In Love with Stockholm

Recently we went on a little Scandinavian adventure, traveling to the northern lands of Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. It was the most wonderful time.  We took so many photos and had a blast exploring the city streets, getting lost, drinking lots of coffee, and eating every pastry along the way. I thought I would share some of our photos of our trip, starting in Stockholm, and give some suggestions of must see places if any of you are traveling that way. 

We stayed in a cute little Airbnb in the Sodermalm area, a great little neighborhood with tons of great restaurants and cafes. It is also just a short walk to the central part of the city. The city is basically built on a bunch of little islands, so be prepared to walk across a lot of bridges. 

This is the view from Sodermalm, looking towards Stockholm. This is from an area where you can walk along a cliffside and look out at the whole city. Definitely one of the best places to view the skyline of church steeples and beautiful architecture. A must see at sunset. 

Speaking of sunset. Amazing. The city is super easy to get around, with tons of easily navigable rail lines. We mostly walked everywhere though. Super easy.

This is from one of the older parts of town, called Gamla Stan. It looks the same as it did during the medieval period. Very beautiful, filled with cobblestone pathways, narrow alleys, and colorful buildings. It was one of our favorite areas, and we loved that we had to walk through it to get back home each night. 

The Swedes have a cultural tradition called "Fika" which is essentially a daily, sometimes multiple times a day, coffee and pastry break with friends. We are big fans. We ate lots of pastries and tried all the best coffee shops. This shot was from Kaffeverket, but we also recommend a cafe called Fabrique, pictured below.

Of course we found some rooftop bars. This one was on top of the Scandic Continental. We had been walking all day and needed a place to relax for a bit. The spot was perfect, with breathtaking views of City Hall and delicious cocktails. 

Another must see spot is definitely the Stockholm Central Library. It is a dream for any book lover.  It is essentially one huge round room with 4-5 floors of books. Incredible!

Another one of our favorite spots was Stockholm City Hall. It is right on the water and open to the public to freely explore. It has a massive open air courtyard with some very instagrammable arches. Can't tell you how many photos we took of them.

City Hall is also a great place to watch the sunset and sit by the water. Here we see Harper made a little naked friend. 

One of our favorite spots for breakfast was called the Greasy Spoon. We actually came here two days in a row because it since it was so good, Harper always got the pancakes, which came with a generous helping of bacon on top. Highly recommend if you're looking for a hearty start to the day. 

One of the coolest museums we went into was called the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a massive and highly decorated Swedish warship. It sank on its first voyage shortly after its departure in 1621. They raised it up from the depths in the 1960's, and now it is considered one of the best preserved ships from its time. Very fascinating and definitely worth the trip over to the island of Djurgarden. 

While over on Djurgarden, you have to stop by this amazing restaurant called Oaxen Slipen. The interior design is everything. I now want a living room/ kitchen where I can hang boats from the ceiling. We got there right as they opened and enjoyed a couple cocktails at the bar. I read it is also considered to have some of the best dinners in Stockholm. 

Another beautiful part of Stockholm are the many art installations throughout their massive subway system. Deep beneath the ground, different artists have painted the rocks and boulders of all the stations. Here are a couple of shots from our favorites, but they are all beautiful and unique. 

We absolutely loved Stockholm. The people were so friendly, the food, coffee and pastries were delicious, and the architecture and culture were remarkable. Highly recommend for anyone traveling to the Nordic countries. We loved our stay and would definitely go back!