Stockholm: The Venice of the North

This past weekend I decided to play tourist in Sweden`s capital, Stockholm. The city is about a 4 hour train ride South, and even though I could practically fly across Canada in this time, it was well worth the trip.  On Friday, all the new teachers met at the train station at 6am for our new teacher training at the school`s headquarters in Stockholm.  We got there just in time for fika! Swedes love their fika. After a short day, we headed back to central Stockholm for a couple hours before the others had to catch the train home.  One of the Swedes was nice enough to give me a hot-spot shopping tour of central Stockholm.  I took mental notes, hoping I could find all these places on my own later.  The best shopping district was Biblioteksgatan. Here, a red carpet was laid across the street, so you could walk along and feel rich and famous!

Red Carpet on Drottninggatan

I said goodbye to the rest of the group at Central Station before heading straight back to Biblioteksgatan.  I blame it on the red carpet, but I had to buy something in one of these shops.  There were Sales or 'REA' everywhere, so it wasn't difficult to find something in my price range.  Well, once you took the 70% off the original price, it was with in my budget! I bought a cute fall jacket from Jackpot, it's organic cotton and so comfy!!

I was extremely nervous about traveling alone, and getting lost in a big city.  Especially since the hotel I booked was a last minute decision, and I didn't look at the reviews until after I booked.  I was pleasantly surprised though!  The room was a good size - perfect for just sleeping and getting ready for the day.   There was a single bed and a tiny bathroom.

My little hotel room!

In the end, I had a fantastic weekend.  I loved traveling all by my lonesome.  It wasn't as bad as I thought.  I did get lost A LOT! Now I know for sure that I'm directionally challenged.  I saw so much of the city!  I followed a walking tour from my Lonely Planet book on Sweden.  It took me through the city center, across to Gamla Stan, and around to the Royal Palace.  My favourite stop was Katarinahillen - A lookout tower over Stockholm.  There's also a bar at the top, and scattered seating to enjoy the view from.  I felt guilty, so I bought a beer (for 10 dollars!).

View from atop Katarinahillen

Another view from the top!

It's true - Stockholm is VERY expensive!  In fact, I kept track of all my spending while in the city.  So in case you're wondering, here's what a typical weekend in Stockholm would cost: PS this is minus all the shopping I did ....

Day 1:

- subway passes (pkg of 9) 180 sek

Inside the Nordiska Museet

- dinner at Sandy's 64 sek
- hotel (outside of city centre) 2 nights 790 sek

Day 2:

- Fika at cafe in Gamla Stan 50 sek
- Souvineirs in Gamla Stan 70 sek
- Lunch at Sundsberg konditori 75 sek
- Beer at Katarinahissen 60 sek
- Dinner at Chutney in Sodermalm 210 sek

Day 3:

- Entrance to Moderna Museet 100sek

View from the 4th floor of Nordiska Museet

- Ferry ride to Djurgarden 40 sek
- Entrance to Nordiska Museet 80 sek
-ps - this is a much better museum than the modern museum!
- Fika at Cafe Bellman in the city centre112 sek
- Train ticket back home 329 sek

Total cost of a trip:  2160 SEK (about 330 CAD)
(not including the train ride there, which was paid for by the school)

It will be a little while before I have enough money to return to Stockholm again, but I will go back - it's a beautiful city!