Blogs from Stockholm County, Sweden, Europe - page 2

There are many houses on the islands outside of Stockholm, though most are not main residences but are weekend or summer houses for the more wealthy Swedes. A boat trip through the archipelago is both scenic and interesting and makes for an excellent day trip from Stockholm. There are in theory plenty of options and different islands/places to visit, but as we are out of main season the number of these are reduced. Without too much fuss we settle on the trip to Sandhamn which is on one of the outer island in the northern area. The boat leaves at 10am and takes just over 2 hours to reach Sandhamn and returns at 15:30 so we have about 3 hours on the island. This looks to me to be an ideal day trip as it also ... read more

The most visited museum in Stockholm is not the Abba museum but the "Vasa" museum. The Vasa was a 17th century Swedish warship that sank on its maiden voyage just outside Stockholm, was raised in 1961 and is now brilliantly preserved in a special museum on Djurgarden. The ship is very very impressive. I had not expected it to be so intact, particularly as over 90% of what is on display is the original ship with only a few additions (rigging , masts etc) to improve the overall appearance. This incredible condition is due mainly to the water here which being cold and polluted did not support the oxygen that would normally have caused the wood to rot. The raising of the vessel and the subsequent preservation work are also impressive achievements and are featured in ... read more

Death played chess already in the 15th century When we looked through our photos from last summer we noticed that we had some that were interesting enough to publish but that didn't fit well in any of the other blog entries. These random leftovers we have now put together in this blog entry. Trehörningen lake Huddinge is a city south of Stockholm and it is generally considered a part of greater Stockholm area. It makes perfect sense to say that since the Stockholm Metro system actually goes to Huddinge. In June we spent a weekend hiking and camping next to a small lake named Trehörningen just outside Huddinge. This is a place that generally only locals visit. In fact, we would not have found it without our friends who have better local knowledge than us. We ... read more

Yes I bought a Swedish phrase book before I arrived. Luckily the Swedes were spared my bravely spewed bits of Swedish as most Scandinavians speak English very well. I remember asking two motorcyclists stopped at a traffic light for directions back to our hotel when the Gamla Stan exit dumped us in a part of town I was unfamiliar. They were so helpful and friendly, addressed me in perfect English, showed interest in my holiday experience there, and my travel companions didn't want me to ask. Our hotel is a bit of a letdown compared with the Royal Christiana in Oslo. This could be her plain-Jane sister, the Scandic Anglais. Our room overlooks an air shaft and has a rather dismal air. Don't let that deter you. To be fair it has been nicely renovated since ... read more

Dear All Greetings from London, towards the end of another February half-term, and just after another wonderful mid-winter mini-break. Since Denmark this time last year, I have been continuing with the Scandinavia theme for my February trip, mainly for my sheer recent fascination with this region of the world: its history, beauty and people. Whilst Denmark last year was a lovely little trip, my mini trip this year to Sweden has to be one of my most enjoyable trips – short, but incredibly stunning and sweet. I really did thoroughly enjoy every moment of my time in this stunningly beautiful country. On Sunday I was due to fly to Stockholm, where I booked myself into a lovely little apartment attached to the house of a Finno-Swedish family in the suburbs of Stockholm, which was to be ... read more