at Ice Bar
Tegan and I at Ice Bar

Skansen Home
In NoVa, this puppy would go for about $200,000!

Back in Business!
That's right! To the jungle baby!

A Few Too Many
I just couldn't stop drinking!

Tegan Getting Crazy
That's a big bottle of Absolut!

Stockholm Tour Boat
Viking boat used for tours of the Stockholm islands.