Lets Take Stock of Stockholm | Day 21

As expected the morning came a lot quicker than I had hoped. Might have been feeling the effects of last night/this mornings choices but either way we had to get off the ship. I had strategically set my alarm for an hour and a half early so I could hit the snooze button a few times. Finally the call came through the PA that we were to be docking in 15 minutes and we were disembarking from Deck 5. I got myself out of bed and packed just the few things I took out of my bag. The captain came on again announcing that we had docked and passengers were to head toward the disembark location. I dragged my stuff down the hall and got to the elevator where there was a bit of a line. Of course there were stairs, but with two bags that wasn’t really a choice. Since I wasn’t on the top deck the first few elevators came and were filled. I waited a solid 30 minutes before there was enough room to squeeze in. The walkway from the ship to the lobby was pretty lengthy. We crossed over the water, hung a left and walked the length of the ship, then hung a right and walked about 5 or so minutes and then down an escalator the main terminal. Opened up the trusty Uber app and ordered an Uber headed for the Hobo Hotel. As I suspected, some of the passengers were on a round trip and they had some busses waiting to take them on tours and other activities. The Uber arrived and was off to the hotel.

Stockholm is going to be the most expensive place I will stay at on this trip unless I decide to ball out somewhere. The hotel was very “hip.” There was a multilevel rack garden that had water trickling from top to bottom. There was a bar to the right but had more of a club feel. The nice young girl checked me in and gave me my key for the 11th floor. Found my room and it was nice, and about the same size as the one one I had in Helsinki. I wanted to go out and explore as I had heard Stockholm was one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. Unfortunately there needed to be a nap first. I wasn’t going to waste the whole day on a nap but an hour nap would do the trick. The air wasn’t on when I got in there so had turned it down as low as it went and hoped that by the time I woke up the room would be cool. It only took a moment for me to fall asleep. The hour blew by but when the alarm went off my eyes popped open and felt a whole lot more refreshed that before the nap. The hotel was next to Gamla Stan, Swedish for “Old Town” is a small island and is Stockholms original city center. It dates back to the 13th century and is filled with midievil alleyways and cobbled streets. Loaded up my camera gear and headed out the door. I hung a left out of the door and headed down the block. I first reached a large roundabout with a statue of a previous Swedish monarch, Gustav II, in the middle. I followed the road that led to Old Town and separating the two was a smaller island that home to the Swedish Parliament Building and a small river front park. I took the stairs down to the park where a small group of older adults had gathered to do some kind of art class. There were flowers, nice rock paths, and a few statues with a fountain. It really nice and seemed like just a cool place to come and sit to read or enjoy the water. After spending a few minutes in the park I continued the walk to Old Town.

Old Town is insane. You can walk the outskirts of it which fronts the river and that is filled with docked boats and boat tours, but the real fun is in the interior. Coming off of the main exterior road each road leading in to the center is a small cobbled street. The buildings stretch upward and are all painted different colors. Some are read and others are yellow, tan, and orange. Bikes seem to be the number one mode of transportation and you can find them parked everywhere. People walked up and down all the little streets I passed starring and taking photos. I was no better haha. It is hard not to take photos when you see streets like these. I followed one up the small hill until I reached a cross street that had a cafe and a fountain covered in vines and leaves. There was a small girl just standing at the fountains edge watching the water pour out. Her mom had said it was time to go and she of course protested but in the end her mom was victorious. People sat at the cafe tables enjoying a coffee and small meals. It was cool outside and the interior street was quiet and made for a really peaceful setting. I continued to just roam around the streets fascinated with all the doors and windows and what was in them. Before I left the hotel I had found an app that shows photos of places and things and where they were taken. I had seen a photo of this cool possibly church top and it was taken not to far from where I was so I headed that way. I took one of the small allies down the hill and across the bridge. This road was clearly very popular but cyclists and motorists because the bike path was filled 3 riders wide and there was a line of cars waiting for the light to turn. Looking from the Old Town side of the bridge I could see there was a tower that led to an elevated walkway. I figured that is about where the photo was taken. I reached the base of the tower and followed the path to the backside and down the stairs. They led do an elevator and also a walkway that took you to a metro stop. I got in the elevator and rode it…back to the street level haha! There was an older couple with me and when we all got out of the elevator we both looked confused. We hadn’t seen another elevator door on that level and so both assumed it was down the stairs. Well we paired up to look for the elevator and in fact it was around the opposite way that looked like it was a construction site. We all got in the elevator and rode up the 9 floors and came to the walkway.

