3 Nights in Stockholm: the Adventure Continues

HOTEL HASSELBACKEN: The tram stop was just a block from the hotel. The lobby was large and the restaurant even bigger. We checked in and the staff was very pleasant. The room was nice, with windows that opened at the top. There was no A/C but they did have an air circulating system, and we were fine during the day. We asked for a fan at night and that was enough to cool it down when sleeping. The room had an electric kettle, tea and coffee supplies and cubbies for the clothing (I think dressers have gone by the wayside—we didn’t stay at a single hotel that had a dresser). Coffee was also available in the restaurant any hour of the day. And my daughter loved the fact that there were trails and paths all over the island, and she could go out for a morning run all the way around the island next to the water.

FERRIES: Speaking of ferries, did I mention how much I love them? They were really fun to ride and we used the #82 ferry a lot; possibly 7-8 times a day. It goes back and forth between Allmänna gränd on the island (near Gröna Lund—about a 5 min walk for us) and Slussen (near Sodormalm). There's a third stop it makes occasionally, but I think you have to request that. There was usually a line of people waiting but it goes quickly and there’s always room. You scan your SL ticket before you go through, and then just head on board and have a seat or stand outside if you want. We rarely had to wait more than five minutes for a ferry. Seriously, the ferries were one of my favorite things about Stockholm.

NORDIC MUSEUM: We stopped here by accident while out walking on our first evening. We had just passed a beautiful park with colorful funky sculptures, when we saw the museum. By this time we were getting tired, so we didn't want to tour the museum, but we did check the gift shop and it was really a nice one. I do like to shop, as most of you know, but especially in quality museum gift shops. I think they're my favorite places to look for items. We made a mental note to ourselves to come back, but it just didn’t happen. I saw a few things from the entryway when we went in the first evening, and it looked fascinating. Hopefully next time, but I do think it is worth a visit. It was a lovely building as well.

NATIONAL MUSEUM: We stopped here on our first day, as it is open late on Thursdays and admission is free. We really enjoyed it. I loved Carl Larsson who was a wonderful Swedish painter and very popular during the Arts and Crafts movement, so seeing his murals in the hallway was a treat. Unfortunately, I was very dehydrated as I wasn’t used to the heat, and also a bit tired after our flight and check-in, so I sat out part of the visit with a fruit drink in the cafe. But my daughter loved all of the pieces, and I would love to go back there In the future. It really is worth a visit, I think. The photos she took of the art were just beautiful. And the cafe was very nice as well. 😊 By the way, this was our first trip by ferry from the island, and that's when we decided we would take the ferry from then on.

HASSELBACKEN RESTAURANT: Skyeggirl mentioned the restaurant in her trip report, but I have to put in another plug for it. We ate here our first night and had a really delicious meal with excellent service. I ordered traditional Swedish meatballs with creamy mashed potatoes and lingonberries (whole lingonberries; not the pureed sauce you get at IKEA), my daughter ordered a salmon dish that she loved, and we had a starter of 3 miniature Hasselback potatoes that were delicious. Everything was very good, and it was a wonderful atmosphere as well. We both had some wine with dinner, and it was a great ending to our first night in Stockholm.

DAY TWO

SKANSEN: This was our morning for Skansen, the world’s oldest open-air museum. Founded in 1891, it’s home to more than 150 historic homes, farmsteads, and workshops relocated from across Sweden, all showcasing five centuries of Swedish history, culture, and tradition. There’s even a zoo with native Scandinavian wildlife. And it was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from our hotel.
We watched glassblowers, potters, and weavers at work.

There were various animals around, including a moose and more seals. There were yurts, log cabins, and every kind of dwelling imaginable, each one telling the story of the people who lived there. It was really a fun and very enriching experience. We spent probably three to four hours there. I like open-air museums, but my daughter has never been to one. She wound up loving it, though. I was getting tired (it can be exhausting with both the physical and visual aspect of it), So I stopped to rest in a cafe, but she went out and explored further.

