Stockholm in Winter – Riddarholmen, Gamla Stan and Östermalms

23 January 2017

We had seen so much of Riddarholmen from the view points of Monteliusvägen that it would be a shame if we did not go explore this part of Stockholm before going home.  It is located right next to Gamla Stan and easily accessed from the T-bana station.

The most prominent building in Riddarholmen is the Riddarholm Church, whose iconic spire was most photographed when we were at Monteliusvägen. The Riddarholm Church is the final resting place of the Swedish kings and Stockholm's only preserved medieval monastery church. With the one exception of Queen Christina, all succeeding rulers of Sweden from Gustav II Adolf (d. 1632) to Gustaf V (d. 1950) are buried in the Riddarholmen Church.

The waterfront where we could see the City Hall from Riddarholmen was very cold with the wind blowing. We braved the cold to take some photos of the Statue of Evert Taube, with the City Hall in the background.

Statue of Evert Taube, with the City Hall in the background.

It was too cold to linger at this place. We crossed the Riddarholmsbron into Gamla Stan where the Riddarhuset is located. The Riddarhuset is the House of Nobility with pretty architecture.

Riddarholmen Church as seen from Riddarholmsbron (Riddarholms Bridge).

Riddarhuset is located at the other end of the Riddarholms Bridge. There were still ice in the water!

This was my third time in Gamla Stan within this trip and every time I come to the old town of Gamla Stan, I saw something new.

Using the modern phone next to an old phone booth.



Stortorget again! Without the snow on the ground.


A hidden square, or should I say circle within Gamla Stan.

We stopped to have “fika” at Under Kastanjen. In Sweden, fika means a time to rest our feet, relax with a hot cup of coffee and some local snacks and socialising with friends. With Wi-Fi technology, that could also means catching up with family and friends at home, chatting on WhatsApps and posting photos on Facebook while enjoying the views outside.

Semla and Chokladbollar are local Swedish delights.

After our “fika”, we met up with the rest of the group in Östermalms.  This area is the posh part of the city and the shops reflect that, e.g. Prada, Celine, Gucci etc. We went to check out the Ostermalm Saluhall. This is a food hall with counters and shelves packed with the best of the finest stuff. 

Buildings near Östermalms at night.

The buildings in this area were gorgeous. They were even more beautiful at night!

This was the last day of our trip to Stockholm in winter. We will be back! In Summer!