How would one spend two days as a tourist in the Swedish capital, Stockholm? Well, I got to spend two days in the Swedish capital, and here are this Midlifer’s two-night adventure in Stockholm.
Table of Contents
Background to My Two-Night Adventure in Stockholm
I was on a quick trip to Finland and decided to take a break in Stockholm. Sweden was the only Scandinavian country I hadn’t visited yet, and I was ready to fill that gap. The challenge was that I didn’t have much time for the trip—just under six days (actually four nights), and two of those days would be spent traveling. But I had to make the best out of this short trip to Stockholm.
My Itinerary
So, this was my plan:
- Leave Toronto in the evening.
- Arrive in Stockholm the following afternoon.
- Spend two nights.
- Leave for Helsinki by the overnight ferry.
- Reach Helsinki the following morning.
- Spend the day and night in Helsinki.
- Leave the following afternoon.
I could have ditched the ferry ride for a flight and spent more time in either Stockholm or Helsinki, but I wanted to enjoy the 17-hour ferry experience as well.
CHECK MY TWO-NIGHT STOCKHOLM ADVENTURE VIDEO
Day 1 in Stockholm
The plane touched down late morning in Stockholm. The easiest way to get to the hotel, the Downtown Camper by Scandic, was Uber. However, I love public transit where possible, and most European capitals have great transportation systems.
There are three options to reach Stockholm city center by public transit:
- The Arlanda Express (Arlanda is the airport’s name)
- The slower commuter train
- The buses
I wanted to take the Arlanda Express, which was expensive but takes just 15 minutes to reach the city center. It costs 340 Swedish kronor (SEK), which is just over 33 USD, but for two people, it is only 460 SEK, or just over 45 USD.
According to the hotel and Google Maps, it’s just a ten-minute walk from the central station to the hotel.
Getting the ticket was easy, and a few minutes later, I was rolling towards the city. It was one of the fastest trains I’ve taken as it inched past the 190 km/h limit.
From the central station—T-Centralen—it wasn’t difficult to find the hotel.
The Nobel Prize Museum
After freshening up and a short break, I was ready to experience Stockholm. My first stop was the Nobel Prize Museum.
The museum is located in the Gamla Stan (Old Town) section of the city, and it’s within walking distance from my hotel. Given that the museum honors hundreds of people who have contributed to the progress of humanity, I expected it to be a massive establishment. However, it is modest in size but contains everything important to portray the message of innovation and progress.
There are replicas of devices and equipment that some of the laureates used in their research, including microscopes and research papers. There are also artifacts like notebooks and typewriters that some laureates used for inspiration. I found the model of DNA as well as a copy of the famous Photo 51, which is the X-ray diffraction image of the DNA double helix structure.
Gamla Stan – Cobblestone Streets, Narrow Streets & Tiny Statues
Afterwards, it was time for a stroll through Gamla Stan. One could certainly say the heart of the area is the Stortorget, the oldest square in Stockholm, with a rich history dating back to the 15th century.
With cobblestone-adorned narrow streets and squares, it was an ideal walker’s paradise. One could casually stroll around, absorbing the sights and sounds. The first step should be just to stand somewhere in the middle and do a 360-degree turn, slowly. You’d see historic buildings, colorful and radiating heritage. And in the center of the center is the Stortorgsbrunnen well. It served as an important source of water for the residents and authorities for many centuries. An interesting fact about this well: it was the point zero for the city, with all places measured in terms of distance from this point.
Gamla Stan is home to many important buildings, including the Royal Palace, the parliament, and the Cathedral. There are also souvenir shops and restaurants, all full of people enjoying the sights and the summer.
I had two more items on my bucket list to see and enjoy in the Old Town.
First, the Mårten Trotzigs Grand (Alley of Mårten Trotzig), Stockholm’s narrowest street, just under 3 feet or 90 cm wide at its narrowest point. It’s actually a thoroughfare connecting two streets with 36 steps. Some of the sidewalls are full of graffiti. While looking for it with the help of Google Maps, I almost missed it because it was so narrow, snug between two buildings.
BTW, according to Wikipedia, the world’s narrowest street is Spreuerhofstraße in Germany, which is 31 centimeters (12.2 in) at its narrowest to 50 centimeters (19.7 in) at its widest. However, according to the tourism site of Gassin in southeastern France, its L’Androuno is the narrowest street, at just 29 centimeters (a tad less than a foot), and is indeed the narrowest street in the world!
The second item on my list was the Iron Boy. At six inches in height, he’s the city’s smallest statue. Made of iron, he is also called the Boy Who Looks at the Moon. He is seated with his legs pulled up and arms around them while looking up. Perched on a long, small table, he is much beloved, as there are often coins gifted to him. (When I found the statue, a man was leaving and told me he made a lot of money just collecting the coins. Not sure how true that is.) Sometimes, particularly during the cold months, people wrap warm cloths around him.
