Stockholm

Last weekend, Gracie and I took a trip by ourselves to Stockholm, Sweden. Our flight left London Stansted at around 6am Friday morning and we landed in Sweden around 9am. The airport we flew in to is about an hour outside the city of Stockholm, so we took a bus the rest of the way. I learned that Stockholm is made up of 14 islands (and Sweden as a whole is basically just a mass of islands), which I had no idea prior to visiting. Our hostel was in Gamla Stan, or "Old Town", which was in between two of the major islands of Stockholm. The city is what I imagine when I think of a European city; the architecture and colors with the combination of old and new. 

Walking to Gamla Stan, or Old Town

On Friday, we mostly just walked around the city. Nothing is too far, so walking was the easiest way to get around, especially since we had no plans of going outside the city. It was definitely cold however, snowing all three days we were there. We had been teased by 70 degree weather the entire week prior in London, so stepping back in to the cold was a little difficult. But the snow was beautiful and definitely added to the atmosphere. Friday night we found a cute restaurant near the Royal Palace in Old Town that was very good and fairly inexpensive (which is very hard to find), and spent a few hours there, then called it a night. 

Snow in the streets of Stockholm

Dessert at our dinner on Friday night

Saturday, we had a list of things we wanted to get through, such as walking around the Royal Palace, and heading to the National Library of Sweden. We walked down the main road for shopping, which was filled with all kinds of stores, as well as quite a few department stores, all very nice with some beautiful (and expensive) clothes. It was definitely a good thing that it was just Gracie and me, because we spent quite a lot of time on that street. That night we grabbed dinner, then stopped at a bar near our hostel for a drink and then headed to one of Stockholm's clubs to experience some nightlife in the city. 

The Royal Palace in Gamla Stan

The National Library of Sweden

On Sunday we spent most of our time, again walking around and seeing some islands we hadn't seen. We ended up meeting up with a couple of people we met at the club the night before and they showed us around the city, which was definitely an interesting perspective to have, from people who have lived in and around Stockholm their whole life. Overall, the trip was a huge success, even if it was a little cold and very expensive. Sweden is by far my favorite place I've been to so far. The people were without a doubt the nicest of any we have met while in Europe. If I ever plan to visit Europe in the future, I will definitely be going back to Stockholm (maybe in the Summer though...). 

Views from the water

Museum on Swedish Culture