Destination:       Stockholm, Sweden
Other names:    N/A (or if anyone knows please feel free to comment)
Known for:         ABBA, Tennis talent, Good looking people, IKEA, Nudie Jeans,      a                        Swedish House Mafia
Ah Stockholm, legend tells of a city where blond haired, blue eyed GQ and Victoria Secrets Models roam the streets, in a picturesque city and probably one of the world’s most liveable too. This weekend was an excursion to explore unofficial capital Scandinavia!

Attractions

Usually the way I like to approach weekend excursions is to pack the days full of sightseeing and understanding the history of the city. A few people I know often ‘wing it’ and stroll through the city. I have tried this before and while it is very relaxing it does not provide any context to appreciate the historic sights and buildings you pass by. So I try to get on a city tour of some sort at the very least and the best tours are usually the Free walking tours. They are free in that there is no set amount for the tour, but if you think the tour was worthwhile (normally they are very information and fun) a tip will be graciously accepted.

I managed to get onto a walking tour with an excellent guide who explained the history of Sweden, how it territory once included Norway and Finland as well. He went on to speak about the Swedish Royal family throughout the ages including the most recent princess who married her gym instructor!

We were educated about other interesting facts including the concept of ‘Stockholm syndrome’ which refers to a phenomenon where hostages empathise with their captors and take their side. This actually happened in a bank central Stockholm back in the 70’s.

The city itself is extremely clean and sits on a number of islands. It has a charming old town where ‘hole in the wall café’s and souvenir stores can be found on every corner. One of the main attractions in the old town is the Nobel Museum, dedicated to one of Sweden’s most famous personalities, Alfred Nobel (Creator of the Nobel Prize).

I had always heard of the Nobel peace prize and the prize for economics but did not realise that there were 5 prizes in Alfred Nobel’s original will (Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace). Being the inventor of dynamite and unlucky in love he was set to leave a large fortune behind, it wasn’t until his own brother was killed in an explosives accident and a French newspaper mistook his brother for himself, that he realised what the world thought of him. Labelled the “merchant of death” as many lives had been lost through the use of his invention, Alfred wanted to leave his mark on the world for the better, hence the creation of the Nobel prizes which is awarded to those who brought the greatest benefit to mankind. Famous recipients include Marie Curie, Mother Teresa, Martin Luthor King, Albert Einstein just to name a few

The other placed we checked out was Skansen island. Unfortunately the number 1 attraction on trip advisor ‘Vasa museum’ was under renovation so I checked out the open air museum instead, which is HUGE and a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon in the Scandinavian sun.

Nightlife

A quick google search of Stockholm nightlife warned visitors about how difficult it can be to get into nightspots, especially for guys. Glad to say playing it safe and packing an extra pair of shoes and blazer granted us entry into two of the swankiest clubs in town! Ambassadeer Club & Berns Hotel.
Both highly recommended – just an FYI entry is usually £20-£30

Below is a link to pictures from nightspots in Sweden. I can confirm that the girls and guys do look just as good in real life!

Http://stureplan.se/bilder/nattklub/

Swedish Myths & Legends!

MYTH: Everyone is Sweden is good looking and 6ft plus. Women look like Scarlet Johansson and the men look like Thor (Chris Hemsworth – even though he is Australian lol).

RESULT: Fact, on a whole Swedish people are definitely trendier, well groomed and fashion forward. Thier natural beauty are very easy on the eyes. I would say 8/10 people could easily become fashion models in other countries.

Height wise the average height of Swedes is noticeably higher than say Spain or Portugal so yes I’d say that this is fairly accurate (generally speaking). I also noticed the split of brunettes to blondes is roughly 50:50 and not 100:0 as I once thought lol.

MYTH: Sweden is ridiculously expensive.

RESULT: Fiction, I would say it’s slightly more expensive than other “liveable cities”. Alcohol is an exception, as it is highly taxed (a round of top shelf gin and tonics (3 drinks) cost £50/$75), however that was probably more my own fault for buying the most expensive drink in the poshest club in Stockholm. Food is reasonable and of very good quality as well. Swedish designed clothes are apparently cheaper here as well (although to be honest, I had ran out of money by Sunday lol so this could be seen as hypocritical). A Big Mac meal and Mc Flurry cost 80SEK / £8 / $12

Having missed breakfast on our last day, on a count of arriving home at 4am and spontaneously singing Peter Andre’s mysterious girl, there was definitely a feeling of not enough time and unfinished business in Sweden. I’m very sure I’ll be back again! Stay beautiful Stockholm I’ll see you real soon!

JD