Two Days in Stockholm - Gamla Stan and the Vasa Museum

[yflyer]

SQ recently announced plans to launch twelve new destinations in the coming financial year. I hope Stockholm is one of them.

[Update: It is! SQ will launch service to Stockholm in May this year, with the A350.]

I recently spent two days in Stockholm. This was at the tail end of a trip to the UK. I flew to Stockholm from London on BA, and spent two days in the city before heading back to Singapore, also on BA via LHR.

This was my first visit to Sweden, and I really didn't know what to see or do. I also didn't have a lot of time to plan or research this trip. I planned and did everything on the fly...not the least risky course of action, but these days, with the internet, Google Maps, Facebook, and SQTalk, quite doable.

Another interesting nugget of information: I did the entire 2 day trip without ever touching a Swedish Krona. Again this was probably poor planning -- all I had with me was GBP, EUR and SGD, no Swedish currency at all...but in fact you can survive in Sweden on just a credit card. Unlike Singapore, where even at Changi Airport, you will be confronted with a taxi queue on arrival where only a subset of taxis accept cards. And without SGD, you can forget about sampling Singapore's hawker centre delights...we have so far to go to become a digital economy. In Sweden, you could wander around Gamla Stan, the old town built in the 13th century, and pay for everything with plastic...

As always, I had a few interesting meals, and did most of my sightseeing on foot, with my running shoes on.

A highlight of my trip was a visit to the Vasa Museum, where a fully preserved 17th century man-of-war sailing ship was on display, after it was salvaged from Stockholm harbor, where it lay for almost 400 years after sinking 20 minutes into it's maiden voyage.

Interested? Read on...

[yflyer]

I flew to Stockholm on BA from Heathrow T5.



This is just a 2.5 hour flight. BA operates A320's and 767's on this sector. I was quite thankful that my flight was operated by a 767 -- a type that I don't get to fly all that often these days.



The Club Europe cabin...



I believe they leave the middle seat empty and then call it "Business Class"...

These are the J seats...



Halfway through the picture above, you can see the seats of the Y cabin. Hard to tell the difference? That's probably because there hardly is any...

The Y seats were quite comfortable, with leather upholstery and a 2-3-2 layout.



There was a snack and beverage service on this flight, which arrived into Stockholm Arlanda Airport just a few minutes behind schedule because of a minor technical fault that was fixed prior to departure. The fault itself was quick to fix, but the paperwork and sign-offs required took a bit of time. That said, it was reassuring to know that everything was done by the book.

I took the Arlanda Express airport train to the city centre -- this is a very comfortable and quick way to get into Stockholm. From there, I used Google Maps to navigate the subway system to my hotel.

Sweden has a great subway and train network. That said, it is one of the more confusing transit networks to use because of the number of different destinations and endpoints for the train, and it took a while before I figured out how to get around.

When I first arrived at the subway station, I had to ask other commuters for help before finding the right train and track, and very nearly got onto the wrong one. But I found Swedes to be exceedingly friendly and helpful -- and everyone I met spoke English.

[yflyer]

I originally booked the Sheraton Stockholm, which was just a few minutes walk from Central Station.

However, Kapitan had nice things to say about the Hilton, which had great views of Gamla Stan, and so I switched my hotel booking there instead.



I found the Hilton Stockholm Slussen to be quite a unique property, a series of low-rise buildings by the water, which blended well with the surrounding area.

The Hilton is just a few minutes walk away from the old city, Gamla Stan. What a wonderful location for a hotel.

This is the view of Gamla Stan, or old town, from just outside the Hilton...

[yflyer]

The Hilton lobby...



Very nice views of Gamla Stan from the public areas and restaurants in the hotel.





The rooms themselves were on the small side, but had great decor and furnishings...







Partial view of the old town from my window...



The bathroom...



Round marble shower stall with rain shower...



Which explained the curves in the hotel corridor...



A wonderful hotel with a lot of character and sense of place. This would be my first choice to stay in in Stockholm, whether I was there for work or holiday, and especially if I was there for leisure.

[yflyer]

For my first meal in Stockholm, I decided on traditional Swedish fare at restaurant Pelikan...



This restaurant has been at its current location since 1904...



I asked my waitress to recommend a beer, and she suggested J.A.C.K. pale ale, from a local brewery.



I am not a beer connoisseur, but this hit the spot!

Bread basket, which included traditional Swedish knäckebröd, or crisp bread...



Starters...



I opted for the "S.O.S." platter of assorted herring...



