Valkommen till Stockholm

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Good luck Stockholm, you're neighbour has set a very high standard.

The flight was so short that it barely registered. We jumped on the Arlanda Express - a high speed train that cuts a 45 minute drive from the airport into a 20 minute train ride in first class comfort. I must confess a flaw that I'm coming to terms with on this trip. I'm fixated on ensuring that I make the most economic and efficient choice of transport. Every day, every time! I let us all down on the Stockholm airport choice. I made the right choice but my implementation was sloppy. The simplest and usually the most expensive option is to grab a taxi - but in my eyes that's the easy way out and I'm not about to play that game - and I like to use that as the benchmark. 500-600 Swedish Kroner (SEK) is the quote for a taxi to the city and it takes 45 mins. Travelling as a group gets us a 400 SEK ticket to the city on the 200km/h Arlanda Express and that was the right choice. In my haste I selected individual tickets assuming the ticket machine would aggregate - it didn't! I'd turned a 400SEK ticket into 900 SEK and I'd unnecessarily paid for Deaks when a group ticket would have included under 12s for free. On a standerd individual ticket only under 6s are free but in a group ticket it lets kids up to 11 travel free with an adult. Simple right? It was a rookie error and for only the generosity and trust of the swedes did I got a refund. Damn! These people are as nice as the Danes!

AirBNB came through with the goods again as well. It truly is an amazing community. This house is amazing and once again only 6-7 T-Bana stops from Central Station. These hosts are the ones that said "We will have left stockholm by the time you arrive. The keys are under the bird bath in the backyard, enjoy our place". And there is so much to enjoy. This 106 year old "duplex" (for lack of a better word) is so cool. The kids share a room full of toys, the kitchen has all we need and a little welcome gift and the lounge is all kitted out with a fireplace and Netflix. And the house is styled in a relax nordic fashion with guitars, keyboards, a gramophone, antique telephones and so many books. Unfortunately they are in Swedish but alot of the titles are books we know and some we've read. It's a common theme so far that AirBNB hosts are creative or artistic. Probably just open minded and progressive - my kind of people. Did I mention Mono? He's the cat and he's staying with us while his family vacates for the weekend. He's very freindly and strange.

And there is a bageri (bakery) next door and we sampled their yummy treats this morning. A swedish twist on some common favourites. The brownie had sesame seeds on top and pumpkin seeds in it. Maggie has a cardamon scroll and Jules had a chocolate and walnut brioche. My god it was good!

Last night we checked out the city centre. We did bit of shopping to upgrade the wardrobe (so cold when the sun is hidden and the wind was arctic), Jules got a jacket and Deaks a beanie.

Stockholm is much bigger than Copenhagen and seems more of a real global city. The most obvious hint of this is the numbers of gypsies and beggars. These were non-existent in Copenhagen but our first T Bana ride had half a dozen examples - on the train and in the stations and on the mall. Sweden is a very wealthy country with a renowned social safety net but perhaps it is not available to all. Fair to say all of the beggars had dark skin and not native to the Archipelago.

Who knew Stockholm was part of an archipelago? Not me! And what a beautiful setting it is. Water everywhere and the buildings are painted with ochre tones. It is to my eye a more visually appealing city to Copenhagen, and I thought Copenhagen was pretty.

The Old Town (Gamla Stan) is stunning and one of the best preserved examples of a medieval town in northern Europe. We strolled through there in the early evening (sun sets at 10) and the buildings, alley ways and cobbled streets take you to another time. And yopu can't walk 5 metres without seeing Pippi LongStocking or a Viking.

We stopped for Pizza around the corner from our place and chatted with the serbian pizza guy. He told me that 1000 serbs live in an underground town in Australia. I think he was talking about coober pedy. He wants to visit but I warned him that it's a bit hotter than Stockholm.

We haven't stopped for the last week and it's starting to take it's toll on the kids. A couple of days ago Milla's told us she wasn't walking anymore and her legs we re tired. We incorporated a few more buses and trains into our schedule and she managed it with no complaints. Physically she showed cracks a couple of days ago and last night she cracked mentally. It wasn't in a cranky melt down kind of way but intead she went a bit manic at dinner. She talked ad nauseum about opening her restaurant and only serving water and apple juice (no beer, wine or soft drink) and how she would serve wooden caterpillars to the babies. Anyway, we got her home and they both had a better nights sleep. They have both been amzingly well behaved considering the level of activity and stimulation they've been put through. Some adults have faltered at the pace we set on the tourist path. I'm talking about you parents!

Did I mention that 3 Krokvagen Stockholm has a bike?

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