We made a trip to Stockholm again in Spring 2017, this time to coincide with the end of my son’s International Student Exchange Program with a university in Stockholm. He went on a short trip with his housemates in Europe and their rental apartment in Stockholm was vacant. Perfect opportunity for us to stay in his apartment till he returned to Stockholm.
Our original travel plan was to meet him upon his return from Europe and then do the following trips out from Stockholm before returning home.
- Overnight cruise to Tallin (capital of Estonia) via Tallink Silja ferry, spend the day in Tallin before doing another overnight cruise back to Stockholm.
- 10 days self-drive road-trip round Iceland.
- 6 days self-drive road-trip in Norway.
Alas, there was bad news from home and we had to curtail our trip to Tallin, Norway and Iceland and return home as soon as possible.
Nevertheless, my wife and I spent 11 wonderful days in Stockholm in May. We really enjoyed the warmer than usual Spring weather in Stockholm and did plenty of walks and outdoor activities. On days with “not-so-good” weather near the end of our stay, we visited some of the free museums in the city.
These are some of the places we visited and activities we did. Click on the links to read the trip report.
Walk along Monteliusvägen, Skinnarviksberget and Söder Mälarstrand for best views of Stockholm
Visit to Skeppsholmen and Kungsträdgården in late Spring
Visit to the garden of Drottningholm Palace
A walk along Norr Mälarstrand and visit to Stadshuset (The City Hall of Stockholm)
Day trip from Stockholm to Sigtuna, Sweden’s first town
Walk from Hornstull to Skanstull in Södermalm
Walk in Djurgården, Strandvägen, Norrbro and ending in Riddarholmen
Hellasgården and walk in the Nacka Nature Reserve
Visit Swedish History Museum and Nobel Museum
Visit to Swedish Army Museum (Armémuseum)
Visit to Natural History Museum (Naturhistoriska riksmuseet)
We travelled within Stockholm mostly on their efficient subway system called the Tunnelbana. Art work, in some form or other, are present at 90 of the 100 subway stations. We made an effort to go, see and shoot some of the better Tunnelbana subway art.
And this was the first time (and hopefully the only time) that we were the victims of a scam while travelling.
Although we had to curtail my trip unexpectedly, we managed to recover most of the unused airfare, car rental and accommodation costs through our travel insurance policy. Hence, the importance of buying travel insurance for any oversea trip.
I am also glad that I had booked all my hotel stays in Norway and Iceland via Booking.com with their free cancellation policy. I managed to cancel most of my bookings without any cancellation charge, except for a couple of B&Bs in Iceland that I could not cancel before the cancellation notice period. I am grateful that they were compassionate to waive the charges upon request.
In addition, I am grateful to Finnair for making it easy and quick to get the documentations (e.g. proof of no-show) required for our insurance claims from their Customer Service website.
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