Hej, Stockholm!

*Get a glass of coffee or wine and sit down. This is going to be a long post :)

Hej (pronounced Hey!) = hello (in Swedish)

Meine Mutti (my Mom) came to visit last Tuesday and is here until Thursday. Since then, we have been taking Berlin by storm. When planning her trip over here, we decided to take a long weekend and go to Stockholm, Sweden, since neither of us have been to Scandinavia. We left on Thursday and returned Sunday morning. When I wasn't enjoying the trip, I was itching my brain to figure out what to write about Stockholm. What kind of witty post could I write to capture what we experienced in Stockholm? Finally, I came to a realization that I can't capture Stockholm in one or two witty repartees. Stockholm was too wonderful and the people too lovely to do that. With that, I decided that the best way to tell you about our experience is simply that...to tell/show you about our most of our experience!

Thursday:
After an early flight to Stockholm, Mom and I carried our bags to the tiny, old island called Gamla Stan. This island has original, old, medieval streets that are quite frankly, adorable. We walked around this island pretty much the whole day, shopping in souvenir stores, eating in restaurants, and walking the adorable streets. For dinner, we walked to a different island to a local pub. Mutti ordered Fish and Chips, I had goulash soup and salad...very un-Swedish!

 Medieval streets of Gamla Stan

 Standing in front of the narrowest alley on the island. Only one person can fit at a time!

 Such a pretty city at night!

Friday:
Rain and snow were in the forecast, but Mutti and I lucked out! We had mid-high 40s and no snow, with only about 30 minutes of rain total the whole weekend! We began the day with a sightseeing boat tour that took us around 4 of the many islands that Stockholm is made of. Afterwards, we walked to a different island that holds one of the big department stores, NK. Very similar to Harrods, Galleria Lafayette, KaDaWe, etc... Sadly, no purchases were made here. Afterwards, we had probably our most favorite meal...a lunch of Swedish meatballs! Sorry, Ikea, these are far superior!
We then walked around the city hall, weaving our way back to Gamla Stan to walk more of the streets. While the island of Gamla Stan is very small, Mutti and I loved it, and were happy that we were staying on this island. It has so much character! It was on Gamla Stan that we had "Fika", Sweden's word for mid-afternoon coffee and cake. After having Fika, Mutti and I came to the conclusion that we prefer Happy Hour over Fika!

Dinner was spent on the same island as NK, and we went to a swanky grill. Mom had lamb sausage (sehr lecker!), and I had Char. Mutti was happy that Stockholm restaurants have full bars. In Germany, most restaurants only have beer and wine. Only the ethnic restaurants have full bars. Mutti was finally able to get her Gin and Tonic!

 Mutti listening to our audioguide and looking at the scenery

 Swedish Meatballs!

The perfect bite

 More Gamla Stan

Fika!

Saturday:
Lots of walking today! We walked through the classy and rich apartment area to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was an old, 17th centure warship that sunk in the first 20 minutes that it set sail. Due to poor construction, the Vasa capsized, sinking to the bottom of the Baltic Sea. 333 years later, in the 1960s, it was raised from the ocean floor, preserved in the water. Due to the lack of salt in the Baltic Sea, the Vasa was not destroyed by the sea. Now, the Vasa is on display in a museum...98% original, with only the stainless steel replacement nails replacing the rusted nails from the time. It was a very cool museum!
We then walked to another department store near NK, trying to look for something that Mutti wanted to buy. Sadly, we did not find it, so we left in search of a cafe for lunch. We finally found a panera-type cafe, ordering simple sandwiches, but happy with our meals!
We then walked back to our home-island of Gamla Stan, visiting the Royal Palace. It was a very neat palace to visit, as there is so much history to the palace, but also because the royal family still uses it today, so you see the past meeting the present in a lot of rooms. The current royal family is gorgeous, btw, with the Crown Princess looking like Maria Menudos.
After the palace, we again walked around our favorite island. It was around 4:30 when Mutti and I decided to screw Fika and have a typical, American Happy Hour. Of course, we had to go to the bar that had one of my dad's brands advertised outside the restaurant. It was a very small, pub-type place, where you order your drink at the counter and then go find a table. We sat down, and were immediately greeted by a Swede wearing a Yankee hat, which brought up some conversation, since the Sox just won the World Series. An hour and a half to two hours later of talking to the Yankee and his cute, banker friend, I learned that Yankee loves to party at night and wants to marry an American for a green card, and cute banker is even cuter after a glass of wine.
We then went to dinner at a Swedish-tapas restaurant close to our hotel. Since I had another glass of wine at dinner, Mutti and I had to walk around the island to walk it out. Mutti was ok...I'm the light weight :)

 The Vasa

 More Gamla Stan!

Changing of the guards after our visit to the Royal Palace

 Mutti and I having our own version of Fika :)

We left Sunday morning, and after the trip, Mutti and I miss and love Stockholm. The people are very kind. Mutti lost her credit card, and several Swedes helped her to find it. The city is both beautiful and clean. If you ever get the chance to go, GO! We would go back in a heartbeat!