Stockholm

After our first plane trip since February, we arrived in Stockholm to cool, wet weather — a somewhat welcome relief after the increasingly hot and muggy conditions in Florence.

Our apartment was just south of Södermalm in a newly redeveloped area called Hämmerby, near a canal and a short walk from the metro. The neighbourhood contained a mix of high-rise and low-rise buildings with plenty of amenities (e.g. grocery stores, cafes, restaurants) at the street level, as well as office buildings. In our experience, these kinds of new mixed residential developments are done very well in Sweden and Finland, and more thoughtfully than what we’ve seen in Canada (e.g. there are designated rooms in the building basements for strollers and bicycles; each apartment building has playground equipment; space for gardening plots).

It was very comfortable to be back in the Nordic world. There are many similarities between the Nordic countries and Canada, especially in the urban areas. It was also great to have a startlingly wide selection of lactose-free products for A. and A. to enjoy and not feel deprived. In fact, access to a variety of foods in regular supermarkets was much better and fit more with what we are used to and missed.

While our penthouse apartment was the epitome of modern Scandistyle, it was also the epitome of bachelordom, including the twin DJ decks in the living room, mismatched linens and a complete lack of handles on any of the kitchen cupboards or dishwasher (try to imagine what that’s like when you are cooking three meals a day!). We even had to go out to buy dishtowels, sponges and garbage bags. The kids slept on blow up mattresses (needing daily top ups!) instead of proper beds.

We enjoyed having the opportunity to walk more in Stockholm than we’d been doing in Italy or France. The apartment’s location meant we were close to walking paths as well as the very walkable neighbourhood of Södermalm and its trendy and hipster boutiques. It was also wonderful to walk through the Old Town (Gamla Stan) and along the harbour.

We bought a 5-day unlimited travel pass for all of us, which meant we could easily hop on and off the metros, trams, buses and ferries. We enjoyed taking the ferry over to Djurgården and walking through the orchards and gardens. We enjoyed living through the early days of spring in Northern France at the beginning of April. We now had the chance to do it all over again six weeks later in Sweden.

We had a lovely (but expensive!) vegetarian meal from Rosendals Tradgord and its greenhouse kitchen, then napped under the blossoming apple trees while the kids played in the park. We specifically went back to Djurgården as it is one of our favourite places in Stockholm from previous visits.

The Vasa Museum is also on Djurgården and we thoroughly enjoyed what has been consistently ranked as one of the top museums in the world. The museum tells the story of the ill-fated Vasa which was built to be the pride of the Swedish naval fleet in 1628. It sank 1.3 kilometers into its maiden voyage in the middle of Stockholm harbour as thousands of people watched.

The kids were fascinated by the scale of the shipwreck and the amount of information that is available about the ship, the people who died when it sank and how the ship was raised and restored to its present state. We all enjoyed learning about the historical context of Swedish life at the time. The museum has done an outstanding job of providing information in multiple languages and has made an effort to have elements that engage all ages.

They also had a new exhibit dedicated to the women of the Vasa which highlighted the role women played outside the home during the time of the Vasa. So often, history is written by men and hasn’t always provided an insight into the roles women played beyond wife or mother. We were impressed to learn many women had important roles (independent of their husbands) at the time, including the owner/manager of the shipbuilding yard that built the Vasa.

There were many more people at the Vasa museum this time than our previous visit 15 years ago. Then, we had taken a guided tour that walked us through a level, on board the actual ship. That is no longer allowed as the Vasa is slowly deteriorating and they are trying to preserve it as long as possible. Even still, it is impressive how much is still preserved including the intricate carvings on the stern and railings.

We visited the neighbouring island of  Skeppsholmen to see the Museum of Modern Art.  It recently waived the entrance fee to its permanent collection along with many other Swedish museums. In particular, A. enjoyed an unexpected and beautiful collection of Matisse cuttings. It was nice to know that we didn’t have to spend a certain amount of time at the museum to “get our money’s worth”. The permanent collection is quite varied and the kids even recognized some artists from other museums we’d visited.

The kids also wholeheartedly embraced the Swedish idea of “fika” – a coffee (or juice for the kids) and some sort of baked good (like cinnamon buns). They ensured we had regular reminders that it was important to experience Swedish culture as much as possible!

We took a boat out to the Viking settlement island of Birka, a two hour journey (one way). It was picturesque to take the boat through the archipelago west of Stockholm and see the cottages along the shore. We met a friendly Swedish woman and her children on the way. She gave us plenty of tips about Stockholm and, despite the language barrier, the four kids bonded over fidget spinners. Birka itself was somewhat underwhelming despite being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We enjoyed walking around the island as part of the included guided tour and the view from the top of the main hill were beautiful.

The guide at Birka, an archaeology student, was informative but had yet to master some of the subtleties of the English language such as the appropriate use of swear words in a group of mixed ages. It was clear we were there before the real tourist season started as some island facilities weren’t fully open (e.g. restaurant/cafe). It was a good thing we had brought our own picnic lunch! The journey back was coloured by meeting the rudest people of our trip. When we made our discomfort known, the boat tour staff were unempowered and too inexperienced to resolve any conflict. It marred what was generally a pleasant and sunny excursion out of the city and in sharp contrast to the friendly interactions we had everywhere else in Sweden.

Our time in Sweden came to an end by boarding the Viking Line overnight ship to Helsinki. For those who haven’t taken the boat, it is a cross between a ferry boat and cruise ship. It’s like a floating 3.5 star hotel with a duty free shop, casino, karaoke, cinema and sauna. We’ve taken this boat to and from Sweden several times and this was — by far — the quietest and calmest journey. In the past, things can get a little rowdy, fueled by the duty-free alcohol.

As we boarded, the staff checked our passports and one of the Finnish crewmen complement T. on his middle name (Kai) as it was his own name. We pointed out that T. had been born in Finland and so gave him that name as a tribute to his birthplace. The kids we excited to sleep in their fold down beds, but hit maximum excitement when they played a motorcycle racing game and we played the EUR 0.20 slot machines for fun. Hopefully, we haven’t sown the seeds for a future gambling addiction!

The kids and D. took advantage of the Viking buffet to get their fill of Swedish meatballs, french fries, prime rib and wine on tap while A. ate her can of tuna on buckwheat crackers in the room. 🙁

After A. and A. returned from watching “Beauty and the Beast” and the kids were asleep, A. spent several hours writing out memories of her Aunty H who had passed away the day before. A’s sister shared these memories at the funeral in Calgary the following day.

Next stop: Helsinki!