This was wonderful, with much better texture than the herring you get in tins or glass jars. For some reason, herring doesn't travel well, and is probably best eaten close to where it is caught and prepared.

On this plate, there was no sign of Surströmming, the fermented herring with a strong, acquired taste, that Pinkfloyd had warned me about, so no S.O.S. was in fact needed.

A nice way to start the meal.

For my main, I opted for the roast reindeer...





This was a revelation. Lean, yet tender and tasty...who knew reindeer tasted so good?

After all that, I only had enough space for sorbet for dessert...





A satisfying first meal in Stockholm...

[yflyer]

The next day, I headed for a late afternoon run around the old city.

Regulars on SQTalk will know that my favourite way to get to know a city is to explore it on foot, usually on a long jog/run. Set on the Baltic Sea archipelago, across 14 islands and more than 50 bridges, Stockholm is a scenic, compact and pedestrian/cyclist-friendly city which is ideal for exploring on foot.

I began at the Hilton...



...and crossed one of many bridges to Gamla Stan, and then to other adjoining islands and neighbourhoods...



Along the way I passed Stockholm City Hall...





...and beautiful buildings along Norr Malarstrand...



...before doubling back to the Norrmalm district of Central Stockholm, just north of Gamla Stan...





Parliament House...



...and finally the Old Town itself, full of narrow winding streets...





...and streets lined with shops and restaurants...



A very pleasant 12km run overall, where it was possible to take in many of the sights in central Stockholm and Gamla Stan. (Blue line: Planned route. Red line: Actual route taken.)

[yflyer]

After my run, I headed back to the hotel, showered, then headed back to Gamla Stan for dinner at the Flying Elk...





The menu...









I did not make a reservation, and the restaurant was fully booked until very late in the evening, however there was a bar area in the back of the restaurant which did not require bookings, so I headed there instead. It was called the Back Bar because, well, it was tucked away in the back...



Apart from beer and wine, there was a very interesting selection of Gin & Tonics available...



I ordered the grapefruit G&T...



Very refreshing after the long run...

[yflyer]

The bar served only a subset of dishes from the restaurant...





...but I asked my waiter if it was possible for me to order their signature diver-picked scallop dish from the restaurant menu as a starter, and he was happy to arrange it for me.



The scallop was plump and delicious...with the accompanying truffle and egg adding to the flavour and texture...



...I asked the waiter to recommend a white wine to pair with this dish and he came up with a glass of Chenin Blanc from Vouvray -- very nice.



My main course was the filet of Iberico pork on toast, which was far more substantial than it seemed on the menu...



A tasty dinner. A restaurant I would want to return to for the full experience in future...

To be continued...

[yflyer]

The next day, the 2nd and last of my short trip, I was scheduled to depart in the evening. After arranging for a 2pm checkout from the Hilton, I headed out for morning run.

This time, I would not end my run back at the hotel. I would plan to finish my run at the Vasa Museum, on Djurgarden Island, then visit the museum.

Djurgaden Island has many attractions, including the Nordic Museum, the Grona Lund theme park, and even an ABBA museum (!), but the most unique attraction on the island must be the Vasa Museum, where the salvaged, and incredibly well preserved, ship, the 17th century Man-of-War, the Vasa, is on display. This is the only ship of its kind still in existence, and is #10 on TripAdvisor's list of top museums in the world in 2016 (And the #1 attraction in Stockholm).

My route that day...



I first headed east, along the waterfront along Stadsgĺrdsleden, passing the M/S Birger Jal, one of many boat hotels and restaurants docked along the Stockholm waterfront.





Across the water, I could see the Grona Lund theme park on the island of Djurgarden...



...and further on, I passed the Fotografiska, a museum of contemporary photography...



...before turning round and heading along the eastern side of Gamla Stan, along the Skeppsbrokajen waterfront....



I proceeded along the wide waterfront boulevards along Strömgatan, Södra Blasieholmshamnen...

...and also did a loop around the small island of Skeppsholmen...



On Skeppsholmen, the distinctive ship's masts of the Vasa museum on Djurgarden could be seen from across the water.



The final stretch of the run was along Nybrokajen and Strandvägen, before crossing over to Djurgarden...

[yflyer]

A tip: if you are visiting the Vasa museum, go early in the day. I visited at 10.30am, just 30 minutes after opening time, where there was hardly any queue.

However, this was the queue when I left the museum at around 12 noon...there must have been more than a hundred people queuing in line to get in....a very popular museum indeed!



