We visited the capital of Sweden as a part of our grand Northern European Tour, just after our trip to Glasgow, and before we went to Finland.

Before we arrived in Stockholm, we had not really done a lot of research in to what to expect. We knew that the capital of Sweden would be ancient and beautiful, but wanted to leave the joy of exploration and discovery until we arrived.

The ancient city of Stockholm

After getting off the high-speed train transfer from Stockholm Arlanda directly into the centre of the city in only 30 minutes for 460 SEK each. We then walked to our hotel from the station in only 15 minutes through the slushy snow. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our hotel was on the main street directly down to the old town and the Castle – Drottninggatan.

We wandered down Drottninggatan, a pedestrian street, protected by stone lions on every corner. The entire street is lined with shops – very much like any modern city shopping arcade. Within less than ten minutes, we were at the edge of the Norrström, ready to cross the bridge to the Swedish Parliament buildings. The Riksdagshuset is a beautiful building on an island, split in half by the pedestrian walkway.

We marvelled at the beautiful and well preserved buildings, as we then climbed the gently sloping cobbled streets up into the narrow streets of the Old Town.

The Gamla Stan island that holds the old town is a quaint and enchanting blend of cobbled steets with little cafes and shops, narrown streets that wind their way all over the old town. Each corner you turn, the scenery seems to get even better. The little streets are all different, with the walls and stones telling their own stories.

Stockholm Castle and Royal Palace

The small square of Stortorget had a Christmas Market, where we enjoyed more Mulled Wine (Gløgg) with almonds and raisins. Just one street away is the Royal Palace of Kungliga Slottet, which is still an active Royal Palace. The King of Sweden was actively using one part of the grounds, so some sections were closed off to the public temporarily.

We paid our entry fee to get in to three locations, the royal chambers, the treasury and the three crowns museum.

Befitting the title of “Royal Palace”, the rooms on display were grand and magnificent. I was suprised to see that many of the rooms had little to no furniture in them, and instead had displays of medals, awards and trophies. There were many rooms set up as a museum instead of a room, but still very interesting an exciting. Not quite as grand and ornate as many other palaces, but still amazing to see.

The Three Crowns museum was in the underground vaults, deep under the castle / palace. The buildings above had been burnt down multiple times in history – about once in each generation. It was no wonder, as all the heating was done through wood fires, and the rest of the structure had a lot of wood in it!

Much of the castle is now brick, which made it a contrast to other castles we had seen, which are stone.

The Treasury is an underground vault that is deep, three or four levels below the ground. We saw the various crowns and swords of Swedish kings, queens and princes. In a contrast to England where there is ‘the’ crown, in Sweden, each king gets their own crown.

Viking Museum

We were informed that the “Viking Museum” on Djurgården island was worth seeing. The tickets were 189 SEK each, and the relatively small display was interesting and informative. We learnt about the life of Vikings, and the modern interpretation and myths of the vikings.

However, the highlight was an automated ‘ride’ that told the story of a viking who was trying to protect his family honour by travelling abroard to sell his slaves and leather. It was an interesting and entertaining ride.

Vasa Museum

We pre-purchased tickets to the Vasa Museum, with no pre-conceived idea of what it was. We entered the large and modern building, and were then blown away by what we found inside. The building has been constructed around a 17th-Century warship that was sunk and raised in the 1960’s.

The Vasa was meant to be the King’s flagship, and so was made to be the most ornate and heavily armed ship, but it was poorly designed, and sunk after just 1.5Km of sailing. It reminded me of the Mary Rose, which sunk in similar situation when the sea came in through the gunports.

The warship is very well preserved, and it is a jaw-dropping display of the ships of the time. The museum is carefully climate controlled, and very clearly shows the life of people on the ship, how it was constructed and operated, and the ornate decorations on the rear. It was a fascinating museum.