Stockholm
by the Sea
—

I enjoy exploring new places as much as my friend Orla does so for our third trip together we decided to go to Stockholm, Sweden.

Stockholm is a pretty city with an even mix of old areas and new hip neighbourhoods. It's a really efficient place to travel around, either by tram, bus or even boat!

The Town Hall

One of the first things we did was have a tour of Stockholm's Town Hall, which was a great introduction to the city. The building is quite striking from a distance as well as up close so it was exciting to have a look inside.

The main hall is the location of the Nobel Prize banquet, which is no surprise as it's a stunning space. There was also a fascinating room called The Golden Hall, which is covered in mosaics featuring moments from Swedish history.

Stockholm Town Hall

Omnipollos hatt bar

Rag & Bone

As you walk towards Stockholm's Riksbron bridge there's a small statue by the wall. At first it looks cute, but it's actually quite a sad little statue of a homeless fox.

The sculpture was created by British artist Laura Ford and was bought by the City of  Stockholm in 2008. The public voted for it to be placed in it's current position where it asks passersby to give a thought to the homeless.

Rag & Bone statue

Gamla Stan - Old Town

Millesgården

A highlight of the trip was a visit to Millesgården on the island of Lidingö. It was the home of artists Carl and Olga Milles. We walked around their former home, and the beautiful gardens which has lots of their sculptures on display.

“We have no forks or sheets, but Carl always has enough to buy columns”
— Olga Milles

The artists lived in the house until 1931 then 5 years later it was transformed into a foundation, and gifted to the Swedish people.

Millesgården

Skansen

Another good place to visit was Skansen, an open air museum, located on the island Djurgårdenve. We had had a busy day, I think it included the ABBA museum and the Vasa Museum, so by the time we got to Skansen most of it was closed!

We could still walk around and look at the old buildings and see the animals. It had a nice vibe and it would be good to return to see it with all the actors in traditional costume, and see the glass blowing demonstations etc.

A Swedish dog

Orla viewing Sweden from Skansen

Fjäderholmarna Boat Trip

One of our friend's had been to Stockholm shortly before our trip, and they had recommended one of the archipelago islands - Fjäderholmarna. The island is only a short boat ride from Stockholm city centre so we decided to travel out to the island.

We didn't explore the island, instead we walked straight from the boat into the brewery! It's fair to say we sampled many ales, ate some great food and I bought a very expensive, but lovely, canvas bag. 

Fjäderholmarna

'God, our Father, on the Rainbow fountain!'
- Carl Milles

These were the highlights of our Stockholm trip but the whole experience was great. The people were very friendly, the place itself was so clean, it had a safe vibe to it, and I'd certainly like to return in the future.

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© Suz Guthrie 2020