STORTOGET: This is a lovely area of Gamla Stan that is lined with quaint 17th-century merchants’ houses that have stood for hundreds of years, that were so beautiful and colorful. We wandered around for a bit, but were really looking to visit the cathedral, which we found as we turned a corner.

STORKYRKAN (STOCKHOLM CATHEDRAL): I'd really been wanting to see this as I just love cathedrals, and Storkyrkan was really magnificent. I especially liked the statue of St. George and the Dragon that is over 500 years old. It is a giant, life-sized statue made entirely of wood. I read up on it and while it seems religious, it was actually very political. Sweden had just won a massive battle against Denmark, and this statute was created to celebrate the victory. St. George was the king and the dragon symbolized the Danes.

ROYAL PALACE: We decided not to tour the inside, as it was a bit pricy and the building was nice but not all that impressive. However, we did walk into the courtyard, past the guards, and looked around. That said, I don’t know that it would be worth a stop unless you were nearby, as we were.

SÖDERMALM: We really enjoyed walking through here. We spent a lot of time just meandering through the streets and stopping at various shops, including Kicks, a Swedish version of Sephora that had an enormous amount of cosmetics and skin care cream. We did a little shopping there, especially for my granddaughter, who is just getting into all that, and finally stopped for dinner outside at a neighborhood restaurant called Falcon. I had fish and chips and my daughter had a burger, and of course, beer for each of us. Later we took the ferry back to the island, and it was such a lovely ride in the evening.

DAY THREE

VASA MUSEUM: Today was our day to visit the Vasa Museum—a huge museum dedicated to the Vasa ship. This massive Swedish warship sank on its maiden voyage in Stockholm on August 10, 1628. A gust of wind heeled the ship over, water poured in through the gunports, and it sank just 1,300 meters from shore, in full view of a horrified crowd on the docks. It was a quick walk from the hotel there, where we bought our (not cheap) tickets and found out there was a guided tour starting in about 20 minutes. We killed some time watching part of a movie about the ship. We didn’t get to see the whole thing, however, as we had to leave for our English-language tour.

About 20 minutes and 2 flights of stairs into the tour, I lost interest. Don’t get me wrong—the ship itself is incredible, and I loved that something this size survived relatively intact after centuries at the bottom of the ocean. I just couldn’t work up much enthusiasm for the tour itself, and I’m honestly not sure why. My daughter was very much into it, though, so I went off and checked out a few things on my own (there were some separate items on display showing carved masks and artwork). Eventually I made my way to the gift shop where I entertained myself looking at pricey items I had no intention of buying but liked the looks of.

VETE-KATTEN: After the museum, we decided it was time for a fika, which is a Swedish cultural ritual that usually means to share coffee and food. So we took the ferry over to Gamla Stan, then made our way to Vetekatten, a wonderful cafe famous for its pastries, and recommended by Sandancisco. I went with the princess cake, quite possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever eaten. There were layers of berries and cream in a sponge cake, covered with pistachio-green marzipan, and every bit as delicious as it looked. My daughter went the healthier route with a salad but we both opted for cappuccinos.

OUR LAST NIGHT: After the fika, we were both ready for a mid-afternoon rest, so we took the ferry back to the hotel and relaxed for a while. We were soon ready to head out again but couldn't decide what to do. Finally, my daughter took charge, and about 15 minutes later, we were on the ferry to Gamla Stan, then walking through Stortorget. From there, we wandered through quaint little streets, popping into shops that were still open in the evening, admiring beautiful things we had absolutely no intention of buying and just having fun. We found a few places with wonderfully funky art, and just soaked up the loveliness of Stockholm on a summer evening.

Eventually hunger and thirst (wine was calling our name) caught up with us, so we grabbed an outdoor table at a little spot called Pastis. We split an order of mussels and a goat cheese salad, and of course, some wine. The mussels were incredible and ranked up there with the best I’ve ever eaten. We practically inhaled them. The salad was wonderful, also. We sat there laughing and talking, and enjoying the ambience of a perfect summer evening in a beautiful city.

Eventually we took the ferry back to Djurgården Island and took a walk before heading back to the hotel. There was a lovely neighborhood by the water called Djurgårdsstaden that I had been wanting to visit so we walked over there. The area was so charming and quiet and peppered with really interesting wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a beautiful place for an evening stroll.

