Growing up in the US far from Scandinavia my early impressions of Sweden,
I'm embarrassed to say, are limited to Ikea, ABBA and the Swedish chef on the Muppets.
Obviously there is much more, so I was really looking forward to the next stop on our Baltic Cruise.
*We received two complimentary 1-Day Stockholm Cards from the Stockholm Visitors Board for our visit.
The first word to come to mind when looking back on Stockholm is pristine.
It is a gorgeous, sparkling and clean city.
Matthew and I both quickly noticed that the people are all ridiculously attractive.
Matthew and I both quickly noticed that the people are all ridiculously attractive.
As I travel more, I'm starting to categorize places in three categories:
-I'm glad I visited but I'm not anxious to return.
- This is going on the list for an extended return visit.
-I want to live here!
Stockholm was in the last category and I could easily picture myself living there.
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and like the other cities we visited, it is a maritime city.
The city is spread out over 14 islands. In the summer, it's a city of lush green parks and crisp blue water. The Gamla Stan (Old Town) is the original city and is a labyrinth of medieval streets dating to the 13th century.
The city is spread out over 14 islands. In the summer, it's a city of lush green parks and crisp blue water. The Gamla Stan (Old Town) is the original city and is a labyrinth of medieval streets dating to the 13th century.
We spent our afternoon walking around this area and exploring the shops.
We sat at an outdoor cafe in a picturesque square to have lunch in the sunshine.
Of course, I had to try the Swedish meatballs and they were perfectly
served with mashed potatoes and a sweet, tangy lingonberry sauce.
After lunch, we found a nice spot out on a pier to sit and enjoy the blue sky and bluer water. We had a little trouble figuring out the public transport back to the ship so we ended up walking back.
(I would call it a hike, Matt would call it a jaunt.)
(I would call it a hike, Matt would call it a jaunt.)
But, I didn't deploy the princess bubble fuss too much because it was a such a pretty day and such a lovely city.
Our luck with the beautiful, crisp weather held out and presented Stockholm at her very best.
But I've heard that winters in Sweden are extremely difficult, so I might just want to live there for only half of the year.
Tomorrow I'll tell you how we spent our morning in Stockholm.
Could you picture yourself living in Stockholm?
(PS I'm a nominee. I'd love it if you voted for me in the Avis A-List Travel Blog Awards!)
(PS I'm a nominee. I'd love it if you voted for me in the Avis A-List Travel Blog Awards!)
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*I received two complimentary 1-day Stockholm Cards
from the Stockholm Tourists Board for the purposes of review.
All photos, writing and opinions are 100% my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
*I received two complimentary 1-day Stockholm Cards
from the Stockholm Tourists Board for the purposes of review.
All photos, writing and opinions are 100% my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
that looks like such a lovely trip :) I am glad you finally managed to post the pics from your trip :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anda. I'm sorry for the delay. Editing photos always takes so much time. We did have such a great cruise.
ReplyDeleteindeed! indeed! :) We can see that :) When and where is the next trip planned? Are you marking Poland on the list too? ;)
ReplyDeleteActually, we're looking at Eastern Europe as one of our two big trips next year! I'm so excited. We are just starting to plan. All suggestions are welcome.
ReplyDeleteWell you can always come to Poland :) Big country and loads of things to see ;) I could be your tour guide for Krakow :D
ReplyDeleteI've always heard such lovely things about Stockholm and it's a place I'd really like to get to soon!
ReplyDeleteIt's just beautiful. It's one of those cities where you want enough time to visit the tourist sites, but you also want to have several days of just experiencing the atmosphere, restaurants and parks... just living.
ReplyDeleteYES! It is so difficult to choose but Stockholm might be my favorite of all of the places I've visited. I really felt like I was in a whole other world there, but in a spectacular way! We had heard great things before our visit and it amazed us even more than we expected. How many cities can do that? Love love it!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! I love cities that are kept clean, and I also love cities that are right on the water! It seems to make them more attractive
ReplyDeleteGreat pics, as usual! Man, I wish I had your job!! Scandinavia is high on my priority list - hopefully hubby and I will see some of these gorgeous places in person in the next 5 years! Thanks for sharing your memories, Selena!
ReplyDeleteLooks like an absolute beautiful cruise you took, Selena! As usual, I wish I could have joined you!
ReplyDeleteI will Sweden in winter is not for the faint hearted! Where I live north of Stockholm we had 5 solid months of snow last winter with another month of snow melt and ice. It is a very beautiful country though and if you could swing being here for Spring and Summer only you would love it!
ReplyDeleteTotally, I've always imagined it to be like that.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!! Those streets look awesome for doing a bit of wandering!!
ReplyDeleteI just love old medieval streets. I wish I could time travel and see how they looked hundreds of years ago. (I probably wouldn't love the smell.)
ReplyDeleteI can usually handle cold weather okay. I actually love snow (just hate driving in it). What gets to me is the darkness. How long are the days in the winter? In London we have daylight from about 9am to 4pm at its worst and it just makes me crazy. I feel so claustrophobic.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time. My favorite is still probably a Caribbean cruise, but the Baltics were beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe water was such a pretty shade of deep blue. Very different from our brown Thames water. Although I read that the Thames is one of the cleanest rivers in Europe.
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome, Bronwyn. It's a gorgeous area and I hope to get back again soon. Do you have a big trip planned for next year?
ReplyDeleteDebbie, how long were you there? I want to return for a longer stay. I imagine in the evenings it's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWe stayed for two nights, so about 2.5 days. We went in mid-July and the weather was warm and sunny for most of the time. It was amazing! Here is my post on our experience; http://buissonfamily.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/stockholm-sweden.html I hope you return for longer... I'm looking for reasons to go back (or move there) as well :-)
ReplyDeleteWhere we live in the middle of winter the earliest sunset we have is 2pm but the sun never really has a chance to come out on those days anyways.
ReplyDeleteOh my word! I would move there in a heartbeat. It looks absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI quite liked the metallic helmet with the spike on top of it. It will be a great place to spend some time.
ReplyDeleteThe air was so crisp and clean. It was lovely.
ReplyDeleteYikes. Do you use those special sunlights to help with the lack of sunshine? I need to start taking vitamin D for the winter. London is bad enough.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, your post captures it all perfectly. It looks like you have gorgeous weather, too. I like the idea of a summer home there, too. (I'm sure I'll win the lottery someday) You pictures are wonderful as usual.
ReplyDeleteThis has brought back memories of our visit to Stockholm last year while we were on our fly-drive round Sweden. I agree, a beautiful, clean, smart city and yes, everyone is so gorgeous, which pleased our teenage son greatly when a row of pretty girls, all with blonde ponytails, greeted him in Macdonalds!!
ReplyDeleteYou teenage son must have been in heaven. I had to smack Matthew's arm a few times. ;)
ReplyDelete