Stockholm

Stockholm was a city I knew I was going to have the time of my life in, even before I'd been there. So the early start and six and a half hour bus ride from Gothenburg to Sweden's capital city wasn't too unbearable. The entire group from Johnson and Wales went because it was a planned school event, so our bus, hotel and Stockholm Cards were already bought and booked. Stockholm Cards are probably the greatest tourist draw a city can have. They offer free access to 80+ Stockholm attractions and it's how we were able to enter most of the places we visited.

When we arrived in Stockholm, we dropped our stuff in the hotel. The hotel was in the food district of Stockholm, which we explored on the last day. From the hotel, the group went off and did their own things, but we decided to take a sightseeing boat tour of Stockholm.

Nordic Museum

 Meandering through Stockholm are a few canals and rivers, which lead out to the Stockholm Archipelagos,  a group of islands. In the middle of north and south Stockholm is Gamla Stan, separated from the other parts of the city by these canals.

This boat is actually a hostel

 After our sightseeing tour, we made our way back to Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm. This dinner was provided by Johnson and Wales, so about 25 of us girls and our teacher wandered the streets for about an hour trying to find the restaurant. By the end of the trip, we would be pros at finding this street because it was one of the most popular tourist areas. The dinner was delicious (I had salmon and creme brulee) and a great way to spend my 19th birthday.

The next day I set out with my friends Alexis and Katie to Gamla Stan. One thing that made me fall in love with Stockholm is the architecture. Not just the old buildings, but the color. Most buildings, in Gamla Stan and in the other parts of the city, were light colors. It wasn't gray and depressing like many cities.

Our first stop was the Stockholm Cathedral, called Storykyrkan. Many Swedish royal family members are married there. The current king and queen, Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, were married there in 1976. Their daughter, the Crown Princess Victoria, married her personal trainer in 2010.

Cathedral gates

Inside the cathedral

The Cathedral

 After exploring the cathedral, we stumbled upon a free tour group that took us around Gamla Stan.

In Gamla Stan

 In this square below, we learned was the location of the Stockholm Bloodbath, where the Danish King Christian II ordered all of the noblemen to be executed. Many years before then, the Swedes had had a long standing war with Denmark. Denmark would take over Sweden but then the Swedes would win their country back, but then the cycle would continue. It wasn't until Gustav I (who's father had died in the Bloodbath) led a war against Denmark and King Christian that the Danes were gone from Sweden forever.

Sight of the Stockholm Bloobath

 Also in Gamla Stan was the Mårten Trotzigs gränd, a 90cm wide alleyway name for the man who opened up a shop in the narrow alleyway.



On our tour we met Kailie, a girl from Hawaii studying in Denmark but in Stockholm for the weekend. We walked around with her for most of the rest of the day.

Alexis, Katie, Kaili and me

 Our next visit was to the Royal Palace, which may have been my favorite part of Stockholm. We went into the Tre Kronor museum in the Palace, and learned a lot about the history of the royal family in Sweden. We learned especially about the wars between Denmark and Sweden, and Gustav I, who I mentioned above. He had three sons, one of them Eric XIV, who spent all his time in Kalmar and Öland, the island where my family is from. The tour guide said Eric spent all his time on Öland, and since "there was nothing to do in Öland but hunt and eat, he got very fat".

We went inside the palace, which reminded me very much of Versailles in it's luxuries. The Swedish royal family doesn't actually live in this palace, but one a few hours away.

The Swedish royal guard performing changing of the guard

Fishing in front of the royal palace

The rest of the day included visits to the Aquarium and some shopping in Gamla Stan.
The next day we set out to take a ferry to Drottingholm Castle, where the Swedish royal family usually lives, but we misjudged the times and missed it. Instead, we went into city hall.


City hall is not only the meeting place of the government of the city of Stockholm but also hosts the Nobel Peace Prize dinner. The gold room (below) has walls entirely made of gold. It's where, after the dinner, the guests and winners come to dance. The king, who attends the dinner, does not attend the dance however. Apparently, there is a rule in Sweden where if the king dances with one lady, he has to dance with all of the ladies in the room. Too much for a guy to handle.





 One of the adventures on our itinerary was the Grona Lund, the amusement park in Sweden. Unfortunately, we didn't have time.

Grona Lund

We only had half of a day in Stockholm on our last day, so we decided to go to the Ericsson Globe Arena in south Stockholm and go on the Skyview. The Skyview is a glass orb that takes you up to the top of the Globe where you can see all of Stockholm and beyond.

Stockholm in the distance

On the way back, we stopped in Gamla Stan for one last look. Of all the places I've been to, I've never fallen in love with a city as quickly as I did with Stockholm. Part of me wasn't even sad I was leaving because I knew I'd be back there soon.

One last walk through Gamla Stan