The view of the city from there was gorgeous. On one side you could look West and see the spire of Riddarholmen Church and on the other side you looked down the inlet to see a theme park, ships coming in and out, and all the builds perched on the hillsides. It was a spectacular view. I stood with all other other people until it started to drizzle. The walkway led to a few assorted cafes and restaurants. I followed the path around and on the backside there was another connecting walkway that led to the top of a hill. People could walk from the hilltop neighborhood straight to cafes or the elevator to reach the street level. It was on 5pm and the sun was still high in the sky so what else to do than sit at one of the rooftop spots and have a beverage. Through the door on the backside of the walkway was a spot called Gondolen. I didn’t realize but the entire rooftop and fine dining area was the same restaurant. There were multiple rooftop areas with the incredible view but I think the staple of the place was that under the main walkway from the elevator was an indoor restaurant. It is suspended the 9 floors above the street with glass windows on either side. It was only two tables wide and people were enjoying a meal while taking in the view. I sat and had a beer or two hoping that the sun would go down a bit quicker than it did. I couldn’t sit there and have beer forever so I went to the ole Google and looked to see what food was recommended near me. I landed on a place called Pelikan. It was known for their traditional Swedish food so I figured give that a try. It was about half a mile from where I was so I crossed the other walkway and walked through the streets down the backside of the hill toward the restaurant. The streets were bustling with people and no matter where you went there was always something to see. Plenty of street front cafes, a few pubs, and a lone tattoo parlor. It had rained while I was Gondolen so the streets had a top coat of water and puddles had formed in the gutters. The reflections made for really cool photos all along the way. Finally I reached the restaurant and walked in.

Clearly I wasn’t the only one with this idea. The main dining room was packed with people and the bar was about 50% full. I found a seat at the bar and the bartender walked my way inquiring what I would like. I told him that I would join for a beer for sure and possibly some food. He recommended a Swedish IPA which was more on the hazy side but was tasty. The restaurant had an elegant feel and could tell it was a popular spot in town. All kinds of people came through the door. There was a group of people my age that were meeting friends. There was a husband and wife that were there on a dinner date and even a large table just inside the main dining area that had about 12. I almost abandoned the idea of food because it was a bit pricey. I looked over the menu a few times and the waiter inquired if I had decided what I wanted but replied that I was still looking and might just be a liquid diet evening. I knew that if I didn’t get food here then it was probably back to pub food and that might not be that much cheaper than here so might as well get something. It came highly recommended so I went with the pan seared reindeer with oven roasted potatoes, egg yolk, caramelized onions, and one other thing I couldn’t tell what it was. The dish came out rathe quickly and looked incredible. It had a horseradish sauce that was insane! Similar to the reindeer burger the meat was a bit tougher but not in a low quality way. It took a bit more effort to cut through but once in your mouth it was heaven. I absolutely destroyed it and 10/10 would recommend! After swiftly mowing down my meal it was time to head back toward the hotel. Luckily enough they had scooters again which they were located at the end of the street. I scanned the QR code and was off.

It had gotten quite a bit colder out since I walked to the restaurant. I rode the street back the way I came earlier and luckily enough this hill wasn’t as steep as the one in Budapest so the scooter made it no problem. I crested the hill and coasted down to the intersection where Gondolen was and then down along the river. The cold air blew off the water and was wishing I had one something a little thicker than the hoodie. The scoot life is fun haha. They hum along and they don’t feel unsafe by any stretch. I jammed out with my headphones and circled the round about and was on the home stretch. They had scooter parking just around the corner from the hotel so parked that bad boy and headed to the hotel. Once inside the bar next to the front desk was jumping. I figure a nightcap would be alright. I headed upstairs to drop my camera stuff and then wandered back down the elevator to the bar. It was filled with all kinds of people. As mentioned, the hotel seemed very hip and trendy which was consistent with the people in the bar. I ordered a beer and all of the seats were taken in the main front area so I went to an odd shaped elevated seat/table thing. I climbed up and sat on the upper box and enjoyed me beer and the people watching. By the time I had finished my beer it was about midnight and was ready for bed. Tomorrow I had planned to just walk around the city again shooting and also checking the app to see what other cool spots were close to me. What a cool first day in Stockholm and can’t wait to check more of it out tomorrow!