Easter break in Stockholm - Last day

Today i woke up pretty early... according to my watch was about 6.30am. But i could not sleep anymore, so i went to the toilet to wash up. Because it was still pretty early, i decided to do some surfing on the internet and reading forum pages on tripadvisor. I've no idea how long i was at the computer, and that room only had me and another lady who was surfing on her phone... then suddenly there was a guy who came out from 1 of the rooms and talked to her. He checked the time and said it was 8am! And I thought it can't be, coz i don't think i was at the computer for more than 1 hr. anyway i decided to wake Solene around 9am. So around 9am, i went to our dorm to wake her up. when she asked me the time, i told her it was 9am. she literally jumped! and hit her her. coz she was so shocked that she slept until so late.... when she was washing up, i checked the time again. I accidentally saw the time on my watch and realised that it was different from my phone! Then I knew that the time has moved forward by 1hr to welcome spring! hahaha... coz today is 31st March!

Later we removed the bed sheets, and headed to the kitchen to take our breakfast. And I told Solene about the time changing.... and it struck her that she heard it from the news...and forgot about it. Thank goodness i checked! coz i don't want to miss my flight back to Copenhagen today! hahaha....

Whilst having breakfast, we also prepared our dinner. For lunch we were thinking of heading back to the hostel to cook our last instant noodles and the meatballs. So after breakfast, we headed to Gamla Stan to walk around. Coz we wanted to visit the narrowest street in Stockholm! and when we were walking past Riksgarten, we saw an announcement about free tour of Riksgdag at 1.30pm. so we decided that we have time to attend that. So we decided to visit the narrowest street in Gamla Stan. I must say there are no indication on the map where the street was. We asked for directions at the Visitors' Center and found it. Seriously, when u reached there, u wouldn't know its a tourist attraction, coz there was no indication of it at all!

'Mårten Trotzigs Gränd', Stockholm's most narrowest street

We were at the bottom of the alley. So u can see how narrow the alley is.

Anyway, this street is called 'Mårten Trotzigs Gränd'. Its stated that the width of the street is about 90cm! and there are 36 steps leading from a street at the top another street at the bottom. 

But at least it is big enough to fit the 2 of us! hahaha

After climbing the 36 steps and walking through the alley, we made our way to Drottninggatan, coz Solene wanted to buy a couple of the petite ceramic dishes for making quiches. After she got the ceramic dishes, we made our way to Riksdag building again. And now, its almost time for the free visit of the government building. 

Nice sunny day!

I must say this is a very good tour and also very educational! I mean the lady was really nice! She explained pretty well how Sweden is being governed and how many constitutions. We were also shown the halls where the member of parliment will meet to debate and discuss on policies. In fact the buildings near to the Riksdag building were goverment buildings... and 1 of the building opposite the Riksdag was the house of the Prime Minister... hahaha.....i mean i was duely shocked. Coz there were no guards whatsoever at the entrance of the building to indicate that it was a place of a very important person.

Taken from inside Riksdag

The main hall where all the member of parliment will meet to discuss and debate on policies. This building used to be the building for the National Bank of Sweden.

Main hall leading to the above main chamber

This is one of the old chambers where the member of Parliment used in the past. 

All the coat of arms of the different regions of Sweden. Think there are 36 of them

one of the libraries that the members will meet for smaller meetings

After a 1.5hr tour of the place, we headed back to the hostel to cook our noodles. yeah we had a super late lunch. After our lunch we went to the central station to buy our bus tickets and head to the airport. 
Yup! 4 days passed so quickly... but I must say this short trip to Stockholm had been really great! we had managed to finished almost all the important sights of Stockholm. As it was a super budget trip (coz everything in Stockholm can be a little pricey... but at least a little less expensive than CPH) we did not pay to get into museums.... all the time we were walking around to view the sights.
It had been a great Easter break! =D

Au Revoir Stockholm!

