Stockholm, Sweden

Arriving in Stockholm

Stockholm, capital of Sweden, is a beautiful city made up of fourteen islands surrounded by water. One of the first impressions when walking off the airplane was “where was customs”? Nowhere, apparently! It was refreshing to arrive in a trusting country. The second impression was that the airport was remarkably similar to the United States. Everything was very well labeled in English and Swedish.

So where was customs? I went through customs during my transit in Amsterdam. The two questions I was asked were, where are you from and what will you be doing in Stockholm? Thereafter, my passport was stamped, no visa needed, and I was free to go. A friend told me that this is normal. Apparently where I land, even during transit, is where I go through customs. Good to know... after the fact!

Either way, the custom experience was remarkably different than in the United States. In Washington DC, I was first grilled at check-in about why I didn’t have a visa to the European Union, even though I was going to a Shenghan country, then my passport was checked four times on my way to the boarding area. C’est la vie!

PS A Shenghan country is a country that  signed the Shenghan treaty in 1985 which eliminated all border control between the member countries.  Only 12 out of 15 European Union countries have signed the Shenghan treaty. Amazingly, Taiwan has an agreement with all Shenghan countries and we don’t need a visa! 

Yearly World Water Week

What was I doing in Stockholm? I was there attending the annual Stockholm Water Week, one of the biggest water conferences of the year. There's usually about 25,000 people. This year the theme was “Water in an Urbanizing World”. My colleague and I stayed at a hostel in Fridhemsplan, west of Central station and north of the conference center.

The prettiest part of Stockholm was Gamla Stan or “old town”. Old town was charming with cobble streets, little bookshops, cafes, and restaurants.  The best part were the little gardens with statues and fountains sprinkled all across the city. According to Wikipedia, Stockholm is made up of 30% water and 30% parks. 

Gamla Stan, Royal Palace Backside

Gamla Stan, Royal Palace (See Best Boss in the World?)

Water Water Everywhere

I decided to take the last day of the conference off to do some site seeing with my colleague. It was a beautiful sunny day. The weather was perfect. We started off by taking the tunnel bana (or subway) to Gamla Stan. There we stopped by a cute little café to have my favorite Swedish food to date – Spaghetti Bolognese. My colleague had potato salad in a hollow potato. Thereafter, we stopped by the Royal Palace which is the official residence of the royal family. Since we didn't buy tickets, we only saw a beautifully painted church. After the palace, we took the ferry to the island Djurgarden where the Vasa Museum is located. The Vasa Museum houses a huge ship that was built in the 15^th century and salvaged in the 1960’s. It’s a magnificent piece of work. After the Vasa museum, we took another ferry to Stora Fjaderholmen Island. This island was tiny with only four restaurants and a few farm houses that sold crafts. By the time we got there around 6 pm, almost all the shops were closed. There was only one restaurant open and I got the mandatory smoked shrimp and potato salad. My colleague and I sat on the patio and stared out to sea and the port dotted by little boats, all the while drinking beer and wine. There we enjoyed European bliss.

Gamla Stan, Cafe Gronan's Menu

Gamla Stan, Cafe Gronan's Flowers

Gamla Stan, Cafe Gronan's Potato Salad in a Hollowed Potato

Gamla Stan, Royal Palace's Church

Gamla Stan, Royal Palace's Church Ceiling

Gamla Stan, Cafe Gronan's Spaghetti Bolognese

Gamla Stan, Royal Palace's Guards

Gamla Stan, Statue

Gamla Stan, Port where Ferries Dock

Djurgardin, Vasa Museum

Djurgardin, Public Transportation

On the Way to Stora Fjaderholmen, Statue

Stora Fjaderholmen, Map

Stora Fjaderholmen, Sunset

Stora Fjaderholmen, Water View

Big Mac Index

Mama mia, it was expensive in Sweden. One US dollar was equivalent to 6.3 SEK (swedish kroner) and one euro was equivalent to 9.2 SEK. Although, Sweden was part of the EU, it has not adopted the euro currency. Based on the most recent big mac index, one big mac in Sweden was equal to US $7.64 as compared to a big mac in the US for $4.07. Also, according to an – oh –so-credible –website- Numbeo – the cost of living in Sweden was 40% higher than in the United States! I am not surprised but I’m also not sure how the Swedish survive given that 50% of their income (>US $60,000) is taxed. One good thing is that there was no tipping! In addition, credit cards can be used almost everywhere so there was no need to take a lot of cash around.

Enjoying Life

If I were to describe Stockholm in five words, it would be: beautiful, clean, expensive, calm, and trusting. My few humble observations was that Swedish people have life figured out. They are content with what they have, as compared to let’s say, China. In addition, Swedish people are friendly, quiet, multilingual and attractive. There is a good work life balance with a focus on enjoying life.

Recommendations

Hostel: STF VAndrarhem Fidhemsplan, www.fridehmsplan.se, Sankt Eriksgatan 20, 112 39 Stockholm. Best hostel ever. Who wouldn't want to stay here with free wifi, tv, breakfast, a high pressure shower, and a location near a subway station? The price was about US $80/night.

Hostel Fidhemsplan's Smoking Box of Shame

Transportation: The 7-day tunnel bana travel card for US $90 was the best deal and can be bought at the  nearest Pressbyran store (aka Asia’s 7-11 stores). Taxis, buses, and ferris are also readily available and easily accessible.

Bar: Stampen, Stora Nygatan 5, 08-205793. A jazz and blues bar in the middle of Stockholm. What else can you ask for?

Food: Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce. Other Swedish delights included smoked fish/shrimp and potato salad. There’s also lots of Chinese, Middle Eastern, and other ethnic food.

Signed, Jie