The time I had available for long trips meandering across Europe was up and it was back to my standard working week leaving me only one option again: deploying my old practice of heading out to European countries for the weekends to make the most of them. As stated in my other weekend travel blogs, my method for this was to head to Skyscanner, pick the airport near me for best connections, which for me was Gatwick, and use the “Everywhere” function. This conveniently gives a list of paces in an ascending order in price. With the added criteria of not being too far away (maximum of 3-4 hours away) and flights being at a reasonable time for the price to get the most out of the experience, I selected my city of choice from the shortlist. This time it was Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden.
Why I Headed To Stockholm
Primarily, my choice of location was dictated by what was available at a reasonable price using the before mentioned method. Once this had narrowed down the field of options, the one that stood to me was Stockholm amongst the other destinations on offer. There was natural draw as a capital city, there was the fact that I’d seen some of the other options on offer, such as Oslo, Trondheim and Gothenburg, and there was the knowledge that the city would have a lot to offer culturally and with things to do. Additionally to that, from pictures I’d seen online, I already knew it was a picturesque city with its architecture but adding in what was going to hopefully be a blanket of snow would only enhance this. Alongside that, the Swedish nightlife was something I wanted to experience in full flow after hearing so much about it.
What I Thought Of Stockholm
I was certainly right in thinking the city was a picturesque one and that’s whilst only being exposed to it under the cover of mainly fog and cloud. I can imagine what a delight it would be once the sun is shining. It has plenty to explore and see with a few viewpoint to allow you to see it from a different perspective. It was perfect for me to get out early one of the mornings to go for a run and was one of the those occasions I got so engrossed in the place, I just kept going and going. With the city being sprawled across smaller islands, there are plenty of shots to be taken alongside the waterways.
As I found out, during winter it had plenty of Christmas activities on offer, hosting an ice rink in Kungsträdgården, ladened in lights to give the perfect wintery scene. A perfect romantic spot should you be with a significant other, with the paths lined with lights all mourned it. Then there’s the Christmas market in Stortoget, which was a lovely little spot for you to grab something festive to eat, a drink and a gift or two, whether it be a souvenir for you or another.
Finally, the nightlife was just as good as expected with plenty of clubs, bars and crossovers available to party, socialise and meet new people in, all playing great music from what I experienced. The only downside and not sure what exactly prompted it but it seemed that as a collective from the hostel, we struggled to get in wherever we went.
From what I experienced, it was great for a weekend away and I had a fulfilling time there nevertheless, even if it was brought together last minute and I didn’t . From what I saw, there was easily the ability to upgrade from the experience that I had with a little more planning and a little more time in the city, bringing some of the things that I saw on offer such as actually taking part in the ice skating, checking out one or two of the museums and getting my lesson on the city through a walking tour.
Day 1 – Friday
The moment I was able to escape from work, it was time to pack my bag, double and triple check I had everything I needed before grabbing the train to the airport ready to head off on another Scandinavian adventure. Fortunately for me to get to the airport as I’ve had a few close calls with catching flights, I had a fairly late flight but this had a downside of having less time in the city and plenty of time to kill.
The airport sits outside of the city, at a distance of 25 miles (40km) to the north. There are a few methods of getting rom there into the centre of Stockholm. The quickest method is the Arlanda Express which departs every 15 minutes and takes 20 minutes to arrive at the central station. For ease, this was my chosen method of transport. A return ticket for the weekend would set you back 579 SEK (roughly equates to £48). The next option for you is to take the Flygbussarna Airport coach, leaving every 10-156 minutes and taking around 40 minutes each way. A ticket for the bus for a return trip sets you back 215 SEK (about £18), unless bought online, giving you a discount down to 198 SEK (about £16.50).
The hostel of choice for this city was City Backpackers, based in the Norrmalm area, which is only a mere 10 minute walk from the central station in Stockholm and a stones throw from everything you would want to see in the city. The hostel boasted a few different areas for you to chill out in. Firstly and most obviously, there was the common room/cafe area surrounding the reception. Taking on the sort of atmosphere of a cafe, there was an expansive area for you break out into. Alongside the usual activities people get up to in the common rooms of hostels, this one had an array of board games for you indulge in and get the conversation flowing. Outside in the courtyard, this was the smoking area but also another sheltered area for you to hang out in but with it being winter, you best wrap up warm but I can imagine it would be a great spot in the summer. The final areas that you could sit back and relax in were the small lobby areas outside the dorms, where there was a sofa or two. Definitely ideal after a night out with the reception being closed to go to allow the buzz from the evening’s partying to wear off.
As for the dormitories, these were comfortable and had everything you wanted, with a variety of room sizes to choose such as 4, 6, 7, 8 or 12 bed dormitories. Additionally but for a premium you can have some privacy and go for the two person private dorms. Additionally, the hostel has quite few extras on offer for you to be able to utilise that you wouldn’t expect at a hostel such as free ice skates and sleighs during the winter, free pasta for you to fill up on and a sauna, allowing you to truly embrace the Swedish lifestyle.
Now the key bit of information you’ll want to know after hearing about what the hostel is like is the price. For the pleasure of being able to stay here for three nights (I had to book a minimum of three nights), this cost me roughly 720 SEK (around £60; I don’t know the exact price due to change in the exchange rate) which I found to be reasonable for the hostel, its location and what added extras it had to offer.
With me arriving at the hostel pretty late in the evening, I checked in, dropped my stuff off in my room and then headed out to the main common room area to join those that were take it back to basics and playing one of the numerous board games that was on offer from the reception. Tonight was chilled evening, with my kit prepared and ready to go for a run in the morning to explore the city on foot before heading out on foot later.
It was Saturday night and that only meant on thing for us at the hostel: time to party!
