Stockholmmmmm .... is beautiful. Stockholm or Sweden offers a whole lot more than our Ikea furnitures, the Volvo cars roaming the streets or even the once popular Ericsson pager or mobile phone. Apart from it being surrounded by water and tiny, little island here and there, there´s heaps of culture for one to absorb, a string of museums waiting for you to discover them, chic city life and lots, lots more.
We started day two early. Hub, whom recently took up sailing and boating classes could not pass up the chance to go for an
Archipelago Tour. Someone above must have heard our plea. The weather was perfect throughout our trip although the forecast from both sides of the country informed otherwise. Our cruise took a good 3 hours, with us breezing the fresh Baltic air like it was summer. It was perfect.
I was shrieking with delight to discover their impressive buffet spread in their onboard restaurant. Not just any kind of buffet, but one that serves up traditional swedish cuisine. Hub whom did not join me, as he was stuffed still from his German Breakfast (yeap, coz the housesitter is a German girl whom loves nothing more than serving German breakfast in a B&B in Stockholm) so anyway, I was the fortunate one :-) Jumped on the buffet bandwagon faster than anything, and even faster when it comes to gulping the most delicious pieces of
Pickled Herring! From curry flavour, herb to many other variation ... it was a far cry to what I had tasted in other non-Scandinavian country. So my dear readers, the lesson I learned here is, don´t bother with Raw Marinated Herring unless you are here.
Service were prompt and impeccable onboard although it was fullhouse and is only a buffet spread. The warm food were taken back to kitchen after five minutes being leaved untouched, but the moment someone walks toward the table, the staff quickly bring forth the spread. Nice. Other than the Marinated Herring, their
Smoked Salmon and Salmon Mousse seems to be a hit with the international crowd. Everything taste fresh here. Nothing run off the mill.
While enjoying my plate of light, delightful
Scandinavian dessert, I can´t help marvel at the beautiful sighs of the colourful houses lining the banks of the islands we passed by. Life here is such a contrast to the main island, for there is nothing more than water infront of them and wilderness backing their home. Strange that I did not spot any bridges connecting these archipelago islands too, so I guess that explains the vast amount of sails docked infront of each of their home. The life here is so serene and laidback, and does make us swoon over retiring here, but only during summer eh.
Stockholm is a perfect city for strolling. Though the city makes up of many islands, and are connected by many bridges, it is a small enough city that one can manage by foot. And we did just that after the cruise. Within a few hours, we stumbled upon a
Summer Festival being held in one of their famous square, visited a
Volvo Showroom with the most mesmerising Staircase within (and no, we did not come back with a Volvo Car although Hub is such a huge fan that he refuse to let go off his old Volvo until everything gave way somewhere last year) and an
International Food Festival (but more Europe actually) where food stalls were set up right next to the road for you to grab the regional´s specialty! How Malaysian! We walked till we could not walk no more and finally ... adjourne back to B&B to rest.
Third day was Museum Day! Now, if you plan to visit lots and lots of museum in Stockholm, and yes, Stockholm is not short of it. There are lots of
Museum or Tourist Pass on sale either online or in the city itself. It is worth it if you plan to see more than 2 museums, but as it is for us, we had our eyes glued only on two. The Vasa Museum and Skansen.
And THIS is the reason why 25 million people visit
Vasa Museum! And what is so special, you might ask? Well ... if Titanic made such a headline with their sinking ship many donkey years ago, this Vasa Ship is even more impressive. It had apparently sanked during its maiden voyage in 1628, but unlike Titanic which remain under water, someone-someone discovered the ship in 1961, salvaged and restore it and decided to showcase them here.
Although impressive, it does have an eery presence. 150 seamen perished in it, along with the colourful scandinavian hues that once coated its body. Everything here is original except for the ropes and sail. But even than, one cannot help comparing this wreck to Hollywood´s Pirates of the Carribean version.
Another lesson learned here. Did you know that the Swedish ancestors use to be around 5.2 feet? The boots and clothes which were resurrected were no bigger than what you and me (I mean Asians) wear. Before leaving, hub spent some time fiddling with their Maritime Software. Quite a cool software they´ve got there.
From Vasa, we walked further south towards
Skansen Museum which was located no more than 2 kilometres away! For those of you whom does not know what Skansen is, it is basically a Museum showcasing Mini Sweden in a small plot of land. Other than Vasa, Skansen is also one of the most visited Museum in Stockholm.
