Hej hej!
Well despite my best efforts I had to admit defeat in blogging from Sweden. It’s not their fault (the Swedes) more a combination of Ryanair’s maximum hand baggage weight, the needs and requirements of my family, an unforeseen technical glitch with the PC in the house we were staying at, and well, life!
But better late than never as they say, so here are my initial musings on Stockholm.
Arriving in late into Skavsta Airport and trying to locate a car (kindly offered by our Swedish hosts) in the lashing rain wasn’t an ideal start, but what it did serve to prove was the importance of SatNav. It was my first time using it and it was such a relief to just click on ‘Go’ to our already pre-programmed home which brought us directly to our door. I wouldn’t dream of travelling without it in the future.
When we arrived (90 minute journey) we found the house we exchanged with was excellent, fully equipped with everything a family needs, and was located in a beautiful suburb, Sollentuna, just 20 minutes train journey north of Stockholm.
After stocking up in the local supermarket the following morning, we set off for our first excursion into Stockholm. We bought weekly travel cards which were very good value (Stockholm Public Transport ) and allowed us to use any form of travel communication (trains, underground, buses and trams). Children also travelled free. Great!
There is so much to do Stockholm, and it’s my experience, that you can get a fair bit of it done in a week. First stop for us was the Vasa Museum, a fabulous museum devoted to “the world’s only surviving 17th-century ship” (Vasa Museum). Located on the island of Djurgården and brought there by ferry boat its well worth standing in line for (don’t be put off by the line when you arrive, it moves quickly).
Just across the island is the JunibackenMuseum (Junibacken Museum) a children’s museum based on the writings of Astrid Lindgren. I have to admit that the adventures of Pippi Longstocking passed me by in my youth, but my wife (who’s Italian) grew up with her and has passed it on to our children. After the cultural and intellectual fest at the Vasa Museum I had to summon the energy for a kids museum. I was initially underwhelmed by the pricey entrance fee (why are adults charged more than kids? I mean the kids wouldn’t be there if we didn’t take them), and the range of indoor ‘theme park’ activities, but had to remind myself that this part of the day was not aimed at me. Suffice to say, my young girls loved it. The train journey they provide is very good (though a little dark at times – Disney it aint) with a choice of language options to choose from your carriage literally flies through Lindren’s world of characters and their various scrapes. Even Dad liked that part.
Well, I think I’ll sign off here and fill you in on the rest of our trip at a later date.
Niall
www.ArrangeYourExchange.com
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