Whilst chilling out during dinner time in the common room, I was able to pull together quite a group of people for us to head out together. We decided after people had one or two drinks in the hostel, we slowly got or stuff together and everyone else got their coats, scarves and gloves on to heard on out. Whereas for me, I embraced the British way of doing things; no matter the weather, you brave it in what you’re going to be partying in. So for me, a white shirt and jeans was all I was heading out in, which was a point of conversation and gave people a good chuckle when to their surprise, I was completely fine as we took the 15-20 minute walk to our first spot in the light sleet and snow.
I must admit that the night wasn’t the smoothest one at the beginning when it came finding somewhere to go and ended up with a bit of a disagreement between me and the French guy in our group. The ultimate aim was for us to head into the hub of where the clubs are, [name of area of city]. I was expecting there to be at least some bars in that area and did consult one of the other guys in the hostel for his assistance as he’d been here a lot longer however, he didn’t say anything and then tried to make a point once we arrived and discovered there were no clubs. So we headed back up the road to an Irish pub called Galway’s, got ourselves a drink and sat down as a collective upstairs to share some stories and get to know each other a little more. Once we’d had a few drinks, we decided we’d finally head to a nightclub and party hard.
The first nightclub that we tried getting into, either Hell’s Kitchen or Sturecompagniet, was not successful at all! As we walked up to the door, we were informed that this night was an invite only night and we wouldn’t be getting in at all. So we took a wander and came across a second place that was recommended by our French “friend”. I’ve tried to find it on the map and my only conclusion is it was called either Moon Motel or Solidartet, however the play seems to have closed last year. Initially upon him enquiring, the bouncer was all saying that we wouldn’t be getting in here either, with the conversation being on the topic of the size of the group and things getting a little heated. Thankfully a couple of the others stepped in, spoke to the bouncer and we were eventually allowed him. The place played host to several few with different genres in them so had something for everyone. Downstairs had nightclub vibe, with the decor being that which you would expect from a typical nightclub, being dark apart from the dance floor with the bright lights and bar with suitable mood lighting. Upstairs was more of an open bar area to either allow you to sit and chat, linger around the bar to enjoy your poison of choice or a large wooden floored area to throw out a move or two.
Based on how busy the place was, it appeared that we’d arrived a little on the early side but the place soon filled up, the group from the hostel spread itself around the different rooms and this was pretty much it for the evening, showcasing our best moves with the odd dance off between each other, singing our hearts out to the classics and taking in the whole experience. That pretty much was it for the whole evening, this where we stayed until people slowly drip fed themselves back to the hostel to head off to bed or as a few of us, sit in one of the lobbies outside of the rooms to quietly chat until the buzz wore off and tiredness set in.
Day 3 – Sunday
I may have sat up a little too long the night before as the late night meant a late morning, and when I say late morning, I may mean an early afternoon… What can I say? Sometimes you have to take your foot off the accelerator and give yourself some time to rest and recuperate! (That’s the excuse I’m going to go for this time anyway!) With time ticking, I dragged myself out of my bed, through the shower, got dressed and headed out to make the most of half day I’d now given myself! Today’s mission was to firstly get me some food but from there, I was going to head off to a different part of the city and check out a couple of the more Christmassy things on offer.
Over night there’d been a little bit of a snow flurry so the white blanket the city was given was a little better and give it a different look that only enhanced the views I was blessed with from the day before. The first port of call was to head to Storgotget for the Christmas market. Tucked into a square behind the Nobelmuseet (Noble Prize museum), this was a traditional Christmas market with an enormous Christmas tree acting as the centre piece, with the stalls serving up festival food and drinks surrounding it along with plenty of stalls to get yourself or a loved one a gift or two. It was a wholesome experience on my own but this would be the perfect spot for you to head to with friends, family or your significant.
The next stop for me was to viewpoint that I discovered during the run of that first morning just outside the National museum, which overlooks the Royal Palace in one direction and the island of Skeppsholmen in the other direction, with the prominent features of Eric Ericsonhallen concert hall, af Chapman which now serves as a youth hostel and the Admiralty House, however this only houses the Swedish Tourist Association these days.
This is particularly good spot for some pictures with the early sunset as everything is lit up afterwards for you to enjoy. As I wandered back through the city to the hostel, I made sure to go through Kungsträdgården, which was once a royal garden but has now be turned into a public park. This is particularly good spot for some pictures with the early sunset as everything is lit up afterwards for you to enjoy. As I wandered back through the city to the hostel, I made sure to go through Kungsträdgården, which was once a royal garden but has now be turned into a public park. Not only is this park covered in fairy lights to turn into quite the spectacle, it has a centre piece of an ice rink around one of the statues. Ice skating wasn’t something I was ready to take on though, I’ll leave my first experience of ice skating to another time!
And just like that, my time here was up! I couldn’t leave it any longer so had to head back to the hostel, pack up my things and return to the airport as the UK beckoned for my return, ready for me to be back at work the next day! This was the only downside to these weekends, as fun as they were, the flights that I was getting back were usually the last ones, landing on home soil late in the evening and meaning that I wouldn’t be home until the early hours of the morning. If I was really lucky, I’d have to get a coach back, trying to catch as much sleep as I could before dragging myself home to get in bed before getting up sometimes 3 or 4 hours later to go to work the next day. As you can see, making the most of your time definitely comes with its sacrifices.
There you have it, my weekend escape to Stockholm was done and it was back to normality for me. Only temporarily though, as you may have gathered by now, I’ve always got my eye on my next trip or two. We only have one life so it might as well be worth living! If this sort of content is what you enjoy and got your wanting more, with plenty more content in the offing covering trips to Italy, Croatia, Australia and plenty more, the only sensible thing to do would be to follow the social media links down below to make sure you’re one of the first to hear about those releases!
