Our youngest daughter moved to Stockholm, Sweden in mid-2021 for a job with a video game publisher. We first made plans to visit her in July of that year, only to have our plans thwarted by the Delta variant of COVID. We were forced to cancel our trip, much to the dismay of our daughter and us. Luckily, she had several trips scheduled in 2021 to return to the US for family events and the holidays. But, we knew it was important for us to go visit her as soon as the virus allowed. So, in late summer 2021 I planned and booked a trip for February 2022, only to see the Omicron variant spread rapidly around the world as the end of 2021 drew near. Governments again imposed travel restrictions. In fact, it was unclear if our daughter would be able to return to Sweden at the end of her holiday visit to the US. Would we have to cancel again?
Then, a glimmer of hope arose. The spread of Omicron appeared to wane in late January/early February, and many governments started to realize that COVID was going to spread throughout their populations whether travelers were admitted or not. As a result, in early February many countries started to reduce or eliminate their travel restrictions, particularly for those individuals who are fully vaccinated. Sweden, specifically, eliminated its COVID test requirements for travelers from the US who were fully vaccinated. So, our plans appeared to be holding.
February 14/15 – Travel Day
We drove to the Twin Cities on February 13 for our Valentine’s Day flight to Stockholm. We decided to stay at the Intercontinental Hotel at the airport so we could get a COVID test at the airport the morning of our flight (a safety precaution). But, of course, in the days leading up to our flight I developed head congestion and a sore throat. I took a couple of rapid tests which were negative. But, what would happen on the day that mattered, the day of our flight? Fortunately, both of our tests were negative, so my symptoms appear to have arisen simply due to a head-cold.
Our first flight, from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, departed over one hour late. Due to a strong tailwind, however, we were able to make up the lost time and arrived at Schiphol airport at the original arrival time. Neither of us slept well on the plane, so were thoroughly tired as we waited through our three-hour layover.
From there the trip went smoothy. Flights were on time, the taxi driver was courteous, and we found an eclectic, charming little cafe where we could kill time until our Airbnb was available. Our daughter then joined us at the Airbnb and, after unpacking and chatting a little while, we went out for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant named Olivia Medborgarhuset. We then returned to the Airbnb where we discussed the intricacies of the online mind puzzles wordle, nerdle, worldle, and semantle (including a call back to the states to confer with our son). After a long day of travel, we then called it a night.
February 16 – Day 1
As if to prove we really needed our sleep, our daughter was the first to wake up, probably a first since 2003 (she gave me permission to make that statement). Finally about noon we were all able to shake off the grogginess of sleep and begin planning our day. We began by walking to the building in which she works, an old residence built in the mid-1800s converted to office space. Very cool. We then took the metro to her apartment so we could see where she lives. We then spent several hours walking around enjoying the sites. Because we had a fixed-price dinner scheduled later in the evening, we stopped at a small bar/restaurant, Ostgotakallaren, for a snack to tide us over. We had three different dishes: Gubbröra consisting of pickled herring from Norröna (an island in Sweden), potatoes, mayonnaise, onions and eggs on rye toast; apple strudel with vanilla ice cream and cream; and fried Camembert with cloudberry jam and fried parsley. All were excellent and just what we needed. The restaurant itself had the vibe of a local hangout and a charming ambiance. It reminded me of the Swedish version of an Irish pub.
Our daughter had arranged a dinner to celebrate my retirement at Sushi Sho, a Michelin-rated sushi restaurant located just northwest of ”Gamla Stan,” the old city area of Stockholm. The food here is served ”omakase-style,” meaning the food served is determined by the chef. While the chef picks the food, the guests pick their beverage, the options of which included four sake pairings, wine, champagne, or beer. We followed the advice of the Michelin Guide which states ”[g]o for the remarkable sake tasting menu.” We weren’t disappointed. The restaurant has only 16 seats with 2 – 5 seatings per day, depending on the day of the week. The food was served over a two-hour period as a series of small plates featuring a variety of fish, vegetables, broths, and presentation styles. Even the sushi-cautious in our group loved the food and the sake. It was a memorable dinner that one can only appreciate by going through the experience!
February 17 – Day 2
We slept in a little bit to catch up on sleep and to allow continued progress on my cold. We walked to MAX for lunch, a fast food burger restaurant similar to McDonalds. We then met our guide for the afternoon, Elisabeth. She took us on a 3-hour journey through the SOFO region in which our Airbnb is located, southern Stockholm, and Gamla Stan. Probably the highlight of the afternoon was a tour of the artwork that adorns the Stockholm metro system stations. We then stayed in Gamla Stan to enjoy a drink and appetizer at Aifur, a Viking-themed restaurant with wild game-based dinners, beer in large pottery glasses, and a staff dressed in medieval attire. The soup, mussels and charcuterie board we enjoyed were tasty, indeed! We then walked a few blocks to Tweed, a ”comfortable bar” found within the Djuret dining rooms in Gamla Stan. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a wonderful show put on by the bartender. This knowledgeable professional shared a few of his drink secrets and was more adept at crafting cocktails while putting on a show than anyone I had previously met. Before returning to the SOFO area, we hunted down the house where the French philosopher René Descartes lived up until his death (a destination on my ”must find” list). We then made our way back via the metro to SOFO where we stopped at Södra Sällskapet, a bar/restaurant near our Airbnb for another appetizer to complete the evening’s meal. The food was good and the staff was pleasant. We shared a salad, sweet potato fries, and focaccia bread before heading back to our lodging to get some rest after a very busy day! Tomorrow: another 1/2 day of touring with Elisabeth!
