It turned out to be pretty hard to find a couch for a whole week besides the Sweds had vacation as well and didn't had much time to host. Additionally I think I am too challanging to choose the right one that match with my personal interests. Long story short, I ended up in a hostel for 'only' 270,- EUR for the week, damn it.
So here's the travelogue.
Saturday 28th February
After a short lunch at the Wismar station, I'm sitting in the train heading to Lübeck airport. Finally the vacation will start! The One I was looking forward for so long, being on my own in another country even if it is just for a week.
The flight was fun, but the thing what got on my nerves most were the annoying flight attendants trying to sell everything they had on board (at least it seemed so to me). Anyway, flying over Sweden I had a beautiful view all over the country and its frozen lakes. There're dozens!!!
After an hour we landed in Nyköping Skavsta Airport, about one and a half hours drive from Stockholm City. I hopped an the aircoach and observed the icy landscape laying before me (I was sitting in the first row).
At 7pm something I arrived in my hostel 'Zinkensdamm' and soon fell into sleep. I was kind of forced, the two other girls in the room were already asleep when I arrived so I did the same some time later.
Monday 2nd March
On Sunday I walked myself through huge parts of the city. Starting in Gamla Stan, the old city centre where it all started some hundred years ago. I've been to the main city centre of today and Skeppsholmen. That's a small island with different kind of museums where I took a tour through the architecture museum.
This city is so beautiful and with all the snow laying on the rivers and lakes it seems quite romantic. You always expect the king on his horse turning around the next corner. Stockholm has all those old renaissance and baroque houses everywhere and this produces a special atmosphere.
Okay back to Monday.
I started the day with taking the bus to the city library and walked my way to Vasastaden and Norrmalm (different districts in Stockholm, each on another island!). After a coffee at a cozy café in Gamla Stan and walking throught the narrowest street in the city (where Moby once shot a video), I took the ferry to Djurgarden.
Next to the famous Tivoli is a huge park which includes lakes, café's, boats, small forests, houses, a school and embassies. The snow found its way to every corner so it was another amazing experience. The park seemed so empty, I rarely saw a person anywhere around. A bit scary being totally on your own in this massive park . . . but I made my way and finally arrived in civilization again.
I headed along the Östermalm alleys and had a look into a gothic church. Later I found out that this district is known for its high society inhabitants, which explains why I saw so many Porsche Cayenne parked along the alley.
Back in Norrmalm I went into a shopping mall to get warm and did some window-shopping.
Tuesday 3rd March
Oh my God, I'm so out of shape! That's what I thought first when I got up this morning. Its my 3rd day and I'm totally exhausted from all this sightseeing in the winterclimate with hardly 2°C.
Nevertheless I took a funny tour through the city hall which was completed in 1923 (not that old), but the architect did everything to let it look pretty old. They used special materials and colortechniques ($) to pretend this is an old building. Each brickstone is a copy of itself. They look all the same in size and shape. Crazy Sweds.
Afterwards I tried to get some cash at an ATM. After the second failure, the third try with a watching clerk behind my back did work out. I didn't change my tactic with this machine, maybe it was scared of the clerk and gave finally in and me my money.
With a fresh brewed coffee I went to a photography gallery with pictures from .... Doloren (a dutch artist), played some drums and guitares at the Music Museum and hopped into the History Museum.
During all these visits of museums and galleries I was walking to each attraction, so writing this day down sounds not so much as it felt.
I skipped the National Museum after I've been to the Museum of Modern Art and decided not to get another Stockholm Card (which I had this day) where all admissions are free within 24h, 48h or 72h. I wouldn't have saved that much money for the rest of the museums I wanted to see and it is too stressful.
Friday 6th March
All the days I always were lucky with the winterweather. In neither had rain or much snow when I was on tour nor cold winds, which made it quite nice to be outside most time of the day.
Until Friday I visited some more museums such as the Vasamuseum (the ship, not the bread), teh National Museum, the Culture House and the Royal Appartments. I went to the look-out of Kaknästornet (TV station) and spent about 4 hours in the glorious Nordiska Museum (flickr pics). The metro took me to one of the biggest cemeteries around. Quite as big as the park in Djurgarden with forests and clearings for the graves. People are running here and taking walks . . . weird, really. Its called Skokskyrkogarden.
One evening I went to an old vintage cinema where they played english movies. I saw 'Milk' and I found it really breathtaking. I never thought about the States and all their aversion against gays. I heard about it, sure but never thought about it carefully. I always thought they learned their lesson somehow, but I must have been too naive. Important movie, you should watch it.
My last day in Stockholm I, again, took a walk hrough the city. Peoplewatching at a café, and some wndow-shopping at designer stores and modern (like a maze) shopping malls. They have too much of them and I always were leaving it on the wrong exit finding myself in streets never been before.
Besides the cold winter (my fault, could have come in summer) and expensive prices for food and admissions to the attratctions and cultural things Stockholm is a place where I'd like to come back. When its warmer of course. I met a lot of nice people, in the hostel and around the city. The lifestyle is one I really like, starting late in the morning and getting asleep late the evening. Perfect.
So, this won't be my last visit to this beautiful city and its pulsating flow . . .
To see more have a look at the pics on flickr.
Cheers