Easter break in Stockholm - Djurgården, Beckholmen & Ӧstermalm - Day 3

Today we'll be visiting the eastern side of Stockholm. As usual in the morning, wehad our breakfast and prepared our lunch. Looks like we're consuming our bread pretty fast... coz later today we'll need to get some bread for our breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow. Coz tomorrow we'll be heading back to Copenhagen around dinner time, so we'll need some sandwiches at the airport. 

One of the out-door markets we saw on our way to Saluhallen. Stall was selling colourful flowers

Stall with nicely arranged vegetables and fruits

Anyway, today we made our way to Saluhallen. And today, the food hall is open! I must say that when u enter the hall, u can feel that its a rather posh place! Hahaha... the stalls are nicely decorated and the food, meat, salads, cheses, fish etc. are all nicely displayed. We walked around the hall looking at all the displayed food... and its true that the food sold here are really super expensive. 

Inside Saluhallen

Stall selling fish. Super fresh fish.

All kinds of cheeses! they also have my dad's fav blue cheese. urgh

Stall selling all kinds of meat. from chicken, to pheasant to quail, rabbit, beef etc.

If the guidebook states that this place sells the freshest food and the most excellent food in Stockholm, hmmm.... i guess it should be true then. Solène was surprised that they were selling quiches everywhere.... hmmmm coz it somehow does not make sense that they are selling French food everywhere.... Coz this is Stockholm! hahaha.... I was telling her perhaps the Swedes like French food, especially the quiches so maybe they adopt it and recreat the quiches for the Swedes themselves. =P

After viewing the hall, we made our way further south-east to the Nobel park. I was expecting that perhaps they have somesort of plaques that show the names of the Noble prize winners or something like that. But I was totally wrong. hahaha... coz the Nobel park is just a normal park that over looks to the river and Djurgåden. The only thing that was unique here was that all the embassys had their buildings here! I guess this park was named after Alfred Nobel, who used his fortune to posthumously institue the Nobel Prizes.

River in front of Nobel Park

Crossing the bridge to get to Djurgården

This river was used as 1 of the spots for the games in Olympics 1912!

Statues on the bridge linking Ӧstermalm to Djurgården

Nice looking blue gate leading to the park along the river front in Djurgården

Nordisk Museum

Lobby of Nordisk Museum

We made our way to Djurgården. Djurgåarden is rather nice i must say. And all the important museums are here. For example the Nordisk museum, Vasamuseum etc. We did not visit any of the museums, they can be a little costly. We made our way to Beckholmen. hmmm... i saw from the pictures on google that this place was nice. So we walked there. Its ok. the place was just a tiny island where people bring in their ships for repairs or cleaning i guess. Coz there were huge 'port-holes' dug in the ground for housing the ships.

taken from the river front in front of the Vasamuseum

Bridge linking Beckholmen to Djurgården

Typical Scandic red houses on Beckholmen

The huge 'port-holes' to hold the ships when they are being repaired or getting cleaned

A super old car getting charged

Today the winds were really strong. We were feeling much colder than yesterday... a shame.... So we had to walk and walk and it was tough finding a nice spot to sit down and have lunch. But finally we found some nice picnic benches with tables in the sun. However, the ground was fully covered with ice. So we decided to sit there and eat our sandwiches. but after awhile, i felt that my feet were getting frozen! Coz my feet were on the ice on the ground, and the coldness from the ice was seeping into my shoes! so i had to place my feet onto a ledge to be away from the sun. 

An Orangery seen in the park on Djurgården. This is sort of like a greenhouse

The park! yes! it was still covered with thick snow and ice.

This is how thick the snow is here! Imagine being here in the thick of winter! Brrrr....

After our lunch we walked further north-east. Coz we were thinking of heading up to Ӧstermalm. Coz we discovered that it was quite a bit of walk from the place where we were staying. and we also were thinking of doing a little souvenir shopping. Coz the shops were opened today. Solène wanted to get postcards to send to her family in France, and i wanted to get a magnet for my fridge. Hahaha.... I'm a little crazy... i will always buy a magnet of the city, country that I've been to and place it on my fridge. Anyway on our way back to Ӧstermalm, we saw more of Djurgården and took in the tranquil sights of the park. The park is really huge.... and u can see lots of Swedes walking in the park. Its really nice that the government makes such nice parks available for the people. Coz when u're walking in the park, its difficult to imagine that u're in the capital of Sweden! 