February 18 – Day 3
We began our day early with the 18-minute metro ride to the Italian coffee shop next to our daughter’s apartment. We grabbed a traditional Italian coffee and a few pastries and retreated to the apartment to have a table at which to eat our food. We then met up with Elisabeth for a tour of Kungsholmen, the island on which our daughter lives. While Elisabeth treated us to a great deal of information and history about the area, the highlight was definitely the Stockholm City Hall.
While filled with remarkable art and architecture, two of the most impressive features include the Blue Hall and the Golden Hall. The Blue Hall, with its straight walls and arcades, incorporates elements of a formal courtyard and is the dining hall where banquets are held after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony. The pipe organ in the Blue Hall, with its 10,270 pipes, is the largest in Scandinavia. Adjacent, but one floor above the Blue Hall, lies the Golden Hall (Gyllene Salen), named after the decorative mosaics made of more than 18 million tiles. The mosaics make use of motifs from Swedish history. For the remainder of our three-hour tour, we visited various sites and neighborhoods on the island. It was a pleasure to have access to a knowledgeable, local guide so both we and our daughter could learn more about this city.
We returned to Gamla Stan to a restaurant called ”Tradition” to have a meal comprised of traditional Swedish foods. My wife enjoyed Swedish meatballs with potatoes, vegetables and lingonberries; my daughter had a breaded veal dish with potatoes, vegetables, and lingonberries; and I had ”Salmon pudding,” which turned out more to be like an egg bake with salmon, potatoes, and onion. It was accompanied by eggs and vegetables. The restaurant was clean with a good ambience, the staff friendly and helpful, and the food excellent.
I then returned to the Airbnb for a nap to continue in my efforts to defeat my cold while my wife and daughter went shopping. After some downtime, we wandered the SOFO area to find a restaurant for dinner. We stumbled upon PS Vin & Mat, a “studio” extension of the PS Mastal cooking school. We enjoyed a number of small plates, including chips with pesto sauce, cabbage leaves with dressing, fried new potatoes with Harissa and silver onions, wild boar, salami. While I have done a poor job of describing our meal, you’ll simply have to trust that it was beautifully presented and very, very tasty.
While returning to the Airbnb we found ourselves in the atmosphere of a busy Friday evening in one of the most ”hip” areas of the city. Yet the streets, while busy with pedestrians and partiers, were largely devoid of cars and we felt completely safe. Once home, we relaxed for a while to tend to colds and allergies. Tomorrow would be another day, this time with snow and colder temperatures expected.
February 19 – Day 4
It did, in fact, snow overnight. But, because temperatures here are at or slightly above freezing, the snow melted quickly and the day turned out to be quite mild (at least by MN standards). We began our day mid-morning by leisurely walking to Gamla Stan to the Nobel Prize museum. The museum was a great follow-up to our prior day because the current exhibit was related to the Nobel banquet held in the Blue Hall at the Stockholm City Hall. During the middle of our museum visit we chose to have lunch in the small cafe attached to the museum. In addition to traditional Swedish food, the museum cafe features the ice cream served at the Nobel Prize Banquet until the year 2000. In addition, if you look at the bottom of the chairs in the cafe you’ll see the signatures of some of the Nobel Laureates.
We continued our museum tour, which included videos about a number of Nobel Laureates over the years, some of which have even participated in podcasts!
The remainder of the afternoon was spent shopping for the kids and grandkids in the northern part of Stockholm. We next enjoyed dinner at Izakaya, a club-like sushi restaurant on the 14th floor of a skyscraper north of Gamla Stan. This particular restaurant serves its dishes tapas-style, so we enjoyed a variety of menu items. The staff was friendly, the food beautiful and tasty, and the atmosphere lively.
We concluded our evening by returning to our Airbnb to watch the contestants in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2022, which determines the act to represent Sweden in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.
February 20 – Day 5
This morning we began by doing laundry (yes, it’s the only way when you don’t check luggage, which is our norm). We then jumped on the metro and a tram to visit the celebrated Vasa Museum, a site my wife and I visited a few years ago when we first visited Sweden. But, more importantly, we were meeting an exchange student (along with her husband and son) who stayed with my wife’s family 40 years ago. As to the museum, it is one of my favorites. It recognizes a failure in design in terms of the ship itself, but celebrates the capabilities of science and of the specialists that came together to lift the ship from the bottom of the Stockholm harbor 333 years after it was launched and “sailed” for only minutes. The recovery and preservation of this ship is truly remarkable.
