Strolling Thru Stockholm

Free Day in Stockholm!

This city is a lot bigger than expected.

I ended up getting an audio tour from Voice map and focused on the Norrmalm and Kungsholmen neighborhood.

Started out near the largest department store, Ahlen's, which apparently, I arrived front and center when the doors opened for the morning rush. Felt like Black Friday. All the cashiers and such lining the entrance welcoming us in. Good stuff in there, great prices.

Ahlen's is located at the intersection of 2 of the busiest streets: Klara bergsgutan and the pedestrian Drotting gateh (later tonight when I walked by, there was a lively Palestinian rally happening).

I used an audio guide to get around the the path it leads you is from Mood mall and then down to the City Hall with the latter being the most detailed of them all. Good photo ops and views of the waterfront along the way. You can walk into the courtyard of city hall and also to its waterfront without cost.

I also decided to take a canal cruise around Djurgarden with Royal Canal Tour. It was nice, just the boat was overfilled, seats uncomfortable and incorrect departure location. And they could really expand their audio guide. There were a lot of places visible from the boat they didn't talk about, such as the whole other side of Stockholm with high rise waterfront apartments along the entire coast: neighborhoods Katarina-Sofia and Asoberget.

Djurgarden. It's actually the island that has the Nordic Museum, Vasa Museum, eco park and the art museum.

Dual Languages:

Almost everyone in the Nordic countries understands English- they will even speak English to other natives or do a mix of languages. I learned that, at least in Sweden, they do not dubb TV. So if you are watching a Japanese show or an English-American show, only the CC will be in the local language. What a great way to not only learn the language, but also appreciate it in its true form.

If you are into amusement parks, the city has one of them on the waterfront and I only see roller coasters! So many of them. The boat tour seemed to forget mentioning this obvious attraction as we passed by.

After the boat tour, I walked back thru the Ahlen's area, grabbed a pretty good burger and back to the hotel for a spiked Hot Chocolate and pack to get back home in the morning.