I found the flight on RyanAir... Europe's cheapest airliner; if you follow their rules. I thought I could, so I bought the 75 euro ticket and planned my weekend to Stockholm, Sweden.
My Dad's side of the family is strongly Swedish as my great-great grandparents followed their Viking roots and immigrated to Minnesota. In fact, the Swedish ancestry is so strong that my Dad was nicknamed "Swede" when he started working in the coal mines. So, going to Sweden was something more than another European destination. It was kind of a homecoming.
I took a half day on Friday so I could make it to Eindhoven in time for the 3:30 flight; no problems there. I even packed my own bags well enough that I didn't have any checked luggage; Amanda would have been proud. The general plan for the weekend was to arrive Friday afternoon early enough for dinner, spend all day Saturday seeing as much as humanly possible, and then heading back on Sunday. For the most part, it worked to plan.
One of the problems with flying RyanAir are all the incidental charges. For example, when I arrived in "Stockholm", I was actually in an airport approximately 90 minutes from Stockholm - nice. It required a 30 euro bus ticket to get into town. Charge #1 (keep track there will be plenty by the time I finish).
I arrived at the bus station around 7pm and had no problem finding my hotel. It was in a great area and a good quality choice. It was immediately obvious that Swedish living is different from the rest of Europe and that the "IKEA" style was not just one person's idea. Mr. IKEA may have made billions off of the style by introducing it to the world, but he certainly didn't invent it. This modern style was started in the 70's when people started reducing the "extra" and getting back to basic living comforts. My hotel's shower was a perfect example of the style in action; a replica from the Jetson's set.
After settling in, I made my way to the shopping district to find a place to eat. Rick Steve's (as always) helped and led me to the Kungshallen food court. It was a fun place - kind of a "higher-end" version of an American food court. I settled for a cool Sushi stop and chowed on the Godzilla platter: a mix of tempura, sushi, and California rolls. My seat was perfect as I could look over the balcony and "people-watch" while eating... The day had started really early, around 5am, so after dinner, I headed back to the hotel to hit the sack. It was a good end to the day.
The next morning, I awoke at 6am and got ready for the day. Oddly enough, nothing in Stockholm opens prior to 10am (earliest) and 11am (most) and in the winter everything closes early (5pm). So, getting the most out of this trip was going to take some planning. I decided to eat breakfast as soon as it opened (7:45am -- late huh?) and then get out on the town around 8am.
I left early so I could (1) get the lay of the land and (2) complete the recommended Rick Steve's walk prior to everything opening up. So, I wandered over to the Gamla Stan area and started the day. The cool, crisp walk was good for opening the lungs and waking me up. By the time I got there, I was really, really cold and starting to seriously reconsider Stockholm as a winter weekend destination.
I left early so I could (1) get the lay of the land and (2) complete the recommended Rick Steve's walk prior to everything opening up. So, I wandered over to the Gamla Stan area and started the day. The cool, crisp walk was good for opening the lungs and waking me up. By the time I got there, I was really, really cold and starting to seriously reconsider Stockholm as a winter weekend destination.
Stockholm's layout defies all normal expectations as it is built on an archipelago; this city literally sits on 4-5 separate islands. Each area is connected by bridges, and water taxis are a typical way of life. Stockholm can also be defined as "modern done well". Years ago Stockholm fully embraced the green movement and updated the entire infrastructure to compensate. Doing so meant the city couldn't maintain the original, old architecture -- they had to update.
A lot of other cities have attempted to do the same but failed miserably in the process; take London's Gerkin as an example. Stockholm, on the other hand, excelled. This city found the perfect blend of modern updating without losing the old world charm - a truly remarkable and seamless transition.
The morning walk was fairly simple, but still gave me a sense for the old city. It started at the Royal palace by the King Gustav III's statue (the guy that transformed Stockholm into a European power) and then moved by the obelisk. The obelisk was erected after a successful military campaign against Russia.
