POSTED ON: Friday, May 23, 2014 @ 11:30 PM | 0 comments
As things get busy and schoolwork/readings pile up on my table day after day, blogging may get pushed back in queue a bit while I clear more important things off my list first. But I've always tried to post at least once a week to keep my page alive and my readers entertained, eagerly hoping that my efforts will pay off one day. So YES YES this day has finally arrived when a stranger contacted me on Facebook to ask me more about Stockholm! Words can't describe how happy I was when he told me my posts on Sweden for the past few months were extremely helpful to him! Paying the kindness I received from an NTU friend forward (this NTU friend provided much help and tips before I came to Stockholm), I was more than happy to provide this new stranger/friend with more info (:
Kindness really does create a rippling effect! And it so happens that the last Friday of May every year is Singapore's Kindness Day by Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM)~ ^^
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
- The Lion and the Mouse, Aesop
A while ago, a friend who was visiting Stockholm for a couple of days asked me for some recommendations of what to do during her stay here. Of course there are always websites like TripAdvisor and so on to help people out with their planning. But here's a short list of 8 things to do in Stockholm while you're here on a short getaway, from what I personally enjoyed an Asian exchange student! (:
#1 Vasa Museum
The one museum that is most worth visiting when you're in Stockholm. Ranked on TripAdvisor as the top museum too. This wooden warship sank within minutes of her maiden voyage in 1628. Salvaged in 1961, the Vasa is the only preserved ship from the 17th century in the world. The main attraction in the museum is of course this huge wooden ship (remember to take a selfie with it!) but there are many other things to discover around the place too. Check out how the ship was built, how it sank, how it was salvaged and reconstructed, the hundreds of sculptures on the ship and thus we have this amazing exhibit to view today (so maybe it was a good thing it sank?). Pretty interesting and informative I would say, worth a visit.
#2 Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan is the old town of Stockholm. It consists of medieval alleyways, cobbled stone streets (brings back memories of travel buddy and I trudging that damn luggage along these uneven roads), archaic architecture and a beautiful view of the river by the metro station. Visit the quaint little shops or settle down somewhere for a fika (I'd recommend you sit by the river if the weather is good!). You can also find the Royal Palace, the Stockholm Cathedral and the Nobel Museum here at Gamla Stan.
#3 Picnic at Djurgarden
Kungliga Djurgarden or "The Royal Game Park" is an island in central Stockholm. Home to numerous museums like the Tekniska museum (which I've visited and blogged about here), Nordic museum, Vasa museum, Skansen open air museum (which I will introduce to you later in this post), Biological museum and so on. There are also many green areas and little parks, covered with pretty flowers and lush green grass. A romantic canal too! Perfect for picnics in spring and summer. Having a picnic here was always on my to-do list with my exchange buddies since we arrived in January but we never got around to doing it ): Fulfil my wish for me if you're here won't you?
#4 Grona Lund Tivoli
Ohmygosh it's a theme park! Need I say more??
We're going to Grona Lund tomorrow so I'll be blogging more about it in the next post!
#5 Skansen Open Air Museum
This is very much unlike the usual indoor museums you've ever visited. Just as the name suggests, the Skansen Open Air Musuem is OUTDOORS! So do pray for good weather the night before your mini excursion. We joined the tour conducted by Stockholm University's Student Union so we had a cute little lady dressed in her traditional Swedish costume as our tour guide for the day. She brought us around the old houses on the island, role playing with the other 'characters' in each house and educating us about the history of Stockholm. There was also a farm and an open air zoo where we managed to catch the seal's feeding time at 2pm!
Mr Shoemaker
Bakery nommnommz
A traditional mama shop? I found the old cash register super fascinating~
Hello Mr Seal!
#6 Vaxholm
I've never been here myself, but my exchange buddy has and my Swedish neighbour recommended this place too. The photos of this little island taken by my exchange buddy and those from Google look gorgeous so I'd think this would be a good place to visit. It's also a really popular place for day trips out from the city area among students.
