Let's Talk About Stockholm Pt. 2

So now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, let's talk about how amazing Stockholm was!

I'm also going to preface this by saying that I felt like I already knew this city because I've read the first two books in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (I'm making myself finish another book before I read the third), and to say I'm obsessed is an understatement. I just ~knew~ (lol, THOUGHT I knew) a lot of things about Stockholm without ever being there.

We landed at Arlanda Airport around 11 PM and our adventure began. The airport was pretty dead, considering it was so late, but we were READY. The airport itself is wicked nice, and super fancy. There were lots of fancy shops, restaurants and even art throughout it all. And also randomly lots of 7 Eleven's. I have not seen a 7 Eleven in the entirety of the rest of Europe (or if I did I didn't notice). But I swear to God there were like ten in the Arlanda airport. After struggling to find out where the bus was to take us into the city, and attempting to exchange our money to Krona (and failing), we were finally on our way into Stockholm!

It was nearly 1 AM when we got into the city, so after checking into our room, we were both asleep in about five seconds.

The next morning we woke up for breakfast (💓 hotel breakfast 💓) and were pleasantly surprised by the charming breakfast room at the hotel:

After that we headed out to actually exchange our money. We both agreed that the Swedish Krona are suuuuuper cool, not only because they are super colorful and pretty, but because they also have interesting cultural figures on them. Each bill has a different face on it (duh), but instead of being the queen or president or whatever, there are authors, and singers, and artists. Next to each face is a tiny picture that shows why they're famous (ex. a microphone or music notes for a singer, a book for an author, you get the picture). Overall, cool. 

We then headed out for our favorite tourist attraction-- the big red City Sightseeing bus! I've probably said this like seventeen times, but I LOVE THESE BUSES. They're relatively cheap, take you throughout the whole city, and tell you fun little tidbits that you wouldn't know otherwise. Super cheesy tourist crap, but totally worth it in my opinion. How else would I have known that this guy on the bridge is Thor?? Who's apparently a Norse god, and not just a Marvel character?!?!

While waiting for the bus, we walked around the beautiful Stadshuset (city hall) and admired some nice water views. 

Our first stop off the bus was the Swedish History Museum which was free (!!), had a great cafe, and was super informative. I feel like I never learned much about Nordic countries in general, Sweden included, so it was neat to learn about the vikings and all that, and the general history of how Sweden came to be what it is today. Also I got these hilariously dumb pictures of myself in a viking helmet. 

After the museum we wandered around a bit more, had a coffee and a snack and headed to the hotel to figure out our next move. Which turned out to be the Ice Bar!! There's one of these in Boston too, and my family legit loved it when they went, so Kiara and I were both pretty amped when there was still a reservation time available on a Saturday night. 

The Ice Bar is definitely pretty ~cool~, both literally and figuratively. Everything in the whole bar is completely made from natural ice that is pulled from a nearby river. The chairs, decorations, cups, bar itself, all ice. Along with the giant parka/blanket that includes gloves, you get a 'free' drink with entry, and the drinks are all super unique, and definitely not something you'd get anywhere else. I chose one that had elderflower liquor because I honestly had no idea what that was. Super yummy. Here are some of the pics I took between savoring my (tiny, let's be honest) drink. 

We then were on the hunt for some real Swedish food and ended up in a really yummy place, where the waiters were super friendly and chatty. They asked us if we were from California (weird to just assume that...), and then we had a nice chat about Orlando (where Kiara's from) and Boston (where I pretend to be from bc no one knows what Connecticut is). 

The next day we were back on the bus, and got off to explore the Old Town part of Stockholm that's known for shopping and restaurants. 

We also impulsively decided to stop into an ancient art museum that focused on Mediterranean art, and it turned out to be pretty impressive (and also free!!).

I honestly thought the building itself was one of the main attractions!

Before we left we had to test out some real Swedish meatballs, and WOW they did not disappoint.

I had also read that Stockholm was famous for their cinnamon buns, and so we grabbed some cinnamon bun flavored gelato (AMAZING), but were actually having kind of a hard time finding actual cinnamon buns, so I got one from a chain coffee shop before we left, and honestly it was a bit underwhelming. But also, that was like the only part of Stockholm that was even the least bit underwhelming, so I'd say all in all, a fantastic trip. 

Like I said earlier, I never really learned a lot about Nordic countries in school or anything like that, so I really didn't know what to expect from Stockholm (besides my extensive The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo knowledge). In the end, I'm really glad I took a chance on some cheap plane tickets, because what I got was a thriving city, with a rich history, and interesting culture. Oh, and they also gave the world H&M and Spotify, so like, how bad could they possibly be?!