Gamla Stan is also home to Den Gyldene Freden, considered the oldest running restaurant in the world.
And then it was time for dinner.
I wanted to have as much Swedish dishes as possible during my two-night adventure in Stockholm. So, I had initially planned to go to Pelikan for some Swedish dishes, but it had been a long day, so I stayed in the Old Town.
Here’s my all-Swedish dinner:
Appetizer: Prawns and crayfish on toast with mayonnaise sauce.
Main: Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, pickled cucumbers, and lingonberries. Fried herring, mashed potatoes, and, of course, lingonberries.
I had one beer on tap and one in a bottle. All Swedish.
Later, as I walked towards my hotel, Stockholm was still a lively city with music on. I had to end the day with some churros.
Day 2 in Stockholm
Subway Art Tour / Archipelago Tour / Partying Stockholm
First, it was time for breakfast. I love European breads and cured meats (deli), so as I walked around my hotel, the front signage of breakfast offerings at cafes was enough to stir the hunger pangs in me. I had a multigrain bun with ham and cheese, and coffee to go with it.
Then it was time for my first adventure.
The Subway Art Tour
Stockholm has an impressive 100 subway stations—all built since 1950—connecting its three lines (identifiable by their colors: red, blue, and green). Along the stations, they have installed artwork, which is currently considered the longest in the world.
So, I decided to check some of them out, and after some research, I zeroed in on five stations.
At this point, I want to thank the following two blogs/bloggers for guiding me in selecting some of the subway stations to view the artwork:
The Red Line Stations
Östermalmstorg Station
This is one of the deepest subway stations in the system, located beneath one of the poshest areas of Stockholm. The simple sketch-like artworks belong to several artists, with the predominant theme being peace, equality, and humanity. The prominent artist is Siri Derkert.
Stadion Station
This station was built in 1973 and is one of the first ‘cave stations’—that is, it’s built directly into the bedrock without the smooth concrete finishes that subway stations usually have. As a result, you can see exposed rock, which raised concerns that people would associate these with ‘the netherworld and other nasty places’ (visitstockholm.com). So, a group of artists came up with the idea of creating a rainbow artwork to brighten up and show that there is indeed a sky above the station.
Tekniska Högskolan (KTH) Station
North of the Stadion Station on the red line is the Royal Institute of Technology. So, the station reflects what is above—technology. There are technology-related symbols, figures, etc.
The Blue Line
I visited two stations on this line.
Solna Centrum Station
This station looks like hot red lava is coming down from above. You could say this is about nature—the bright green color depicting the forests and the bright red the sunset behind the treetops. The artists wanted to discuss themes such as environment, deforestation, and the depopulation of rural areas, all of which were prominent societal themes of the seventies when the artwork was installed.
Kungsträdgården Station
This is currently the eastern termination point of the blue line. Kungsträdgården means the King’s Garden. It was a royal garden between the 17th and 19th centuries and now is a public park. The artwork underground reflects what is above the earth—the red, white, and green colors mirror the old-style formal French gardens. The sculptures around the station are from the exterior artwork of the former king, whose royal garden this was.
The station is also known for another uniqueness: it’s the only place in northern Europe where the cave-dwelling spider species Lessertia dentichelis can be found. Some say the spiders piggybacked on equipment brought from southern Europe to build the station.
I didn’t have much time to explore more of the stations as I had to get my lunch and then get to the boat terminal at 2 pm for a tour of the Stockholm archipelago. But I decided to combine my lunch with a tour of one of the Saluhalls (food halls or marketplaces), and I chose the one in Östermalm.
Östermalm Saluhall
After just a few minutes of walking from the namesake subway station, you can’t miss the historic building on a corner. As I entered, I was mesmerized by all the foods there. From bread and cheese to fresh seafood, meats, cured meat, and sweets, there was food everywhere. And then there were the restaurants. I arrived just before 12 pm, and the place was getting crowded.
My lunch: I decided to try herring, and my dish consisted of five different types of herring dishes, scraped cheese, potatoes, and hard brown cracker bread.
I wanted to stroll around the area but had to be at the dock for the boat.
A Boat Tour of the Stockholm Archipelago
Fanning into the Baltic Sea, the Stockholm archipelago encompasses up to 30,000 islands of varying sizes, from a single boulder jutting out of water, to fairly sized ones. It covers an area of more than 1,600 square kilometers (about 650 square miles). It stretches from the Fjäderholmarna Islands in the west to the Svenska Högarna islets in the east, and from Arnholma in the north to Landsort in the south.
Swedes are immensely proud of this natural wonder, and many movies and books have been set on some of these islands. Some of the islands were initially inhabited by fisherfolk who lived a subsistence life. However, eventually, wealthy Stockholmers built their summer houses to escape the rather uncomfortable living conditions during the summer in the city. Since the end of World War II, they have become more egalitarian.
