Early rising in the land where the sun never sets is easy to do. We were walking the city before any locals were up. It’s a holiday weekend after all “Happy Mid Summer.”
After a mildly confusing walk to the train station (ok, so maybe next time, we should engage our ‘Google Brain’ before setting off so we don’t end up walking around back alleys behind and below where we were trying to go!), we wandered around Central Station looking for the ticket office so we could buy our tickets to Göteborg for Sunday.
The only ticket ‘office’ seemed to be a kiosk where you could buy tourist excursions, and it didn’t open until 8am. Not much is open early on holidays. We did find a coffee shop, so we stopped for a scone and coffee to wait for the kiosk to open. Turns out we could buy our train tickets at the kiosk, so with our tickets in hand we headed over to the island of Gamla Stan where we had booked a 2hr walking tour.
We were just wandering around the mostly deserted streets taking pictures when we found an amazing coffee shop and bakery, some of the most beautiful baked goods I’ve ever seen.
A lovely young woman was journaling in a window cove looking like a painting.
We enjoyed a coffee and a treat and set off to enjoy the city before everyone awakens and we start our walking tour. The city was silent, the streets empty and peaceful.
As the walking tour group gathered we realized 50 people were going to be split into 2. One guide with a good voice and one meek young lady with hopes of being a ballerina with a tiny voice. We were put in her group but quickly moved to the other and noticed later she lost half of her people.
The history of the monarchs, religion and wars were very interesting. Stockholm has a rich history with interesting characters as Kings and Queens. The Nobles no longer had power but like their titles. Beautiful buildings, churches and the home of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Our tour took us to the plaza in front of the Nobel Prize museum (also where they pick the winners each year). If you’ve been following along, you might remember there was also a Nobel museum in Oslo. Seems the Norwegians and Swedes share giving out the awards; Norway gives out the peace prize, Sweden gives out the rest.
The plaza where the museum sits is also one of the most photographed spots in all of the city.
It was here we me Tim Atkins, an artist with a lot of talent.
We talked with Tim for a bit, he’s lived in several different cities, including New York, but he was born and raised here.
Our guided tour ended shortly after, and we were getting peckish after so much wandering, so we headed to a spot recommended by our guide – Meatballs for the People! It was about a 30 min walk, but we were not disappointed.
We opted for the ‘classic’ beef and pork. Very tasty! Sorry, we were so hungry we didn’t pause for food pictures :). They also had an interesting restroom sign.
We wandered back into Old Town for some more sightseeing, then decided it was ‘Fika’ (fee-ka) time. A Swedish tradition of taking time out in the afternoon to have a coffee and pastry and just enjoy some time outdoors relaxing and/or visiting with friends.
Some pics of old town Gamla Stan:
Phew! It’s Fika time!
We went back to Panem for a coffee and pastries, and took a seat out front to relax and ‘people watch’. By now, the streets were packed.
What a fun and enjoyable day. There is so much history here, so much diversity, and everybody seems to be embracing the Fika! 🙂
