Snowy Sweden
Hey guys! After the winter holidays, I flew from Asia to Sweden for work, decided to take the opportunity to explore the city since it's my first time and I've heard great things! As you can see from the photos, it was pretty cold out there! I had the pleasure of staying at Berns Hotel. Highly recommend it for a few reasons: 1. it's super central, smack in the middle of downtown Stockholm between Old Town and New Town, 2. the staff are super friendly, down to Earth, and accommodating (I wanted to access the gym at 5am before my photoshoot, and even though their hours say the gym is closed at that time, they opened it up for me), and 3. their breakfast is to die for! Thanks Berns!
First night I arrived I was pretty exhausted from some flight mishaps. Was supposed to fly Emirates from Taipei --> Dubai --> Stockholm, but for some reason the Taipei leg got severely delayed. Ended up having to improvise in Dubai and ended up taking another flight through St. Petersburg in Russia to Stockholm. What a nightmare! Nice part was I met a few super cool Swedes that I've kept in touch with since! Second day I shot for H&M the entire day. What an amazing crew! The entire staff were just super friendly and after I told them I'm staying a few extra nights to explore the city, they insisted on writing me a list of places to visit customized to my interests. What was really memorable also was when we started talking about things that came from Sweden during lunchtime. I had totally forgotten one of the most influential bands in my life is from Sweden.... ACE OF BASE. The crew got a kick out of how I knew so many song titles even 15 or so years after they were at their prime (apparently they weren't as big in Sweden as they were outside). For the rest of the photoshoot, they put on Ace of Base tracks and needless to say, it was an AWESOME vibe and shoot! Thanks H&M!
On the third day, I woke up early to attend Free Tour Stockholm, which was pretty awesome. Took a comprehensive tour of New Town, I was particularly fascinated with 'Stockholm Syndrome' and where it all went down (now an Acne Studios retail store). Google it when you get a chance, extremely fascinating event that involved a bank robbery that resulted in the hostages defending the robbers due to this psychological complex now known as 'Stockholm Syndrome'. Upon the tour guide's recommendation, after the tour I visited this place called Chokladkoppen, which apparently has the best hot chocolate in town. Photo of that above, it did not disappoint. Barely sweet and pure DELISH. The other pastry photo is called a semla, apparently it's only available during 1-2 months of the year, so we were lucky to have tried it, tastes really great too. The place/food were so nice that I ended up going again the next day with a few friends that I met! At night we Googled 'best meatballs in Sweden' and ended up at a restaurant called 'Riche'. Meatball photo above, yes it was pretty damn tasty and highly recommended.
On my final day, I Yelped and ended up at an authentic Italian espresso cafe. It did not disappoint. You can see the photo above, it's called 'Sempre'. Great energy, constant flux of people coming in and out, having conversations, laughter, etc. After that, headed to the Vasa Museum (#1 place to visit on TripAdvisor). It was pretty insanely awesome. Basically a huge ship that got wrecked and disappeared hundreds of years ago, then discovered and pieced back together. I recommend this place if you have about 2 hours to kill. Then in the afternoon I met up for another Free Tour Stockholm, this time a tour of the Old Town. This was really awesome, and I'd say superior to the New Town tour. Basically the Old Town has a completely different aesthetic, vibe, and culture. More vintage, traditional, and well... old style. You must visit Old Town when you are in Stockholm. For dinner, Yelped the best quick eat restaurant in town and ended up at 'Vigårda Barbecue'. I think it was grass fed beef, organic veggies, etc. It was great! Next morning flew back to freezing NYC!
Final Tips/Notes on Stockholm:
Really beautiful city! I'd recommend visiting in Summer, as it is blistering cold in the Winter
May sound strange, but one of the only cities I've visited that is super well lit with warm lights from windows and streets at night, never dark on the streets at night!
The Swedes are so nice and helpful!
Swedish currency is NOT Euros, it's their own currency 'Kroners'. I learned this the hard way ;)
If you are visiting Stockholm:
Must see/visit:
Old Town - it's just past the bridge from New Town
Chokladkoppen - one of the best hot chocolates I've ever had, and it's served in a bowl!
Riche - restaurant to taste truly authentic Swedish meatballs
Vasa Museum - #1 visited/reviewed spot in Stockholm on TripAdvisor, pretty jaw dropping
Free Tour Stockholm (both New Town and Old Town) - be sure to bring some Kroners for tips!
Hope you guys enjoyed the post! Leave a comment!
-Tony