LEAVING STOCKHOLM: We were leaving for Oslo by train. The next morning, we packed up, checked out, and took tram 7 to Stockholm Central Station. The train tickets, which I’d bought months earlier, were in Apple Wallet, and when I pulled mine up that morning, I noticed they’d been updated with the track number, so we headed towards Track 11. It was Sunday and the streets were quiet, but once at the station, it seemed like half of Stockholm wanted to leave town because the platform was packed.

The earlier train finally pulled out, though, taking a good chunk of the crowd with it, so there was room to breathe. Our train arrived not long after, and we climbed aboard. We’d opted for first class, since it wasn’t much more expensive, made our way to our seats, hoisted our luggage into the racks overhead, and settled in for the roughly six-hour ride to Oslo. I booked seats with a table, so we could both work on our laptops.

The last first-class train car I’d been in was in Berlin a few years earlier, where an attendant was located in first class, bringing coffee and whatever else we wanted. It was lovely. This train was not like that. The only staff member we saw was the conductor driving the train. Free water, coffee, and tea were available for first class, but only if you made your way to the next car, and by the time I got there the coffee was already gone (although it was replenished later). We’d considered grabbing food at the station and now wished we had, since the food we bought on board was pretty forgettable.

I found out from Badger later that if the coffee and tea run out, you can always go to the bistro car and get a free cup if you show your first-class ticket. Good info for the future!

THOUGHTS ON STOCKHOLM: I really loved Stockholm, and definitely plan to come back. There were so many things that I did not get to see. I wanted to go to Uppsala, and wanted to see Drottningholm Palace and take a ferry through the Archipelago and much more. And most of all, I would love to travel through the rest of the country, as we only got to a very small portion of it.

Thank you. We will be in Stockholm for three nights the end of November so our days will be short and cold but I’ve made a notes from your report.
Good to know about the coffee as we will also be in first class on the train to Oslo.

Renee, enjoy your trip there! I really like Stockholm a lot, and I really want to go back at some point.

Love how you organized your report. And your pictures on the blog are amazing!
Like you, I also ended up at the Nordic Museum by accident and enjoyed it. But I entered it thinking it was the Vasa, and I had limited time.

I also only got just a taste of it with 2 days, and I can’t wait to go back and explore the country.

Great report. We were just there in April and did many of the same things as you.

Question re staying in a hotel on Djurgarden. How was the vibe at night? I got the impression that Djurgarden pretty much shut down after 5:00 pm, and it seemed kind of dark and abandoned. But that was just one impression and you obviously stayed there much longer. FWIW, we stayed in the Radisson Blu Waterfront for the proximity to Central Station and transit.

Renee, enjoy your trip! And yes, that was good to know about the coffee. They did eventually replenish it, but I wish I would have known about it before that. 😊

Joy, Ha, that's so funny about thinking the Nordic Museum was the Vasa. Isn't it really a cool city? Like you, I would love to go back and explore the whole country, and I do plan to at some point in the next few years, I think. It's also nice that it's one of the less expensive Scandinavian countries.

Great report. We were just there in April and did many of the same things as you.

Question re staying in a hotel on Djurgarden. How was the vibe at night? I got the impression that Djurgarden pretty much shut down after 5:00 pm, and it seemed kind of dark and abandoned. But that was just one impression and you obviously stayed there much longer. FWIW, we stayed in the Radisson Blu Waterfront for the proximity to Central Station and transit.

Darren, I didn't find that the island shut down at night, at least where we were. For one thing, you've got Gröna Lund, which is a very active area and stays open till pretty late, I think. At least till 9:00 or 10:00 PM. It was quieter in the more residential area,s like on our last night when we went to that one neighborhood. We were the only ones on the streets, but as you get closer to the hotel, there were lots of people out and walking around. I'm not really a night owl, so it wouldn't have been a big deal if it did close down, but I don't think it did. The hotel restaurant stayed open until later, plus there was another place nearby that I saw a lot of people at.

