A sophisticated, genteel lady with a string of pearls, sipping on her "fika" (coffee), with a friendly poodle on her lap. With an Apple in one hand,and fika in the other, she allures you with her friendly smile...Thats Stockholm to me....how beautiful, how old worldly, how graceful yet modern! You stole my heart away.... Stockholm, Sweden
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...we land at Arlanda airport.... a huge continuous hall with all the conveyer belts one after the other...
...we spot Pressbyran store , where we pick up our 24 hour travel cards...
...board the Flygbussarna coach....where seats were booked online in the airport itself...
...with the setting sun creating mystery and beauty...
...marvel at architecture, never seen before...
...we reach stockholm city centre and move towards our hotel closeby...peeping into shop windows..
...we reach our centrally located hotel...
....we cab it to this beautiful Strandbryggan Sea club restaurant....but the kitchen is closed....we look at our rewinded watches...its 11pm...
...and in scandinavia....all things except pubs down shutters by 7 pm....a difficult "Don't do" lesson....with growling stomachs...
...early dawn...I venture out to have a look at the new exciting place.......the wonderfully visually merchandised shops along the street...and find myself locked out without my swipe in key...another Don't...
.....BREAK fast in the hotel....begin the second day on a renewed zest....
..filled with new vigor after a large breakfast in beautiful environs...we venture out towards Hay Market...
...beautiful flowers on sale....
....we move towards Gustav Adolfs Torg...for our Viator Panoramic city sightseeing tour
....we savor the beautiful serenity of the place...
...we patiently wait for our Viator booked Panoramic sight seeing tour...
...we board the upper deck of the bus to get beautiful views of this 75 min tour..
...we pass bythe Stockholm City Hall which has hosted many a dinner for the Nobel Prize awardees...
....pass by the strand...beautiful waterfront...
...pass by our hotel area....Kungsgatan...fashion street...
...weave in and out of the city towards...
....Gamla Stan...we promise to come later and walk in the Old town...and reach back to Gustav Adolf torg..
...as we move towards our tram stop, Nybroplan, the Swedish army marches past on their way towards the Royal Palace, for change of guard....just as we had planned in our itinerary...jaw dropping moment for me...the timing, the place..
...these wonderful Swedish trams are so user friendly...they have enough space for ladies to stroll in with their pramful of babies...
...we pass by Nordic Museum....give it a pass and move towards VASA museum...the most visited Stockholm Museum...its external architecture gives away what its all about...
.....the 69 m long warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was salvaged 333 years later...a much visited museum in Stockholm...
.....a museum with a difference...where temperatures are always maintained at 18 degrees to arrest further deterioration....
....the masthead salvaged from the sea floor
......and restored to its original hues....
......through natural colored powders...no chemicals....the Swedish have masteredthe artof storytelling in this museum....
....we move to Sjocafeet, near VASA, to have lunch...
... have lunch at waterfront restaurant....
.....and enjoy the panoramic sights...
....beautiful environs without and within...
......we take the Swedish Metro, called T Bana services , covered in our travel cards...
...wetake the elevated walkway, 5 mins walk to the Globe....
...the Erriccson Globe looms large infront of us...the largest spherical building in the world....which has a stadium inside...
...we have tickets prebooked for a time slot in one of the two gondolas that revolve around the Globe....taking 12 passengers in one go....
......aerial views of Stockholm....
....we watch the other Gondola...as we start our descent downwards...
....after a cuppa tea, we set off in another Swedish Metro train to Old town of stockholm, as we had promised ourselves...Gamla Stan...the magic of cobbled paths and old world charm....
.....and inhale the sights and smells of the OLD TOWN....Gamla Stan
....we move to our next mode of transport....A local Ferry to cross the canal..
.....the ferry boat carries people along with their bicycles...a way of life....
....we reach the other side.....back near VASA Museum...
......something about cobbled streets, pink overflowing flowers and bicycles that redefine the word "Beautiful" in my dictionary...
.....could keep walking on and on or sit awhile....
....we pass by the ABBA Museum...and wonder what its all about...
.....we window shop some more ...as we still hunt out a place to buy a telenor SIM and a plan to last out 20 days in the European Union..with ample data for GPS and economical local calling to keep in touch with each other and call up sight seeing tour companies and local cabs...
....fortunately and ironically, we find our telenor card in a pop and mom store in our neighbourhood...Haymarket...tired, we reach our hotel...but this is not the end...we have tickets booked for....
....an Icebar, which is barely 200m away from our hotel....in Icehotel< Stockholm, the worlds first permanent Icebar...
.....I forgot what I drank (both alcoholic as well as non alcoholic drinks are served)...but I remember the chill, the bartender and the freezing cold glasses (-7 degrees??), in which our drinks were served..
....the beautiful etched iceall around...
.....art in ice....absolutely, out of this world experience..
...the colors, the music the excitement....
......back in the hotel, wrapped up for the night, I look out an sigh.... at the neighbouring "Vete Katten" an iconic old worldly cafe, for which we couldnt make time...
......a one and a half day is a criminal thing to do ....for Stockholm...who needs more of your time and attention and pampering...
....we board our return Airport Coach from the Central Station, nearby...prebooked online to get the best price...
....and place ourselves in the hands of a friendly pilot, a teacher turned driver, who drives, helps with luggage, has a smile for everyone, helps newbies in validating cards, apologizes as he doesnt know the wifi password and helps us to reach Arlanda Airport
....by bye Stockholm....we promise to return...as we have yet to see your archipelagos...we had plans for Fjaderholmarna...but couldn't make time due to shortage of time...au revoir, perhaps?!
You can get more practical tips in my blog: Our Travel Diaries