A Chilly Winter Break to Stockholm.

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Photo by Karochkin | Flickr Creative Commons

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Amy Baker.

London life got a little bit too much for me last year and a couple of friends and I decided that what we needed was a few days away. What was the most important thing to us? Finding the cheapest destination possible! When looking for bargain holidays we chanced upon some ludicrously cheap flights to Stockholm and had them booked in the blink of an eye. It never occurred to us why the flights would be so cheap at this time of year – that was until we checked the weather!

Stockholm in summer is a place of almost 24 hour daylight where the locals make the most of the city’s green spaces and catch ferries out to the beautiful archipelago. In November, it is a different story entirely.

To say our arrival in Stockholm was a shock to the system was an understatement but fortunately we had come prepared. We discovered that as long as you covered almost all exposed skin and made the most of the local beers and spirits, then you had nothing to worry about. Although drinking in Stockholm is not cheap, it appears that it is necessary. Aquavit or ‘water of vitality’ is 45% alcohol and, I have to admit – an absolute god send as was the amusingly named Glogg – a heated mixture of sherry, brandy and spices, which warmed you up in no time.

Despite the cold, Stockholm still enchanted my travelling companions and I. On arrival we headed straight to the medieval district of Gamla Stan to marvel at The Royal Palace. The cobbled streets, small squares and narrow alleyways were just the Stockholm that we had all envisioned and there were a number of welcoming and (thankfully) cozy taverns in which to enjoy some hearty Swedish fare.

Photo by ezioman | Flickr Creative Commons

Djurgarden is the largest natural area in Stockholm and is also the area with the most museums. Whatever you enjoy culturally, there is a museum here for you, from modern art to the design that the country is so famous for. Perhaps our favourite of the museums was the Vasa. Here you can marvel at a 69m long, gargantuan warship which sank just 20 minutes into her maiden voyage in 1628 and was only salvaged in 1961.

Ostermalm’s Saluhall is a covered market which dates back to the 1880’s and its stalls are piled high with Swedish delicacies. We found this the perfect spot to admire the beautiful people of the city over a cup of coffee and a delicious cake.
Our evenings were spent exploring the bohemian district of Sodermalm where every friendly person that we met seemed to be an artist, a musician or a writer. The district has a number of very fashionable bars and some more relaxed hangouts which suited us just fine.

I believe that Stockholm would be an entirely different place in summer but for a winter break, we found it nothing short of charming. The cold did little to prevent us from exploring and all of the snow and mulled wine just got us in the Christmas spirit. We all left knowing just how lovely Stockholm is no matter what time of year you visit.

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