Seeing Stockholm as a Tourist

My partner has never been to Sweden. So for her first time, we stayed in Uppsala, which is about an hour by train outside of Stockholm. I have some friends there, so it seemed like a good central place to stay that still had access to trains and buses. I’ve stayed in hostels in Stockholm the last time I was in Sweden. With two people it was cheaper to stay in Uppsala in a hotel.

The first few days we were in Sweden, we decided to visit Stockholm on day trips. It was a lot easier and quieter to stay in Uppsala; which is actually closer to the Arlanda airport than Stockholm is.

The Uppsala train station was a short 10-15 minute walk from the Hotel Botanika, and without lugging the full-sized travel packs, the walk was much more enjoyable. The trick was figuring out the right train that was going to get there the fastest. Some are local commuter trains, others are more express lines with limited stops. There was also the much cheaper option to take a bus. We chose the commuter trains since we would be coming back every evening.

Arriving at Stockholm central station on the commuter lines means you are on the lowest level of the tracks. It feels like it’s three stories down, and that might be right. There are a lot of escalators on the way up, all seemingly walking you through the shopping mall. That’s one of the things that I have noticed about the Scandinavian train stations. It’s almost like modern airports. To get in or out you have to get through the shopping mall. It’s one way to do it. It was a long day of walking, but that is what we seem to do on vacation.

Went over to Djurngarden, the museum island. It was really great to see it was still green.  The last time that I saw Djurngarden, everything was covered in a foot of snow, and it was still snowing. There is a lot on this one island, and it can take up an entire day, like it did for us. And after we still didn’t feel like we saw it all. There are two big draws on the island, the Vasa Museet and Skansen, the open-air history/amusement park/zoo. But there are a dozen of other cool smaller places on the island. One day was not enough time.

First up was the Vasa Museet. It’s still the same old ship, but every time you walk through the front doors, it’s just massive. Floor after floor takes you from the bottom of the ship to great views above it. All of it is from the outside. Apparently, the only person who can go inside besides the workers is the King of Sweden—something to do with being the leader of the military and all that jazz. There is so much to see and read here. It can take hours.

Very close to the Vasa, a short stroll is the Viking Museum.  This is a gem.  Now, at first, I was a bit skeptical; the whole thing is really themed around and feeds off the Vikings TV series. It’s really quite good.  The museum stays historically accurate while weaving in a bit more pop culture feel. We were both surprised by the ride in the basement.  You get in this moving seat, and it takes you through the story of a Norse family. It was fantastic and amusing.

The wreck museum.  All about wrecks right around Stockholm.  Seems to be part of a research group.  It does have a great interactive area were you take part in locating and identify a wreck.

Skansen.  Mostly closed for the season.  Some of the ride are a huge horror show creep scene.  Has animals, most that don’t want to be seen. Ate at the Skansen restaurant in the park.  Had fried cod, quite good. The time of the year that we went was not a normal time for folks to visit Sweden. It wasn’t summer and winter hadn’t set in yet. Many of the places had closed up for the season. It would have been fun to see Skansen while it was fully open. But because it was shut down, it lent to an extra creepy vibe. Quite interesting, actually.

Took a slow as fuck bus back to the station to take a train back to Uppsala.  Stopped at an ICA grocery store to get food for the night. I’ve always found that eating in and going to the local grocery store is an awesome way to save money. I don’t know how many times I have been traveling and see people unpacking a bag full of food. It’s something that you can learn from travelers. Tourists are just going out to eat. Besides, having a lunch or dinner in a park is a great way to look like the locals.