Self Guided Tour of Stockholm
On our cruise through the Baltic Sea, our first stop and embarkation port was Stockholm, Sweden! We arrived early to ensure we had enough time to spend a day exploring this city, just like we would as a port day throughout the cruise.
Looking back, I cannot imagine a better location to start our trip. This was Nathan’s favorite city of the entire trip, and I completely understand why (even if my favorite was Amsterdam). The city was a perfect combination of quiet and relaxed, with plenty of new and exciting things to experience. It really set the stage and our comfort levels for the entire trip.
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After a gloriously long night’s sleep to recover from our long flights. We were up and ready to find breakfast around 10 a.m.
We missed the hotel breakfast, but that was our preference since local is always better! I had done some online research on places to eat around our hotel, and we set off on a short walk to a local café.
This is where my first and only panic of the trip set in. When we got to the café, we realized a few things very quickly. Most of these we knew what to expect, but it was different experiencing it first hand.
- AC was not going to be common. While it wasn’t AZ hot, it was in the 70s, and we had just walked a mile or so to get there, so standing in a small area trying to think wasn’t exactly comfortable.
- Europe does not eat breakfast like Americans. Sadly. The cafĂ© was basically a small coffee shop with a few pastry items. Nathan probably would have been fine, but since I don’t care for coffee or ‘dry’ pastries, which were super common, it wasn’t the best fit for me.
- We couldn’t just ignore language differences. While I had reviewed the menu online a dozen times using nifty translation tools, it wasn’t perfect. So trying to decide and pronounce what we wanted just added to the stressful moment.
Combine all of these factors as we stood near the cashier, and my desire to be prepared and not the dumb tourist, and I started to panic. I will totally own that I got overwhelmed, and we left assuming breakfast wasn’t going to be an option for us.
Thankfully, it only took a little bit for me to relax, and Nathan was amazingly supportive as always. So it really wasn’t a big deal, but it was definitely the moment it really set in that we were across the world in a different country and culture.
Gamla Stan
From the café we started walking, aiming for the old downtown, named Gamla Stan. We planned on spending the day exploring and taking advantage of anything we said along the way.
A little history and context. Gamla Stan is where Stockholm was founded in 1252! Throughout the entire trip, we couldn’t get over the age of the buildings/areas we were in and how beautiful and intricate they were. You can absolutely tell the pride these citizens had in their history and make sure to preserve it.
We had already seen a little bit of the area from our hotel, but the buildings were incredible. Nothing that you would ever come across in the USA. The roads and ‘sidewalks’ (if you can call them that) were legit cobblestone. Clearly used and warped from cars and pedestrians, but amazing nonetheless.
Besides the incredible buildings, we were shocked by the lack of people. Limited vehicles made sense because of the area, but there was no one around.
It took a while, but we realized that it went back to a similar topic with no breakfast options. People just didn’t go out and about until much later in the day. After 12 p.m. or so, it slowly started to pick up. However, it still never felt overly crowded, which was one of the reasons we really enjoyed this as our first city.
Not long after we started walking, we found ourselves in a main courtyard area and found the Nobel Prize Museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed on Mondays, so we weren’t able to go inside. We will definitely be coming back someday, so we can go inside.
The good news is the courtyard had multiple restaurants in it!
Being in a more touristy area (though it didn’t feel like it), the orange building actually had English menus published outside. So we were a little more comfortable making selections and sitting down for a meal.
We later realized that the red building seemed to be connected, and found the restaurant name, Kaffekoppen (website), so we can come back again next time.
For breakfast, Nathan got crĂªpes and I opted for a cinnamon roll. Nathan said the crĂªpes were delicious, and a definite repeat. The cinnamon roll was surprising because it didn’t have icing like you would expect in the USA, but it did have these icing chip/flake things (almost like salt on a pretzel) that were just as sweet as a Cinnabon roll would be. I was impressed!
As for drinks, they had a carbonated orange soda named Zingo. I figured it would be like Fanta, and it was better than coffee for me. Boy was I surprised and happily so! It wasn’t like Fanta at all, instead, it was like carbonated Tampico and soooo good.
They also had a signature drink called, kalla choklad. It was chocolate milk with a scoop of ice cream! For my Idaho Falls friends, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a Brown Cow in Sweden, and it did not disappoint! đŸ™‚
After breakfast, we continued our walk around Gamla Stan. We walked through the Riddarholmen Church complex, which was also closed on Mondays (apparently common in Stockholm), but still interesting to explore another crazy old building (built in 1290!).
It’s no surprise that we were constantly entertained by the small things. First, was the American influences when we came across a Texas-themed steakhouse in the heart of Gamla Stan. Second, was the Tasty American store that had all the treats you can only get in America, like sugary cereal and Hostess baked goods. It was a funny but sad moment to see what we bring to the rest of the world. No worries though, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get some AZ Tea and a Yoohoo!