Just went through your blogs, I love that you do that because I enjoy having photos with a TR. Every time i write a TR I think I should put together a blog, but I just want it to happen without putting in the effort. Thanks for the effort you put in.

*your blog was also a reminder to go back to your England one because we'll be visiting some of the same places in April.

Gröna Lund, which is a very active area and stays open till pretty late, I think. At least till 9:00 or 10:00 PM

Ahh, that's it. Grona Lund was not yet open for the season when we were there in April. Thanks for the reply!

Allan, all I can say is it's fun. It does take work, but I enjoy it, and it's great for going back and revisiting the memories. I post links to the blog on Facebook because I have a lot of friends there that don't travel very much (or at all), and they enjoy following along with my travels. I keep telling them it's not that difficult! 😊

And interestingly, I've actually been using AI to make a few changes to it. I haven't really done much to it in years, and it really needed some updating, which I was just dreading. It's always a learning curve for me to go in there and figure out what to do, so I decided to use AI. I told Claude that I wanted to make it easier for people to find specific trips, so AI actually categorized everything and then assigned it to categories that were listed at the top on the home page. I didn't do any of that; Claude did at all, which took maybe an hour to an hour and a half to get it done. I was amazed. It would have taken me days, if not longer.

That's nice that you'll be going back to England in April! Where are you going t? I can't wait to read about that.

I'm actually going back there in September of 2027. I signed up for a six-night sewing workshop at a place in Rye, and I'm really looking forward to that. I just booked it yesterday. The bookings get snapped up really quickly, and I didn't think I had a chance, but I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. and was able to get my first choice in dates. I'll be in Rye for about a week, and then I'm planning to explore the rest of southeast England, which is not a place I've been to. In fact, I think that's about the only place I really haven't explored that much over there.

Darren, oh, that makes sense. Yeah, I guess the place would probably change once cold weather hits. I wonder if Skansen stays open all year.

Mardee - You write the most wonderful reports - full of info, for sure, but also full of fun, opinions, and some solid advice. When I look at your spiffy organization and formatting, I hang my head in shame - I don’t know how you do it - it’s easy on the eyes and flows so well! Off to read your other recent trip reports!!!!!

I wonder if Skansen stays open all year.

Yes it does. Skansen was open, but not late. Everything else closed by 5:00 (in April).

*Valerie, * I consider myself honored that you like my blog because I think yours is wonderful! Your photos are just gorgeous, and you always write so well. I can't imagine why you would hang your head in shame—your blog is just incredible; especially the photos!! But regardless, thank you very much for the compliment. That means a lot to me.

Darren, Oh, okay. That makes sense. I was wondering about that.

I wonder if Skansen stays open all year.

It does, but if you are going in the off-season you really need to check the Skansen calendar to see what exhibits are open. They really scale back outside of summer and have fewer interpreters working, fewer special activities, and close some of the buildings. It can be very dead, particularly on weekdays in the off-season. They do often have special activities for holidays. For example, they have a big bonfire on Walpurgis Eve, a nice Christmas market on weekends leading up to Christmas, and a big Midsommar celebration . During the 2 years I lived in Stockholm, I had an annual pass and enjoyed going in on a whim just to walk around.

although we quickly discovered that it was HOT in Stockholm! After wearing jackets and hats in Iceland’s 50° weather, suddenly we were in the high 70s. That was going to take some getting used to.

I did chuckle at this. I’d love some high 70s summer weather as our summer in the DC area has been a lot of high humidity / 90 degree days.

Mardee, you really covered a lot considering you were only there a few days. I don’t think you missed much by skipping the palace. I enjoyed reading this report. If you stay on Djurgården on a future trip, I highly recommend Rosendalsträdgårdskafe for lunch. I just love this place in the summer. https://www.rosendalstradgard.se/about-rosendals-tradgard/

That's nice that you'll be going back to England in April! Where are
you going t? I can't wait to read about that.

