Stef

I'm going to be travelling to sweden in July of 2002. In particular I will going to stockholm. Have any of you been to sweden?<BR>What was your impression of the people? Costs for accomodations/food/transportation?<BR>If you have any advice, memories please share.....thanks kindly.

amy

stef,<BR><BR>we were in stockholm this past october and absolutely loved it. they say that it is one of europe's most underrated cities and i believe that's true. it has a charm and grace that really takes you in the minute you set foot there. every view is a photo opp and the people are very friendly. <BR><BR>now re: costs. it is not a cheap city. we stayed at the radisson on the strand which was a good location and it was about $120 a night and dinners in gamla stan (the old city) were pricey. we went to copenhagen as well and there the prices did dip lower overall. however, stockholm is a real prize of a city. we were only there for two days- and probably would have liked a bit more time. we saw the vasa museet which was cool-it's very famous and is a museum which houses a ship that was raised 300 years after it sank on it's maiden voyage. the modern museum had a great ferdinand botero exhibit at the time. we missed getting a tour of the royal palace but it looked very nice from the outside. the best part was you really could walk the whole city without a problem. <BR>if you are a meat eater you must have a hot dog from the street vendors-i don't eat them but they smelled great and i'm told they are great!

pat

Greetings,<BR> My family was in Stockholm tjis summer and we loved it. We stayed at the Scandic Hotel Arianne(?)on the outskirts because it is right at the terminal of the ferry that takes you to Helsinki. I would definitely recommend that trip (you can do round trip that leaves you time for sightseeing in Helsinki and the prices on the ship are increible). There is a lot to do in Stockholm and we really enjoyed Skansen, the open air market, The Nordic museum (with an ABBA exhibit in the basement if you like them), but our favorite was the Vasa musuem. You must go to really appreciate the size of the Viking ship. It is very east to get around town. We bought a Stockholm card through our hotel which gave us free admission to the musuems as well as free train/bus etc. Any other questions, feel free to ask. Have a great time!!

amy

definitely concur about the open air market. don't know if the one we went to was called skansen-but it was located in a central square in the main shopping area and we found some nice wooden kitchen tools there at very inexpensive prices-things like wood cheese boards and interesting shaped spoons-they made great gifts, seemed to be high quality and would have cost a lot more at a boutique somewhere else.<BR>they also had big cozy looking slippers-very nordic style. have a great time!

amy

one more thing, re: helsinki. <BR><BR>sounds like pat thought it was a worthwhile visit. we were in helsinki on a separate trip after a visit to st. petersburg and actually found it a bit boring. don't get me wrong-we still enjoyed the chance to see it and experience it, but if you have a choice about taking on another city i'd recommend copenhagen over helsinki. helsinki, even in guide books, is described as 'not particularly pretty or charming.' and while again, we still enjoyed seeing it-that was a pretty accurate description. however, copenhagen was an interesting, beautiful city-not as great as stockholm, but in my opinion far better than helsinki. <BR><BR>no offense meant to pat-to each his own!

Davidx

Stockholm great. If you fancy cheaper place to stay Hotel Brummen or Ibis Stockholm Syd might be useful. e-mail me if you want to ask about them.<BR>Agree about the vaasamuseum - but it is not a viking ship. For that you would be better off in Oslo! But IT IS GOOD.

Paul

We were in Stockholm in June 2001 for 5 nights at the Wallin Hotel.[There was a web site as of last year.] As noted this is an expensive city but the Wallin was reasonable located near the commercial center. We did alot of walking and found excellent restaurants. We would go back in a heart beat. Highlights were a one day trip to Uppsala, a performance of Madama Butterfly in the Royal Opera House, an outdoor (and free) performance of Carmen in Swedish with a unusual ending and lots of trips on the water including a self-guided day trip to Vaxholm. It's a great place but not knowing your budget and price range I can not suggest specifics at this time.

