Chasing Summer –

Stolkholm is an archipeligo, meaning that it is a bunch of islands joined together with bridges. There are a lot of bridges. It’s the Venice of Sweden. It is also not cheap to live or travel in Sweden.

When I arrived, it was raining, so I must admit I found my hostel, checked in, and just stayed there for super and drinks. While in Sweden, I figured I should try a couple of traditional Swedish dishes. Meatballs with lingonberries and cinnamon buns are the most popular items that I would like.

The meatballs usually come in a creamy gravy, with mashed potatoes and pickles. It was delicious but a little pricey at 175sek (about $24 CAD) for a hostel. They also had a local hazy IPA (62 sek or $8 cad). The cinnamon bun was the next day on my walk around the old town for 45sek (about $4CAD).

The next morning was sunny but had a cool breeze. Being optimistic, I left my jacket in the room and ventured out to the old town, 15 minutes from my hotel. Luckily I didn’t need the jacket.

Following the walking guide for the old city walk on GPSmyCity, I saw everything on this island in the city. Started with Riddarhuset (House of the Nobles), Wrangel Palace, Riddarholm Church, Royal Palace, Stolkholm Cathedral, Nobel Prize Museum, Stortorget (Grand Square), Kopmanbrinken (Merchant’s Slope), Osterlanggatan, Den Gyldene Freden Restaurant, Marten Trotzigs Grand, German Church, Kindstugatan, and Vasterlanggatan.

After walking around, I decided to try out the Red Sightseeing Hop on Hop Off bus. For 340sek ($40 CAD), I got a 24-hour pass. It takes about 2 hours to complete the entire route without getting off and gives a good overview of the city. Worth the price? Not really. If you are really tired or have limited mobility, sure, but otherwise, just walk.

My only complaint with these buses is that they only go in one direction, so if you decide to go back and see something, you have to redo the entire route. Also, Stockholm is really not that large, if your here for a couple of days, you have plenty of time to walk and see everything or take a bike.

One thing I liked was that it goes to the Viking Cruise port, and I would be taking that tomorrow, so I got to see where it is.

On the third morning, I was basically wasting time with my luggage walking to the port to catch a night ferry to Helsinki, where I would be spending the next few days.

The ferry was an overnight ferry – 16 hours leaving at 4pm Swedish time and arriving in Helsinki at 9:00 am. Finish time. It cost 155.34 Euro for a cabin on the 2nd floor under the cars. It gets more expensive the higher up you are on Viking Lines ferry.