After an hour or so in the museum, we left for lunch at Restaurant Hasselbacken within the Hasselbacken Hotel. It was a wonderful brunch with bagels with salmon, mushroom and truffle omelets, and much more. The hotel is near the famous open-air Skansen Swedish history museum and many, many other museums. A must see area within Stockholm, particularly for families. After the lunch we bid goodbye to our new family and walked back to a train station just northeast of Gamla Stan. We then made our way west to a well known bakery to pick up a few Semla, a traditional pastry with its roots in Fat Tuesday. After dropping off our pastries at the Airbnb and checking the weather approaching Minnesota (which is threatening our flight home), we headed off to my favorite restaurant from our prior visit to Sweden: The Hairy Pig. As suggested by the name, the restaurant’s menu includes a variety of dishes made from wild game (below). We selected the “sharing board” for 2 persons which, on this night, included Reindeer tacos, lamb sausage in a brioche bun, and a wild boar sausage in a brioche bun (among other things).
After dinner we walked around Gamla Stan for awhile, listened briefly to a live band in a Jazz Club, and then headed back to our Airbnb to get organized and pack.
February 21 – Day 6
Today is our last day in Stockholm. We started the day with a very light breakfast. It snowed a couple of inches overnight and was still coming down when we began our morning walk, today with the objective of making our way out onto the archipelago to the southeast of the city. We first toured the Katarina Church and cemetary located near our Airbnb. The church began in the 1330s, is one of Sweden’s great baroque churches, and survived two fires, one in 1723 and one in 1990. A highlight includes a huge pipe organ which is often used for classical music concerts.
From the church we took a bus to a light rail station called Henriksdal. We then traveled about 10 miles to Saltsjobaden, a small hamlet at the end of the metro line. The wooded archipelago through which we traveled contributes to Sweden’s nickname of ”the Venice of the North.” Instead of weaving through the various canals in a gondola, however, our train weaved its way through small villages, sometimes on the water’s edge and other times deep in the midst of timber. The ride was not at all crowded and we enjoyed our trip through this countryside which I suspect is very, very busy in the summertime. The following pictures provide a glimpse of what we saw on this brief journey.
We returned to SOFO from the archipelago to have lunch at Bun Meat Bun, a burger restaurant in the mall near our Airbnb. Instead of a meat-based burger, however, we had the Big Bertha with halloumi cheese in place of the meat patty. We had heard about the halloumi burger several times from our daughter and could hardly wait to have one. It was very tasty, and I would definitely eat one again!
From Bun Meat Bun, we went back to the Airbnb, ”checked out,” and moved our luggage to our daughter’s apartment until it was time to depart for the airport. We underwent another COVID test at the convenient testing center across the street (thankfully negative once again!). After eating a light snack at nearby Copperfield’s English Pub, we went back to her apartment to get organized for the trip home.
Our daughter accompanied us to the metro stop where the train to the Arlanda airport departs. It was difficult to say goodbye as the week had been such a delight. We, and she, learned a lot about Stockholm, its neighborhoods, and its culture. It was such a joy to be able to learn together, and to see how much she had already learned over the past many months of living there. Plus, there was food. So much food! But, as we had walked over 5 miles per day, we found a way to justify it to ourselves….
Our trip to the airport was uneventful. The train was clean and nearly empty. Once we arrived at the airport we checked into the Radisson Blu to get a few hours of sleep before we had to arise at 2:45 a.m. to check-in for our 6:30 flight. Due to snow in both Stockholm and Minneapolis it was unclear if we would get home without significant delays but, in the end, things went smoothly and our flights took off and arrived on time.
Summary
Sweden is a country with a population a little less than double that of Minnesota (10.3 vs 5.6 million people, respectively). Stockholm is clean, with a vibrant music, food, and art community. As with many European capitals, there is a convenient metro system and walking is a very common way to get around. The high temperatures during our visit ranged from the low 30s to upper 30s degrees Fahrenheit. The low temperatures were typically only about five degrees lower. Our lodging was in a great location. The metro station was only 1.5 blocks away, it was surrounded by restaurants, and it served as a great location for hanging out and for sightseeing. The old town (Gamla Stan) is beautiful with many interesting cultural, food, and historic sites to be explored. In terms of surprises encountered, I was surprised by the number of sushi restaurants (a pleasant surprise given my love of Japanese food). I was also surprised by the expansive nature and convenience of the metro system. Finally, while not necessarily surprising, I was uplifted by the friendly, helpful, and positive nature of the Swedish people we encountered. They went out of their way to help us, to speak English when necessary, and to make recommendations to ensure our stay was pleasant. So, Stockholm and Sweden, we’ll be back….
So grateful you could come visit, and I can’t wait to explore even more next time!