Two Days of Stockholm

Uh oh, Copenhagen. You have a competitor for my favorite city on this contract…

The first time I was able to get off in Stockholm, I met up with the grandparents of one of my dear high school friends, Jennifer. Her family is from Sweden, and during high school it was common for her grandparents to be visiting while our friend group was hanging out at Jenn’s house. It would have been foolish for me not to reconnect with her family in Stockholm!

Luisa and I had the loveliest afternoon with a pair of wonderful tour guides. Ronnie and Jan met us directly off of Cara and the four of us enjoyed a delicious, vegetarian buffet at Herman's right across the street from the cruise terminal. If anyone is going to Stockholm, check them out!

Jen's grandparents then showed us around part of the old city, which was elevated above the river. At one point, Jan asked an old woman who was returning home from shopping if we could see the inside of her house (as one does). She obliged, and we were led off the cobblestoned street and into a small door that opened up into a garden surrounded by four or five connected houses. This was apparently how most of Stockholm used to be, with gated communal housing and shared yards. It was a magical reveal!

From here, the four of us walked down toward the bridge that would allow us to cross into the Old City. Stockholm is made up of fourteen islands, all connected by various bridges and ferries. The main city area is bicycle-dominated, as there are many regulations limiting the number of cars and where they can drive (Uh, can NYC follow suit, please?). Public transport is also extremely comprehensive, not to mention pedestrian accessibility of the city center.

We crossed over a massive bridge with a ton of construction causing a racket beneath. Jan explained that as polar ice melted, one of the islands kept rising; every fifty years or so, the connection between the two land masses had to be rebuilt.

I wish I could accurately portray the wealth of knowledge that Jan and Ronnie have of Stockholm. As we walked the twisting streets of Old Stockholm, passing throngs of tourists of every nationality, I found myself listening to the complete history of Sweden. Jan led us to the main square, where he promptly told us that dozens of Swedish officials' heads had been chopped off in the 14th century, when Denmark had successfully invaded Sweden. It was quite a gruesome story for such a lovely town square. The decor on the surrounding houses apparently represented every person who had died that day. Additionally, there was a cannonball embedded in the corner of a building from a relatively recent feud!

We then toured around the Royal Palace (more on that later), took a stroll along the river, and landed at a cafe in a beautiful park. There, Luisa and I took part in our first fika, complete with famous Swedish cardamon buns. We talked about life. This is what fika is, comparable to an Argentinian media tarde, where in you wake up from your siesta and have coffee and baked goods with your family. Both are more of a state of mind, a concept revolving around time spent with friends and family, enjoying good company with a good snack. It was a beautiful introduction to Stockholm, and I was grateful to have gotten to have spent it with Jenn's grandparents. I couldn't wait to return!

And then our IPM schedule came out for the rest of May and June, and I was not going to be able to get off in Stockholm again until our last cruise, when Mom was onboard.

The second opportunity I had to go out in to Stockholm, I was with Mom, it was raining, and we had a drill. Joy of joys. SO, Mom went out ahead of me to explore and I stayed onboard to do the drill. As soon as they announced, "End of Exercise," I was off the ship. I quickly ran to donate a bunch of clothes that I was under no circumstances taking back to New York. I then met up with Mom in that square that I spoke about earlier. The one with all the beheadings. That one. The plan was to meet up with Ronnie and Jan later that afternoon! In the meantime, they recommended that we tour inside the Royal Apartments at the Palace. As it was raining, we purchased all-inclusive passes to view the many museums inside the Palace, as well as the apartments.

The museums were so engaging, so impressive! We were able to learn all about the history of the three known versions of the Palace by literally going underground and looking at the old foundations. There was an art gallery that one of the kings had established; there stood a collection of statues of Apollo and his muses. The audio tour explained all about these statues in great detail, as well as how historians had been able to distinguish the muses and what they stood for. We saw the gorgeous, echoing Royal Chapel, the Treasury where I could take no photos, even the Changing of the Guard! And, last but not least, we toured the apartments.

Now. The Swedish Royal Palace is an active palace, meaning that the Royal Family still kind of lives there. Business is absolutely still conducted within its walls. The Royal Apartments currently house officials when they come to Sweden for any state affairs. It just so happened that a week later, the President of South Korea would be recognized by Sweden and accept an award from the royals. There would be a huge state dinner, the ins and outs explained to us by our zealous tour guide. Because of this huge event, some of the areas were undergoing serious preparations and could not be toured. However, our tour guide (Let us call him Sam.) was prepared.

For example, we could not enter the dining hall because it was being set (a week in advance) for this massive celebration dinner, so Sam pulled out an iPad and showed us photos detailing the various set ups, traditions, and format in which these dinners proceeded. We were shown into a few cavernous bedrooms that were plushly decorated.

It was very interesting, because you definitely got the feeling that you were in a very grand, historical place, and yet everything felt a bit out of style, a bit antiquated. anyway, grateful that I got to see this gorgeous place! And shout out to Sam, who clearly was the b i g g e s t fan of the Swedish Royal Family and their comings and goings-- he was so into it that we were almost an hour late to meet Ronnie and Jan for, you guessed it, fika!

And what a lovely parting fika it was.

I have unfinished business with you, Sweden. I still have to make it to that amazing theme park you have going on, I need to go to the ABBA Museum, there are still more islands I must explore, the list goes on! Looks like next time Jenn goes home, I'm sneaking myself into her suitcase.... :)