Stockholm. Bork bork bork.

Posted by on 7 June 2009

Whenever we visit a city, Scott and I both instinctively size it up based on whether we would want to live there someday. Stockholm gets a big “yes” from both of us. It’s big, beautiful, and full of stuff to see, do, and eat. Guess I have a thing for cities built on islands. The Swedish-Chefiness of the language is another added bonus (and given its similarity to German, it wouldn’t be too hard to learn).

There was so much going on all around the city. Gamla Stan (the touristy but adorable old town) was hosting a music festival. A Taste of Stockholm offered up culinary delights and live music in a downtown park. On the other end of the city we stumbled upon a small free concert to bring attention to climate change and related issues. Recent graduates were joy-riding in trucks all over the place (wearing fancier sailor hats than their Finnish counterparts).

Vegetarian delights
I don’t know about reindeer mousse and pickled fish bits, but Stockholm’s vegetarian offerings are pretty yummy, not to mention extensive. Hermitage is located in Gamla Stan and offers a great lunch buffet (the vegetable balls were my favorite) for a reasonable price. Lao Wai is a vegetarian Chinese restaurant in a fun northern neighborhood. I wasn’t so sure about the vegetarian ‘shrimp’, but everything else was quite tasty.

Museums
The Nationalmuseum covers the history of Swedish design (yes, including IKEA) as well as a variety of art (Swedish and other, mostly pillaged from other lands according to the audioguide). On a previous trip to Stockholm, I fell in love with the Vasa Museum, which is (literally) built around a ship which sank in Stockholm’s harbor in 1628. It is a tribute to how a well-crafted museum can make me interested in almost anything. I also have fond memories of the Skansen open-air museum, for both its architectural structures and its animals (reindeer!).

We might not ever get a chance to live in Stockholm, but we’ll definitely be back for a few more visits.

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Comments (12)

  • Chantal
    June 7th, 2009

    Was just in Stockholm too and loved it. The people are really friendly as well and speak perfect English.

  • Deborah Pipes
    June 8th, 2009

    i think if you went during jan & feb when the sun is the least – as are the vegetables – and you still like it, it would be a winner…

  • Expat Traveler
    June 8th, 2009

    wow – great pics!

  • A Touch of Dutch
    June 8th, 2009

    Cool post & great photos! And the title made my coffee come out of my nose ;-)

  • Jul
    June 8th, 2009

    Chantal – It's amazing how good everyone's English seems to be there, isn't it? I totally stopped bothering to ask "Do you speak English?", since almost everyone did.

    Deborah – True, the days of darkness might get to me! I do love the cold, though.

    ET – thanks! :) We got lucky that the sun came out for a bit.

    AToD – :) We could not stop saying "bork bork bork" to each other the whole time we were there. I wonder if a lot of tourists do that…

  • The Blue Suitcase
    June 8th, 2009

    I've been enjoying your blog! Planning to visit Stockholm in Sept with the rels. Hey, can you point me to any past posts that tell a bit more of your story? How you became an expat (nomad)? Thanks again!

  • Jul
    June 8th, 2009

    Hi Bonnie – I've been meaning to write an "about" page for a while now, but it hasn't happened yet (partially because Blogger doesn't really support pages). But it's a good idea – maybe I should at least write a post about how we got here.

  • Kelsey
    June 8th, 2009

    "Whenever we visit a city, Scott and I both instinctively size it up based on whether we would want to live there someday."

    I do the exact same thing.

  • C N Heidelberg
    June 8th, 2009

    Visiting Stockholm has been one of my main goals since moving here! Hopefully this summer it's finally going to work out. (It's just been tough because the window of good weather there is so short!)

  • sarah1976
    June 9th, 2009

    But according to your post title you already speak Swedish. Snergy berg berg.

    Cliff and I do the size-up, too. We haven't found too many places to which we would move, though.

  • Jul
    June 9th, 2009

    Kelsey – so what places have made the cut?

    CN – hope you make it this year! It is definitely worth a visit… though yeah, probably best in the summer. :)

    Sarah – you know what they say… once you go Regensburg, you never go back. And isn't it lovely what you can learn from the Muppet Show?

  • AC
    June 21st, 2010

    Hi there,

    Ran across your website while looking into “life in Munich” and “life in Stockholm”. That previous statement is one that I will be faced with shortly as a Canadian relocating to one of the two.

    I’m very curious on your thoughts opinion of them both and welcome any feedback or information you have.

    Cheers,
    AC

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