Well ... the photos are not in order, but I want to highligh to you again (with proof) of how big size the Swedish Ancestor use to be. Seen here is a bed from a typical Swedish Home from centuries ago. I thought it was a child´s bed, but was promptly corrected by the staff there that they indeed are for adults. I rest my case.
We wanted to see Glass Making demonstration but were told that it was lunch break than. And so upon spotting a Traditional Bakery ala yesteryear ... we decided to also have a little break! I don´t know what these are called ... but they are super deliciousssss. Sort of like
Cinammon Roll but with crusty skin.
We had a little pear break from a little Pear tree nearby too. Nothing like what I have tasted. It is sweet and at the same time, sour.
Their mini zoo is a hit with many tourist. What not when there are animals that one usually cannot find outside of Scandinavia. Like ... these
Reindeers. Eagle Owl, Elk, Moose, Mountain Goats, Wolves, Wolverines, Fox, Lynx, Otter, Wild Boar (okay, Wild Boar is nothing special), Northern Hawk Owl, Great Grey Owl, Brown Bear, Bison and more ...
And weird looking houses with grass rooftop too! This Bison .... is scaaaryyyy looking. He was starring straight at me for a good few minutes!
There´s a whole lot more going about in Skansen but we decided to do a quick tour. A visit in their Herb Garden, Flower Garden, some miniature version of famous Castles and more ...
As it is, Skansen is located in a hilly top with lots of uneven stone lining their path. We took another short break before walking back to our B&B. I would think that it is a better idea to visit Skansen during the weekends, as more activities are lined up than. Even the stalls lining this massive park selling all sorts of traditional, handmade souvenir were closed on the day we were there. So, do take note!
The other reason why leaved early was ...
woOT! Our first Ice Bar experience! But not just any Ice Bar. THIS, is the
Absolute Ice Bar that´s fame all over the world! The bar, as you can see in this photo here is actually not that big. But the experience starts from the entry point where you were given a blue coat and two hand mittens to wear. The moment you step into the Ice Bar area which is no more than -15C, you start to wonder why are your shoes glued almost to the ground? We had a hard time walking around, especially me whom cleverly slipped on my thin-soled Red Ballerina. But once you let the cool, underground music elope you plus the fact that you are probably drinking ONE of a KIND Absolute Vodka cocktail mixture in the world ... the experience were priceless.
Moving on to Fourth Day. We had nothing planned up except to soak in Stockholm for one more day before leaving home the next. We headed south this time, to
Sodermalm. Like many great cities in the world, there are always an area for the cultured, the hip and trendy, the pure working class etc. Sodermalm is known to be the Hip and Trendy quarter of Stockholm, so to speak.
Hubby did a bit of research during our short flight and surprise me with ...
Saluhall! In another word, its markethall. Strangely, Stockholm does not have any open air market and the only wet market the locals shop in are places like Saluhall.
This place is seafood heaven! Does not matter if you want to buy home something to cook or simply eat there, there are options for everyone. Everything being sold here looks really, really fresh and tantalising. Even their salads looked fiery. Haha.
Since we had breakfast before hitting Saluhall, we only managed a cup of coffee. From Saluhall, we walked, and walked bypassing lots of nice, trendy shops but with no recollection of what street were we in, my only advise is ... if you are a fan of Scandinavian Home Decor stuff (and I am not referring to the mass production Ikea items), do check out
Granit and
Design Torget when you come across it! If I am not mistaken, Design Torget chain is the place where Young Designers promote their ware. As for Granit, I loveeee their Nature, Black and White inspired Home Decoration Item.
I can´t recall anything touristy we did that day, which was a good thing because the best thing about travelling to me is getting to soak up the pace of the place and enjoy every moment of it. We browse through some lovely magazines in a trendy magazine store before taking a cookie/coffee break adjourning it. We marvelled at the flowers being sold at the sidewalk and wondered if they are from Holland. We did last minute shopping, like how the rest of the locals do and came back with stacks of cards which I have no idea what to do with. Hub wandered further south with my camera and came back with more shots. And more.
Stockholm is, indeed a mesmerizing city. I love it for it is manageble by foot, has one of the most beautiful architecture in the world (but sadly not as well maintain as I though they would be), surrounded by water, the people speaks English which makes it easy for travellers like me, its a fashionistas place which makes you put on efford to dress up, loveeeely food scene here, the fresh air and more, more, moreeee ...
And oh ... before I leave, I had the most amazing piece of
Grilled Salmon with Mango Sauce in the airport. It was not even a spectacular cafe but a canteen style (sorf of like Ikea Cafe) place with reasonable priced food. But it beats any salmon I have eaten in any high end restaurant. And this, is what I love most.
