“DO you want to come visit Stockholm?” asked my university friend, Anthony. “Erm, hell yes!” So, that was that. I’d fly out with Anthony when he went home to see his mum and stepdad, then fly home on my own after a few nights staying with his family. Not a bad way to start the summer holidays. We flew out on the 11th June and I travelled solo to the UK on the 14th.
IT really does pay to shop around for flights, love them or hate them, Ryanair is often the cheapest by far. But the problem with the airport Ryanair flies to in Stockholm, is that it isn’t really in Stockholm at all. In fact Arlanda, the main international airport, is still a 20 minute high speed train journey away. As Anthony and I are both under the age of 26, we were able to take advantage of SAS’ Youth Fares scheme, which gives younger travellers access to their network at a much reduced fare…winning! To fly with SAS straight up, or with British Airways would have cost us over £100, but we got our one-way tickets for around £85. I managed to blag a return with Monarch for £29 but more about that later.
BOOKING ahead works. A first class train ticket from Nottingham to St. Pancras for £19 or there abouts, cheers easy! I met Anthony at STP and a short Tube journey later we rocked up at the brand new Terminal 2 at Heathrow. Its quite similar to Terminal 5 with three lettered security points, we got through without a hitch. Well, except for Anthony forgetting he had razor blades in his toiletry bag. I tried to warn him, but nahhh.
I hadn’t flown with SAS before so I was quite excited to see what they had to offer. Our flight wasn’t actually going to Stockholm, we were heading to Oslo first before catching another, short SAS connection. I was hoping for more than a basic Ryanair or Jet2 level service and I wasn’t disappointed. A complementary snack and hot beverage was on offer and we were looked after by a very courteous and professional crew. The flight left more or less on time and there’s nothing major to report. Quick, painless, smooth. We landed into Oslo Gardermoen and were quickly directed through the airport by friendly staff into the transfer lounge. Norway looks beautiful by the way, I can feel a visit coming on… After a quick security check and stamp in the passport we were heading back down the same air bridge we disembarked from, only we turned left onto a -700 series 737 vs an -800. Slightly smaller, around 50 less seats. As before, no issues. Hot drink, little snack, nice.
WHEN we landed into Stockholm it was pretty dark and I was relived to see Anthony’s mum and step-dad waiting for us. Along with their enormous Husky dog. We piled into the car and headed for Stockholm. Like I said earlier, not even Arlanda is near the city and we must have been driving for a good 40 mins before we got close to Anthony’s house. Despite the drop in light, I could still see well enough to realise that Sweden is a very green, beautiful country. We stopped by Max Burger on the way to Anthony’s house, think McDonalds on steroids. That and its really, really good. You can even choose how you want your patty cooking. Amazeballs.
WE arrived at Anthony’s house quite late in the evening, but first impressions were goood. The whole “estate” idea doesn’t seem to be a thing in Sweden, instead the houses are neatly separated, with most surrounded by much larger gardens that here in the UK. There was just enough time for a short tour of the house and to eat our burgers before we headed to bed ready for an early start.
USUALLY I hate alarms, but when travelling is involved, I don’t mind at all. It was an early start for us, we were off to the Vasa Museum and then to Skansen but more about that later. Getting into Stockholm was easy enough, a short bus journey to the train station where we caught the metro/underground type train into the city centre. The metro in Stockhom only has three lines, so getting around on your own probably wouldn’t be too much hassle. I used a prepaid travel card, an Oyster card pretty much, for any public transport. Just like the Oyster card in London, it was easy going. So easy going I forgot to give Anthony the card back when I went home, good job I’ll be back in December!
WE dodged the rain drops and arrived at the Vasa museum not long after it had opened and result, there was no queue! I think we paid around 150 Swedish Crowns to get in with our student cards, which is around £15, so sort of middle of the road for a museum/attraction. I should probably explain what the Vasa museum, or rather the Vasa actually is. The Vasa is a 17th century warship which sank on its maiden voyage in Stockholm harbour. The ship was submerged and covered by mud and lay perfectly preserved until the 1960’s when it was raised from the mud. It has since been moved into a dedicated building, to ensure the preservation continues well into the future. The building is dark, very dark, in order to preserve the wood, but your eyes adjust quickly to the light. It doesn’t take long for the beauty of the ship to reveal itself, the painted detail of the stern is still slightly visible, amazing for how old the paint is! You can see into the interior of the vessel, the gun ports are open and there are lights installed inside which gives a glimpse at the crampt life onboard. In fact, there is a mock-up of a gun deck in the museum, it’s a very, very cosy place. We were probably in the museum for an hour or so, Anthony very patiently waiting while I captured many, many photos.
BACK to dodging the raindrops as we headed to meet Lavinia, another friend from uni. My girlfriend Jess had told me to go to Skansen, so I asked Anthony and we arranged to meet outside. Skansen is a large, park sort-of-thing which is pretty much all things Sweden. There are historic shops showing how life used to be, craft buildings and a zoo full of Scandinavian animals. Its definitely somewhere best done on a sunny day, but the rain abated and we were able to wander around in the dry. We went to see glass blowing, explored Swedish food shops, where I tried this super long lace candy thing that apparently is a Swedish thing. As with most major tourist attractions there was a shop selling a varity of…things. Despite trying to convince her it was tat, Lavinia was insistant on buying a stone rabbit. I was pretty stoked to see the Moose, but either the male had lost his antlers or he was hiding out of sight. The wolves were pretty cool though! There was another mini-zoo inside, with animals that are probably best kept warm which we went in for a small cost, probably around £10 on top of the £15ish we paid to get in. Sweden is expensive. We spent a good part of the day inside, but as the day drew on our minds turned to food!
AFTER parting ways with Lavinia, Anthony insisted we tried his favourite ramen restaurant, Ramen Ki-Mama. Small and neatly tucked into the street, we were seated quickly and set about reading through the menu. There are plenty of dishes to chose from, I went for a spicy beef broth type affair. I quickly gave up with the chopsticks, although I must say my skills have definitely improved since then! The service was great and the food even better. A variety of languages filled the cosy restaurant, English, Swedish, French, Chinese, a real multicultural tapestry.
FOLLOWING dinner there was just enough time to see a little more of the city before heading back to the metro and heading back home. All-in-all, not a bad first day in Stockholm. Part 2 to follow shortly!
Just Another Typical Travel Blog 