Then I walked around a church to see the city's smallest statue; old women knit hats for the statue and others rub his head for good luck. I then walked down through a narrow alley and right through antique central to the Nobel Museum. The Nobel building is where the prizes are distributed every year and on a square that is lined with Sweden's best architecture. The square, ironically enough, was the site where 80 Swedes were murdered during a Danish uprising; not quite the peace that the Nobel process advocates today. 
The walk winded around through the Prastgatan Lane where I saw my first Rune Stone. It was placed as a cornerstone to a nondescript building. The Gamla Stan is ripe with shopping, and cool shopping too. Not just the tacky souvenir shops, but real authentic stuff like sandal shops, viking shops, unique clothing shops... Amanda would have loved this street.
After the walk, I planned to go to the Nobel Museum, unfortunately it didn't open until 11am (a miss-read on my part). So, instead of waiting, I headed over to the Vasa museum site which opened at 10am. It was a long walk, but another good look at the city. On the way there, I made a smorgasbord reservation at the Grand Hotel. It was Valentine's Day, but I still managed to talk my way into an early slot. I did have to promise to eat quickly and be finished within 1.5 hours... No problem.
I made it to the Vasa in record time. Not sure what drove me most, the time constraints or the desire to find the next warm building.
The Vasa turned out to be the best sight in Stockholm (for me). This museum holds the warship Vasa which sank 15 minutes into its maiden voyage and stayed at the bottom of the sea for 300 years. It was built too quickly and with all the specifications the King demanded. Unfortunately, the 2nd cannon deck proved too top heavy and the ship tipped over when the first light breeze hit her sails.
The ship is magnificently preserved. It is in the exact same condition it was in the mid-1600's, perfectly salvaged through a serious of unique and clever engineering. While we weren't able to climb in the ship, the museum has a series of ramps that circle the ship at various levels so you can get a good view of virtually every piece.
There are a lot of side exhibits that describe the details of the sinking and the recovery. One computer program actually let you rebuild the ship to see if you could keep it from sinking. My first try sank (very quickly), but my second sailed. But, the King still fired me because the warship was too slow.I didn't expect much out of this museum, but it was great. I fully recommend this spot for everyone. It is great for kids and adults alike.
My next stop was right next door at the Nordic museum. Rick Steve's gave this sight three stars so my hopes were high. Unfortunately, Rick was dead wrong about this place. It was an absolute sleeper. It was totally unspectacular in every way, except for the audio guide devices (those were way cool) and the Sapmi exhibit.
The Sapmi exhibit taught me about the indigenous people of Lapland, the Sami. It spoke mainly about their plight to maintain their way of life. It was interesting to learn about their legal battles with Sweden over education, land use, and hunting. A classic example of one society trying to impose their way of life on another. The Sami won.
Outside of that one exhibit, the rest was terrible. I don't know what Rick was smoking when he hit this exhibit. He missed it by a long shot.
After the Nordic Museum, I headed over to Skansen. Skansen is an outdoor folk village; reported to be the best in Europe. It is. While it was very cold and very empty while I was there, it was very clear how cool this place would have been in the summer time.
The buildings are really well done and the site is superb. It is a mix of folk village / zoo. There is a great exhibit with all native Scandinavian animals: reindeer, bears, wolves, etc. Jacob would have had a great time --- maybe we will have to come back in the summer.
As a quick stop before leaving, I went to the Aquarium. It is privately owned, so it costs extra, but with my "Stockholm card" I got in for "free". It was a pretty good exhibit complete with anacondas, spider monkeys, and sharks. It was small, but pretty well done.
Instead of walking back around the lake to Gamla Stan, I took the boat taxi and shaved 45 minutes off the commute. It was cool to ride a boat around Stockholm's islands, but wasn't an earth-shattering experience. After making landfall, I headed straight over to the Royal Armory and Nobel museum.