#7 Ostermalm Saluhall
Not exactly a tourist attraction but something interesting if you would like to visit a Swedish food market and try out some authentic Swedish cuisine. Actually just standing in front of the building and taking a photo with it is cool and that is a good enough reason to visit the Saluhall teehee ^^
#8 Ice Skating at Kungstragarden
An outdoor skating ring which is only open in winter, from around October/November and all the way till March. This got me very excited since I have never seen an outdoor skating rink (would never be possible in sunny Singapore). Highly recommended if you're in Stockholm during winter. It's really pretty at night too, with all the street lamps and colourful lights illuminating the rink. Love the atmosphere, love skating outdoors, love the company~
Speaking of ice and ice skating, I kinda miss the cold snowy winter. Especially all the light fluffy white snow in Finland. My favourite trip in Europe so far definitely has to be Finland. Oh the glass igloos, husky rides, snowmobile safaris, reindeer meat... I'll be back for you on day! Yeap that was our little glass igloo and the sledge we used to pull our luggage to the igloo (:
Alright, so now I hope you have something to do while you're in Stockholm. May you enjoy Stockholm as much as we did. Stay tuned for the next post on Grona Lund! Happy weekends and take care everyone! (:
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POSTED ON: Friday, May 23, 2014 @ 11:30 PM | 0 comments
As things get busy and schoolwork/readings pile up on my table day after day, blogging may get pushed back in queue a bit while I clear more important things off my list first. But I've always tried to post at least once a week to keep my page alive and my readers entertained, eagerly hoping that my efforts will pay off one day. So YES YES this day has finally arrived when a stranger contacted me on Facebook to ask me more about Stockholm! Words can't describe how happy I was when he told me my posts on Sweden for the past few months were extremely helpful to him! Paying the kindness I received from an NTU friend forward (this NTU friend provided much help and tips before I came to Stockholm), I was more than happy to provide this new stranger/friend with more info (:
Kindness really does create a rippling effect! And it so happens that the last Friday of May every year is Singapore's Kindness Day by Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM)~ ^^
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
- The Lion and the Mouse, Aesop
A while ago, a friend who was visiting Stockholm for a couple of days asked me for some recommendations of what to do during her stay here. Of course there are always websites like TripAdvisor and so on to help people out with their planning. But here's a short list of 8 things to do in Stockholm while you're here on a short getaway, from what I personally enjoyed an Asian exchange student! (:
#1 Vasa Museum
The one museum that is most worth visiting when you're in Stockholm. Ranked on TripAdvisor as the top museum too. This wooden warship sank within minutes of her maiden voyage in 1628. Salvaged in 1961, the Vasa is the only preserved ship from the 17th century in the world. The main attraction in the museum is of course this huge wooden ship (remember to take a selfie with it!) but there are many other things to discover around the place too. Check out how the ship was built, how it sank, how it was salvaged and reconstructed, the hundreds of sculptures on the ship and thus we have this amazing exhibit to view today (so maybe it was a good thing it sank?). Pretty interesting and informative I would say, worth a visit.
#2 Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan is the old town of Stockholm. It consists of medieval alleyways, cobbled stone streets (brings back memories of travel buddy and I trudging that damn luggage along these uneven roads), archaic architecture and a beautiful view of the river by the metro station. Visit the quaint little shops or settle down somewhere for a fika (I'd recommend you sit by the river if the weather is good!). You can also find the Royal Palace, the Stockholm Cathedral and the Nobel Museum here at Gamla Stan.
#3 Picnic at Djurgarden
Kungliga Djurgarden or "The Royal Game Park" is an island in central Stockholm. Home to numerous museums like the Tekniska museum (which I've visited and blogged about here), Nordic museum, Vasa museum, Skansen open air museum (which I will introduce to you later in this post), Biological museum and so on. There are also many green areas and little parks, covered with pretty flowers and lush green grass. A romantic canal too! Perfect for picnics in spring and summer. Having a picnic here was always on my to-do list with my exchange buddies since we arrived in January but we never got around to doing it ): Fulfil my wish for me if you're here won't you?
#4 Grona Lund Tivoli
Ohmygosh it's a theme park! Need I say more??
We're going to Grona Lund tomorrow so I'll be blogging more about it in the next post!
#5 Skansen Open Air Museum
This is very much unlike the usual indoor museums you've ever visited. Just as the name suggests, the Skansen Open Air Musuem is OUTDOORS! So do pray for good weather the night before your mini excursion. We joined the tour conducted by Stockholm University's Student Union so we had a cute little lady dressed in her traditional Swedish costume as our tour guide for the day. She brought us around the old houses on the island, role playing with the other 'characters' in each house and educating us about the history of Stockholm. There was also a farm and an open air zoo where we managed to catch the seal's feeding time at 2pm!
Mr Shoemaker
Bakery nommnommz
A traditional mama shop? I found the old cash register super fascinating~
Hello Mr Seal!
#6 Vaxholm
I've never been here myself, but my exchange buddy has and my Swedish neighbour recommended this place too. The photos of this little island taken by my exchange buddy and those from Google look gorgeous so I'd think this would be a good place to visit. It's also a really popular place for day trips out from the city area among students.
#7 Ostermalm Saluhall
Not exactly a tourist attraction but something interesting if you would like to visit a Swedish food market and try out some authentic Swedish cuisine. Actually just standing in front of the building and taking a photo with it is cool and that is a good enough reason to visit the Saluhall teehee ^^
#8 Ice Skating at Kungstragarden
An outdoor skating ring which is only open in winter, from around October/November and all the way till March. This got me very excited since I have never seen an outdoor skating rink (would never be possible in sunny Singapore). Highly recommended if you're in Stockholm during winter. It's really pretty at night too, with all the street lamps and colourful lights illuminating the rink. Love the atmosphere, love skating outdoors, love the company~
Speaking of ice and ice skating, I kinda miss the cold snowy winter. Especially all the light fluffy white snow in Finland. My favourite trip in Europe so far definitely has to be Finland. Oh the glass igloos, husky rides, snowmobile safaris, reindeer meat... I'll be back for you on day! Yeap that was our little glass igloo and the sledge we used to pull our luggage to the igloo (:
Alright, so now I hope you have something to do while you're in Stockholm. May you enjoy Stockholm as much as we did. Stay tuned for the next post on Grona Lund! Happy weekends and take care everyone! (:
