Stylish Stockholm

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Only
hop, skip and a boat ride away from old Helsinki is the capital of Sweden and
the home of 1,7 million of hip and trendy people. Stockholm is easy to get to,
but hard to forget. Who wouldn’t fall in love with the beautiful old part of
the city and the creative and contemporary cosmopolitan atmosphere of
Stockholm?

Sweden and Finland have love and hate
relationship. It is because of our long history together and apart, but
nowadays it is all about competing in everything, for example in music and ice
hockey. Some of you may remember that we just bit Sweden  in both sports this year! We
Finns have to admit though that there are lot of great Swedish things; like Absolut
Vodka, ABBA and Pippi Longstocking.

The
weather in Stockholm is same we have in Helsinki, but sometimes
just a hint warmer. After all it is to south from here! When visiting the city
in winter, it is a cool and trendy, but cold city to hang out. That is why I
recommend you to go right now, when the air is warm and nights are light.

Bridges
and boutiques of Stockholm

The
whole area of  Stockholm is build on 14
islands and the city itself on 7 islands, so almost everywhere you go you will
be surrounded by water. The most spectacular part of the city is the Old Town
with its old and beautiful buildings. The Royal family lives there as well.

For
obvious reason there are lot of brides and if you take a walk instead of taxi
from the ferry to the city central you will discover some of these beautiful
waterways. Especially walk in the old town, called Gamla Stan, is worth of doing.
What the heck, you may even see the king and his family, if you stalk long
enough on the corner of the Royal
Palace. If you get tired
of shopping or chasing the princesses of Sweden, you can relax in one of the
many parks of the city.

Stockholm is very vivid and
cosmopolitan city, mostly because more than 15% of its population are
immigrants or other expatriates. There are lot of cosy cafes, restaurants with
all kind of menus and bouncy night clubs, like Café Opera that has been the exclusive
party central of Stockholm
for 25 years now. But it is one to mention, there are lot of other great clubs in
the city and many of them don’t close until 5.

Swedes
know design and fashion. For some reason they always look good and show up
wearing the right clothes in every occasion. So, when in Sweden, do as
the Swedes do! Best shopping street in Stockholm
is drottninggatan. But there are more places to buy your little piece of Sweden than the
crowded shopping street and malls. Pop in one of those boutiques in the narrow alleys
of the old city or in Östermalm, the art and antique district. The prices are
pretty much the same as in Finland.
It hasn’t been longer than a decade, when we Finnish Fashionistas use to make trips
to Stockholm
just to buy clothes and accessories. But today we can go there and just enjoy
the atmosphere instead of purchasing everything we see, because we finally have
H&M and Nilson in Finland
too.

Attractive
attractions

Those
who cannot get enough of culture should check out the House of Culture,
Kulturhuset in Swedish, where the galleries, stages, shops and restaurants keep
you satisfied for hours! Also Vasamuseet and Moderna Museet are worth of
seeing. One of the things not to miss, if you walk in the old city, is the Stockholm’s Cathedral.

If
you are more into sports and activities than old culture, you may want to see
Globen, the sport and entertainment arena, which has a unique shape: it’s a
massive ball! You also may want to go to Eriksdalsbadet which is Stockholm’s largest
aquatic Centre with a 50-metre pool, adventure bats, spa and gym. The outdoor
pool is open during summer.

If
you stay for longer and with kids, you may want to do a day trip to the zoo,
called Kolmården. The zoo is one of Sweden’s
most popular tourist destinations and only 90 minutes south of Stockholm. I was there when I was a kid and
believe me: that’s a great adventure for little ones!

 

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The
love boats

Even
when you can fly to Stockholm
in an hour, I suggest you to take the over night ferry to get there. It is
experience of its own. You can have massage or facial, have a nice dinner and
drink colourful cocktails on the deck while watching the sunset. These ships
are known internationally as love boats. So who knows, you may even meet the
Mr. Right or if not, there are plenty of Mr. Right Nows on board! If it happens
that you drink too many GTs, “The It Drink” in Nordic, you really should try
your best and get up early and go to the deck
to see the most beautiful summer view of the archipelago of Sweden. The
countless islands look amazing in the morning light.

If
you are planning to take the ferry I strongly recommend you to stay in
Stockholm few days in between, because the partying is usually so severe that
you maybe thankful to have one day to recover from it and then have enough time
and energy to discover the city. Too many people don’t even leave the boat on
their trip and that is a pity, because they miss out a lot! By the way: you can
also get off on the Åland on your way to Stockholm.
Åland Islands
belong to Finland,
but people living on them speak Swedish and that would be soft descending to
the Swedish world and great way to see something new.

After
all of these years that I have been exploring Stockholm,
I still don’t know what it is that makes it so much more glamorous than Helsinki. Maybe it is the certain
self-confidence and style Swedes have? Or maybe it is just because the grass always
seems to be greener on the other side?