The Royal armory was a three star event by Rick Steve's and basically lived up to expectations. They had a ton of really unique, cool, and well-preserved medieval stuff. I didn't spend much time there, but enjoyed looking at the collection.
Afterwards, I headed over to the Nobel Museum. This museum is weird... Seriously, I didn't get it. There were some cool exhibits, but it was so randomly organized, I couldn't get a handle on what I was supposed to be learning. It seemed to spend a lot of time on Darwin's theories and the importance of freedom of speech. There were a couple of really cool spots. Like the theatre that kept showing inspirational speech's (MLK, etc) and the corner that talked about Alfred Nobel (that one was a blast - get it?), but in general, it was too poorly organized to get much out of it. The best part of that museum was the book store. I found three great books there... one about Einstein, one book of Nobel answers, and Words of Peace.
I left the Nobel Museum around 4:30pm and hoofed it over to one last souvenir shop for a couple of last minute gifts for Amanda and Jacob and then headed back to the hotel to drop my bags off before dinner. It was then that I realized just how wore out I was --- whew --- 6am to 4pm with no breaks.
I left the hotel around 5:40pm and walked over to the Grand Hotel for dinner. It was recommended by Rick Steve's and it was superb. Really, really, really superb. Smorgasbords are a Swedish specialty and I took full advantage of it. This was another experience that I should probably keep to myself, but oh well, here it goes.
The meal started with lobster bisque (have you ever had that? You haven't lived until you have). Then I moved to the herring... Oh the herring. In Holland they will pull the Herring out of the ocean, gut it, and then put it down the hatch. Now, I haven't done that yet (heavy stress on yet), but I did inch closer by eating about 2 plates of raw herring served every way possible. I felt like Bubba talking about shrimp when I walked through the list of choices: pickled herring, spicy herring, marinated herring, herring with shrimp, herring with lime, herring with cucumber cream sauce, etc. It went on and on and on... It was good...
Okay, two plates and one bowl so far... And still going strong.
Then I moved over to the smoked salmon. Not just smoked salmon, but salmon served 5 different ways (kind of like the herring). Ummm, plate number three.
After the salmon, I mosied over to the hot food and loaded up on shrimp omelets, potato cakes, and Swedish meatballs. By that point in the meal, I was starting to get full --- not completely full yet, but getting there. Don't worry, I left just enough room for dessert. Lemon tart, raspberry tort, tiramisu, and cake.
I washed the meal down with about 1 liter of ice cold water and waddled out only able to inhale half a breath of air --- I guess my stomach was squeezing in a bit.
Okay -- I know it is ridiculous, but dude --- it was good. I only had a small breakfast, no lunch, no snacks, so splurging on a meal like this didn't seem too bad. However, I really knew I had gone overboard when I couldn't sleep on my belly that night. :)
I did make it home and settled in for the night thinking about how much I had seen and how tired my feet were.
The next morning I slept in and took it easy getting ready. I really only had a couple items on the agenda: breakfast (didn't need much from the night before), bus ride to the airport, flight to Eindhoven, and drive home.
Unfortunately, RyanAir gave me a bit more excitement for the evening. As I mentioned earlier, my 75 euro ticket got a bit more expensive. At check-in, Ryan asked me if they could weigh my "carry-on" bag. I said it wasn't necessary because it was a carry-on and they informed me that if it was too heavy and it fell, it could kill someone. So, I weighed it. It was too heavy by 10 lbs (i.e. at 30 lbs). They said I had to check it --- which, I replied "fine, every passenger gets one checked bag right?" Umm, no -- actually checking bags costs extra. How much? Sir, it will be 35 euros.
What can a guy say? I mean the 75 euro ticket + 10 euro "Non-EU" fee + 35 euro (plus 3-hr) transit fee + 35 euro baggage fee. I guess you get what you pay for.
In the end, you have to take these "bumps" just as "extra taxes". It was a good trip, a little lonely, but still great fun to see a new city.
