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Two Days in Stockholm - Gamla Stan and the Vasa Museum

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  • #31
    Once again, I stayed at the Hilton Stockholm.



    This time, the room I was given had wonderful views of Gamla Stan, the old town.

    The rooms at the Hilton are not large, but the room decor looks very new and well coordinated.







    Unlike the very restricted view I had in my room on on my previous stay, this room had a brilliant view through 3 large windows facing the water and Gamla Stan.



    The view from my room...



    Even the bathroom had a view...



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    • #32
      I had arrived in Stockholm on a Saturday evening, it was now Sunday morning: a sunny -1 degrees celsius.



      Time to head out for a jog!

      Through trial and error, I had worked worked out that at around this temperature, 4 layers of clothing would be sufficient to keep warm. The body heat generated during the run would do the rest.

      I wore:

      On Top:
      - Cotton T-shirt
      - Long sleeved Under Armour running shirt
      - Cotton long sleeved polo
      - North face full zip hoodie

      Bottom:
      - Uniqlo thermal underwear
      - Running shorts
      - Adidas 3/4 track pants

      This worked very well as zero degree running attire. My run felt very comfortable.

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      • #33
        On some runs, I plan my route in advance. If I am running in a new city, I typically plan my route carefully and do a bit of research on the internet before hand.

        But today, given that it was the 2nd time I was in Stockholm, I just headed out with a very vague idea of where I would go, but essentially decided where to turn there and then, on impulse, based on what I saw in front of me. And today that really paid off...I discovered a lot of Stockholm that I never knew existed...

        From the Hilton, I first headed east, along the waterfront of Sodermalm, past the boat hotels and then the dock area...at that point, it got quite quiet and deserted. I wondered if I should turn back, but the path continued and out of curiousity I continued along the path...

        To my surprise and delight, the Eastern part of Sodermalm, Northern Hammarbyhamnen, was a large promenade where many Swedes were out walking...







        There was a boat ferry that takes passengers across the waterway...



        And in the distance, I was stunned to see a ski slope, complete with chair lifts and skiers racing downhill. I found out later that this was Hammarbybacken, a ski resort just minutes away from central Stockholm.

        The ski slope is visible in the previous picture, as well as in the enlargement below.



        I continued along the Sodermalm waterfront...



        ...until I hit the 5km mark, then I doubled back to the Hilton, then proceeded across the bridge to Gamla Stan...



        ...and to the island of Kungsholmen and headed east along the lakefront there...



        As the weather was clear and beautiful that day, the locals were out in full force, taking a walk outside and enjoying the sunny weather (Despite it being around 0-2 degrees!)

        Last edited by yflyer; 19 February 2017, 08:00 AM.

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        • #34
          I proceeded west...



          ...until I reached Vasterbron (Western Bridge)...



          ...and crossed over...



          ...back to Sodermalm, where I cut through the forested area, and icy and slippery trails...so slippery in my track shoes that I had to walk on the grassy parts to avoid slipping on the ice.



          ...and then back on the northeastern waterfront of Sodermalm...





          ...and ending in Gamla Stan, the old town...







          ...for a grand total of 21km.



          A very enjoyable run, which felt much less tiring than a similar run in hot and humid Singapore, on the account of the cool temperature.

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          • #35
            yflyer, excellent trip report! I've been to Stockholm several times before and I will visit it again along with Gothenburg (if my visa gets approved). Hotels are on the pricey side so I stick with Airbnb.

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            • #36
              Originally posted by hybridace101 View Post
              yflyer, excellent trip report! I've been to Stockholm several times before and I will visit it again along with Gothenburg (if my visa gets approved). Hotels are on the pricey side so I stick with Airbnb.
              Thanks, hybridace101! Yes, hotels are pretty expensive in Stockholm. Not been to Gothenburg yet -- on my todo list. Might be worth doing a sightseeing trip to Moscow and Stockholm (And Gothenburg) on SQ's new service when it launches!

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              • #37
                After my run, I took a shower and headed to the nearby pub/restaurant Bla Dorren (Blue Door) for a late lunch.





                Bla Dorren serves traditional Swedish food as well as a range of local and foreign beers and lagers, and their home-made Swedish snaps.





                I started with one of their snaps...this one had a raspberry flavour but quite a strong alcoholic kick.



                Hard liquor here is priced per 10ml...so you can have as little (or as much) as you can handle...

                After that, Bla Dorren's own house lager...



                My starter was "Gubbrora", an anchovy tartar served with onions, cream, chives and a raw egg yolk...



                This was very tasty.

                For my main, it was a toss-up between the elk meat balls and the fried herring fillets...I opted for the herring...



                Crisp and tasty fillets accompanied by mash and lingonberries.

                They seem to eat everything with lingonberries here. Either that or cream. Or both. Delicious. But very filling! I had no space for dessert.

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                • #38
                  Late that evening, I returned to Bla Dorren for dinner. It was one of those restaurants that I would want to return to over and over just to try the different things on the menu.



                  There were other flavours of snaps to try...

                  Lingonberry snaps...more tart than the one I had at lunchtime...



                  I ordered the herring plate...



                  ...which came with four different herring preparations...each with a different sauce/marinade, but all with wonderful texture and bite. Delicious! Ironically the one I liked best was the plain herring, without any of the sauces.

                  I couldn't resist ordering another one of the snaps, and asked the waitress to recommend a different flavour: she suggested "Kajsa Varg" (Lemon, orange, caraway and ginger)...



                  These snaps were addictive...

                  I opted for the creamy crayfish soup as my main...



                  This was a hot, rich broth with generous chunks of crayfish. Perfect for a cold evening!

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                  • #39
                    Just a short visit to Stockholm this time round, but at least I got to go on a very scenic run, and had a couple of very good meals on my stay.

                    The next evening, I headed back to the airport for my flight back to London.



                    No, my flight was not operated by a 747. This is actually a 747 converted into a hotel, parked not far from the airport. If I ever find myself in transit in Stockholm, that would definitely be one of my options for an airport hotel!

                    *** End of update ***

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                    • #40
                      really enjoyed your trip report! Makes me want to go to Stockholm, but not sure if there are sufficient things to keep a family with teens occupied.

                      Thanks for sharing!

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                      • #41
                        Originally posted by yflyer View Post
                        Thanks, hybridace101! Yes, hotels are pretty expensive in Stockholm. Not been to Gothenburg yet -- on my todo list. Might be worth doing a sightseeing trip to Moscow and Stockholm (And Gothenburg) on SQ's new service when it launches!
                        Also, it was great you were able to run I believe a half-marathon around the city's waterfront. Cool!

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                        • #42
                          Originally posted by banoffi View Post
                          really enjoyed your trip report! Makes me want to go to Stockholm, but not sure if there are sufficient things to keep a family with teens occupied.

                          Thanks for sharing!
                          Thanks, banoffi! Should be plenty for a family to do!

                          Originally posted by hybridace101 View Post
                          Also, it was great you were able to run I believe a half-marathon around the city's waterfront. Cool!
                          The cool weather made it much less tiring than a run of the same distance in Singapore, believe me!

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                          • #43
                            #trump #lastnightinsweden

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                            • #44
                              Originally posted by CarbonMan View Post
                              #trump #lastnightinsweden
                              The Swedes are having a lot of fun with those hashtags!

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