The landscape is rich in flora and fauna, with seabirds, seals, and much more. Some of the islands are dotted with traditional red and yellow wooden homes.
There are bigger islands like Vaxholm and Sandhamn, where you could walk around and have some fantastic seafood meals and more. There are also lighthouses and fortresses.
To be honest, you would need a few days to experience the archipelago fully, but I was short on time. For people like me, there are a few tour options, and I chose a 2.5-hour tour with a guide, as I thought it would be nice to learn more about the islands dotting the landscape.
After the return, it was time for Fika (coffee time). The Swedes are very passionate about their fika. It was kind of late, at 4:30 pm, but fika it was.
An Evening in Stockholm
After fika and some freshening up, it was time for more exploration. I just ambled around. My hotel was in Norrmalm, which is the city center and therefore the busiest. Stockholm was enjoying a four-day annual Culture Festival, and the area was beyond lively. There were several stages with various musical performances, and thousands of people were enjoying themselves.
In one area, I saw couples dancing passionately to the music, going around in various swing and other styles.
Dinner
Having tasted so many Swedish dishes, I wanted something with rice. I had a Brazilian snack at one of the stands by a stage, but that wasn’t enough. So, close to the T-Centralen, I found this food center and ordered a Thai-Malaysian dish. And then a few churros.
After returning to the hotel, I took a break and then walked back towards the stages. It was an incredible sight. Even at 11 pm, there was at least one stage with live music, and people were dancing and drinking happily.
Day 3 in Stockholm
Per Albin Houses/Ikea/Meatballs
The final day of my very short trip to Stockholm. After breakfast, I took my longest trip on public transit. I wanted to see the Per Albin Houses.
The 94 houses on Ålstensgatan in Bromma are a classic example of Swedish functionalism. They were built in the 1930s to provide affordable, high-quality houses for working-class people and were called folkshemmet (the people’s home). The mind behind this housing scheme was the long-term prime minister Per Albin Hansson. Now, however, this area is considered an affluent neighborhood.
I followed the map indicated on the tourism website, but having walked more than half a kilometer after getting off the tram/streetcar, I realized it was leading me to a marina. So, I stopped a jogger to check for directions. It turned out that I should have gotten off at the previous station, so I walked back. And then there they were.
Built at an angle, all the pastel-colored houses looked the same, except for one, where the former prime minister had lived, which had an arched exterior on the side.
I didn’t want to take many photos as these houses are currently occupied.
The final lunch had to be very typical Sweden: so, what could be more typical Swedish than a meatballs-and-mashed potatoes lunch at IKEA, the furniture and household items giant that started in Sweden?
There was a massive IKEA store at the Gallerian Mall located close to the hotel, so I walked back from T-Centralen. The IKEA store was crowded, and I had to wait for more than 30 minutes to get my lunch. But the wait was worth it—the lunch was simple and delicious. There’s something magical about the gravy—thick and velvety.
Afterward, I walked back to the hotel to collect my luggage and take a cab to the ferry terminal. I was traveling by the Silja Serenade ferry to the Finnish capital, Helsinki.
Final Comments on My Two-Night Adventure in Stockholm
English is widely spoken in Stockholm. In fact, sometimes I forgot that I was in a non-English-speaking country. That gave me pangs of guilt because I wasn’t trying to learn at least a few words in the local language.
I loved that the areas I was in were so lively with people, but it could be because it was summer and Stockholm was hosting the four-day Culture Festival. It would be interesting to know what Stockholm is like in winter. I love the fika culture.
Internet/Data
Most cafes and malls offer free Wi-Fi. In some areas, I saw the Stockholm Guest Wi-Fi but couldn’t sign in. I was told that T-Centralen has Wi-Fi as well, but I never tried.
I subscribed to a European regional e-sim account, so I was covered during my transit in Iceland, and then in Stockholm and Finland.
Credit Cards/Cash
Sweden is a near-cashless society, though their central bank is calling for the ‘strengthening’ of the government’s role in ensuring cash is accepted. I have a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, so usually, I transfer the cash in advance to the account and then use it.
The advantages:
- No foreign transaction fees (yes, the conversion rates are good)
- No hassle of buying local currency and then wondering what to do with the balance when I am leaving the country
- No worry about any frauds that can siphon off a lot of cash.
The disadvantages:
- Most of the time, these accounts come with credit cards that Google Wallet doesn’t accept. And if it accepts them, they usually don’t work, so I need to carry the physical card.
Had I had more time, I would have considered taking a train ride to the north, from where I could have crossed the border to Finland and then taken the train to Helsinki.
All in all, it was a worthwhile short, two-night adventure in Stockholm.