Jacob's Kyrka
Mårten Trotzigs Gränd
City View
Gamla Stan-Stora Torget
Scansen
Well, as many of you know... I just returned last night from a weekend in Stockholm! I went along with 3 other friends, and then met up with a couple more when we got there. We were only there from Friday evening to Sunday night, but we fit in as much as possible. It was great.
On Saturday morning, we woke up early and ate breakfast before heading to the Vasa Museum. It was so interesting. This ship, completed in 1628, capsized on the first day it set sail. It is considered to be one of Sweden's greatest failures. Fortunately, after 333 years of sitting under water, it was successfully salvaged, and now it is really a sight to see.
After Vasa, we walked around the city for a while, until we finally decided to just head back to our next destination so we wouldn't waste too much time.
Our next stop was Skansen, an outdoor museum/zoo. It is basically a big park that has a lot of hands on and visual history. It also has an entire section devoted to Scandinavian animals including Älg...moose! We found our way to the top of a big hill in the park that overlooked the city. Despite the cold, it was beautiful, and the sun was peeking through the clouds. Lots of pictures were taken :)
From Skansen, we found our way over to Gamla Stan, and went in the first cafe we saw for fika. Finding a cafe in Gamla Stan is not a difficult task...they are everywhere...but I really liked the one we chose. It was very cute, and the owners were nice about letting us sit around for a couple of hours as we defrosted and rested our legs.
When we left, there was hardly anyone in the streets; most of the shops were closed, and the sky was dark. We spent the next hour or so just meandering through Old town looking in windows and taking pictures of narrow alleyways, fun stores, and Stora torget, the center of Old Town. It was really great...maybe even my favorite part of the trip. Afterwards, we headed back to the hostel for pasta and rest.
On Sunday, we woke up early again, and headed straight to Old town. We (Antje, Anja, Keilin and I) spent the entire day walking through the streets, looking in shops, taking pictures, and enjoying fika :) At one point, we made our way up multiple sets of stairs until we had a gorgeous view of the city. We found Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, the narrowest street in Stockholm, walked by and ooooed and ahhhhed at the various cafe treats and candy shops, learned a bit about the Stockholm Blood Bath of 1520, saw the guards change at the palace, and just tried to soak in every moment.
After a day full of walking and soaking in the sights, we headed back to the train station and caught our 19:15 train home to Karlstad. It was a short weekend, but a wonderful one that I will never forget. Tomorrow I head to Kiruna, Lapland with 9 others. Bring on the adventure! You will be hearing from me as soon as I return!
Until then,
Hej då!
Lauren
