June 2023
We had plunged right into Stockholm, celebrating Swedish National Day with the locals. Now it was time for Dan to go to work and for me to explore on my own. Stockholm solo in the summertime. Dan took the train to Kista Wednesday, Thursday and Friday assuming he’d get back in time for us to do some Stockholm things and dinner in the evenings.
The only thing I had told myself before getting here that I must do in Stockholm was the ABBA Museum. I had learned there was such a magical place after seeing a friend post about it last year.
So Wednesday morning I was ready to make it happen….after one little real life matter. I had my little crossbody purse (just the best to travel with) come apart where the strap connected the day before. The hotel desk told me maybe a tailor could help and told me of one in the nearby shopping center. I found it after a bit of looking around at a big department store, Åhlens. This place was amazing. A regular, nice department store with a bunch of other little shops thrown in, like tailors, dry cleaners, a grocery in the basement, and a shoe and luggage repair place. I thought for sure I’d at least have to leave my bag overnight but the guy fixed it in exactly two minutes. Cost about $10. Done and done.
Djurgarden, Where the Museums Live
The ABBA Museet, as well as quite a few other museums, is in the Djurgården section of Stockholm. I could have walked but took a tram instead. We had purchased a 7 day transportation card and I could use it on local trains, buses, trams and ferries. It cost 430 Swedish Kroner, or about $40. One day and three day cards are also available. Djurgården is an island connected to central Stockholm by a bridge with a big park, the Skansen open air museum, Gröna Lund amusement park and several important museums.
On this beautiful warm day, I jumped off the tram at the bridge to Djurgården, a lively spot with urns brimming with spring flowers and busy outdoor cafes. Walking along the main road through the island, I could see a big park and Skansen on one side and the imposing Nordiska Museet, the shiplike Vasa Museum, the Viking Museum and several more minor museums on the other. And right before Gröna Lund is the ABBA Museum.
I Am The Dancing Queen, Maybe Not 17
A modern building that takes you back. Displays of their most iconic costumes, the stories of how the four met, how they found fame together, how eventually they wanted different things. And the songs. Their inspirations, and trajectories. Interactive features too, like sound booths and a stage where you can be the 5th ABBA member. This would have been more fun with a friend, especially a sing along friend…you know who you are! I was particularly impressed by the projects they all took on after the band, like the musical Chess, and Mamma Mia. So much fun! Even for a casual fan.
Afterwards, I took a different path home by taking a ferry from near the entrance of Gröna Lund to Gamla Stan, the old town island. Learning to use the various modes of public transport to a place gives me a lot of confidence to venture further than I might otherwise. Taking a subway back to our hood in Norrmalm, I alighted near the central train station. This gave me the opportunity to stop at the church just near the station, Klara Kyrka, a Protestant church on a site that was originally a Catholic Church and convent. I’m a sucker for architecture and love popping into any beautiful building to see what visual delights it holds.
That evening I showed Dan around Djurgården, following dinner at Lebanon Meza Lounge. Incidentally, Dan liked this place enough to take colleagues for a work dinner one night. We took the ferry over, wandered around the garden-like waterfronts outside the Vasa, and discovered a statue of Astrid Lindgren, creator of Pippi Longstocking, a personal childhood favorite of mine. It was lovely to see Pippi’s presence all around Scandinavia.
Lucky to Find a Laundromat
You knew I’d be bringing up laundry from time to time. I’ve had many an adventure over the years doing this humble task in different parts of the world. In Stockholm, I could have paid the hotel or a nearby cleaner about $60 to do a load of our clothes. And we did wash out a few things in the hotel sink. But I was persistent in finding an actual laundromat in central Stockholm. So I headed out with a bag of washing, hunted down an ATM (not nearly as widely available as they used to be) so I could pay cash as the proprietor demanded, and took the metro a few stops to a lovely neighborhood with few tourists.
Erica, the owner, let me start my own load, then moved it into the dryer for me and everything was done in an hour. I spent the time checking out the beautiful church across the street, the Gustav Vasa Church, with its incredible altarpiece. Then I wandered around a couple of different parks in the vicinity. There always seems to be a park in the vicinity. I picked up my laundry, paid Erica about $18 and was on my way.
Venturing into Sodermalm
Since we’d primarily been in the more touristy areas so far, it was time to expand my horizons a little. The laundromat had been in a more local Stockholm area with school kids and workers on lunch break, and Sodermalm is a part of Central Stockholm that is like that too and just south of Gamla Stan. I had an idea of going to the Fotografiska Museum, since I had heard wonderful things about it. So I found a nice cafe not too far from there to have lunch first. While eating, I checked to see my next part of the route. Then I found out that there was so much road construction and fenced off areas that it was going to be a real ordeal to make it to Fotografiska. It felt smartest to change course. Will plan to hit it on a future visit. I headed back over into Gamla Stan instead and approached the Royal Palace.
Checking Out Royal Digs
It was a fun afternoon checking out the Crown Jewels, the throne room, the public rooms and some of the more private spaces of the Royal Family. Rich and opulent but still with a clean Scandinavian sensibility in design. I was able to watch a changing of the guard after my tour. Fika in Gamla Stan seemed the proper way to finish off my afternoon. Have we discussed fika? It’s the lovely and civilized Swedish habit of coffee and a treat, mid-morning or in the afternoon. The world would be better with more fika.
Better than IKEA’s
That night, we returned to Sodermalm and a restaurant rec from Dan’s colleague, Meatballs for the People. You probably know that a defining dish in Sweden is the meatball, or kotbullar. This place makes them the traditional way and all kinds of non traditional ways as well, including vegan. They also have non meatball options. Meatballs does a steady business and seems popular with locals as well as a few tourists. They have a great playlist of music by Scandi artists that kept us tapping our toes through dinner. Fun evening, checking out where real Stockholm lives. By the time we reached our hotel, we felt like we were getting a good handle on this city.
