I loved Stockholm. Very vibrant, busy city, full of museums, galleries, restaurants, and cafes. Socializing with your friends seems to be everyone’s second job there. And of course everyone speaks perfect English. So handy.
The Vasa Museum was particularly interesting – the Vasa was a warship that sank on its maiden voyage (hell, it was still in the harbour when a gust of wind caused it to keel over and swamp, so maybe not a very good warship) in 1628. It was salvaged over 300 years later in excellent condition, still full of artifacts and the remains of over a dozen people. The exhibits were fascinating.
And I really liked the Moderna Museet — right up my alley. I spent a lot longer there than I had intended, and nearly missed my lunch reservation (God forbid). One exhibit by Rashid Johnson was so interesting that after going through the museum once, I turned back to Seven Rooms and a Garden and went through it again.
Weather was perfect for walking everywhere – between 2° and -4° with no wind each day. And in the evenings I went and checked out all the hockey set-up in the Kungstradgarden – the park looked beautiful and everyone was having a blast.
Even tho I don’t like shopping, I noticed that their stores looked different from ours, so on my last afternoon I window shopped — not to buy, but to see what their stores looked like, particularly housewares and decor. And much like the Simpsons’ window displays in Toronto when I was little, going and looking at the Christmas windows of the NK department store is clearly a Sunday activity for families this time of year.
What a fantastic city.