Crossing the bridge on the otherside that links Djurgården to Ӧstermalm

U can rent city bikes to bike aound Stockholm. Its the cheaper form of transport... and u can also save the environment and travel faster than foot in this way!

Swedes sitting on the steps of the Royal Dramatic Theater trying to absorp as much sun as they can! hahaha

Once we made our way to Ӧstermalm, we headed to the shopping street Drottninggaten. Solène got the postcards for her family... and i was tempted to buy a postcard too! coz the postcards were cheap.... they cost 1 SEK each! Yup! i could not believe it! just that the stamps were expensive... they cost 12 SEK. In the end I also got a card, 1 stamp and 1 magnet! hahaha... and i will write to my family that evening. 

Stockholm's trams

After our souvenir shopping, we headed to a supermarket that is up north of the hostel where we were staying. We were surprised that the things sold in this supermarket was much cheaper than the other supermarket we went to the past 2 days. so we got the groceries that we needed for that night and tomorrow. After our shopping we headed back to the hostel to cook and write to our family. =D

Tomorrow we will check out from the hostel and its back to Copenhagen again!

Easter break in Stockholm - strolling through Södermalm - Day 2 (29/3/13)

I was not able to sleep well last night. Coz the lady below me was snoring quite loudly. I thought I was the only one affected as I was sleeping above her. But apparently Solène was also sort of woken up by her around 1am. I changed my position, so I could sleep... and i did fall asleep again until i woke up at around 7.15am. 

Then Solène and I washed up, ate our breakfast and prepared our lunches before we head out again. Today's weather is also equally good! Blue skies and sun.... but the winds were really chilly... much stronger than yesterday. We decided we'll walk to Östermalam Saluhall. This is an indoor market, where they say that this place sells the finest ingredients and the freshest food here! The 2 of us are really intrigue by the comments and reviews, so we decided to head there to take a look at this famous indoor market. Buuutttt, it was closed! coz today is Langfridag - which means its Good Friday! So we could not see what this place has to offer. 

Östermalam Saluhall. It was closed

Sculptures and the square in front of Östermalam Saluhall

We decided to head south and walk along the river banks to get to another island - Kungsholmen, where the Stadshuset is. The Stadshuset is the City Hall. Stockholm's City Hall is more significant than other city hall buildings because, this is where Nobel Prizes are awarded and where the Noble Prize banquets are held! Walking along the river banks, was indeed a good choice. Coz we get to see more the river sights of Stockholm. To be frank, this really reinforce my agreement on Stockholm being a more beautiful city than Copenhagen! hahaha.....

Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theater

Bust of John Ericson

Ferries docked at the river banks. U can still see sheets of ice floating on the waters

More sightings of the rows of houses (the rich live here) along the river banks

Ducks, swans, seagulls and some other birds eating

When we were reaching the Stadshuset, we saw 2 men in diving suits. We and some of the passerbys were curious about what they were going to do. But obviously they were going to dive into the cold waters. Still its unbelievable... coz it was really cold that day... with the strong winds.... no-one in their right mind will want to jump into the cold waters of the river... furthermore in certain parts we can see sheets of ice floating on the water. But these 2 men really dived into the cold waters. But there were people from the civil defence holding onto the rope that was attached to the divers. Till now, we still don't know what they were doing.

2 men in diving suits. 1 is already in the icy waters, the other is waiting to go in

More of Stockholm & the icy water covered with ice

Stadshuset

Soon we reached the Stadshuset! I must say, up front, the building is bigger than we thought. Most part of this building is now a museum. We did not visit the inside, coz we'll need to pay to visit the museum. But we did walk around the building and we saw a gold sculpture on a sarcophagus. This was the tomb of Stockholm's founder, Birger Jarl. 

