Stockholm

We arrived in Stockholm after a 6 1/2 hour train ride from Copenhagen. The train was very clean and comfortable. We were in first class and it came with a little snack and drink.

The scenery along the route reminds me a little of northern Minnesota - a lot of greenery and trees. Even the farmhouses look a little bit like those in the mid-west. No wonder there are so many Swedes and Norwegians in Minnesota and North Dakota. The climates are very similar.

It was about a 15-minute walk from the Central Station to the hostel, which is in Old Town Stockholm. By "Old" they mean really old; some buildings are more than 500 years old. Our hostel is in the center of all the old buildings. It was next to the Nobel Museum and about 100 yards from a very old church. The Royal Palace is about 200 yards away. It was a very pleasant surprise. Some of the streets are very narrow and it was interesting walking through them, as we did several times.

On the second day, we took another free tour, similar to the one in Copenhagen. This time our guide is more knowledgeable and speaks better English. She was an exchange student in Houston before. She walked us through the city center and pointed out many landmarks and the history behind them.

She explained what IKEA stands for (it's an abbreviation for an address), showed us the corporate headquarters of H&M, the spot where Prime Minister Olaf Palmes was shot and killed and the bank where the Stockholm Syndrome was associated with. It was a free tour but she depended on tips.

Stockholm is a very clean and beautiful city and has a beautiful waterfront. It's a mixture of old and new architecture. The Swedes all speak excellent English. I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

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Beautiful Waterfront

One of the narrow streets in Old Town Stockholm

A sunset bird's eye view of Old Town

A well-known hotel by the river.

Nobel Museum. Our hostel is just to the left of the museum.

The square in front of the museum is a popular place for musicians. There are many restaurants around the square.

A view of the Storkyrkan Church (Stockholm Cathedral) taken from the grounds of the Royal Palace.

Stockholm's National Museum.

Street musicians performing on one of the streets in Old Town.