Stockholm, Sweden

(Warning: this is going to be a VERY long post). Well this past weekend was a whirlwind! Carly, Laura, and I set out Thursday morning for the airport. We were a little nervous about how long it would take so we set out super early. We took the aircoach from campus to the airport and got through security in a matter of minutes. So all our paranoia was for nothing and we had probably about two and half hours to kill in the airport. Finally we boarded and were off to Sweden! When we landed, I stepped off of the plane and felt the first cold gust of what would be a very very cold weekend. However, at the time I didn't think it was that cold. Boy was I wrong. We went through immigration and sprinted to catch the bus to Stockholm city center. After an hour and a half ride which reminded me a lot of home because 1) all the snow and trees and wide open space and 2) they drive on the RIGHT side of the road. We made it into the city and got a cab driver who took us to our hostel (but not without trying to drive up a pedestrian road first... whoops). We were pleasantly surprised by the hostel. Though we were sharing the room with 9 other people, everyone in our room seemed nice and we lucked out with having the beds against the wall so we were at least a little secluded or as secluded as you can be in a 12 person room.

 

The entrance to our hostel.

Our 12 person room!

Once we put our stuff down and got situated we set our to get some food as it was way past dinner time! We didn't go too far cause it was cold but we stumbled upon a little pizzeria. According to our waiter, most Europeans (excluding Italians) agree that Swedish pizza is the best in Europe. So it was obviously our lucky day! We got three different types and shared and I must say it was delicious BUT it doesn't beat the pizza in the USA. They just don't understand the concept of tomato sauce over here. Anyways, we went home and crashed after that. It wasn't a very restful nights sleep considering I woke up every time someone came in or out of the door which was quite frequent but it was enough to keep me going the next day. After layering and layering and layering, we headed out to find breakfast. I searched long and hard for Swedish pancakes which my mom says are famous but I didn't see them anywhere. We settled on a little cafe where we were forced to order muffins and tea because we couldn't read anything on the menu. But it was delicious.

 Hornsgatan (the street our hostel was on)

Me with Stockholm behind me!

Then we set out to make our way to the Royal Palace. We surprisingly were very good navigators and found it just fine- even if it did take us a little bit longer than expected, resulting in frozen toes and fingers. Unfortunately, the Palace didn't open until noon but we took the opportunity to walk around Gamla Stan, the old medieval city center.

 Streets in Gamla Stan

 Left: side of the Palace. Right: the entrance to the Treasury.

In front of the entrance to the Royal Apartments.

Unfortunately, you weren't allowed to take pictures in any section of the Palace as the items in the Treasury are the crown jewels that are still in use for special occasions and the Royal Apartments are still used by the Royal Family. The Treasury was very cool- lots of bling bling. The Apartments were magnificent. Its amazing that we only saw less than a quarter of the Palace. We also went to the Tre Kronor Museum which shows the history of the Palace that burned in a fire before the current one was built. After we had seen everything there was to see at the Palace, we made our way back through Gamla Stan, stopping for some authentic Swedish chocolate and then headed back toward the hostel.

 Eating our HONEY-filled chocolate! SO GOOD!

 

Sunset over Hornsgatan.

 Carly and I after sushi!

After we were filled with sushi we decided to see what Stockholm had to offer in terms of nightlife. However, we were not too keen on venturing too far so we ended up at an Irish pub, how ironic. We stayed for a little bit but were exhausted so we picked up some chips from a street vendor and called it a night!

The next morning we decided we'd had enough of walking in the cold and we were planning on venturing a lot further so we decided to get the Tunnelbana instead.

 Laura and Carly in the Tunnelbana!

 The semi-frozen river. It was amazing how fast the water was moving.

 City Hall

 Moi!

Me with a lion?

We walked a little while before making it to our destination: the Royal Opera House. We signed up for a guided tour and it was definitely worth it. It was beautiful and the history behind it was incredible.

 The circle in front of the Opera House.

 The ceiling and the chandelier.

Left: the stage- they were building the sets for that nights performance. Right: the Golden Lobby

The entry hall.

We also got to see the Royal parts of the Opera House-- the Royal Lobby and the Queen's room but we weren't allowed to take pictures in there. So after the tour we headed out to get some food. We went to the Ostermalm Saluhall (food hall) for a taste of traditional Swedish food.

Ostermalm Saluhall

 Making our way through all the kiosks of pastries, meat, vegetables, fruits, cheese, everything you could ever imagine.

 My authentic Swedish meatballs.

Laura, Carly, and me in a square in Ostermalm.

Afterward we walked around that area for a bit, going into lots of little shops for warmth along the way. We walked through Gamla Stan once more and then headed back to the hostel to rest before getting Thai food for dinner! Made me miss Boston and Noodle Street but it was delicious. Then we called it an early night. We woke up the next morning and had to check-out of the hostel. So we got some breakfast and made our way toward the bus station with our bags. We still had a couple of hours to kill but didn't want to walk too far with our bags in the cold so we settled into a little coffee house and read our books while drinking tea and coffee. Then we boarded the bus which took us to the airport where I was finally able to de-layer! All-in-all it was a great trip! Stockholm is a beautiful city and I'm glad I got to see it! I'd definitely go back, though I'd probably choose the summer for my next visit! 

Now it's back to the "real world" of school work before next weekend's trip to Northern Ireland! 

Slainte!