When my parents visited me from Ireland recently, I was presented with the difficult task of showing them, who had never been to Sweden before, the whole of Stockholm in only three days…
Day 1. Kungsholmen, Gamla Stan & Norrmalm
The best place to stay is at Kungsholmen, I told them. A pretty part of the city and more importantly, one that’s easy to get to. I met them here on the first day, and although the metro system had them utterly confused, they thought it was so peaceful and beautiful – I think they we expecting something like London.
The first stop on every tourist visit to Stockholm is to Gamla Stan, the Old Town, and so we had to go here first. After a day of walking up and down these narrow streets, we took a walk up Drottninggatan, the main shopping street, up to Sergels Torg square in Norrmalm.
Day 2. Djurgården, Östermalm & Bergshamra
Having to work Saturday night, I sent the two of them off towards Djurgården, the island full of museums and parks, for Sunday morning. When I met up with them that evening they were full of excitement – Mam loved the old houses in Skansen, while Dad just thought it was cool to see some moose.
I brought them then to see around KTH campus, to show them where I study, and then on up to Bergshamra, to where I live. No, Bergshamra has probably never been printed in any tour-guide maps, but it was great to show off my little part of the city. It also gave them a little taste of the forests, castles and lakes that you can find around the city.
Day 3. The Archipelago & Södermalm
We woke early on Monday morning to get out on a boat trip to the archipelago. The commuter boats to the islands are cheap and easy to get, so it was great that we could see some of those cool coastal landscapes so close to the city. The last stop on our three day adventure was an evening walk along the Monteliusvägen, and then into Södermalm for a beer.
Stockholm being a large city, it is impossible to see all of it in three days, but I was pretty proud of myself for the overview I was able to give. By the end of the third day they were still bamboozled by the metro system (in their defense, we don’t have metros in Ireland), but they had got a feeling for the city life, and they swore they’d be back again soon.
~ Declan