Posts from the ‘Sweden’ Category

Warm autumn in Stockholm

I’m trying to catch up on adventures that I’ve yet to blog about. So bear with me if this isn’t flowing as according to timeline.

My friend ML had some time off last year and decided to come visit in early October. The week before she arrived, the weather was falling to below 10C and I had warned her to bring more warm clothes. But she was lucky as her 10 days in Helsinki and Stockholm were gloriously warm and she didn’t need much layers at all.

During her visit, we decided to take a girls’ trip to Stockholm. It was my first time, as well as hers so we were quite excited. ML took care of all the arrangements, and we got a good price for our overnight cruise – surprisingly she bought 2 two-way tickets via Viking Line and Silja Line, and the combined cost was still cheaper than buying separate return tickets. Note: Two-way tickets means you depart Helsinki in the evening and arrive to Stockholm in the morning, and the return to Helsinki is on the same day as arrival, later in the evening – this gives you a couple of hours to spend in the city. But if you want to stay couple of nights, then the two-way tickets would be more expensive.

Added to our ticket prices were buffet dinners (you can choose to exclude this, which would be cheaper) and boy, oh boy, there was a lot to eat! Reminds me of buffets from home 🙂 Best part was, they had sushi on board! (I missed sushi and Jap food in general)

Blue Eyes had mentioned to go upstairs to watch the view as the ship leaves the port and it’s good advice! The view of Suomenlinna was awesome, as well as the next morning when we were near to Stockholm, which is part of an archipelago – group of islands and islets.

Travelling within the city is easy as the transportation system is well organised and easy to understand. ML booked us a suite in a business hotel in the suburbs, which included a 3-day Stockholm card. The card was handy as it gave us unlimited rides on public transport – saved us quite a bit of money 🙂

Here are some of the highlights of our trip (in my humble opinion, hehe …)

Gamla

This is the first place we visited upon arrival – Gamla, Stockholm’s old town and where the Cathedral is located. Also within the old town are rows of (not-so-cheap) cafes, souvenir shops and museums. ML and her mom went to visit one of the museums while I decided to enjoy the sunny day by exploring some narrow alleys. It’s a charming place. Loved the artistic display of shops and cafes, as well as the view of the sea before me.

Vasa

Vasa Museum is one of the key attractions in the city, as it housed its namesake ship, “the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged.” I’m not exactly a museum person but I must say, this one was entertaining and interesting. Historical facts and other information were arranged and presented creatively via interactive multimedia – there were also marine uniforms for visitors to try on and take pix.

Drottningholm

This UNESCO World Heritage site earned its status from being the “most well-preserved royal castle built in the 1600s in Sweden” while at the same time represented all of European architecture for the period. One of its key highlights is the Chinese Pavilion, which we found to be rather toned down compared to the ones in China – perhaps it’s not a fair comparison considering that this is probably one of the few (if not the only one) Chinese pavilion found in Europe. Drottningholm  is still used today by the King and Queen of Sweden as permanent home residence.

We went for a tour of the palace’s theatre, which was the most memorable one for us of the place. The theatre, while not huge, is well equipped for performances. We were even brought on stage to observe the various tools to stage a live performance. The walls, while old, have been well preserved over the years and little have been changed from its origins.  

Skansen

Before our departure in the evening, we managed to visit Skansen, the first open air museum and zoo in Stockholm. This was my second time to an open air museum – the first was in Lithuania back in 2003 – and boy, oh boy, how I enjoyed this place! First of all, the museum is full of colourful autumn trees and it’s such a pleasure to walk around, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the sights. Secondly, it is such a well planned out museum – there are workshops where workers are handling glasses, or wood crafts. There are also ladies dressed in traditional costumes serving food and drinks, just like in the ol’ days. Plus, the zoo was such a delight, featuring some animals that are only found in this part of the world, such as reindeer, mooses, white bear, wolves, foxes and lynx.

I think we were really lucky that the weather had been so kind to us during our visit. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Stockholm for the first time.

Breakdown of costs per person for 4D/3Ns in Stockholm:

Cruises (with added meals): 150 eur

Accommodations (inclusive of Stockholm card): 273.33 eur

Meals: 73.55 eur