My second time coming to Stockholm for work but the last time we stayed out of Stockholm center so decided I wanted to see a bit more of the city this time. I had two days here for work on a Mon and Tues but decided to head over on the Saturday.
By the time I flew in and got to the hostel it was mid afternoon so just enough time to head out and see some of the old town (Gamla Stan). I remembered some of it from my first visit when I had a quick hour or two walk in the old town before catching a flight home. This time around I had longer to spend walking through all the old lanes and exploring different areas.
The guards were at the Palace again but the streets were quieter this time around (and colder!). Lots of cute cobblestone streets and old buildings, it's really beautiful wondering around Stockholm. But then the sun went down and holy crap I was FROZEN. So hightailed it back to the hostel and rugged up before heading back out for some dinner. I forgot how awkward it is to find a place to eat on your own. I'm glad I don't have to travel solo too much anymore.
On Sunday I was starting to think the city had it in for me. The metro stations I needed were always closed, the attractions I tried either didn't exist anymore or weren't on and walking through the city was killing my feet. But then I think I just realised hardly anyone visits Stockholm outside of the peak summer so all the tourist stuff shuts down.
I dropped my bags at the hotel work had booked (much nice than the hostel and my room was pink & purple! Awesome) and then stopped for breaky around the corner at this really nice little cafe. Even without an English menu I managed to order something tasty. It was a little weird because with every brunch order you also got this little basket with orange juice, yogurt with berries (yum), mini pancake (double yum) and coleslaw (yes coleslaw! weird). Very interesting.
Stockholm is made up of several islands which makes travel around interesting as it's a combination of walking, metro, trams and ferries. I jumped on the metro from Vasastaden where the hotel was and rode down to the southern island, Södermalm. Had a wonder around the shops and walked up to an area where you get views over the city.
Then jumped on the metro again to go to the very west of the island to find a market called Street. Took ages to get there and turned out it didn't exist anymore, bugger. So I headed into the harbour area near Östermalm to see if any boats were doing tours (the dates in the guide book said 'summer only' so it was hard to tell). No luck on any city boat tours and the 4 hour ones into the archipelago were only running once a day and it had already left that morning. Not having a lot of luck this trip.
So instead I jumped on a tram and road up to Djurgården, an island that housed the Skansen open aired museum (which I saw last time I was in Stockholm), the theme park (closed), museums and a national park. I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the park and walking through it's woods.
I found a nice little glasshouse area with a type of market (selling food and plants) with lots of picnic people around which made for a wonderful chill out area. Quite a few beautiful houses on the island too which I saw on my walks, although I'm not sure they were homes as they were huge but not sure what else they could be.
As the day came to a close I took the ferry from Djurgården back to the south island again just so I could say I had been on the water and for the nice views over Stockholm, then back to the hotel for a much needed rest before meeting up with Bevan & Chris (my workmates) in the early evening. We then went and saw one of the Stockholm office guys (Mats) for dinner at this yummy czech restaurant.
We also went out Monday night to a steak house and to play pool (along with a few drinks of course). Was great fun hanging out with various EPiServer peops.
My second time coming to Stockholm for work but the last time we stayed out of Stockholm center so decided I wanted to see a bit more of the city this time. I had two days here for work on a Mon and Tues but decided to head over on the Saturday.
By the time I flew in and got to the hostel it was mid afternoon so just enough time to head out and see some of the old town (Gamla Stan). I remembered some of it from my first visit when I had a quick hour or two walk in the old town before catching a flight home. This time around I had longer to spend walking through all the old lanes and exploring different areas.
The guards were at the Palace again but the streets were quieter this time around (and colder!). Lots of cute cobblestone streets and old buildings, it's really beautiful wondering around Stockholm. But then the sun went down and holy crap I was FROZEN. So hightailed it back to the hostel and rugged up before heading back out for some dinner. I forgot how awkward it is to find a place to eat on your own. I'm glad I don't have to travel solo too much anymore.
On Sunday I was starting to think the city had it in for me. The metro stations I needed were always closed, the attractions I tried either didn't exist anymore or weren't on and walking through the city was killing my feet. But then I think I just realised hardly anyone visits Stockholm outside of the peak summer so all the tourist stuff shuts down.
I dropped my bags at the hotel work had booked (much nice than the hostel and my room was pink & purple! Awesome) and then stopped for breaky around the corner at this really nice little cafe. Even without an English menu I managed to order something tasty. It was a little weird because with every brunch order you also got this little basket with orange juice, yogurt with berries (yum), mini pancake (double yum) and coleslaw (yes coleslaw! weird). Very interesting.
Stockholm is made up of several islands which makes travel around interesting as it's a combination of walking, metro, trams and ferries. I jumped on the metro from Vasastaden where the hotel was and rode down to the southern island, Södermalm. Had a wonder around the shops and walked up to an area where you get views over the city.
Then jumped on the metro again to go to the very west of the island to find a market called Street. Took ages to get there and turned out it didn't exist anymore, bugger. So I headed into the harbour area near Östermalm to see if any boats were doing tours (the dates in the guide book said 'summer only' so it was hard to tell). No luck on any city boat tours and the 4 hour ones into the archipelago were only running once a day and it had already left that morning. Not having a lot of luck this trip.
So instead I jumped on a tram and road up to Djurgården, an island that housed the Skansen open aired museum (which I saw last time I was in Stockholm), the theme park (closed), museums and a national park. I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the park and walking through it's woods.
I found a nice little glasshouse area with a type of market (selling food and plants) with lots of picnic people around which made for a wonderful chill out area. Quite a few beautiful houses on the island too which I saw on my walks, although I'm not sure they were homes as they were huge but not sure what else they could be.
As the day came to a close I took the ferry from Djurgården back to the south island again just so I could say I had been on the water and for the nice views over Stockholm, then back to the hotel for a much needed rest before meeting up with Bevan & Chris (my workmates) in the early evening. We then went and saw one of the Stockholm office guys (Mats) for dinner at this yummy czech restaurant.
We also went out Monday night to a steak house and to play pool (along with a few drinks of course). Was great fun hanging out with various EPiServer peops.
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