Third, was the various bathroom experiences. Public restrooms seemed to be much more accessible than in America, which was helpful as we are walking around exploring, even if they weren’t fancy (left photo).
We knew going in that it was very common to have to pay to access bathrooms. Since Sweden and the EU are significantly better at a cashless experience, it was super easy to tap & pay, and then enter. Sure, we had to pay a 1kr (about $0.92) but I would happily pay that for convenience and cleanliness.
The real surprise, especially in larger restrooms like at Central Station (right photo), was that most restrooms were unisex. Since they have full floor-to-ceiling doors (yay!) you have the privacy you need in the stall and there is no reason to split them. Weird the first time, but I am all for it! No more waiting in a long women’s line just to have the men’s area empty.
Last, was the walking and transportation experience. Since biking is a significantly more common method of transportation, they actually had stoplights, signs, and lanes specifically for bikes as well as pedestrians. They also had these super cute people icons for the walking paths (middle photo). The bus system also takes advantage of the tram roads. So while public traffic couldn’t drive on the road, all the public transportation could, making the use of space very efficient.
Vasa Museet and Island
Once we had finished our walk through downtown Gamla Stan, we hopped on a short tram ride and made our way over to the island of DjurgĂ¥rden. This island had a number of museums, but we specifically wanted to see the Vasa Museet.
We did take a few pictures outside the Viking Museum, which was an incredibly beautiful building. However, we wanted to ensure we could see the Vasa without being rushed, so we skipped a visit this time, but we will be back!
After we entered the Vasa museum, our first impression was how cold it was inside with the AC actually running. Our assumption is that it is required to ensure the ship remains intact and minimizes further damage from humidity.
The Vasa is a 17th war ship that is almost fully intact due to the lack of harsh waters it had sunk in. It sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was recovered in the 1960s and remains there today.
The story is that the king at the time kept adding to the ship, making it way too top-heavy, and it only made it about 3/4 of a mile (1,300 m) from the dock before sinking. From seeing it in person and the pictures below, it is no surprise that it sunk, but it is beautiful!
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The museum had 4 levels so that you could experience the entire ship from the top to bottom. Plus, they had replicas and tons of unique information to help explain the usage and design elements throughout the ship.
Beyond the massive size of the ship, the other fascinating piece was the originally intended colors. The model and some of the displays show the bright reds, yellows, and more that covered this ship. Without context, I was shocked so much effort was put into a warship of all things.
We would highly recommend anyone visiting Stockholm to stop by the Vasa Museet!
Dinner and Embarkation
Once we were exhausted from our day exploring Stockholm, we made our way back to Gamla Stan. Since the tram dropped us off at Central Station, we were able to see more of the newer areas and found a local restaurant to stop for dinner.
As usual, we tried to find something we couldn’t have at home. The Hairy Pig (website) was a great choice as they used wild boar in most of their dishes and a lot of lingonberries, neither of which we have had before.
To start, we had the Ostkroketter, which are cheese croquettes and delicious! For our entrĂ©es, I got the meatballs with mashed potatoes and Nathan got the sausage with mashed potatoes. Both were unique in their flavors, but good nonetheless. I don’t think either of us would rush to have wild boar again, but it wasn’t bad at all.
To drink, Nathan tried a local beer as usual, but they actually had lingonberry juice. Since that was such a prominent ingredient, I had to try it, and it was another win in the drink department! It is described as a cross between a cranberry and a raspberry, and is very popular to make into jams.
After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for embarkation the next day.
In the morning, the hotel had taxis readily available, so we grabbed one and our way over to the port, which was an easy drive.
Embarkation was almost identical to any other cruise we had been on. This was something we had been concerned about, not knowing how other countries would handle things. The only notable difference, and a great one at that, was the lack of porters and tip requirements. You took your bags up to a station and dropped them off. Almost like a porter, but no tip was required, and they immediately put it on a conveyor to start loading onto the ship.
Since we were on an NCL ship, everything felt very familiar, and we immediately fell into our normal ship routine as soon as we were on board.
Stockholm, being the amazing city it was, did a great job at sending us off in a unique fashion. We normally board a ship and start to head out to the ocean. Well, this cruise wasn’t touching the ocean, instead staying within the Baltic Sea. What we didn’t expect, is that Stockholm is settled into a massive archipelago.
It took hours to sail through, and the entire time we were met with incredible views of the islands surrounding us! Houses and buildings were on even the smallest islands, with their only access to the rest of the world being through a boat.
We finally went inside once it got too dark to see the islands surrounding us, but we probably had another few hours before we were out into the open sea. It also made for very smooth sailing because we were going so slowly and there were zero waves or storms we had to go through.
Definitely a wonderful send-off, and we can’t wait to come back and experience more that Stockholm and Sweden have to offer!
If you would like to read more about this cruise or the other stops we made along the way, here are some quick links for you!
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