Us in the inner courtyard of Stadshuset

Outer walls of the Stadshuset

Trying to get the entire view of the Stadshuset

Walking along this pathway to the sarcophagus

The sarcophagus of Birger Jarl

After snapping a few pictures we then headed to Riddarholmen. This is the tiny island beside Gamla Stan. The main landmark of this island is the Riddarholmskyrkan. This church is the royal burial site since the 16th century! Pity the church was not open until May! Seems like things will only come to 'live' in summer! Coz yesterday we wanted to visit the National Museum, and this museum was also close due to moving!

Riddarholmskyrkan

Courtyard on Riddarholmen

So we continue walking and found ourselves on the island of Södermalm. This is the island south of Gamla Stan. This island is also the background for the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Yeah the author of the famous book 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. So following the map from 1 of the guidebook, we walked to Söder Mälarstrand. I must say here the scenery is really fantastic! coz looking across the river, we see Kungsholmen and Riddarholmen and Gamla Stan. And it was also really difficult to walk. Coz with the thick snow, it has now melted into ice... so the wooden walkway was slippery... few times we missed our footing. 

The numerous ups & downs on Södermalm

2 sculptures with knitted stuffs on them. This is a rather common sight in Stockholm, i.e. u can find knitted stuffs on benches, trees, railings sculptures etc.

Another sculpture with the knitted items on it

The thick and slippery and dirty ice on the wooden walkway. see how thick it is???

Scenery of Stadshuset taken from Söder Mälarstrand

Iconic Swedish buildings of Stockholm - taken from Söder Mälarstrand

Because we were feeling cold and its lunch time, we wanted to find a nice table in the sun with little wind to eat our sandwiches. But we could not find an appropriate table..... by the time we reached the end of the wooden walkway.... so we decided to walk to the Stadsmuset thinking that there maybe benches for us to sit and eat. But there were no benches either! In the end, we decided to have our sandwiches in a MacDonals outlet just next to the train station. It was good. coz at least it was warm inside and we could eat and use the toilet... hahaha.....

after our lunch break, we headed to the Katrina Elevator. Hmmm.... there was an elevator... but we did not take it. we climb some slope and stairs to reach it. Solène was a little afraid of heights... but somehow it was not that high and she could take it! but I must say, the view up here is also really good! 

Looking down at Södermalm from Katrina Elevator

Me on Katrina elevator

The next place we went to was Fjällgatan. This street is well known for the beautiful view of the lake Saltsjön. It looked nice... but i must say... the view was not as jaw dropping as some of the beautiful scenery i've seen of Stockholm thus far. The houses here were nice... but I think they were not as nice as the ones I've seen in Gamla Stan. 

Houses on Fjällgatan

Scenery of Skeppsholmen from Fjällgatan

After making 1 loop of Södermalm, we headed back to the hostel. Seeing that it was still early, we decided to borrow a pair of ice skates each and head to a park that is 10min away. The Vasaparken. The receptionist had told us that we can do ice-skating in this park! so the both of us are excited to give it a try. But u know what? when we reached the park, we were trying to figure out where is the lake or pond for ice-skating. we only saw a football field that was covered with ice. The it struck Solène that this is the ice-skating ring! muhahaha.... we had a good laugh! SO now Solène is not afraid of falling into the water if the ice break... coz there is no water to fall into! we put on our skates and try out. hmmm... its a 1st time for me. Of course i had problems trying to balance. i only skate about 50min with the help of Solène, then i gave up. In fact, i was using a lot of energy to keep my balance... but i must say its really fun!

Solène in her ice-skates on the fake ice-ring

I rested while Solène skated a little more. After that it was back to hostel to cook our dinner. Today we have meatballs, brocoli and pasta for dinner! it is good.... hahaha.... and tonight i was able to sleep better! coz the lady who slept below me has left! in fact she changed room...

Tomorrow we'll be visiting the Nobel park! Really looking forward to it! =D