From the beginning of December 2024 to the beginning of January 2025, I was in Latvia, Finland, and Sweden. This time we are going to Sweden, the third country.
I traveled from Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden by boat. I boarded a ship operated by Viking Line. It leaves Helsinki at 18:00 every day and arrives in Stockholm at 10:00 the next day. It is a big ferry, and I like the slightly retro look of the ship. There are several restaurants, bars, a duty-free supermarket, a game and casino corner, a sauna and spa, and many activities such as live music, karaoke competitions, and disco time. After filling up on a seafood platter and other dishes for dinner, I relaxed with a glass of juice while listening to a live band at the bar, and then returned to my room.
While in my room, I did not feel much shaking and was comfortable listening to the sound of the waves. I was awakened once by the sound of the relay port stop at dawn, but fell asleep again after reentering the port. After dawn, we were not tired of looking at the scenery outside and went out on deck, where it was not too cold and the breeze was very pleasant. It was not too cold and the breeze was nice. It would be nice to spend the summer season when the days get longer.
The city of Stockholm consists of 14 islands, but the ship arrived at Södermalm Island. From there, the first stop was the Millesgården Museum on Lidinge Island. This was the residence and studio of Carl Milles, a sculptor who was also Rodin’s assistant, and lived there for a time. Mires’s works can be seen throughout the grounds, and the garden offers a panoramic view of Stockholm. Plants were placed here and there in the house, and the entire site was a cozy space that gave a sense of being cared for very well.
The best tourist attraction in Stockholm is the Old Town (Gamarstan). This area still retains its cobblestone medieval streets. We took a guided tour on foot, and according to our guide, the history of Gamarstan dates back to the 13th century. In the beginning, according to the wealth of the inhabitants, the wealthy lived in yellow stone houses and the rest lived in red wooden houses. Later, as differences in wealth by color became blurred, people began to indicate their wealth by the number of windows they had. This is because a house with many windows can pay the window tax, which is one of the taxes that existed in European countries.
Morten Trotsig Glen Street is the narrowest street in Stockholm, with a width of about 90 cm. I could not quite make it out, but the lower part of the street is slightly tilted. This is because the residents of the old town dumped garbage outside the town and built a path over it. What is interesting is that the Vasa, which I will discuss later, will be found in excellent preservation over time since its sinking, thanks in part to this garbage.
Sweden is still a monarchy. The Royal Palace in Stockholm, where the current king’s office is located, is quite luxurious. I also saw the changing of the guard that protects the palace, and was impressed by the large number of women. The schedule is not available online, but is posted in front of the palace.
Stockholm City Hall is one of the best places to visit in Stockholm, tied with the Vasa Museum (see below). It can only be visited by guided tour, so be sure to make a reservation. It was interesting to see how the rooms were transformed into completely different atmospheres: the hall where the Nobel Prize dinner and the subsequent party were held, and the city council chambers.
The Vasa Museum on Djurgården Island is a must-see. The museum exhibits one of the most powerful battleships of its time, completed in 1628 by order of King Gustaf II Adolf of Sweden, and it is overwhelmingly powerful. The battleship was designed incorrectly and sank 10 minutes into its maiden voyage, but was recovered from the bottom of the sea in 1961, and surprisingly, the hull remained almost in its original form.
This was due to the low-oxygen condition of the sea caused by garbage discarded from the town, and the low salt content and low sea temperature for the sea, which made it difficult for the crucian carpenter bees, which feed on trees, to grow. The magnificent carvings on the huge hull are clearly visible. Gustav II Adolf, the “Lion of the North,” can be seen here and there on the ship. The bright colors of the time must have amazed the people of the time at how luxurious the ship was.
After the Vasa Museum, we went to the Skansen Open-Air Museum. Here, valuable buildings from different parts of Sweden over the centuries are relocated and exhibited. Guides dressed in period costumes show visitors how they actually sell their products, make furniture, and print.
There is a zoo and an aquarium where the kids had a blast. There is a restaurant, but some families were roasting their own food on a bonfire! I wish I had brought some sweet potatoes! From the island, we took the ferry back to the old town, and the view of the old town from the sea at sunset was like a painting.
I heard that Stockholm is famous for its subway art, so I went to see some of it on my way to the city. All of them have completely different tastes, so if time permits, it would be fun to conquer them all.
A friend of mine who lives in Sweden took me to a restaurant called Kvarnen in response to my request to try Swedish food. Everything was new to me, as I had only known Swedish food as meatballs, such as pittipanna, which is a mixture of various meats and potatoes cut into small pieces and stir-fried together, reindeer stew, and sweet shrimp with mayonnaise and dill. We were not rushed by the waiter, and we enjoyed talking over the delicious food, and before we knew it, it was dark outside. We had a peaceful time, with the group next to us singing a Swedish birthday song to celebrate my birthday.
I also had meatballs proper at another restaurant. Served with cream sauce, cocklebur jam, and pickled cucumbers, these were Swedish meatballs. The meatballs were as big as a small hamburger steak, and I was full!
I arrived in Stockholm after Christmas, but Christmas decorations were still everywhere in town. One of the things that caught my attention was the goat dolls made of straw everywhere. I found out that it was a miniature of a giant goat originally made in the Swedish town of Jevle since 1966. The original goat often didn’t last until the New Year due to arson and other reasons, but in the last few years, they have been getting creative with security and have survived quite well. 2024 has survived as well. The parties involved in the siege seem to be serious and hard at work, but isn’t this a smoldering story?
I heard that New Year’s Eve is famous for fireworks to celebrate the New Year, so I went to a nearby vantage point a little before midnight, but there was quite a bit of snow. I was disappointed that I couldn’t see the fireworks from far away, but was surprised when they suddenly shot up from behind me! It seemed that people who wanted to set off the fireworks were free to do so wherever they wanted without waiting for the clock to strike midnight (laugh). It was like firecrackers during Chinese New Year in China, I thought as I headed home, seeing fireworks going off all over the place and smiling faces of people on the street.
On New Year’s Day, I went to hear a New Year’s classical concert. The venue was Stockholm Cathedral, the oldest church in Stockholm. The next Queen of Sweden, Crown Prince Victoria, was married here.
The apartment building I rented in Stockholm had smart locks on the locks even though it had a certain amount of history, and I never used cash for payment. As was the case in Finland, the Scandinavian countries are going digital.
All three countries (and their three capitals) we visited this time had short daylight hours because it was winter, but there were not so many tourists, so we could leisurely visit one or two places a day. It was not too cold outside, and it was hot inside. I would miss the sun if I stayed for a long time, but I was comfortable everywhere, as I am sensitive to summer heat. Compared to Paris, all three countries are very safe, and I have the impression that prices in the two Scandinavian countries other than Riga are not much different from those in Paris. Since it was my first visit to these countries, I only visited the capital cities this time, but if I have a chance, I would like to visit the regions as well.
© Source travel watch
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