Nothing firm yet, but the plan is a few days in London to start. My wife wants to see Queen Elizabeth's Life In Fashion exhibit which ends mid-April. At the same time we'll try and get tickets to the Bayeaux Tapestry. Then we'll head north through York, Durham, Newcastle and Bamburgh. This part of the trip is part 2 of our "Last Kingdom" themed tour. Part 1 is from 2023 when we spent 2 weeks going from Salisbury to Canterbury. I won't hijack your report by posting a link but we visited Rye and likely other places on your upcoming trip.

We're planning 2 weeks for part 2 of the trip and have several irons in the fire trying to determine another two weeks; everything from East Anglia or Chester and Wales, to the Netherlands for the tulips and/or a cruise north.

Laura, It was a fun place, and if I go back, I wouldn't mind going to Skansen again. And yes, I know the weather is very relative, but keep in mind that both of us were from Duluth, where it's been pretty much in the high 60s, low 70s for most of the summer, although they did get a heat wave while we were gone. And it actually may have been higher than the high 70s. I'm terrible at judging stuff like that. I just knew it was very warm.

That's so funny you should mention Rosendalsträdgårdskafe. I actually had that on my list of places I wanted to eat at because I knew that my daughter would enjoy it as well. We were just never there during the day, though, so we never made it. It's still on my list, so hopefully I'll get there at some point in the future.

Allan, Oh wow, you're going to one of my favorite parts of the country! I'm so jealous.

I remember your trip report from back then. In fact, I am fairly certain that I have it bookmarked in my "Future Trips" folder, but if not, I know where to find it. That area has been on my list for a long time because I've hit pretty much every other major area of England except the southeast. I'm really looking forward to going there, and I will definitely be combing through your report.

Good luck with your decision-making. That's always so hard for me.

Hey Mardee,

Thank you for this trip report — a wonderful read. In reply to your Norway report, I mentioned that we are planning a trip there next summer. We plan to visit Copenhagen and Stockholm afterward.

I also love ferries! I am looking forward to taking a few through the Norway fjords. And we hope to take the overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen, ☺️ Now I am also excited for Stockholm ferries! Hurrah!

Cheers, Mary Lou

**Mary Lou, thank you again! That will be such a great trip. I was in Copenhagen in 2022 and really liked it a lot, although I think Stockholm would be my favorite of the two cities.

And yay for ferries! I really do love them. You will have such a great time, and the Stockholm ferries are wonderful. I love that you just hop on them and hop off, and it makes life so much easier. And the overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen will be really cool. I'm going to Scotland in the spring of next year and plan on taking an overnight ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland, and I'm so excited about that! I think I'm more excited about the ferry than the actual trip. 😂 Well, maybe not, but it's a close call.

Mardee,

Re ferries: Have you watched Steve Marsh on YouTube? https://youtube.com/@steve-marsh?si=P4j0jo-cyYNUlgpz

He is Scottish and goes on a lot of ferries!

Happy travels!

Mary Lou, yes, I love Steve Marsh! I first got acquainted with his videos when I was planning my trip to Scotland in 2023, and he was so helpful and his videos were awesome! I will definitely be pulling him up again for my upcoming northern Scotland trip next year! I didn't think to see if he'd been in Norway, though. I probably should have.

Mardee, what fun reading your trip report! I actually downloaded it for my flight from SFO to CPH, and got WiFi!

Stockholm is such a gorgeous city. Glad you loved the Princess Cake! It’s decadent and wonderful. I’m intrigued by Hotel Hasselback, we might have to do a Staycation there for a few nights, when it’s not too warm.

And yes, Skansen IS open year round, we’ve been at Christmas time,. We listened to some traditional folk music in a tiny home, and attended a small Christmas concert in the church.

Oops, just saw this, blame the WiFi! “They do often have special activities for holidays. For example, they have a big bonfire on Walpurgis Eve, a nice Christmas market on weekends leading up to Christmas, and a big Midsommar celebration . During the 2 years I lived in Stockholm, I had an annual pass and enjoyed going in on a whim just to walk around.”

Lyndash “It’s good travel envy therapy for me since it feels like forever since I got on a plane to Europe. OK, it was February of this year.” Hahaha. I get that. I feel deprived if I’m not in Europe.

