The museums and sights of Stockholm

We had a great time exploring the canals of Stockholm. It’s monika as the Venice of Sweden seems justified. The waterways are mostly wide, but as we discovered watching ching a fly fisherman in the middle of one of the canals – quite shallow in places.

For the most part we walked everywhere.  The weather was warm, perhaps a little too much, but the people watching was worth it. It was busier than had been our experience of other Swedish cities. There was a momentum that fitted a big city.

We had been warned about the potential for theft, but didn’t really take it seriously until a middle-aged man had his phone swiped by a youth almost in front of us.  The man gave chase, slipped and fell, then got up and kept running off into the side streets to give chase.  We never knew if his effort proved fruitful.

Street art

Debbie might have some more pics, but the street art was everywhere.  These were two of my favourites.

More and more museums

• https://stadsmuseet.stockholm/en/

• https://www.nationalmuseum.se/

• https://abbathemuseum.com/en/

• https://thevikingmuseum.com/

Lots of walking.

The beauty of walking around new cities is that you notice things.  For example, that so many apartments have white lamps in the window sills.  It was a really common thing.  We asked the friendly hotel manager if she knew why.  She didn’t except to say that she has one in her window, and her paretns have them in their house, and that it must just be a thing to do.

She also told us that fashionable, intragram-worthy Swedes don’t have IKEA furniture and accessories in their homes.  So passe!

Gamlastan – the old city

Gamal stan is the traditional centre of Stockholm.  It includes the Palace and many historic buildings.  It is easy to walk around the cobbled streets, and given that it is a small isalnd, you can’t really get lost.

Out hotel was the Aiden by Best Western in the top left corner and took us about 30 minutes to walk there. We caught a ferry once when transferring between two islands to avoid the long walk around, and the tram once when the heavens opened. At $9 a pop for a few minutes ride were were not keen to use public transport mroe than necessary.

We loved our time in Stockholm, and it is one of the cities I would happily return to, to explore some more.  We both felt that we had only scratched the surface. 

It was expensive, but not ridiculous. We purchased two cans of wine and beer each on the second night from the hotel and it cost $65. So $16 per drink.

That was high, but in general food, drink and accommodation cost about 30% more than at home – but careful spending kept it mostly in check.  The ‘breakfast included’ helps!