Stockholm & The Archipelago, Sweden
Britt’s ancestry is quite mixed, but she’s always identified most with her Swedish and Irish roots. After visiting Ireland for the first time last year, we thought we’d round it out by visiting Sweden this time around. Stockholm’s rocky and forested archipelago was our main target, but we bookended our visit with days in Sweden’s pristine capital.
Our first visit centered on the hip neighborhood of Södermalm, immediately south of Stockholm’s center. Lunch at Meatballs for the People (beef-pork meatballs and vegetarian meatballs with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, pickles) was a fitting way to kick off our trip, then we wandered through some shops (Krukmakeriet noteworthy for the ceramic dish made by Anne Junsjö that served as one of our souvenirs and Grandpa for its great selection of clothes and homeware).
Stockholm was hillier than we realized, and the views can best be appreciated at vibey Mosebacketerrassen. More nice views await in the area around Mäster Mikaels gata, host to several old wooden houses and a killer view up to Katarina Kyrka.
Fotografiska, Stockholm’s photography museum, is one of Södermalm’s main sights and it did not disappoint. We especially enjoyed the poignant reminder of man’s impact on the environment at Paul Nicklen’s and Cristina Mittermeier’s SeaLegacy / Turning the Tide; the quirky, upbeat, and nostalgic vibes at Linda and Mary McCartney’s Mother Daughter; and the surreal and gripping work displayed at up-and-coming Evelyn Bencicova’s Merror.
Our second visit to Stockholm centered on its old core, Gamla Stan. First we stopped by the Vasa Museum, possibly Scandinavia’s most popular attraction. Its main draw is a mostly intact 17th century warship that sank on its maiden voyage and was recovered in the 1960s. Even having seen photos and videos of the ship before, the sheer scale and detail of it all is jawdropping in person. (And a tip—pre-book tickets to skip the lines!)
Once in Gamla Stan, we started on the western side, appreciating the city views around Riddarholmen Church. We walked through the golden glow of Gamla Stan’s streets, eventually got to Stortorget (the main square), and then walked past the Royal Palace and Parliament toward City Hall. Fortunately, we caught the last tour of City Hall, which we highly recommend. A tour is the only way to visit the building’s lavish rooms, and the tour guide offers lots of interesting insight into the history and modern governing of Stockholm.
Our last glimpse of the city was a quick detour down into the metro. Britt had seen pictures of the art that graces many of the metro system’s stations, so we took a peek at T-Centralen. Beautiful!
As much as we enjoyed our time in Stockholm, the archipelago was the highlight of our trip, so stay tuned for stories of island hopping, dips in the Baltic Sea, and much more!
Stockholm’s rocky, forested archipelago (which reminded us a lot of coastal Maine) is an enchanting escape from the city. We stayed in a cottage on the water in Nacka, only a 20-minute drive to the city but with the whole archipelago at our fingertips. Ferries abound in this part of the country, but you can cover a lot of area with a car thanks to an interconnected system of bridges.
Our cottage was within walking distance of Nyckelvikens Nature Reserve, a serene reserve with beautiful grounds and, to our surprise, a view down to our Airbnb! We grabbed lunch at the hotel on the grounds (Caesar salad, quiche, fruit cake, chocolate cake, chocolate tart) and soaked up the sun.
On our first full day we grabbed a ferry from Nacka Strand to the tiny island of Fjäderholmarna. Fueled by lingonberry candies from one of the island’s shops, we slowly wandered the paths around the island’s edge. Some of the shops around 59.327768, 18.176445 are quite nice, including a working pottery studio/shop. And after watching the artist at the nearby glass shop, we couldn’t leave without a piece! We ate lunch by the water at Fjäderholmarnas Bryggeri (pastrami sandwich, halloumi burger) before heading back to Nacka.
Once back in Nacka, we had some time to kill and no plans, so we made a last-minute decision to drive to Vaxholm. We grabbed ice cream from Glass på Hörnet (Nutella, stracciatella) and hopped on the little ferry for the quick ride to Kastellet. Once back in town, we wandered around Batteriparken and appreciated the views of the idyllic little cove at 59.405313, 18.351804. The nearby streets around Fiskaregatan are lined with cute wooden houses and worth a wander. We grabbed dinner at 450 Gradi (margherita pizza) on the way back to Nacka.
On our second full day we drove to Stavsnäs and took a ferry to the island of Sandhamn. The island was everything we imagined the archipelago would be—sea views, wooden houses, thick forests, and a slow pace of life. We walked around the village and grabbed lunch at Dykarbaren (burger, veggie burger) before setting off clockwise around the whole island, through pine forest and along the coast, stopping at Dansberget and a quiet spot facing the open sea at 59.277178, 18.931744. For most of our walk we felt like we had the island to ourselves, and the weather was ideal—words can’t describe how perfect it felt. We grabbed a little snack from the local bageriet before hopping on the ferry back to the mainland.
On the way back from Sandhamn, we stopped at Stora Sandarna in Klacknaset for a dip in the Baltic, a fitting end to our visit! Our trip to Stockholm and its archipelago was designed to be a low-key trip, and that is what we achieved. What was surprising was how nice it felt to be on a trip like this. Perhaps this is a sign that sometimes we need to take trips to recharge from the fast pace and oftentimes tiring style of our typical travels.
