Stockholm was awesome

Picking up from where I left off from my last travelogue about Iceland, which was published in the Norwalk Reflector on Aug. 4, I flew from Iceland to the beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden, which would be my home for the next four days. It was a real thrill for me when my airplane first touched down on Swedish soil on that Tuesday afternoon, June 24, 2025, because visiting Sweden completed my lifetime goal and dream of visiting 50 countries in my lifetime. Words cannot describe the joy and excitement I felt when I finally arrived at my hotel in the heart of Stockholm's charming Old Towne called the Gamla Stan. You see, I wasn't just staying in any typical hotel like I have done throughout my life, but on a very elegant 100-year-old, beautifully restored and extremely cool yacht that is permanently docked along the side of the island. It felt like I was staying on the Titanic for four days, honestly. The location couldn't have been better, the complimentary breakfast buffet that they featured every morning was sumptuous and the service impeccable. And speaking of sea view rooms — well, you just couldn't get any better than this, honestly. After walking around the Gamla Stan that first day in Stockholm, I was extremely impressed with Stockholm's gorgeous architecture and by its natural beauty. You see, Stockholm is nothing more than a series of about 10 islands that are connected to one another by numerous bridges and passenger ferries. That is why it is often referred to as The Venice of the North. It is also the country's capital and largest city. I was also happy that the weather was much warmer than what I had just experienced in very chilly Iceland. My first full day in Stockholm was spent visiting two extremely fun, interesting and cool museums on an island that I had to take a ferry to early that morning. The first was the ABBA Museum, which I ended up spending three glorious hours exploring. Opened in 2013, this interactive museum showcases and features just about everything you could possibly want or need to know about ABBA. As an ABBA fan and pop music lover, this was an over-the-top cool and fun experience for me. Walking just down the road a bit, I then took part in a very interesting two-hour English language tour of Sweden's and Scandinavia's most visited museum, that being the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was the largest warship ever built when it was completed in 1628. Top-heavy and loaded with too many very heavy cannons, it sank in Stockholm harbor within 10 minutes of its initial sailing. The ship was finally located and brought to the surface in 1961 after being completely submerged for 333 years. After 30 years of restoration, it was opened to the public as a museum in 1991. Trust me when I tell you that this ship is massive, impressive and very well preserved. On day three, I took a relaxing harbor cruise in the morning, which took us past too many beautiful buildings to imagine and around and in between the city's gorgeous islands. Immediately after that, I took another English language tour of Stockholm's gorgeous, huge and famous city hall building. After climbing 365 concrete steps to the top of its tower, I was rewarded with the very best panoramic view of this sprawling city of 950,000. City Hall is also the location where Nobel Prizes are awarded every year to the worthiest of people in the fields of literature, economics, science, etc. The actual hall where the award ceremony and banquet are held is both massive and impressive. Very hungry and thirsty after this, I had lunch in one of the city's charming outdoor cafes in one of the city's most beautiful parks. I can assure you that Swedish meatballs are the real deal and so are the colorful and delicious desserts. Another first for me was spending one very fun, but very cold, hour inside the world's first Ice Bar. With warm parka and gloves given to you when you enter the place as part of your steep admission price, I ventured inside to discover a world that is 100% ice, everything from the tables, the seats, the bar itself, the drinking glasses, everything. After enjoying the one adult beverage that is provided to you as part of your admission, I tried to ignore the intense cold as I took pictures of the very cool (no pun intended) sculptures that are located throughout the bar. Even though I never have been a big fan of bars, this was by far the coolest, most unique and fun bar that I have ever visited anywhere. My very last day in Stockholm was spent on a very nice boat, which took us on a 2 ½ hour-long cruise through the archipelago of islands that lie just outside the city. Home to Sweden's rich, famous and well-connected, most of these homes and quaint cottages are second homes to most of their owners. Two of the highlights for me were passing right in front of the former home of tennis legend Bjorn Borg and the cottage where the two ABBA men (Bjorn and Benny) wrote many of the group's hits. Mama Mia, how can I forget yuh. After taking this relaxing, fun, interesting and magnificent cruise through this spectacular Swedish archipelago, I certainly will never forget you, Stockholm. Before returning to my hotel that final evening, I had an opportunity to see the very impressive Changing of the Guard (just like in London) in front of the gigantic Royal Palace. I then visited the magnificent armory underneath the palace that is filled with gold-encrusted royal carriages, weapons, furniture and clothing that were owned and used by previous kings, queens, princes and princesses of Sweden. One last dinner of Swedish meatballs, followed by some very intense last-minute souvenir shopping, concluded my visit to Stockholm. As I took my taxi to the airport very early that next morning, I could not get the song "Dancing Queen" out of my head. I can't imagine why. Gary Richards is a teacher and traveler who likes to write about his trips. He is a Norwalk resident.