Bank Holiday Weekend in Stockholm

Stockholm is a lovely city, from the sights to the people, from the its interconnected waterways to its wondrous skies with the puffiest clouds and a perfect sunlight that lasts for more than 14 hours a day. And might I add that all Swedes are handsome/beautiful and very stylish.

I arranged my trip to Stockholm to attend my friends' wedding. Jimmy and Lena decided it was time to make it all official so there I was on Arlanda Express on a Friday afternoon making my way into the center of Stockholm.

First of all, I should mention my hotel, which looked like it was a cruise ship. This meant awful carpeting, single beds, doors and corridor lighting that would rival that of any dirty cruise ship... the doors even opened out into the corridor...weird... Although this could not make my trip miserable because the city and her people are just downright lovely (even the concierge at the hotel!). Pictures can be found at the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ysolmaz/StockholmSwedenAug2007

Day 1:
- Walking along Gotgatan street in Sodermalm to reach Gamla Stan, the old town. Along the way, we saw the famous restaurant Gondolen, which is suspended in the air between a shopping mall and the Katarina elevator.
- Having delicious cakes and coffee at Gamla Stan's oldest coffee house, Sundbergs Konditori. Highly recommended!
- Getting lost in Gamla Stan's tiny alley ways. Gozde, you would love this place! One of the alley ways is just under 1m wide!
- Walking towards Normalm, capturing many shots of hot air balloons making their way over Stockholm.
- Having dinner and drinks at this local restaurant mostly frequented by Swedes. We were brought here by Tobias' friends. Good food, good beer, good company.

Day 2:
- Meeting Joyce at Chokladkoppen for the city's best hot chocolate, gossiping and exchanging stories about many of the people who are reading this. Hahah!
- Giving Joyce a tour of Gamla Stan (having explored the small island the day before, I had become an expert on its alleyways). Shopping for goods with moose on them and Christmas decorations.
- Getting dressed up for the church wedding at 2pm. I was blown away by how good-looking all of Jimmy and Lena's friends and relatives were. I couldn't live in Stockholm because I'd be perpetually single due to the stiff competition.
- My first church wedding!! Check out the pics.
- Having champagne at Hotel Rival, which is owned by one of ABBA's members.
- Mingling with the guests at the nearby palace where the dinner took place, oozing intelligence. ;)
- Laughing at jokes and speeches even when they were in Swedish, dancing wild with Natasa, breaking two glasses, kissing Jimmy after a host of women in line, seeing Jimmy shed a tear for the first time.
- Ending the night with some tunnbrödsrulle (Swedish drunken food consisting of a sausage and mashed potatoes in a rolled up pita cone) and some Pilsner beer.
- Slowly making my way back to the hotel at 4am in the morning...

Day 3:
- Having brunch with the newly-weds near the Vasamuseet (might I add this was at 1pm...I could barely wake up.)
- Being awed by the Vasamuseet...check the pics, really! Seeing a 17th century warship is a bit geeky but god damn, it's cool!
- Walking along the Strandvagen to the docks where I caught one of the boats to see the canals and waterways of Stockholm. Natasa came with me and ended up paying to take a nap on the boat. :P
- Meeting Joyce at the best restaurant in Normalm, called Sturehof. Dining on five different kinds of herring, lobster soup with cheese, and grilled turbot with baby potatoes and a creamy sauce. All in all, great food, wonderful company.

Day 4:
- Meeting the Morningstar gang, Jimmy and Lena for a boat trip to the archipelago, mainly Vaxholm and some of the outlying islands.
- Lunching on board with Swedish meatballs, pear cider and traditional Swedish ice cream.
- The lunch was so good, we decided to stay on the ship instead of getting off and made our way back to Stockholm. Total of 3 hours or so.
- Walking around in Kungsholmen, seeing the City Hall and having a cinnamon bun and coffee at Thelins Konditori.
- Dining at the Royal Opera house with salted salmon and baby potatoes, while chatting with a Swedish couple sitting next to me, Ulf and Rositta. Getting a free pear cider from the Italian bartender. ;)
- Shopping at Hugo Boss!!!!!!
- Watching "Knocked Up" with a bunch of Swedish high school students; it was quite the experience!! :D

Then it was back on Arlanda Express to catch the plane to Heathrow. I would definitely come back to Stockholm again, mostly because of the people. Swedes are very beautiful, friendly, stylish, yet they still manage to be modest. Make sure Stockholm is on your list of places to see!!