Once inside, the sight of this huge vessel housed within the large atrium of the museum is something that has to be experienced first hand.



The Vasa has an imposing presence. Even today it looks very impressive. For some reason, it's sheer size, and the curves of its hull reminded me of an Airbus A380. At the time of its construction and launch in 1628, it would have had tremendous shock-and-awe value.



But this was a flawed vessel: it had a new design, with two gun decks, and was top-heavy. Despite early notice of it's flaws and issues with seaworthiness, it was still launched in 1628 with great fanfare and a full complement of crew onboard, as well as guests and family members of the crew.

Just 20 minutes into its maiden voyage, a gust of wind caused the ship to list to one side, whereupon water entered the open gunports and caused the ship to sink into the waters of Stockholm harbour, in front of onlookers lining the shore just over a 120 meters away, with a loss of about 30 lives, although many other survived and were rescued.

The story of miscommunication, project management errors and other errors of judgement that caused this disaster are probably still relevant today, and are worth reading and learning about, either online or by visiting the museum.

The wreck lay in the waters of Stockholm harbour, at a depth of 32 meters, for more than 300 years, before it was rediscovered and salvaged in 1959.

There is an excellent free English language guided tour that is conducted several times a day, where the history of the Vasa is told, and where the features and parts of the ship are described.



Much of the preserved ship is original. Remarkably, the waters of Stockholm harbour, and the silt at the sea bottom, were much more conducive to preserving the ship than seas and oceans elsewhere, where sea worms would have eaten into the wood and quickly caused the ship to disintegrate. In this case, the silt and sea-worm free water have left the ship in remarkably good condition.



Some recreations of the painted sculptures that would have adorned the stern of the vessel.



The design of the museum is excellent: there are multiple levels, where the ship can be viewed from different angles and perspectives.

[yflyer]

Other exhibits in the museum include ship's cannon...





...as well as clothing, shoes and personal artifacts and other items recoved from the wreck, all dating from the 1600's.

On a more sombre note, the skeletons of some of the bodies recovered from the wreck are also on display, in an appropriately respectful manner...



Some of the faces of those who perished have been recreated as models, so that visitors could have a glimpse of what the individual onboard may have been like.



Also of great interest were exhibit relating to the salvage and process of refloating the ship, which took place between 1959 and 1961.





Between 1961 and 1988, the ship lay in a temporary facility undergoing restoration works, and in 1988, the present museum was constructed which has been open since 1990.

Apart from the guided tours, there is also a theatrette in the museum which screens an excellent short film documentating the history of the Vasa and how it was salvaged.

This is an excellent museum, which should be on everyone's itinerary if they are visiting Stockholm.

[yflyer]

After visiting the museum, I retraced my steps, and walked back to the Hilton...

...but not before sampling the tunnbrödsrulle that Pinkfloyd recommended, at a refreshment stand not far from the Vasa Museum.



This was a sausage wrapped in thin bread with a generous helping of mashed potato added. An improbably delicious snack!

And walking back through Gamla Stan, I came across these Swedish Mounted Police...



...and purely by coincidence, there was a military band playing and parade taking place as I was passing by...





There was a fairly eclectic range of shops in Gamla Stan...not the usual touristy souvenir shops, although those were also present.

[yflyer]

After showering and checking out of the hotel at 2pm, I headed back into the Old Town for lunch...

This time, I headed to a small restaurant called Gastabud...





The menu...







Beer to begin...



Herring as a starter (Again -- I love this dish!).



Swedish meatballs for lunch.



These were huge, and quite delicious...



Ice cream with strawberries for dessert.



Traditional Swedish fare, beautifully prepared. The staff were great too. Who could ask for more?

[yflyer]

By this time on my 2nd full day in Stockholm, I had figured out the subway system (With the help of Google Maps) , and lugged by rollerboard from the Hilton to nearby Slussen station to catch the subway to Central Station...



...where I boarded the Arlanda Express train, which took you direct to the airport.



This is an exceptionally comfortable train to ride in, with beautiful, slimline seats upholstered in dark brown fabric.





Although the ride from Central Station to the airport takes just 20 minutes, there is a restroom onboard the train, and one of the carriages in the middle of the train even has small desks to use!



An excellent way to get to and from Stockholm airport.

[yflyer]

The train station takes you directly to the airport terminal, with the whole route indoors and under shelter, but I did step outside the terminal just to snap a picture of the airport terminal and control tower.



There was a short line at the BA check-in counter. Security lines were short when I was there.