Joe

Stef: We were in Stockholm for three days this last summer as part of a twenty-five day tour of Scandinavia. We were there in July. It is a delightful city with much to see and do. We stayed at the Riva City Hotel Gamala Stan; about $120 per night, double; very nicely decorated rooms (charming); great location in old town; very good breakfast buffet and pleasant staff. We ate at Costas Greek Restaurant (the owner is actually Egyptian and serves fine Mediterranian food), Trattoria Roma (good Italian Food and one of few restaurants open on a Monday night) and Wedholms Fisk (traditional Swedish Fare with an emphsis on seafood; try the poached sole in a lobster/champagne sauce). The first two are moderate and the last upper moderate to lower "pricey". <BR>Vasa Museet is awesome. The ship actually sank in 1628, twenty minutes into it's maiden voyage. Seems the King kept adding to the design (mostly additional cannons on upper decks) until it became topheavy. This after the original design had been reviewed and agreed upon. How do you argue with a King. It set sail and listed badly almost immediately. It righted itself and continued into the Archipelago and with the next gust of wind, went over on it's side and sank. It was raised in 1961 and treated extensively in order to assure it's preservation. While it was unseaworthy, it does give a fascinating glimpse at ships of the time, how officers and sailors lived aboard ship and the politics that caused it to sink. It was one of the highlights of our time in Stockholm.<BR>The outdoor Skansen Museum is also very interesting. I understand it is the first outdoor living museum of the genre now throughout Europe. Historic Building (homes, churches, schools, shops, restaurants, etc.) were brought here from all over Sweden. There is a zoo. There is entertainment. It is a fun place. We walked from our hotel in Gamla Stan along the Harbor out to the two museums via the Strandvagen were every manner of sailing ship is tied up. Runs the gamut from sleek, modern and expensive to old, funky, even falling apart. You cross the bridge to Djurgarden to the museums. On the return walk, we took an archipelago boat tour in the late afternoon. There are several routes and we opted for the "Tour of Stockholm's Bridges". The archipelag is truely beautiful. You go through two locks and really see the City from several vantage points. This was a full day with the walk, two museums, the boat trip and a late dinner.<BR>We thought we would take the overnight ferry to Helsinki, but when we invstigated what we would see and do once we got there, we changed our minds. I went to Barns & Noble and gathered at least half a dozen books on Helsinki and couldn't come up with a compelling reason to go there except for the chance to see another Country (or at least it's major city). So, we decided to go to Gotland instead. You can go there by fast ferry from Stockholm in about two and a half hours. What a fortuitous decision. We stayed in Visby two nights. This is a walled, medievil village. Supposedly, the intact walls are second only to Carcassone for their grandeur. The village has everything; Roman Ruins, historic buildings, cobble-stoned streets, beautiful harbor (and fun too), great restaurants, outstanding sea views, the list goes on. We absolutely loved Visby and would recommend it to anyone.<BR>I could go on, but this is getting very long. Anyway, to answer your question, our impression of Stockholm is that it was outstanding. If you have any questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer. Good luck.

Elizabeth

If Skansen is the name of the outdoor museum which is a collection of houses--I loved it and could have spent much much more time there. They've brought into a park houses with their furnishings from various parts of Sweden and various periods of history.<BR><BR> Also if you go into the countryside--I recommend Mura, and REALLY recommend Carl Larsson's house, also Anders Zorn's house. Mura is in Dalarna or vice versa. The house of the artist Carl Larsson is one of the most lovely places I've ever been in my life, and I think it is the most-visited thing in Sweden by Swedes.

Joanna

Pat,<BR><BR>"Vasa" is not a Viking ship per se, as the era of the Vikings was from about 800 - 1200 AD. True Viking period ships are in the Vikingskiphuset in Oslo, Norway. Possibly there are also some on view in Stockholm or other parts of Scandinavia.<BR><BR>We found a fabulous cheap restaurant on Gamla Stan - down some steep stairs in the street behind the palace. Can't remember the name without my diary (which is at home), but had delicious smoked salmon soup.<BR><BR>Can also highly recommend a visit to the town hall for a great view of the city (and interesting rooms decorated in an art deco style) and Drottningsholm Palace - fabulous rooms and huge grounds - there was a Versailles-like formal garden and some lovely vistas.

Beth

Stef,<BR>Stockholm is a beautiful city and the people are friendly and helpful. We visited in August 1999. Another vote here for the Rica City Gamla Stan Hotel. We had two very charming rooms, nicely decorated, very clean; they serve a delicious buffet style breakfast. The front desk personnel were very helpful with restaurant recommendations. There are many wonderful restaurants and shops in Gamla Stan. All the sights mentioned above by other posters are good recommendations; in particular do not miss the Vasa Museum, Skansen and the City Hall tour. Also recommend taking a boat tour of the area. You can find tour boat operators in the center of the city along the waterfront. Our tour was about 2 hours long and very interesting.

Kathleen

Stockholm is beautiful! It's a long time since I've been there, but "Old Town" is delightful. Also I remember a restaurant I went to called "Fem Sma Huus" (not sure of the spelling but it means "Five Small Houses".) I believe it was once a monastery and it's a bunch of different rooms in a cavernous type of ambience. Food was great too. I particularly love the Swedish Salmon. Have Fun!

Stef

Thanks kindly for all of your advice and tips so far folks. You all have made me even more excited to go!! Where abouts did you all stay when you went?<BR>

amy

We stayed on the waterfront, behind some expensive, old looking place (can't remember then name). It was a great location-central to everything, especially a more local and hip neighborhood in the opposite direction of the old town. however, the old town would also be a great place to stay.

Stef

Thanks kindly for the information folks.<BR>I know I'm travelling during peak season, but do any of you know when prices may come down some? I've heard that summer ticket prices tend to come down slightly in jan/feb....any thoughts?

yeadonite

Was the Wallin the best western wallin? Any reviews?