Woooowwwiie, it has been a minute since I was on here! Do I even know how this works anymore? I guess we will find out.
Let’s take it back aaalll the way to February when I escaped London and hit the last Scandinavian country on my list… so, almost exactly 2 years after my original trip was canceled…to Stockholm we go!
This was not meant to be a solo trip, but due to our friend covid, it ended up being one. Cut to me doing what I do best, wandering aimlessly and eating. Obviously, being a huge fan of the Ikea meatball, I set out with a goal of eating all the meatballs I could get my hands on, but what I didn’t expect was Swedish buns to come in and take the lead in my heart and my stomach.
I landed in Stockholm pretty late, but the Arlanda Express was still running and took me very smoothly into Central station. From there it was only about a 2 minute walk to the Sheraton Stockholm. You know I love my Marriott points, but the Sheraton was also very conveniently located for this trip and had a great view from my room. 10/10 would recommend. As an added bonus, it started snowing right as I arrived in Stockholm, and that always makes my cold heart grow three sizes.
I had a nice wander around Gamla Stan for a while, then it started getting a bit too people-y for my liking, so I decided to move on. My next stop, which was more of just a walk by, may seem like an odd one, but sometimes you just have to go find the building that was the site of the hostage situation that gave us Stockholm Syndrome 😂. (For the other weirdos like me, this is located at Norrmalmstorg 2, I’m like 97% sure this is the one, I looked it up and added it to my map a looonnggg time ago).
From there, I won’t lie to you, I went to Sephora. We don’t have them in England, okay?! I did some other wandering to shops before finding my way to the Mood shopping center to track down some lunch and my first bun of the trip from Bröd & Salt.
Now that I had gained a new addiction to cinnamon buns, I took some time to chill in my hotel, then set back out to obsess over the frozen lake just across from my hotel. Seriously, obsessed, I hung out over here with my camera for an extended period of time. An added bonus to the frozen lake was the sunset behind Stockholm City Hall (insert heart eyes here).
By this point, my feet were sick of being inside shoes, so I headed back to my hotel to order the meatballs I had previously spotted on the room service menu. I watched the rest of sunset from my room, and then I ate my meatballs in bed like the monster I am. This was a great life choice and you should do it.
The next day, I set out to see some of Stockholm’s metro stations, and wow wow wow. Each station is essentially an art exhibit. Since I had some other things I wanted to accomplish that day. I only went to 3 of the stations, but they were beauties. Apart from the stations, I was also impressed with the metro itself; very easy to use and navigate. First up, T-Centralen.
Next up: Rådhuset
And finally, my personal favorite: Stadion
Somewhere along the way I made a bun stop at Fabrique (who I’m happy to report also has locations in London). This might have been my favorite bun of the trip.
I’d like to pretend that my next activity was fueled by a desire to get some culture in my life, but I mainly decided to go to Fotografiska because I saw they have a cafe with good views over the water. I do enjoy photography as well, so it seemed like a win, win and I started my journey. I had every intention of stopping at Meatballs for the People on my way, but sadly I didn’t end up having time because I was booked at a specific time at Fotografiska, but I heard great things. And they have this cute little delivery cart.
After probably the longest possible way to get there, I finally made it to Fotografiska and made my way through the exhibits, then up to the cafe. I was shocked to find out their only “meatballs” were meat free, but I gave them a whirl and was pleasantly surprised by how good they were!
I walked my way back to the Sheraton (which took a while) along the water and took in more frozen lake views. Not gonna lie, I was really winging it out there for a bit just hoping I’d end up where I needed to be, and luckily that worked out and it was a great time.
Some of the ice had moved on from in front of City Hall, and it was serving reflections to die for.
I was pretty exhausted after my adventures of the day, but I had one more bun stop on my list, Vete-Katten, so I forced myself back out into the world in search of buns. Sadly, when I got there, they were out of cinnamon and cardamom buns for the day, but they still had semla buns, so I didn’t go home empty handed.
There was also an amazing sunset that night, but my feet said NO WAY to going back out, so it was once again enjoyed from the hotel.
The next day was my final day in Stockholm, and I really only had a couple hours before I needed to head to the airport, so I got up early to go back to Gamla Stan and wander and take photos without all the humans around. As always, would recommend getting up early when you want to beat the crowds.
After my chilly morning walk, I packed up and made my way back to Central station where I found a small Vete-Katten to get some buns for the road! I had to try both cinnamon and cardamom this time, and I’m not saying two buns was too many, but I was very full on the way to the airport. Totally worth it. Man I miss those buns.
Well, as expected, Stockholm really fueled my urge to run away to somewhere in Scandinavia and start a new life. Maybe you’ll see me there living my best life after one minor inconvenience pushes me over the edge.
hejdå för nu
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