Sandancisco, thanks! I think that Skansen would be beautiful at Christmas! I bet that would be fun to go to. I don't know that I will make it back in the winter, but if I ever do, I will definitely check it out. 😊

Mardee, since you live in Duluth, Minn I would not urge you to visit Stockholm in December! Yes, yes, all those little twinkly white lights and candle lit restaurants are nice, but it gets DARK at around 3PM. (Locals say it's later than that, but if street lamps are on, I call that 'DARK'!) There can be some snow, but it's not really a given in Stockholm. Here in Uppsala a bit further north, we had a dry, bare Christmas & then in January 2026 it snowed a lot.

Ha ha, Sandancisco, I probably wouldn't. It gets cold enough and dark enough here. I think I'll stick with Florida in January. 😊

Luckily we didn’t have to go through passport control

There hasn't been passport checks between Sweden and Iceland since 1965…

The scenery was lovely and you could see water just about everywhere, although we quickly discovered that it was HOT in Stockholm!

You did manage to arrive during a heat wave with day time peaks around 30°C, but the fact that you arrived from Iceland probably made if feel hotter. If you'd arrived from Madrid you probably would have felt cold…

Skyegirl (from this forum), who was going to be in the city right before us, mentioned that she and her husband had booked a room at Hotel Hasselbacken, which I think she found out about from Badger.

Correct, I suggested Hasselbacken.

They were really fun to ride and we used the #82 ferry a lot; possibly 7-8 times a day. It goes back and forth between Allmänna gränd on the island (near Gröna Lund—about a 5 min walk for us) and Slussen (near Sodormalm). There's a third stop it makes occasionally, but I think you have to request that.

I agree, I've taken the ferry many times but still like to stand outside and watch the city from the water. Summer or winter. And yes, Skeppsholmen is a request stop. But there are a couple of other ferries in the city and the SL card is valid on Waxholmsbolagets ferries to Vaxholm. Considering your love for ferries, I hope you come back to see the Stockholm archipelago. If Wikipedia can be trusted it hass the largest ferry network in the world with around 300 "ports".

STORKYRKAN (STOCKHOLM CATHEDRAL): I'd really been wanting to see this as I just love cathedrals, and Storkyrkan was really magnificent.

An interesting fact about Storkyrkan, while it was built in the 14th-15th centuries, it didn't become a cathedral until 1942. Hence it's still usuallly just called Storkyrkan (the big church).

Free water, coffee, and tea were available for first class, but only if you made your way to the next car, and by the time I got there the coffee was already gone (although it was replenished later).

They are usually pretty good at keeping the tea and coffee available. But things can happen and maybe they were short on staff for the train.

And most of all, I would love to travel through the rest of the country, as we only got to a very small portion of it.

I hope you'll be back! There is so much to see outside Stockholm.

I got the impression that Djurgarden pretty much shut down after 5:00 pm, and it seemed kind of dark and abandoned.

Not really, at least not in the summer when Skansen and Gröna Lund are usually open until late. But if you're looking for night life, it's just a short tram or ferry ride away.

I did chuckle at this. I’d love some high 70s summer weather as our summer in the DC area has been a lot of high humidity / 90 degree days.

After they left the warm weather left as well. And we were back to 20-22°C weather. So they had a bit of bad luck.

yes, I love Steve Marsh!

Then you might want to see his ferry adventure on the Swedish west coast, if you haven't already. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgC8qcEOct4

but if street lamps are on, I call that 'DARK'!

Well… The street lights are turned on during twilight, which is not dark…

Badger, that's interesting about Storkyrkan. It really was quite beautiful. And I'll check out the Swedish video next time I'm on the Steve Marsh website. Right now I'm concentrating on Scotland since I'm heading there in May of next year, and I'm trying to book everything now. He's got a lot of stuff about Scotland, but I would love to see his videos of Sweden. Thanks!

Originally the church was simply called Bykyrkan (the village church) since it was the only church in Stockholm. But as the village grew into a town more churches were built and the village church became the big church. Officially it's called Sankt Nicolai kyrka, named after Saint Nicholas, but I've never heard anyone use that name in daily speech.