26 May 2017
If you are wondering if there is any good day trips you can make from Stockholm, then a visit to Sigtuna, a place when Sweden begins, is worth considering. Sigtuna is about 48 Km north of Stockholm but is easily accessible by public transport using the SL card, car, boat and even a plane (since the town is situated close to Arlanda Airport).
The best way to get to Sigtuna from Stockholm city center is to take the commuter train (called pendeltåg) to Märsta. The local buses to Sigtuna town, number 575 and 570 from Märsta Station, are synchronized with the commuter trains coming from Stockholm. All this rides were covered by the SL 7-day Travelpass that we have loaded into our SL Access cards.
Since we were staying in an apartment near Alvik, we took the light rail or tram (called Tvärbanan) from Alvik to Solna Station. Solna is one of the stations between Märsta and Stockholm city center.
Note about taking trams in Stockholm: There is no gates to the tram platform. You need to validate the SL ticket using the yellow ticket machines at the platform before boarding. There are penalties if caught riding the tram without a valid ticket.
At Solna Station, we walked through the gates like taking the tunnelbana (subway) and follow the signs to the pendeltag (local train). We took the next local train from Solna to Märsta. Our journey took about 30 minutes. The journey would be slightly longer if we had taken the train from the Central Station in Stockholm.
Note: SL Travelcard is not valid on Regional trains, only local trains.
When we exited the train station in Märsta, there was an electronic information board showing the timings of buses leaving from Märsta Station.
We could take either 570 or 575 to Sigtuna. We arrived at 10.40 am. and waited for the next 570 bus scheduled for 11.02 AM. Bus service frequency on weekdays is better than on weekends. The frequency is one per hour on weekends!
Waiting for the next bus to Sigtuna at Märsta. The train station could be seen in the background.
The bus arrived promptly at 11.02 AM and less than 30 minutes later, we were by the lake in Sigtuna. The bus ride was quite nice as it gave us a chance to see the Swedish countryside.
Fields of dandelions seen on way to Sigtuna. Photo shot from the bus.
When we arrived at Sigtuna, we headed for the lake as the weather was nice and cool in the morning. Quite a lot of families were out and about by the lake.
A family of geese caught my attention. The goslings were so cute!
I was not the only one snapping photos of the goslings. The mother goose was always near, keeping an eye on us. The crazy humans posing for photos, near her precious.
See the sparrow flying by as we took this shot.
We sat by the lake to enjoy the views and the sun. Can you believe that this lake is Lake Malaren, the same lake that is linked to Stockholm city center.
There is plenty of lakes and waterways in Sweden. In the old days, the Vikings rely heavily on their boats and no wonder.
Sigtuna town was built in AD970 by King Erik the Victorious when he landed his boat here and decided this is where he would stay. His village soon grew to became Sweden’s first town. The first Swedish coins were also minted in Sigtuna by Olof Skötkonung, son and heir to King Erik.
We went to check out Stora Gatan, the old main street of Sigtuna. An information board outside the Sigtuna Musuem showed the reconstructed views from the medieval town of Sigtuna. The layout of Sigtuna had not changed since 1000 years ago. We are literally standing 3 meters on top of the original main street. i.e. if an archaeologist were to dig 3 meters down, he may find the foot prints of King Erik!
Stora Gatan is lined with a variety of shops, stores and buildings like any functional main street in a town.
We visited Sigtuna 30 years ago but I could not recall any details of my previous visit. I managed to dig out some old photos before this visit.
One of fun things we did on this visit was to go in search of the places where we took the old photos. We wanted to see if things have changed since then by taking pictures of the “then and now”.
Stora Gatan still looked the same after 30 years but I don’t.
An old telephone booth repurposed into a book kiosk.
Somewhere near the middle of Stora Gatan is the main square where the Sigtuna Town Hall is located. This is arguably the smallest town hall in Sweden and probably the most photographed building in Sigtuna.
Probably most photographed building in Sigtuna.
Old gold crown above the entrance.
A walk around the residential area also uncovered some gems.
I initially thought this were cherry blossoms. I later found out that this were apple blossoms growing in the yard of a Sigtuna resident.
A Sigtuna resident with a sense of humour. Or she really mean business!
Besides food and shopping along the old main street, there are a few things that visitors to Sigtuna could do.
We went to search for runes stones and also to see the other attractions (mostly ruins!) within the town.
What are Rune stones?
On first encounter, I thought that they were headstones for graves or tombstones. I was dead wrong.
Runic stones are NOT gravestones. They are monumental stones put up in memory of the deceased family members during the Viking age.
The Sigtuna Museum is a good place to learn more about runic stones and the Viking culture. There is actually a map outside the museum showing the locations of all the rune stones to be found in the town. About 12 actually but we just went to search for a few.
We found the rune stone where I took a photo with in 1986. The house behind and the surroundings have not changed!
Besides rune stones, there were old ruins of medieval churches. Sigtuna was also the first Christian town in Sweden.
During the Middle Ages, as many as seven large stone churches were erected. Today, the ruins of three remain: St. Peter’s, St. Lawrence’s, and St. Olaf’s (St. Per, St. Lars, and St. Olof).
Another rune stone near the St. Lars Church ruins.
One of the Knights of the Round Table. This is next to the St. Lars Church ruins.
A short walk through a residential area brought us to the St. Olaf’s Church ruin. The church is probably build around year 1100. Excavations had found that there is an even other church beneath the St Olaf’s church!
St. Olaf’s Church ruins. The church was probably built around the turn of AD1100.
Near to St Olaf’s Church is the St Mary’s Church (Mariakyrkan). This church is a not a ruin. This is the oldest brick building in the Lake Malaren valley. We had a photo of the church in 1986.
St Mary’s Church (Mariakyrkan) in 1986.
St Mary’s Church (Mariakyrkan) in 2017.
Another view of St Olaf Church.
We stopped for lunch at a small cafe called Skafferiet along Stora Gatan. This is a cafe with friendly service staff and good food.
Meat kebab with various sides of olive, tomato salad, paprika cream, chicken pea cream.
Grilled Salmon and Scampi kebab on rice.
Menu was in Swedish but the friendly lady at the counter was happy to explain the menu in detail to us.
Sweden was unusually warm this spring day. We sat in the cafe till past 3 PM before venturing out into the sun again.
Stora Gatan is busier in the afternoon.
We decided to head back to the lake. For those who love walking, Sigtuna has a 5.5 km long lakeside trail with a lane for bikes and a lane for pedestrians.
Typical colourful lakeside residential houses in Sweden.
5.5 km lakeside trail in Sigtuna.
One of the swimming and rest area on the lake-side trail.
A marina along the trail.
The trail was nice for walking or cycling, with small cafes near a marina. We could see Swedes boating on the lake and even a father teaching his young kid how to fish on a pier.
I noticed that there were many crooked trees in this area.
Checking out a crooked tree by the lake.
An adventurous kid was learning to be the next Tarzan. Swedish kids will grow up to be tough. I doubt parents in my home country would allow their kids to try this.
Swedish family having fun in Sigtuna’s lakeside park.
Once we had enough of walking by the lake in Sigtuna, we returned to Stockholm via the way we came. First a bus to Märsta, then commuter train to Solna and then tram to Alvik.
Overall, a good day trip out of Stockholm.
