Mid 60s and sunny might be our favorite weather for sightseeing and we woke up to that today. Yay! We are staying in Gamla Stan or Old Town and yesterday’s Adventures were there and on the nearby island of Djurgården.
This morning we ventured into the City Centre. We wanted to balance Mom and Dad’s desire for more information about Sweden with the kids desire to do fun kid things. So we did a short city tour on the Ocean Bus.
It’s super cheesy but took us on a quick spin through some significant neighborhoods in Stockholm and some of the important cultural buildings as well.
We saw the national theatre trimmed in gold.
We also cruised through the Diplomatic City. The lovely 18th/19th century homes were beautiful.
The 1955 US embassy stands out for its Mid-Century Modernist design which was supposed to demonstrate openness and democratic transparency. It looks a bit like a prison block to today’s eyes. Perhaps it’s the fence.
Shortly after Diplomatic City, we hit the water, literally.
The boat portion of our tour took us around the side of Djurgården we didn’t get to yesterday.
Stockholm from the water was beautiful today – full of sailboats and gorgeous old apartment buildings, museums and statues. Sweden largely avoided involvement in WWI and WWII so Stockholm did not get bombed like most European cities. Most of the 18th and 19th century buildings still stood as well as the medieval core in Gramla Stan.
The most damage came from a massive urban renewal project that demolished 750 old buildings in a neighborhood in the middle 1900s. Public backlash was so fierce that since the 1970’s, historic buildings are preserved and modernized rather than replaced. Lucky for us.
Our tour dropped us where we started – near the King’s Garden. There we were thinking about grabbing lunch when we heard the unmistakable sounds of a drum cadence. It was the Royal Swedish Army Band, playing the new Guard to the Palace. They walked right by so how could we not grab some video.
Lunch was a bit of an experiment for Tiffany. She ordered a Bookmaker Sandwich which is very popular in Sweden though it hails from Ireland/UK.
The typical Swedish version generally features:
- A crisp base of fried or toasted bread
- Sliced steak (like tenderloin or sirloin)
- Dijon/mayo spread
- Fresh grated horseradish
- A raw/soft egg yolk nested on top
It was a lot of flavors but delicious. Not sure fresh grated horseradish will become a staple at home, but trying it was well worth it.
We then retraced some of our bus/boat tour on foot.
Östermalm is known as the glitzy and glamorous neighborhood with expensive shops everywhere but it also has the National Library, the National Theatre pictured above and Stockholm’s oldest cinema. It also has a large park, the Humlegården, named for the hops the King used to grow there for his beer. We enjoyed the weather as the Stockholmers do – hanging around in the park.
From there we walked through Norrmalm, another neighborhood of streets lined with shopping and charming buildings that eventually becomes heavy transportation with both the central train and metro stations.
Finally we worked our way back to Old Town and to the first public square in Stockholm, Stortorget. Mentioned in 1420, this square is surrounded by iconic colorful townhouses.
The kids spent a couple hours in the Science Fiction bookstore – no purchases, just reading.
Tiffany and Brian had a lovely dinner sitting outside at a cafe. Brian’s arribiata disappeared quickly. For Tiffany, this was the second round of Swedish Meatballs in two days. The gravy was rich and the lingonberries not too tart, the mashed potatoes smooth and creamy. A good way to close out the day.
5 Adventures Together 